Rental Car Help

[Cincychic]

My family of two adults and three children are going to Hilton Head in June. We asked my mother to go with us, who then asked two more people to come along. So now that makes four adults, a teenager, and 3 children. Anyway, I have a Kia Sorento which is not large enough to hold us. My mother wants us to look into getting a rental car.

So, are there any mini vans or Suvs that are going to hold 8 passengers? If I can I really do not want to rent a full size van that is going to get like 10 miles to the gallon.

Also, what is the best way to get a rental car? Is it to go through the company or go through Expedia or another website?

Finally, does anyone have any codes they have used recently to save some money on a rental car? I would like to save as much money as possible on this.

Thanks so much!

 

[Ranger111]

Only way I know how to get an eight passenger minivan is to rent from National or Alamo.

They both offer them and you can specifically reserve an eight passenger.

However, from what I have heard:

1) Not all locations offer them. Go to National's and Alamo's Web site and see if they offer for your dates and times.

2) In my experience, you will not be able to rent an eight-passenger van from anyone but Alamo or National (they are owned by the same company). Well, not totally true, but the "other option" does not apply to Hilton Head, so don't worry about it.

3) Honda and Toyota are the only makes that offer eight-passenger minivans, from what I HEARD. so, you could check out at a local dealer to see if it will work for rental.

4) Heard the "eighth" seat is a bit small -- located in the center of second row.

5) Some SUV's -- I think -- offer 8-passenger seating -- but I have personally never seen a large SUV priced anywhere near what I have seen for a minivan ( ie -- large SUV $$$$$$$).

6) The large vans are pricey (12 or 15 passenger) -- but I think they get better than 10 mpg....Alamo and National also offer those. The issue with a minivan is that they really don't carry much luggage....unless you use the roof rack....

7) Love Hilton Head -- we have friends who own a home on Pawley's Island and we spend a couple of weeks there each year.

 

[mjkacmom]

You can squeeze 8 passengers into a minivan that seats 8 - I wouldn't do it for a trip longer than 30 minutes, and don't plan on bringing much luggage! Our Odyssey seats 7, and when we go on a trip longer than an hour, we bring both minivans for our family of 7, so we can fit luggage, too.

 

[Mrs D]

I know our local Hertz branch rents mini vans, not sure the make.

Google the mousesavers car rental discount page for good deals.

 

[parkluvr]

Our Toyota mini van can carry eight people. The eighth "seat" can be carried in the back cargo area and connects between the two middle captain's seats. You do have 8 seats with seatbelts, but like somebody else mentioned I would not recommend taking a long or extended trip with that many people. It works great for taking an extra kid to school or something but a long trip across country would probably be cramped for the people in the back two rows. Also with good packing you may be able to get 4 or 5 suitcases in the back cargo area, but not a lot more.

 

[Cincychic]

I was going to try to use the top luggage rack to store most of our luggage, that's what I do when we drive my Sorento.

Another idea I had was to just drive my car and rent a full size car. My mom thinks that's a bad idea because we would be paying for gas twice. But I think paying for a rental mini-van or large SUV is going to be expensive, not to mention the gas mileage. So, I am wondering if it would be better to just take my Sorento and rent a full size car that gets good gas mileage?

Thanks again

 

[Straitlover]

Any comfortable vehicle that holds 8 and luggage, will use a lot of gas and be more expensive, I'm betting that even paying double gas, you'd be better off using your vehicle and renting a car. There are more deals on full size car rentals than bigger vehicles.

 

[havaneselover]

Any comfortable vehicle that holds 8 and luggage, will use a lot of gas and be more expensive, I'm betting that even paying double gas, you'd be better off using your vehicle and renting a car. There are more deals on full size car rentals than bigger vehicles.

I agree.

OP, minivans actually do get good gas mileage. I have an Odyssey, and it gets > 25 mpg on highway trips and I average about 22 overall. I looked at smaller vehicles (CRV) specifically for gas savings but realized the Odyssey gets decent mileage and I loved my old one so it wasn't worth it.

That being said, I wouldn't want to take > 6 people in it on a long trip.

 

[Cincychic]

Thanks everyone. I will tell my mom she will have to get over it lol, she is not the one driving! It is more of a pain to drive two different cars, but we will have more room and I think it will probably save money in the long run.

Now, which is a better rental car company to go with? I have not rented a car for a couple of years.

 

[Ranger111]

Thanks everyone. I will tell my mom she will have to get over it lol, she is not the one driving! It is more of a pain to drive two different cars, but we will have more room and I think it will probably save money in the long run.

Now, which is a better rental car company to go with? I have not rented a car for a couple of years.

All the majors are basically the same....personal perf. I have a preferred agency, but "jimmy john" across the street likes a different one. find the best price and book it.

 

[Good Morning Dewdrop]

comment - having 2 cars is handy as well - you can change people around at rest stops. And if someone needs to run out for groceries or something it is a smaller car to deal with.

suggestion: do remember to check the adults insurance - ours (AMICA) covers us in any car we're driving (so we don't have to pay for rental car insurance) - I don't think all insurances do that but its worth checking into.

 

[marthachick]

Rent a car. It will be much less hassle in the long run. And you won't have to be together the whole time you're on vacation. Sometimes you need a break even from the ones you love!