Rental car sticker shock

[Jajone]

We usually rent a minivan on vacation as there are 5 of us. The prices for August are very high. Besides hoping prices come down as it gets closer, what other options do I have. We are staying offsite and would want a small grocery stop. We also would like 2-3 days to do Hollywood and the beach.

 

[BrownHP800]

Try Autoslash.com I have used them several times. The price is always cheaper (eventually) than what you find online. Their system is a little wierd. Put your rental info in and it will only give you a list for Sixt rentals. There will be a link to click if none of those suit and they will email you in about 30 minutes more rates from other companies. The thing that is nice is if you book through them (no cost to you) and the rate goes down they will automatically rebook for you at the lower rate. They took my Vegas rental from $121 to $68. Good luck.

 

[mgd]

Depends where you are planning to pickup the van from, but if you are near an airport, try airport locations as well as local ones, very different prices sometimes. If you have a costco membership, costcotravel.com usually gives the best available rates and lets you view a few agencies at a time. Also it is often cheaper to rent for weekly intervals than odd numbers of days. Name your price sites like priceline and others let you say what you want to pay and they will either accept it or counter or decline, but those can be risky since they are usually NON-refundable and don't tell you which agency until they accept but can be worth a shot if you are desperate.

August is a popular times for minivans, but it is still a long way out, so maybe the prices just haven't been updated yet.

 

[DahliaRW]

Make a refundable back up reservation now. Then keep watching. As the trip gets closer, bid on priceline. I usually can get a good deal if I bid within 2 weeks.

Or, go with a full size car. We're a family of 5 and usually do that because of the savings. As long as you're not doing a long road trip you should be fine (even though the kids will bicker about space in the back seat!)

 

[Jajone]

Make a refundable back up reservation now. Then keep watching. As the trip gets closer, bid on priceline. I usually can get a good deal if I bid within 2 weeks.

Or, go with a full size car. We're a family of 5 and usually do that because of the savings. As long as you're not doing a long road trip you should be fine (even though the kids will bicker about space in the back seat!)

My kids are 16,14 and 10 so full size is awful tight. I am worried about suitcase space too.

 

[KCAshley]

I work for a rental car company (in a specialized division on the corporate side, so I don't know everything but have more insight than the average consumer)--

In general, rental prices have gone up across the board to reflect supply/demand. More people are vacationing which means more people need cars. Once you get into any sort of specialty vehicle like a minivan, your average rental location doesn't have a ton of them so the prices are higher. In addition, there was a major manufacturer recall (and the part won't be ready until August) on a large passenger (like 12 passenger) van so rental car companies had to pull all those from their fleet and reassign those reservations to two standard minivans, increasing the shortage.

FWIW, I typically don't see big changes in price depending on when you book (i.e. Book now or book in two months, you'll probably pay the same). Typically you'll get a lower price if you rent from an off airport location (because the provider doesn't have to cover airport taxes and fees), but your odds of getting what you actually reserve go down (off airport locations mostly exist for insurance replacements so they tend to keep the cheapest/crappiest vehicles there).

 

[gottalovepluto]

How about suv and midsize suv prices? We used a suburban with a crew of 6, a Tahoe is a size down from there. Might help you work around your minivan shortage to expand your list of potential cars.

 

[MomForFrozenAddicts]

Just keep checking. I booked a mid-size SUV a year before my trip next week for $150. About 3 months ago, I was able to get a mini-van for $40 more. I found the price is higher 6 months or so before the trip and would drop 2-4 weeks before. There is no penalty in cancellation, just book it now and keep an eye opens.

If you have Costco membership, the Disers at the Transportation forum gave some really good coupon codes. For Alamo, use Costco corp code, coupon code AD4004JDK and product code AS1 for $50 off a weekly rental.

 

[mgd]

How about suv and midsize suv prices? We used a suburban with a crew of 6, a Tahoe is a size down from there. Might help you work around your minivan shortage to expand your list of potential cars.

Yeah, sometimes the "premium suv" is cheaper than a minivan. It is almost always a suburban or ford expedition EL which has 3 rows of seats and more luggage space than a minivan. The only downside is they are big and can take a little getting used to if you have to maneuver them in tight parking lots. The tahoe which is a "full size suv" is the same except much less cargo space in the back. I think avis/budget distinguishes these 2 online, but enterprise doesn't always list them for every site, and you may have to call in if you want to make sure it is a suburban with the extended cargo instead of a tahoe.

 

[Lothlórien]

We usually rent a minivan on vacation as there are 5 of us. The prices for August are very high. Besides hoping prices come down as it gets closer, what other options do I have. We are staying offsite and would want a small grocery stop. We also would like 2-3 days to do Hollywood and the beach.

Are you a Costco member? If so, try them. Book online and then call and ask if they can do better. They almost always can.

 

[tinkpower]

Our nearest Costco is almost 2 hours away and we rarely shop there but we keep our basic membership because the deals we get for car rentals absolutely makes it work it. We also got Universal ticket super cheap.

 

[row]

Book a refundable rate now at your preferred company. Go to Autoslash.com and use the "Track a rental" option. When/if they find a cheaper rate for your dates, they will email you. You can then book the lower rate thru them and they will continue to track your reservation for any cheaper rates up until the day you depart.

 

[DahliaRW]

Out of curiosity, I just re-shopped the reservation I made for July (full size round trip from LAX). I made the reservation through Costco back in February. It's gone up by quite a bit (nearly $100). So definitely make one asap, and then keep an eye out.

 

[sheetz]

I've found that more times than not a minivan is cheapest from Budget using BCD x474200 along with a dollars off coupon code.

 

[Zbugz]

Check, book and rebook every day. Prices vary dramatically even from morning to night. Cosctotravel is my preferred site. Your best prices might come closer to the trip. I usually can drop the price to about half of what I initially find. Patience and persistence will pay off.

 

[my*gracie*girl]

Just keep checking. I booked a mid-size SUV a year before my trip next week for $150. About 3 months ago, I was able to get a mini-van for $40 more. I found the price is higher 6 months or so before the trip and would drop 2-4 weeks before. There is no penalty in cancellation, just book it now and keep an eye opens.

If you have Costco membership, the Disers at the Transportation forum gave some really good coupon codes. For Alamo, use Costco corp code, coupon code AD4004JDK and product code AS1 for $50 off a weekly rental.

Thanks! That saved me $70+ over the previous booking I made through the costco website!

 

[goofyfan13]

Unless the multi-day discount is big enough, consider only renting for the days you need it? Might also have on parking fees.

We are flying in to DL in October. I rented from Budget one way LAX to DTD. Tha way we can pickup groceries on the way to the hotel, I can drop off and walk back. BTW - we are renting a mini-van, they do have a premium price for sure.

For the trip back we used in the past and will use Limos.com SUV Limo 1 way back to LAX was cheaper than the van.

 

[hlbtimes2]

Try Autoslash.com I have used them several times.

Thank you! I had not heard of this company before. My rate with Costco was over $350 for my June trip. Which is about 4 times what we normally pay. I was able to get it down to $235 with tax and fees. Not as low as I'd like, but still much better. Will keep watching for rates to go down.

 

[travelgirl06]

As someone else mentioned - check off-airport options. We just needed a one-way rental SNA to Long Beach and were able to save over $100 by renting from the car rental 1 mile from the airport instead of on-airport. I just had DH take a cab and pick up the car while the rest of us waited for the luggage. Slightly inconvenient, but well worth it for the savings in our case

 

[loveswdw]

If you have Costco membership, the Disers at the Transportation forum gave some really good coupon codes. For Alamo, use Costco corp code, coupon code AD4004JDK and product code AS1 for $50 off a weekly rental.

THANK YOU! You just saved me $50! I used the coupon code along with my Costco corporate ID. The product code didn't give any discount at all. Now I have a std SUV 10/21-10/29 from LAX for $185 all in! Great deal! Here's hoping it drops more.