Need help figuring out when and where to rent a car.

[MinMou]

We will be flying into SNA, and after our stay at DL, go up to the valley to visit family. From there we will fly out of Burbank.

I thought it would be better to take a bus or cab to DL and then rent a car when we left, since we wouldn't use the car while we were there, and I didn't see the point of paying for parking. But the daily rate I was quoted for renting a car at Downtown Disney was almost 4 times as renting at the airport.

Has anyone done something similar? Is there a rental company in Anaheim that would make this reasonable? Or would any savings I gain by not renting until later be lost when I add in the bus?

Any information, ideas, assistance, etc. would be greatly appreciated! Combining a family visit with a vacation is always a challenge, so if I can sort this out, that will leave me more energy to work out the rest of this trip.

 

[Susie63]

There is an Alamo by the DLH but most of the rental companies in the area(Katella Ave.)
will pick you up at your hotel.

 

[jina]

I once rented Hertz with pickup at the small Hertz office on Katella. Someone from Hertz picked me up @ my hotel to take me to the Hertz office to pick up the car. We did drop off at SNA. It was 2 weekend days I think last Spring (probably late March) and we lucked out with a very reasonable rate (I want to say $50 total for 2 days). There would probably be a drop off fee to take it all the way to Burbank but you never know.

 

[nbliss]

I don't know where to rent a car in Anaheim, but I myself am renting at SNA via Costco. If you don't have to pay for parking at your hotel, it might be worth it. I've rented from Costco travel online before, and there are a couple of reasons why I love it. First, you don't need to put in a credit card to reserve your car online, just have to have your Costco member card number. Second, if you keep checking the prices on their site and find they drop (mine did), just book a new reservation and cancel the old one. Their prices are the best I've found.

 

[ParkHopper1]

If you just need a car to get from DL to Burbank...on you last day just cab it for $35 from DL to SNA and just rent a car for one day one way. Probably the cheapest option.

 

[MinMou]

Unfortunately, it's not that simple. We need a car for several days after we leave Disney. So I am not sure whether we are better off with a weekly rate, or a daily rate. But I will look into renting from SNA after we leave the park.
Where I live, they charge extra to rent from an airport. It looks to be the reverse in LA.