Rental car out West

[kandb]

This year instead of WDW, we are going out West for 2 weeks. Flying into Albuquerque and will explore there, Arizona, grand canyon and then las vegas, maybe Utah. Right now the rental car is almost $1500 for 2 weeks because we are picking up at Albuquerque and dropping off at las Vegas. We are going mid august. The rate will probably drop but wondering if we should drive back to Albuquerque and fly out of there to avoid high rental car prices? Any suggestions?

 

[rwdavis2]

Have you priced it out to see? What's the drive time? Is it worth the extra cost? Again, price it out and see what comes up.

 

[mom2rtk]

Does the price change if you flip things and fly into Vegas then drop off in Albequerque?

 

[PHXscuba]

It's at least an 8-hour drive (but a pretty one) between Vegas and Albuquerque. Plus the tank and a half of gas and a travel day. Worth it?

Prices do usually drop as things get closer. I stalk my Costco reservation at least weekly and have always had it drop in the months beforehand.

Returning to a different city almost always has a surcharge because of inventory. And they don't need as many cars in LV in mid-August.

PHXscuba

 

[Lewisc]

I had a similar situation, pick up at PHX with a drop off at LAS. You generally have either a one way fee or higher rate. The exception is when the computer determines either cars are needed at your destination, maybe a big convention, or a specific car needs to be moved. Keep looking try any vehicle class that works for you. At one time one of the online TAs, I think it was travelocity, had better one way rates then others. I'd also try autoslash.

FWIW Alamo didn't let me pick my own car. I was assigned a car with Nevada plates. The reeked of cigarette smoke. I asked for a different vehicle. I had to wait for them to see which vehicle they wanted to give me. It was another car with Nevada plates.

I kept looking. Price kept going up then was not available at all. One way rentals don't follow the general rule. They'll only go down if the agency wants the car moved. Wait too long and there is a chance it will be sold out, meaning the agency doesn't want the car moved at any price, renters are willing to pay.

Two weeks...occasionally you'll come out better if you switch cars halfway through. Will you be near PHX at the half way point?

 

[mom2rtk]

I had a similar situation, pick up at PHX with a drop off at LAS. You generally have either a one way fee or higher rate. The exception is when the computer determines either cars are needed at your destination, maybe a big convention, or a specific car needs to be moved. Keep looking try any vehicle class that works for you. At one time one of the online TAs, I think it was travelocity, had better one way rates then others. I'd also try autoslash.

FWIW Alamo didn't let me pick my own car. I was assigned a car with Nevada plates. The reeked of cigarette smoke. I asked for a different vehicle. I had to wait for them to see which vehicle they wanted to give me. It was another car with Nevada plates.

I kept looking. Price kept going up then was not available at all. One way rentals don't follow the general rule. They'll only go down if the agency wants the car moved. Wait too long and there is a chance it will be sold out, meaning the agency doesn't want the car moved at any price, renters are willing to pay.

Two weeks...occasionally you'll come out better if you switch cars halfway through. Will you be near PHX at the half way point?

Which is why I suggested flipping and picking up in the other location. You just never know where the cars are in higher demand and when they need them moved. We got an outstanding rate last summer picking up in Ft. Myers FL and dropping off in Orlando. Better than if we picked up in Ft. Myers and dropped back off there. You just never know until you check.

 

[Lewisc]

Which is why I suggested flipping and picking up in the other location. You just never know where the cars are in higher demand and when they need them moved. We got an outstanding rate last summer picking up in Ft. Myers FL and dropping off in Orlando. Better than if we picked up in Ft. Myers and dropped back off there. You just never know until you check.

Agreed. Sometimes one location has significantly higher fees. That's good for initial planning. Frequently we tweak our car rental reservations long after we've made air, hotel and maybe tour reservations.

OP needs to look at total cost. Sometimes a rate which includes a drop fee is cheaper then a quite which buries the extra cost in the base rate.

 

[cedricandsophie]

One way rental fees will kill you! There are usually no drop off fees in Florida so it really doesn’t matter there. I have picked up in Albuquerque and wanted to drop off in Phoenix. But the drop off fee was high. However for me it beat the long drive back. And I looked st flying in and out of the same city vs flying into one city and out of another. I still decided to keep the drop off in another city. You can use that extra time to see more.

The last Times we were out there we visited Santa Fe, Taos, Durango Colorado, Mesa verde national park, monument valley, lake Powell, Grand Canyon, and the national parks at the south end of Utah aren’t that far. It’s a glorious trip.