Rental Car Frustration

[Albertan mom]

I just spent hours looking up prices for Rental Cars.
I have never done this before, so I am getting frustrated.
I have narrowed it down to the three cheapest being
Alamo
National
Enterprise.

So it nicely says that it is $155 a week, but then when the taxes, insurance etc.. are all added on it goes to $610.00 Cad!!!
Our TA said we could get one for about $250 a week. I thought that was good, but not $600!

We need it for 9 days. We will pick up and drop off at LAX.
There is 4 of us, 2 adults, 2 kids ages 6 and 10.

Any suggestions, tips, ideas on how to get it cheaper??
Any help would be greatly appreciated!

 

[RoyalCanadian]

Check to see if you are already covered for the insurance on either your own personal automobile insurance policy or through a credit card. Often those premium credit card fees more than pay for themselves when they give you the piece of mind with rental car insurance built in.

 

[DisFan2]

I would almost guarantee you that you will find a car cheaper through Priceline. This isn't always the case, but given the number of vehicles at an airport like LAX, it's certainly more likely. I recently arranged a van at MCO (Orlando airport) for some friends through Priceline - it was about $195US/week IIRC.

 

[Soccer Canada]

Try sites like
http://www.betterbidding.com
This site has lots of info on priceline and hotwire bidding.
http://www.mousesavers.com
This site has tons of coupons and what not for different companies..

I got a good discount using both these sites.. Good Luck!

Robb

 

[damo]

Do you belong to CAA? There are often good deals through their site. Sometimes, if you search for codes on the internet you can find good deals, especially in big centres like LAX. What are your dates?

 

[mbb]

www.rentalcarmomma.com as well

Good luck!

 

[surfer_ed]

Try the Costco site. They have preferred artes at Alamo and you can sometimes get additional $$ their Hot Deals by going through them.

You need to go to Costoc.com (the US Site) as Costco.ca does not offer rental cars. I am a Costo member and have used the us site a couple times to save money with no issues.

 

[MECH8T7]

The mousesavers site has some of the discount codes for the rental car companies. The following link will take you to the one for National but the site will also have others.

http://www.mousesavers.com/national.html

Part of the reason your rental is so expensive could be that you are being charged a week plus 3 additional days (it would be 3 rather than 2 if you are dropping off the car later in the day than you picked it up on your arrival). My experience is that the 3 additional days are almost expensive as the weekly rate. If you are going to be staying in LA the first and last night, one way to save would be to take a cab to where you are staying the first night, rent a car the next day for a week and return it the day before you leave and then take a cab to the airport on departure day. Of course, there are other combinations that will work...the main point being that you limit your car rental to a 7 day period somehow. You'd have to do the math and take into account the cab fares but it might be quite a bit cheaper. You should also be aware that, generally, rental companies charge more for a rental if you are picking it up from the airport, so there would be some additional savings just from renting away from the airport (even if you drop off at the airport).

Are you renting booster seats for the kids? That gets very pricey because they usually charge them out by the day. If you wanted booster seats, I would recommend that you bring them with you, assuming they are the type without backs.

 

[pxlbarrel]

Sounds like the insurance is what is causing the huge price hike from $155/week (that and the two extra days).

I second the idea that you should check to see if your own automobile insurance covers rentals cars. Mine does but I also have a credit card that will cover it too. It's a no fee one from Royal Bank too.

You might also want to join the Emerald Club for National and see what kind of discount you'll get from them.

 

[Albertan mom]

Hey, thanks for all your advice.

I was checking out Priceline. I have never used it before.
So, you name a price, and if they accept it, do they email you and let you know? Or do you not know until you get to the rental place?
Does it really work?

Any experiences with them-I would love to hear about them!
Thanks!

 

[dancin Disney style]

Priceline lets you know if your price has been accepted by a car company right after you submit it. However, keep in mind that you pay in full at the time of booking and it is non-refundable.

Check this site for discount codes rentalcodes.com
I used it and saved about $100. I rented a car in Florida in July for 10 days for $181 US total incl. taxes.

Good Luck!

 

[weirdguy]

I use travelocity a lot as well. You can click on the "Total price", that includes taxes and fees, not insurance though, that way you know the whole price and can look around form there. Normally if Travelocity has Enterprise (for instance, the is the same for almost every car rental company) listed for $22 rental for the day total, you can then go to the Enterprise website and it should be cheaper there, maybe only by $5 but then you're booking through the company itself and you might get more extras.

 

[dandee00]

Hi
If you book with Priceline and need to change the day or time of pick up or drop off, this could be a problem. Sometimes it isn't possible to change these. My piece of advice is read the fine print very carefully.
Also, if you work for the government, or flying with a certain airline, belong to Costco, Sam's, CAA, etc. you could get a discount. The type of vehicle you are renting could also be a factor in the price. Sometimes booking online can be cheaper. In the US insurance is important...especially liability.
Good luck.

 

[Albertan mom]

I finally got the car booked!! YAY!!!
Seriously, the car thing has been the most stressful thing about booking this trip! I was on sooo many different websites trying to come up with the best deal, it has taken me all week!

I came up with a Midsize SUV for 9 days for $179.48usd. I used a $25 coupon from my entertainment book, and got another $21 off for some reason! I used Alamo.

Yay, now everything is booked!

Thanks so much for all your help!

 

[dandee00]

I finally got the car booked!! YAY!!!
Seriously, the car thing has been the most stressful thing about booking this trip! I was on sooo many different websites trying to come up with the best deal, it has taken me all week!

I came up with a Midsize SUV for 9 days for $179.48usd. I used a $25 coupon from my entertainment book, and got another $21 off for some reason! I used Alamo.

Yay, now everything is booked!

Thanks so much for all your help!

Hi
Just wanted to let you know that with most rental places the entertainment booklet coupon also gives you a discount. So that's where the 21 dollars off came from.
Glad to hear everything worked out for you.

 

[Albertan mom]

Hi
Just wanted to let you know that with most rental places the entertainment booklet coupon also gives you a discount. So that's where the 21 dollars off came from.
Glad to hear everything worked out for you.

Cool! On my printout confirmationl it says:

discount $21.20-
discount coupon activated $25.00-

(I had to punch in the coupon number to get the $25 off)

 

[dandee00]

Cool! On my printout confirmationl it says:

discount $21.20-
discount coupon activated $25.00-

(I had to punch in the coupon number to get the $25 off)

Don't forget to take the coupon with you.

 

[Albertan mom]

Don't forget to take the coupon with you.

Its stapled to my printout that is in my disney file!!
(also in there-restaurant menus, other confirmation #'s, the Disney calendar of events {fireworks, Aladdin etc..}, Disney maps, photocopies of stuff I found in books, etc...!!)

 

[DutchsMommy]

Glad to hear you got it sorted.

Just a piece of advice. I wasn't aware of this so maybe others aren't either (or then again, maybe I'm just a ding-dong ). Rental companies go on the 24 hr clock. So if you rent on a Friday at 10am and return on a Sunday at noon you will be charged for 3 days of rental fees. Whereas if you where to return by 10am on the Sunday you would only get charged for the 2 days. Pretty expensive for an extra 2 hrs!! So, watch your pick-up and drop-off times carefully.

 

[Albertan mom]

Good advice. The way our flights go, we will be picking it up around 2:00, and dropping it off around 11am.....