March 2014 car rental!

[rickdeni]

Bump

 

[loveswdw]

I'll keep checking but so far what I've booked:
Costco Travel - Alamo - Intermediate SUV $372
Pickup MCO 3/26
Dropoff TPA 4/2

 

[conniehar90]

I have a mid size at National for $260 using the KLM code for March 27-April 5

 

[travelcoupons]

I need a full size car or mid size SUV for March 12 to March 26. I will pick up at Orlando Airport and drop off at Ft. Myers. The cheapest so far is $719 for the mid size SUV from Costco. The full size car was $10 cheaper. I have never paid more than $250 per week for this time period before. Let's keep this post going.

Seeing $554 for full size for your dates with Alamo.

 

[travelcoupons]

I'll keep checking but so far what I've booked:
Costco Travel - Alamo - Intermediate SUV $372
Pickup MCO 3/26
Dropoff TPA 4/2

If you are willing to go with Budget, it's $347.

 

[loveswdw]

If you are willing to go with Budget, it's $347.

Costco Travel has Budget coming in at $427.

 

[quest4dl]

I check carrentals.com every couple of days. Today NU car rental has a price of $40/day for a minivan. But when I looked up reviews, it seems there is a problem with their shuttle service being timely and the condition of their cars. Anyone have experience with this company? Also, any coupon codes out yet for Budget or Alamo?

 

[pesto78749]

Hi there I just posted on the feb car rental code board and I thought I would put this here too incase it can save anyone. It may not work in FL as I used it for Denver, but I figured its worth a shot! UPDATE! IT WORKS FOR MCO I used March 6 -11 and same rate!!

We are going snow skiing for spring break and as a loyal dis boarder I was checking for codes. Most were giving me high prices for an SUV but code 5C06M (note its the letter O not the number zero) gave me 266.31 for 5 days for an SUV. Coupon on dollar site said must complete travel by March 15 but had no start date. I have no idea if this will save you anything but I figured its worth a shot.
Hope everyone has a great time with a great rental car rate! Say "hi" to Mickey for me!
See you real soon!

 

[LiloH]

Subscribing to thread. It's been probably three years since we've rented a car at Disney but are considering it for this trip if the price is right. I'm hoping to see what everyone else gets!
(We are looking for 3/22-3/30.)

 

[maciec]

I am hoping some of the rates comes down. Although I'm still going to use Priceline because they've always come through as the lowest every single time for me. I still like having a back up

 

[horselover]

Just booked a quick birthday weekend trip for 3/28-30. Hoping to find a decent price for a compact. Right now prices look Since it's such a short trip & my flight doesn't get in until 1:30 on Fri. I'm hoping to rent with the jump in your car & go companies. Dollar, Alamo, National, or Hertz. We'll see if Dollar continues it's trend as being the cheapest option.

 

[loveswdw]

We ended up extending our upcoming trip by a few days so I rebooked and changed my car category. Still Alamo with Costco.
3/26 pick up MCO
4/4 drop off TPA
$335 for a standard (which is in the same aisle as full size at MCO)

I keep checking everyday.

 

[richmo]

At least in the next few days we should start seeing some coupons that go into 2014. A lot of the existing ones end on 12/31, which is today, of course.

A couple comments: March is still at least 2 months away, depending upon what part of the month you're going. I've gone the past several years sometime during March (but not Easter week) and each and every time the best rates were found anywhere from 2-14 days before departure. You can check every day, as an earlier poster mentioned, but in truth, its a little early for that.

I should give a disclaimer that my comments that follow apply to a common rental (MCO to MCO and one of the common car classes: economy, compact, midsize/intermediate, standard , full size/premium...of course, the terminology varies depending upon the agency). If you are renting in a class other than these, or doing a one-way rental, some of the "rules" don't hold, but here goes.

1. This far out, do not take a pre-paid rental. The rates may look good now, but if you look again 10 days before you leave, you'll be sorry. If you do take a pre-paid rental, do not look again.

2. The best rates are usually about 7-10 days before you leave. Starting at about three weeks out is when you should start looking every day. About then is when you'll see the price wars heat up and you may need to check several times a day. Car rates will change faster than airline fares.

3. Depending upon your situation, if you don't need a car for the whole time, you can rent (and/or drop off) from the Car Care Center or Swan/Dolphin (Alamo and National). There are also a couple agencies on Hotel Plaza Blvd (opposite Downtown Disney Marketplace). I forget the actual locations, but I think Budget, Dollar and Avis have locations there. Generally, renting from these locations is a little more expensive, but not always. Sometimes they're even less.

4. Despite everything I just said, it wouldn't hurt to make a non-binding reservation now. In all probability, you'll wind up cancelling it, but at least you have a safety net in case I'm completely wrong.

5. When you make a reservation that beats an old one, please cancel the old one.

6. Personally, my opinion is that you should be able to document any code that you use.

If you are renting one of the non-standard types (especially SUV and mini-van), the rules above may or may not hold. I'd still stay away from pre-pay for now.

A little history from last March. These were all for a weekly rental for March 8-13, 2013. The date you'll see is the date I made the reservation. First number is base rate, second is total.

12/14/12, Alamo, Compact, Disney Passholder/Entertainment free day: $207/$271
12/14/12, Enterprise, Intermediate, Costco, $98/$143
12/17/12 Alamo, Compact, Costco/Entertainment free day $194/$255
12/17/12 Dollar, Intermediate, Dollar City Special, $99/$146
2/22/13 Alamo, Compact, Costco/Entertainment free day $148/$201
2/23/13 Alamo, Compact, Costco/Entertainment free day $132/$184
2/26/13 Budget, Compact, Costco/$40 off week coupon $135/$143
2/27/13 Alamo, Intermediate, Costco/Entertainment free day $89/$120
2/28/13 Alamo, Compact, Costco/Entertainment free day $87/$116
3/1/13 Alamo, Compact, Costco/Entertainment $20 off $84/$114

Other than a special from Enterprise and an early good Dollar City special, you can see the downward trend starting about 2 weeks out. The actual booking I used was the 3/1/13 Alamo compact, booked 7 days before departure. (Also note that once the rate gets down enough, a $xx off can be better than a free day)

And finally, here's my final booking for the three previous March's:
March 17-21 2012, Alamo, Compact $43/$78, Costco, booked 3/12/12, 5 days before departure
March 3-7 2011, Alamo, Standard $99/$144, Costco/Alamo promo, booked 2/18/11, 14 days before departure
March 20-24 2010, Alamo, Compact $73/$112, Costco/Alamo promo, booked 3/14/10, 6 days before departure

 

[Lizard Valley]

Thanks for such a great post, and for taking the time to compile all of this information!

I agree with all of it!

I have consistently found prices in the 300-400$ range from 6 to 1 month out.
Prices start dropping at about 3 weeks out.
Using Costco has typically been the cheapest in the end.

Last year: Feb 27-Mar 11 (10 days) - $89 (160 with taxes and fees)

 

[Fundytrail]

"richmo" great post thanks!

 

[petsaregreat]

Please post any discount codes you find as the new year has started
I am looking for a mini van out of MCO March 8-16

Thanks!

 

[kazmomma]

Mar 29-Apr 7...I recently booked a minivan through the BJ's website for $150 cheaper than I found anywhere else. I doubt I will keep this reservation but better booked than not since I can easily cancel. I will continue to watch the codes and re-check / re-book as needed. It's a crazy lil game we have to play but hopefully is worth it in the end.

I never have luck with Budget, Avis, Hertz, etc. I've always ended up with Dollar, Alamo or L & M. If anyone knows of any great codes that come up... I would greatly appreciate you sharing them. I will certainly do the same! Good luck and Happy Planning!!!

 

[QueenQuad]

We're looking to do a one day rental out of the care care center at Disney. Do you think we need to book ahead of time or wait til we get down there? We'd need something to accommodate 6 bodies.

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

 

[monagh10]

Traveling 3/27-4/3 into MCO. Have a SUV (Ford Escape or similar) through Enterprise for $375ish booked right now. Looking for a cheaper full size, SUV or minivan

 

[richmo]

For those of you looking for a mid-size SUV in the first half of March, Dollar has a $34/day or $190/week base rate going on. I don't know for a fact that it will work at MCO, but it may be worth a look. Promo code is 5CO6M and is publicly available on the Dollar website.