One Way Rental Car Help Needed! LAX to SAN

[AlabamaPrincesses]

I am having a difficult time finding a reasonable rental car rate for our upcoming trip to Disneyland and San Diego. We arrive at LAX June 20th and will be leaving from SAN on June 29th. Do you have any tips on getting a decent rate for our trip. I want a standard car that will seat 2 adults and 3 kids...nothing fancy! It sounds like some of you have had great success on Priceline, but I can't get it to accept my bid... Does anyone have experience in a one way rental? Your help is greatly appreciated!

 

[wdwrich]

I find that it's usually a bit difficult to get deals on one-way rentals. Have you checked the rental car pages on Mousesavers.com? That's a good source for codes and coupons.

 

[wdhinn89]

We are doing a one way rental in July/Aug from LGB to San for 10 days. Luckily I booked mine 6 months ago through the Costco website and got a great rate. It is so good that I am petrified they won't honor it if the plane comes in late. I want to book a back up car for just in case with another agency but the rates are INSANE. Over $800 The one way penalty is over $200 for some companies. I am praying I have no problems with my original reservation.

I was told that priceline and hotwire do not do 1 way rentals.

 

[FourM's]

We did a one way car rental from San diego to Orange County back in January. I believe that we did the rental through Thrifty. If we were charged a one way fee it was minimal. Thrifty wasn't the most upscale car rental company, but the car we ended up with did the job. Hope you can find a good deal.

 

[Psymonds]

DW rented through Enterprise a few years ago SAN to the Anaheim Marriot. They listed a $25 one-way fee, but waived it when she arrived. $16 (corporate rate) + gase was all she paid. they also have special rates through a lot of alumni associations (Cal and UCLA, at least) that will knock down the base rate.

 

[BraMax]

Hey there!
We are doing the same thing June 29-July 9 LAX to SAN. We booked through expedia and are using Hertz for a full size car. The rate we got was $530 for the 10 days. I find that expensive but that is the best deal that I came across. I believe it's the same rate through the Hertz website. They were like $300-400 cheaper than anything else.

 

[2wildchildzmom]

Did you look on carrental.com? We have always gotten good rates from them, but we have never done a one-way.

 

[maynrive]

I guess it depends on what you consider a good price. I was able to find a mid-size to full-size at around $253-$270 from Rent4Less. Costa Mesa (off airport) return at San Diego Airport for your dates. Doesn't seem too unreasonable to me.

 

[BABYJOSIE98]

Enterprise is only charging me a $40 drop off charge which I hate, but it was way cheaper than the others... Some rental agency charge $175 for a drop off-one way.

So for a mid size car for 4 days with my Entertaiment Discount and the drop off charge it is $188. Kind of high, but the best I could find for now.

We are cruising out of San Deigo and then driving too Anaheim for a few days at DL... So I had to have a one way rental... I got flights from OC on SW for $79 back too STL...So I could not pass it up!!

Good luck!

 

[jerseygal]

I got mine through National..

P/U San Diego Airport, Premium, Unlimited Mileage..Drop Off LAX..

7 days all tax included, charges, etc.Premium, lots of trunk space.
$434.00 including tax..booked in Nov 08 for summer 09..Same car right now is $860.00 crazy stuff..I thought $434.00 was high..Car rentals One Way are
INSANE!

 

[AlabamaPrincesses]

Thanks for all of your tips and suggestions. I was able to find this rate with Avis using our insurance company discount (USAA). I don't see any "one way" drop off charge or fee. Am I missing something? Do you think I will be hit with a surprise charge when we pick up the car?

Base Rate: 9 day(s) 347.20 USD
Taxes & Surcharges: 92.93 USD
Surcharge 57.25 USD

(Up to) $1.82 per day, applicable only on certain corporate accounts (Vehicle License Fee)
$10.00 per rental (Customer Facility Charge)
2.5% (Tourism Assessment Fee)
11.11% (Concession Recovery Fee)

Tax (9.250 %) 35.68 USD

Mileage: Unlimited

Approximate Total 440.13 USD

Rate Rules:
Minimum 4 Day(s) and 3 hour(s) rental
Maximum 28 Day(s)

Estimated Total 440.13 USD

 

[AlabamaPrincesses]

Hey there!
We are doing the same thing June 29-July 9 LAX to SAN. We booked through expedia and are using Hertz for a full size car. The rate we got was $530 for the 10 days. I find that expensive but that is the best deal that I came across. I believe it's the same rate through the Hertz website. They were like $300-400 cheaper than anything else.

The best I can get with Hertz is $773!!!!! It is so frustrating! I had no idea rental car prices were so high in California! In Florida the prices are very reasonable!

 

[jlmarr]

I just checked on http://www.amtrak.com and you can get a one-way fare ANA to SAN for $87.50 total (2 adults/3 kids). I'm not sure how that plays with the rest of your plans, but it's an option.

 

[AlabamaPrincesses]

I just checked on http://www.amtrak.com and you can get a one-way fare ANA to SAN for $87.50 total (2 adults/3 kids). I'm not sure how that plays with the rest of your plans, but it's an option.

Thanks for the tip, but I really think we need a car this trip. We are arriving on the 20th and plan to meet with an old college friend for dinner and then head to Disney. We plan to go to see the sights in LA/Hollywood another day or two and while in San Diego we plan to see a few different things all over town. For our 9 day trip I think the shuttles, taxis, trains, etc for 5 of us will add up to more than the $440 at this point...

 

[BraMax]

The best I can get with Hertz is $773!!!!! It is so frustrating! I had no idea rental car prices were so high in California! In Florida the prices are very reasonable!

I went to Hertz.ca and I plugged in your dates (not sure about times) and for a full size car I got the rate of $461.79 in USD. What type of vehicle do you need?

 

[AlabamaPrincesses]

I went to Hertz.ca and I plugged in your dates (not sure about times) and for a full size car I got the rate of $461.79 in USD. What type of vehicle do you need?

This is amazing! We can save over $400 using the Hertz.ca over Hertz.com

Hertz.ca Toyota Corolla Green Collection

Rate Details
Selected Vehicle
With unlimited free miles
weekly 1 week at 265.49 USD
extra day 2 extra days at 59.00 USD

Rate Code ACMP

Additional Items Included In Total Approximate Charge:
Taxes 39.41 USD
airport concession fee recovery 42.57 USD
customer facility charge: 10.00 USD
california tourism commission assessment 9.59 USD

Discounts:
CDP Name USAA
CDP Rate

Rate Includes
vehicle licensing cost recovery
Total Approximate Charge 485.06 USD

Hertz.com Toyota Corolla Green Collection

Rate Details
Selected Vehicle
With unlimited free miles
weekly 1 week at 490.38 USD
extra day 2 extra days at 97.90 USD

Rate Code OWW

Additional Items Included In Total Approximate Charge:
Taxes 70.52 USD
airport concession fee recovery 76.17 USD
customer facility charge: 10.00 USD
california tourism commission assessment 17.15 USD

Discounts:
CDP Name USAA
CDP Rate Your rate has been discounted by 11 %

Rate Includes
vehicle licensing cost recovery
Total Approximate Charge 860.02 USD

 

[BraMax]

Sometimes it pays to be Canadian