panacking over car rental cost and size

[CRdisMom]

We leave in 9 days. We have a rental secured thru alamo. There will be 4 of us. We will have a compact car. There will be at least 3 large pieces of luggage and 4 small carryons. I am FREAKING out that it won't fit in the car. I have a rate from Southwest of $182 for the 10 days. It is an estimate. I hope it is close. Help!

 

[dudspizza]

We leave in 9 days. We have a rental secured thru alamo. There will be 4 of us. We will have a compact car. There will be at least 3 large pieces of luggage and 4 small carryons. I am FREAKING out that it won't fit in the car. I have a rate from Southwest of $182 for the 10 days. It is an estimate. I hope it is close. Help!

You can always go to alamo.com or national.com and check their last minute specials. If there is something larger, go for it. You can combine contract id's and coupon codes. Many can be found at carrentalsavers.com and mousesavers.com

If all else fails, they will gladly offer you an upgrade at the counter... it never hurts to ask what it would cost....

duds

 

[buzz5985]

We leave in 9 days. We have a rental secured thru alamo. There will be 4 of us. We will have a compact car. There will be at least 3 large pieces of luggage and 4 small carryons. I am FREAKING out that it won't fit in the car. I have a rate from Southwest of $182 for the 10 days. It is an estimate. I hope it is close. Help!

I rented an economy car from Alamo - I ended up having a Chevie something - for the life of me I can't remember what it was. But I remember being surprised at how big the trunk was. Even if you could only fit 2 pieces of luggage in the trunk with the 4 small carryons and the other piece of luggage between the 2 in the back seat - you should be fine.

 

[jlewisinsyr]

4 people, plus that much luggage...it's going to be almost impossible to fit all of that in a compact car.

Examples of compact cars:
Nissan Versa
Chevy Cobalt
Hyundai Accent
Toyota Yaris

As for the price, the price quoted is usually spot on or off just slightly due to tax variations.

 

[msjprincess]

Is it too late to sign up for DME? DH usually picks up the rental while the rest of us take DME. We also use RAC on the way home so we only have to worry about us fitting in the car and not all of the luggage.

 

[H.E. Pennypacker]

We leave in 9 days. We have a rental secured thru alamo. There will be 4 of us. We will have a compact car. There will be at least 3 large pieces of luggage and 4 small carryons. I am FREAKING out that it won't fit in the car. I have a rate from Southwest of $182 for the 10 days. It is an estimate. I hope it is close. Help!

You didn't mention anything about a particular car rental budget (no pun intended), but using the Southwest code (you don't have to do it from SW's site, just punch in "U072700" in the BCD code on Budget's site) you could get a full-size for 10 days for around $273, taxes and fees included. And then if you happen to be a Costco member, apply coupon code MUGZ029 for another $30 off at check-in. But you'll probably have to show your Costco card, so try at your own risk if you're not really a member. Or try coupon MUWZ023 for $25 off. Requires 5-day rental and Saturday night stay, which you've got covered if you're staying 10 days. Budget with SW's code is by far the best deal going right now. I'm still holding out hope that Alamo will get over their bout of insanity, but in the meantime I've got a full-size booked with Budget for $243 (with Costco coupon) for 10 days, 10/20 - 10/30. I'm pretty happy with that rate, compared to the alternatives.

Seriously, you'll never fit everybody and everything in a compact. There are only two of us when we travel - 2 large suitcases, 4 small carry-ons (laptop bag, camera bags, etc.) - and we usually fill the trunk of a full-size.

*** EDIT: Good thing others think you can fit in a compact. I just checked Budget's rates with SW code and they're back up. Full size is now $533 for 10 days.

 

[Jaime4004]

In college, we had 5 girls and all of our luggage (a lot) all fit in a compact. Barely... Took a while and we had to pile luggage on top of each person. People around us applauded when we finally fit it all in.

 

[CRdisMom]

Would love to do ME but (gasp!) we are staying off site.

I will try the sw and costco codes. I am a member so I should be good. We are pretty good packers so I am praying that we get a colbalt. Our neighbor has one and everything should fit. We have a small car (BMW 3 series) and are used to cramming things into every nook and crany. My budget is cheap...really I wanted to have it for under $200.

Thanks!

 

[Starshine]

We got a compact from Alamo in August. It was a Hyundai, but I can't remember the exact model. Here's a picture of it though if that helps:

 

[linzbear]

It might be uncomfortable, but it'll all fit in the car. We own a Chevy Cobalt, and last year we had 1 large piece of luggage, 2 small (carryon size) pieces of luggage, a not-compact stroller, and a pretty big tote bag all fit in the trunk. Took some good tetris action, but we got it in

 

[jlewisinsyr]

We got a compact from Alamo in August. It was a Hyundai, but I can't remember the exact model. Here's a picture of it though if that helps:

That would be an Accent...which are very common in the fleets of rental agencies.

 

[loveysbydesign]

We got a midsize for $214 for 10 days through Alamo for Nov. Play around with the codes on their site and at Mousesavers. Alos if you have an Entertainment book there are some great q's online, just book through the site.

 

[Rpsemont]

We leave in 9 days. We have a rental secured thru alamo. There will be 4 of us. We will have a compact car. There will be at least 3 large pieces of luggage and 4 small carryons. I am FREAKING out that it won't fit in the car. I have a rate from Southwest of $182 for the 10 days. It is an estimate

If you go to the Alamo site and pull up your reservation there, it should also show the final rate with all fees. That will be rate you have unless you add extra items (Like Rapid reward benefits, if not already there) or some last minute tax is enacted.

I would not plan to go anywhere but the hotel. Are any of the 4 people "pooh" size? Are you preregistering and doing the kiosk? Last time, when we used Alamo, we used the kiosk and walked out to the garage and picked our car. While we could pick from the mid size aisle and got a minivan, there were also minivans in the compact aisle. If you do the pre-register, and then just use the kiosk, you can walk out to the garage and pick whateve is in the compact aisle. I would try that, - maybe you'll find a compact with a big trunk. Then if you can't find a car you fit into, you can ask about an upgrade and the cost. You might also want to "back it up" with another reservation at another car rental place for a later time, that if things don't go your way, you can always cancel and choose your back up reservation.
Personally, I think you have a great rate. We're going next week (10/12) and I couldn't touch a decent rental - everythiing was $35/day or more.

Good luck!

 

[Brian Noble]

I am FREAKING out that it won't fit in the car.

It won't fit in the car.

I would either forgo the car (if you are on Disney property) or get at least a midsize (if you are offsite)

 

[francie57]

If it were me I would try to find a bigger car with a last minute special with Alamo or some type of discount. The Alamo site lists the compact car as a Nissan Versa with room for 2 pieces of luggage. There would be no way that all your stuff would fit and still be able to hold 4 people safely. We were able to get a great rate for our last rental with our BJs membership plus a coupon they have on their site.

 

[CRdisMom]

If you go to the Alamo site and pull up your reservation there, it should also show the final rate with all fees. That will be rate you have unless you add extra items (Like Rapid reward benefits, if not already there) or some last minute tax is enacted.

I would not plan to go anywhere but the hotel. Are any of the 4 people "pooh" size? Are you preregistering and doing the kiosk? Last time, when we used Alamo, we used the kiosk and walked out to the garage and picked our car. While we could pick from the mid size aisle and got a minivan, there were also minivans in the compact aisle. If you do the pre-register, and then just use the kiosk, you can walk out to the garage and pick whateve is in the compact aisle. I would try that, - maybe you'll find a compact with a big trunk. Then if you can't find a car you fit into, you can ask about an upgrade and the cost. You might also want to "back it up" with another reservation at another car rental place for a later time, that if things don't go your way, you can always cancel and choose your back up reservation.
Personally, I think you have a great rate. We're going next week (10/12) and I couldn't touch a decent rental - everythiing was $35/day or more.

Good luck!

no the DH is more jack skeleton than pooh. The other two are kids. Thanks for the idea of registering so I can use the kiosk.. I forgot you pick up your car from the row. Praying for a large trunk...never thought I would say that

 

[At World's End]

I would get a rolling duffle bag to replace at least one of your large suitcases. We bought a 32" from WalMart for $14 and can fit the equivalent of one large suitcase and two carry ons in the duffle. Pack your clothes in 1 gallon ziplocks to save space. Just be careful not to exceed the airline size and weight limits. You can always put the duffle on the floor in the backseat (or in between the kids) to free up some trunk space. Same with using backpacks instead of rolling carry on luggage.

 

[CRdisMom]

all these suggestions are why I LOVE the Dis

 

[Ed J]

You didn't mention anything about a particular car rental budget (no pun intended), but using the Southwest code (you don't have to do it from SW's site, just punch in "U072700" in the BCD code on Budget's site) you could get a full-size for 10 days for around $273, taxes and fees included. And then if you happen to be a Costco member, apply coupon code MUGZ029 for another $30 off at check-in. But you'll probably have to show your Costco card, so try at your own risk if you're not really a member. Or try coupon MUWZ023 for $25 off. Requires 5-day rental and Saturday night stay, which you've got covered if you're staying 10 days. Budget with SW's code is by far the best deal going right now. I'm still holding out hope that Alamo will get over their bout of insanity, but in the meantime I've got a full-size booked with Budget for $243 (with Costco coupon) for 10 days, 10/20 - 10/30. I'm pretty happy with that rate, compared to the alternatives.

Seriously, you'll never fit everybody and everything in a compact. There are only two of us when we travel - 2 large suitcases, 4 small carry-ons (laptop bag, camera bags, etc.) - and we usually fill the trunk of a full-size.

*** EDIT: Good thing others think you can fit in a compact. I just checked Budget's rates with SW code and they're back up. Full size is now $533 for 10 days.

Is the southwest code legit? I hope so cause I just booked a fullsize for 9 days beginning the end of Oct for under $250. Best I had was a full size with Dollar for $100 more. Rulz say wife as 2and driver with no additional fee

OP we did the trip a few years ago with same head count (3 adults and 1 shorty) in a PT cruiser convertible, we had less baggage and the shorty had no place to put her legs. I'd either prepare for the worst, or bite the bullet and go up a size or 2.

 

[Rpsemont]

I would get a rolling duffle bag to replace at least one of your large suitcases. We bought a 32" from WalMart for $14 and can fit the equivalent of one large suitcase and two carry ons in the duffle. Pack your clothes in 1 gallon ziplocks to save space. Just be careful not to exceed the airline size and weight limits. You can always put the duffle on the floor in the backseat (or in between the kids) to free up some trunk space. Same with using backpacks instead of rolling carry on luggage.

Be careful about your weight though. We have some great rolling duffles we got at Costco a couple years ago and you're right, they hold ALOT. However, if we fill ours full, it's almost always over the weight limit

no the DH is more jack skeleton than pooh. The other two are kids. Thanks for the idea of registering so I can use the kiosk.. I forgot you pick up your car from the row.

In this case, I wouldn't worry about fitting, but it might mean a suitcase in the middle of back seat and everyone holing their carry on. But maybe the aisle will come through for you.

Good luck!