Pick up rental car 10 hours early?

[PoppyJ]

Flights changed...

I have a car rental reservation from August 1 at 10:00 pm to August 7 at 10:00 pm.

I now need the car from August 1 at 12:00 pm to August 7 at 10:00 am.

So the reservation would be for the exact same amount of days, I would just be picking up 10 hours earlier.

To change my reservation would be over $100 more.

I've seen people say its OK to pick up a couple hours early. Do you think I'll be able to pick up at the same rate 10 hours early??

 

[_19disnA]

I wouldn't chance it. Showing up 10 hrs earlier than your reservation isn't a good plan. If they are quickly turning over cars and/or short on inventory, your rental may not yet have been returned by the prior renter. I would modify your reservation to more accurately reflect your new arrival time.

 

[jimmymc]

If you show up early and return it at the original end time, then the agency will still charge you that extra fare. And that's if the car is available. I would adjust the reservation.

 

[monsterkitty]

You might try calling the rental agency and see if they will make the change with no additional cost.

If you have a Costco membership, you may find a better deal than what you have now. I have booked and rebooked many rental car reservations through Costco because the price changes. You also get a free second driver through Costco.

 

[Mle8308]

Highly unlikely you would be able to pick it up 10 hours early without some additional charge. May not even have a car available for you if you don't arrange in it in advance. As others have said, call. Or, see if you can find something less expensive elsewhere and cancel. I can see maybe one to two hours, but not 10.

 

[PoppyJ]

I did book on Costco, so I've been trying to rebook with my updated times but prices have gone up so much! I will keep checking.

Worst case scenario, I have booked a car for one day picking up at MCO and returning at the Disney Car Care Center. We can get groceries, visit our favorite off site restaurant and go to the water park our first day, then survive the rest of the trip without a car and get a Lyft/Uber back to MCO. The one day rental was only $65, so it will save quite a bit.

 

[EACarlson]

Flights changed...

I have a car rental reservation from August 1 at 10:00 pm to August 7 at 10:00 pm.

I now need the car from August 1 at 12:00 pm to August 7 at 10:00 am.

So the reservation would be for the exact same amount of days, I would just be picking up 10 hours earlier.

To change my reservation would be over $100 more.

I've seen people say its OK to pick up a couple hours early. Do you think I'll be able to pick up at the same rate 10 hours early??

The only question is if they will give you the car that early. And that depends on whom you're booked with. If they give you the car, with a reputable company, they should not charge you anything additional. You're paying a weekly rate, so if you pick up at noon on 8/1, the rate won't change until noon on 8/8. Hertz, National, Avis it shouldn't be a problem. Dollar, Thrify, Payless, I would expect it to be an issue. The ones in between, who knows?

 

[Lovedisneydonald]

Flights changed...

I have a car rental reservation from August 1 at 10:00 pm to August 7 at 10:00 pm.

I now need the car from August 1 at 12:00 pm to August 7 at 10:00 am.

So the reservation would be for the exact same amount of days, I would just be picking up 10 hours earlier.

To change my reservation would be over $100 more.

I've seen people say its OK to pick up a couple hours early. Do you think I'll be able to pick up at the same rate 10 hours early??

I’d definitely recommend calling the rental agency directly—sometimes they’re more flexible over the phone, especially if the pickup time change doesn’t affect the total rental duration. I've had luck before when the change was reasonable and inventory allowed it.

 

[seashoreCM]

Picking up a rental car early can vary, even with the same rental company on the same day. If there is a sudden high demand for cars then someone may be denied the early pickup even while someone else got an earlier pickup earlier that day.

Once I tried to do an early pickup and the agent said they "only" had an fancier car available at a higher price. I declined, saying I will wait for the appointed time for the kind of car I chose. That time the attendant paused, briefly, scratched his head, and then said he had a car for me at the reserved price. When I picked up the car it looked like it had all of the features that the upgrade he first offered had.

Nowadays, rental agencies could do such things as offer to honor your early pickup request with an electric car or something exotic like a convertible (which your insurance might not cover). Things thae average person should not accept.