Outrageous rental car prices in Nashville, discount advice?

[greeneyedchick]

I'm not sure if I'm positing in the right place. It's not even Disney related but since many of you travel often, I'm hoping someone has some advice.

I am flying to Nashville next week to attend a 50th birthday in Huntsville. There were no direct flights there. I will be there less than 72 hours and then am flying back through Chatanooga. I just went to make a car rental reservation and Autoslash is quoting me between $550-630 for a rental car (for less than 3 days)! That's more than I'm spending on round-trip airfare for myself and my son. I was not anticipating such an expense. I guess I should have looked into it before booking our flights. I have done this 2 times before and never had rates like that. Is this the new norm for car rental rates? I'm thinking it may be cheaper to pay an uber for the 2 hour drive, but I'm not sure I can find a driver willing to do it. Does anyone know any tricks for getting a cheaper price?

 

[leebee]

Autoslash and carrentalsavers are my go-to. Car rental prices are out of control, companies have cut back on deals and coupons, and there aren't many good rates out there. The quote you have is ridiculous for a three day rental- but I don't have any suggestions, hints, or advice on how to find something cheaper. It's crazy.

 

[NightGuardianAngel]

The best prices for car rentals is outside the airport. If you rent at the airport, the prices are going to be the most expensive. You probably could find discounts online or if you are a veteran or currently serving in the military, you could ask if they have a discount for military and veterans as well. Also, if you are a member of AARP, you may get a discount as well.

 

[ibob52]

priceline . . . I checked BNA random dates for next week = pricing is less than 1/2 of that . use one of the top 5 companies . alamo . enterprise . hertz . national . avis . I did a priceline hertz rental last week . no problem . only stipulation was any changes or cancellation is done via priceline . try asap . might be a black friday deal . . . ymmv

 

[Jillfo]

Picking up in one city and dropping in another may be contributing to the high cost. Do the quotes you're getting include a drop-off fee?

 

[katallo]

I don't know if it will help but try Alamo last minute. I also have an email from Dollar for a sale beginning tomorrow.

 

[Djm_in_buffalo]

Generally, car rentals are a lot more than they were a couple years ago.

Beyond that, if this is a one-way rental, with pickup in Nashville and drop off in Chattanooga (or something along those lines), that is also a significant cost. For the most part, it always has been, even when rental prices were a lot cheaper in general. I remember a few years ago, I could have gotten a rental in NYC for about $30/day, but even dropping off at a different location just a couple of miles from where I picked it up made it almost triple that. Looks like your pickup and drop off spots might be more than 100 miles away from each other.

Or perhaps booking the rental only a week or so out is a cost driver.

Regardless, hope you’re able to enjoy the trip!

 

[fortwildernessishome]

Its been the norm for a long time that if you pick your rental up at one location and return it to a different location then you are charged a huge surcharge for that.

Nashville rentals aren't expensive if you return the vehicle back to where you rented it. We were there less then 2 weeks ago and rented an SUV for 7 days for a little under $300

 

[eandt]

I'm not sure if I'm positing in the right place. It's not even Disney related but since many of you travel often, I'm hoping someone has some advice.

I am flying to Nashville next week to attend a 50th birthday in Huntsville. There were no direct flights there. I will be there less than 72 hours and then am flying back through Chatanooga. I just went to make a car rental reservation and Autoslash is quoting me between $550-630 for a rental car (for less than 3 days)! That's more than I'm spending on round-trip airfare for myself and my son. I was not anticipating such an expense. I guess I should have looked into it before booking our flights. I have done this 2 times before and never had rates like that. Is this the new norm for car rental rates? I'm thinking it may be cheaper to pay an uber for the 2 hour drive, but I'm not sure I can find a driver willing to do it. Does anyone know any tricks for getting a cheaper price?

Paid $2400 for a rental for our trip out west in July … granted we picked up and dropped off at different airports but that was a hard pill to swallow

 

[SandyinMonterey]

It's been a while since we've rented a car (we now drive most places and have our own). But when we did, I started looking at rates way in advance. Belonged to several rewards memberships. Coupons were hit or miss, difficult to find one that fell within our perimeters. If you just started looking at a week before your trip, rates are going to be really high. Always best to pick up and return car and same place.

 

[BaybeeYoda]

Going to SLC and den in march. Cars are $130-180/day!!!!

 

[kydisneyfans]

Going to SLC and den in march. Cars are $130-180/day!!!!

I took a train downtown from the Denver airport and rented near Union Station-it saved some money.