Please help me with car rental!

[auntyjenn]

I realize I should have done this sooner... is $350 a lot for 8 days? My biggest problem is that at the cheapest one I found and reserved (Payless car) the rental counter closes at 1am and our flight isn't due to get in until 12:22. Oh dear. That's not even on property.

So, I guess I'm starting over. I need a 24 hour car rental. has to fit 5 people. Any tips for getting a good deal?

 

[ksh1111]

Are you a Costco member? They have great rates.

 

[wolf29]

Go to Priceline and get a car there. We NEVER pay more than $14 per day and they ONLY use agencies inside the terminal.

 

[migel]

FYI, Priceline is only beneficial if you are renting from a competative market/area. As an example, last December, over a month long period of checking Priceline for a Sanford Airport rental, the best price they gave me was $110 PER DAY, compact car, 6 day rental. I realize it was the holiday season, and Sanford Airport can be pricier than MCO (Sanford closes at 11 pm), but those prices were ridiculous. I ended up renting via a coupon code elsewhere, for $265.

 

[JenLanDisney]

I realize I should have done this sooner... is $350 a lot for 8 days? My biggest problem is that at the cheapest one I found and reserved (Payless car) the rental counter closes at 1am and our flight isn't due to get in until 12:22. Oh dear. That's not even on property.

So, I guess I'm starting over. I need a 24 hour car rental. has to fit 5 people. Any tips for getting a good deal?

Yes, that rate is high unless you are traveling during school vacation week.

Go to the Transportation board on this site. Find the thread with your month in the title for the best advice.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

Are you a Costco member? They have great rates.

I have not found Costco to have the best discounts for car rentals.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

Go to Priceline and get a car there. We NEVER pay more than $14 per day and they ONLY use agencies inside the terminal.

Not only is this not true, there are airports where no car rental agencies are located at the airport (such as LAS) and you can use Priceline for these.

 

[got2sammies]

Do you have AAA? I booked through them last summer when I rented a car in san deigo for 8 days.. Hertz was the company and it was $180 total for a honda civic....

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

Not only is this not true, there are airports where no car rental agencies are located at the airport (such as LAS) and you can use Priceline for these.

I agree. I used Priceline to get a car in Cle and NONE of the rental companies are located at the airport. They are located offsite and you can only get there via a shuttle.

 

[Ranger111]

While the OP's rate is not the best ever, it is actually not that bad. I have seen much, much worse.

Who knows, there could be an IRS convention at the time of her travels that is eating up all the inventory. And maybe the OP is renting a luxury/sportcar.

And while I always check Priceline, in the past two years or so, have NEVER found Priceline to be that competitive -- but I always check PL anyway.

Having said that, most rental car places will stay open for you in a situation such as this.

I would call the location of your rental and express your concern to them.

If you want peace of mind, you can try to get another rental from an agency that has more inclusive hours, but whenever I have arrived 20 minutes or so after desk closure, the rental desk has always been waiting for me (on the other hand, I have never rented from Payless and never would, but that is another topic). I usually call them when I get off the plane and explain I may be a few minutes late, but I am hurrying.

 

[SandyinMonterey]

I didn't see it mentioned when you need the rental car for. If it's during a holiday, you can always expect to pay more. I have found the closer to the date you need the car, prices go down. Try mousesavers.com, in the transportation section they have tips and even post discount codes to help lower the cost. As the previous poster suggested, go to the transportation thread on the disboards. It's very helpful. Check all the car rental agencies daily, I find their prices change like airfare sometimes.

 

[tvguy]

Not only is this not true, there are airports where no car rental agencies are located at the airport (such as LAS) and you can use Priceline for these.

Interesting. I always considered the airport rental car centers to be at the airport including Las Vegas. Not a lot of airports left where you don't have to ride the shuttle to get to you car because many airports have gone to centralized rental car centers. I thing Redding California and Saskatoon Saskatchewan, both TINY airports, still have the rental cars at the terminal.

 

[auntyjenn]

Thanks for the ideas. I'll check those out. We're going to be there in early March, so its a pretty busy time. Not a luxury car : )

 

[auntyjenn]

I don't actually know how to do the bidding thing on priceline. Do I have to commit to buy at the time of the bidding?

 

[okw2012]

If you are landing at MCO, one option is to take ME to your resort and book with enterprise. They pick you up for free. Was much cheaper than renting at the airport. One more thing: once you've booked your car, keep checking for cheaper rates at the same location. Because a car rental is not paid in advance you can re-negociate the price later on.

 

[auntyjenn]

OK, so now I also have a reservation with Budget through Costco. Its actually $20 more than my other reservation, but its in the terminal, the place will definitely be open when my flight gets in, we get to drive the suv my dh has been wanting to try out, and Costco waives the extra driver fee (which we need this time). So, I'll keep checking, but this makes me feel better. Thanks everybody

 

[Zim]

Yes, keep checking daily! I'll be there the end of March beginning of April - too close to spring break I figured for any deals - but one Wednesday last week they dropped by half from $44 a day to $24 a day! So check every day and follow the March board on transportation, which I think I recall seeing you on already (unless that was another Pacha pic!

 

[a742246]

Check with Priceline 24-48 hours before you need the car and do the "name your own price" option. You may get a much cheaper price.