Rental car question

[Fsudisney]

Where do you guys typically look to find the best rates on car rentals? Asking for a non-Disney trip (flying from Tampa to Michigan this summer).
Are big sites like expedia, etc the best to get good deals, or directly through the car rental websites?
We don't rent cars often so would like to know at least where to look for the best deals.

Thanks!!

 

[MomForFrozenAddicts]

For me...Costco or BJ's

 

[SandyinMonterey]

I think looking for rental car deals is just like looking for airfare. It's always changing. Some say the closer you get to the date, the cheaper it is. But that is not always the case, especially during any holiday or when schools are out. I booked with Costco once, it wasn't a great deal by any means, probably saved less than $50. I don't use expedia or those other sites. I just don't find any deals, not lucky I guess. I tend to troll all the car rental websites everyday, a couple times I day if I can. Sign up for their loyalty program, like Emerald Isle for Enterprise, and try to find/use discount codes. If you find a car at a decent price, you can always book it and if you find something better down the road, cancel it. You just have to be super aware of cancellation policies. If you do the pre-pay up front option, that you cannot cancel.

 

[kj2mom]

Someone recently posted this site, http://carrentalsavers.com/ I pretty much check it daily to see if anything has changed since I booked. I had booked through Dollar at a higher price than appeared on this site so I booked at this site and cancelled my original. It was only $20 but I am sure I can find someplace in Disney to spend that $20 !

 

[v.t.]

I search on Kayak and then book through the car rental site. I book a refundable fare and then start looking as the time gets closer. Someone on this board said the best time to book is early Tuesday morning 1-2 weeks before the trip and they were right. We booked the best deal for our last trip under the "local deal" on Alamo a week before. But I am glad I had the backup reservation, summer might be a different story since more people travel then.

 

[WeLuvTink!]

I suggest you check the Transportation board here on the Dis. There is usually a thread for a particular month (i.e. July 2015) that you can follow and try the different codes and coupons that other Disers report low rates with. I concur that the search engines (like Kayak, etc.) don't really work well for rental cars and I can always get a better deal by going directly to the company's site and trying different discount codes and coupons. I book a car and then keep checking back (almost daily) to see if the price has dropped...if so I rebook and cancel my more expensive ressie. Mousesavers.com also has a great section on rental car codes/coupons. Good luck!

 

[bearzabout]

I have had good luck with Costco. If not travelling at a busy time of year, the rates typically go down close to the rental time. I often rebook almost daily starting one week before the trip as prices continue to drop up until one day before the trip.

With Costco, you can log into your account to keep track of your booked reservations. I may also book more than one reservation for different size cars and cancel all but the one I want one day out. I only need to print out one confirmation for the final reservation.

Sometimes Dollar will have "city specials" that are amazing deals on their website that show up after you input your dates and pick up times. They (and other companies) will send emailed discount codes to members of their programs for up to 40% off. Still, Costco usually beats all offers eventually. I have paid as little as $35 (plus taxes) per week for a car on Maui by rebooking a few days out.

The price does't always drop, so if you see what you think is a good price, book a reservation you can cancel so you don't kick yourself later for missing an opportunity to save some bucks.