Looking for the cheapest Car Rental???

[mfern4]

I am in need of a little assistance and expert advice on renting a car at the Orlando Airport. We would like a minivan and so far the cheapest I can find is Thrifty (which we have never used before) at 184.12/wk. Has anyone had experience with them?

Are there any tricks of the trade that could get me a better deal?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Michelle

 

[GAIL HAYDEN]

Originally posted by mfern4
I am in need of a little assistance and expert advice on renting a car at the Orlando Airport. We would like a minivan and so far the cheapest I can find is Thrifty (which we have never used before) at 184.12/wk. Has anyone had experience with them?

Are there any tricks of the trade that could get me a better deal?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Michelle

Yes, go to www.mousesavers.com for hints and codes.

 

[pjlla]

Also.... look around for coupons.... BJ's wholesale club has coupons for car rentals (maybe Sam's and Costco do to?) and also check the AAA price. AND KEEP checking with the on-line site of the agencies you would like to use.... sometimes the price drops significantly over the course of a few days (although sometimes it goes up too!!). Also check www.rentalcodes. com... They currently have some car rental codes. And if you want really cheap prices, consider an off-site (meaning not in the terminal) rental agency. The further from the airport they are, the cheaper!! Most of them have shuttle buses to take you to their lots. Happy Hunting!...................P

 

[Magnetic]

I second the Mousesavers codes advice. We used 3 different codes (they teach you how to combine them on the site) to rent a fullsize car from National this January for 5 days. We're paying a total of $61.64 for all 5 days! I couldn't be happier with the rate.

National basically has 3 areas where they can discount you, a Contract ID (a code that businesses/clubs/travel agents use -- but the site has some for everyone to use too -- I used our Disney Club code for 20% off), a Coupon ID (Mousesavers had a link to a rent 3 days, get the 4th free code, which I also used) and then a Product Rate Code, which is yet another discount (I used WEBK8 from Moussavers also.) The original rate started at $102.72 for 5 days.

Here's Mousesaver's rental car page:
http://www.mousesavers.com/rentalcar.html#national

 

[ncbyrne]

$189 for a mini van is a terrific base price! I doubt you'll find anything much better than that. However, be sure to check on the bottom line, total price and not just the base rate. The added taxes, fees, and surcharges can vary from company to company.

 

[pjlla]

I must say..... I checked all the codes/coupons/promo rates etc for National, Dollar, and Alamo and didn't come up with a cheaper rate than the one I am already paying with Alamo.....in fact, most were $40 or more higher.... but glad I checked. Anyhow, I am using a code I got through rentalcodes.com. A lot of the other codes/coupons I found were only good through 12/31/2003.... we are traveling in January......P

 

[InstImpres]

That sounds like a great rate, just keep in mind Thrifty is off site.

Sandy

 

[DMRick]

I used our Disney Club code for 20% off),

I had planned on using our Disney code, and a couple of people nicely sent it to me, when I had dumped it, but I did call National and told them I just wanted to check my price. He said I see you are using a Disney code (he didn't call it a code..I forgot the word he used..be sure to bring your up to date card with you (and I think he giggled). He said they will honor it, as long as I have an unexpired card...so, I'm back to Alamo, since DC goes out of date this month, and I won't have an up to date card to show them.

 

[Magnetic]

I hope I don't hit any problems -- I called to make sure I could use the Disney club card too, and the guy I talked to said as long as the reservation was made prior to the card's expiration, we'd be ok. I wrote down his name, etc to make sure.