Rental car - where start looking?

[Rhonna]

Hi,

We are flying into San Jose airport and need to rent a car there for about 11 days to see Central CA coast and then drop it at/near DLH.

We've never done a rental car in CA so don't know where to start. Any help is appreciated. (My sister wants a little comfort so not economy size.)

Thank you!

 

[croppincolburn]

If you happen to belong to USAA they have good discounts. Entertainment books have discounts too.

 

[azdisneylover]

Hi,

We are flying into San Jose airport and need to rent a car there for about 11 days to see Central CA coast and then drop it at/near DLH.

We've never done a rental car in CA so don't know where to start. Any help is appreciated. (My sister wants a little comfort so not economy size.)

Thank you!

You can check your insurance company if they have any perks,AAA and Geico have discounts. Costco is another that has decent rates for renting cars too.

 

[Escape2Disney]

If you are able to get a discount through Alamo, they have a location in DTD.

 

[Rhonna]

I don't know what USAA is. Haven't seen an entertainment book for years but there is a friend who used to get one all the time, we could ask him. We don't belong to Costco.

We did join AAA, so hopefully that will help. Some others mentioned Alamo being near DLH. I'll have to see if they have any deals. Don't want to pay a lot for a rental for so many days along with these high gas prices too.

So does everyone just check each individual car rental website or do you use a site like kayak or something else that compares several rental companies all at once?

 

[Escape2Disney]

I've had good luck going through AAA or through the company websites. If you can't get a good deal on Alamo, Hertz has discounts for AAA. Enterprise is also good because they'll take you back to your hotel after you drop off the car.

 

[Rhonna]

I've had good luck going through AAA or through the company websites. If you can't get a good deal on Alamo, Hertz has discounts for AAA. Enterprise is also good because they'll take you back to your hotel after you drop off the car.

Thanks!

 

[FourEars]

New here, but I read somewhere that Budget has a promotion for small SUV's right now. $22 a day? Try code (BCD) D454300. It's a general code and not limited to a certain group of people so anyone can use it. Its valid until 06.15.12 and the best deal I have found for the area in my own searches. Good luck!

Edited to add: I think that code only works for a roundtrip rental so you would have to return the car to the airport. It still might be cheaper that way though!

 

[Rhonna]

New here, but I read somewhere that Budget has a promotion for small SUV's right now. $22 a day? Try code (BCD) D454300. It's a general code and not limited to a certain group of people so anyone can use it. Its valid until 06.15.12 and the best deal I have found for the area in my own searches. Good luck!

Edited to add: I think that code only works for a roundtrip rental so you would have to return the car to the airport. It still might be cheaper that way though!

Thanks. If you mean it has to be returned to the SAME airport, we can't do that. We are flying into San Jose, driving central CA and flying out of Orange County.

 

[gavsmom]

New here, but I read somewhere that Budget has a promotion for small SUV's right now. $22 a day? Try code (BCD) D454300. It's a general code and not limited to a certain group of people so anyone can use it. Its valid until 06.15.12 and the best deal I have found for the area in my own searches. Good luck!

Edited to add: I think that code only works for a roundtrip rental so you would have to return the car to the airport. It still might be cheaper that way though!

this is great! thanks

 

[Rhonna]

New here, but I read somewhere that Budget has a promotion for small SUV's right now. $22 a day? Try code (BCD) D454300. It's a general code and not limited to a certain group of people so anyone can use it. Its valid until 06.15.12 and the best deal I have found for the area in my own searches. Good luck!

Edited to add: I think that code only works for a roundtrip rental so you would have to return the car to the airport. It still might be cheaper that way though!

This doesn't work right. I tried it and it shows the offer and code on Budget's main page but the prices it comes up with are WAY higher than $22 a day. At that rate for say, 11 days it should be around $242 plus fees and taxes, etc. But everything that comes up is over $900! Worse than Alamo. More like break your budget.

 

[FourEars]

Hmmm.....it worked for us! I think it only works if you do a roundtrip rental AND if you pick up before 6/15/12. I tried 11 days out of San Jose Airport and got a total of $341.00 (including taxes) for an intermediate SUV and $298 (including taxes) for a compact. If you have to drop off at a different location, then prices skyrocket. Sorry about that! Maybe it will help someone else....

Have fun!
Edited: Just had a thought....you said you saw the offer on the main page, but make sure you actually put the code in. (just double checking since it won't do it for you.) If you don't put in the code, the price for an suv is $900 so maybe that is what you were seeing? If you did put the code in and you still see the expensive rates, it must be that your requirements don't fit the promotion. In any case, I am sure you will find something that works. It sounds like a nice trip!

 

[KCmike]

Your going to take a huge hit when you return it to another location (usually). Prices seem to sky rocket when you pick it up in one location and drop it off in another. Is there anyway to pick it up at LAX then drive up the coast and come back down?

 

[CPT Tripss]

Don't forget to visit mousesavers. They list "public" codes.

 

[mousecrazy]

New here, but I read somewhere that Budget has a promotion for small SUV's right now. $22 a day? Try code (BCD) D454300. It's a general code and not limited to a certain group of people so anyone can use it. Its valid until 06.15.12 and the best deal I have found for the area in my own searches. Good luck!

Edited to add: I think that code only works for a roundtrip rental so you would have to return the car to the airport. It still might be cheaper that way though!

Just wanted to say Thanks FourEars for providing this code. I just tried it for my week rental out of LAX and was able to save $100 on a compact.

Good luck OP! And enjoy your trip; it sounds like a great adventure!

 

[Dexican]

New here, but I read somewhere that Budget has a promotion for small SUV's right now. $22 a day? Try code (BCD) D454300. It's a general code and not limited to a certain group of people so anyone can use it. Its valid until 06.15.12 and the best deal I have found for the area in my own searches. Good luck!

Edited to add: I think that code only works for a roundtrip rental so you would have to return the car to the airport. It still might be cheaper that way though!

Is this for travel through 6/15 or just has to be booked by 6/15?

 

[Rhonna]

Wow. I guess we didn't realize that picking up and dropping off in two separate locations would raise the price THAT much.

I don't think we can change anything on our schedule so we will have to pay the high fare unless there is some discount that will help.

We've gone through the codes at mousesavers but so far none of them we could use are worth very much. $30 off $900+ isn't much. We haven't found one that gives a percentage like 20 or 30% off the rental. Apparently sometimes those are available, but not right now as far as we can see. Yikes.

 

[mousecrazy]

I've never done this, but how about calling a rental car agency at your pick up site (not the general 800 number, but the airport desk) and ask the agent for suggestions? You might get some good advice. Just a thought.

Good Luck.

 

[Jrsy Boy]

I usually start with BreezeNet to get an idea of what each company is offering price-wise, then go to each specific agency's website.

You can find some discounts for car rental agencies on Retail Me Not.

I have also heard, but have never tried, that you can go to the rental agents in the airport and ask if they need any cars moved down to the location where you are planning to drop off. If they have an overabundance at your pick up location, they may be happy to have you move one to your drop off location so they won't charge the fee for different pick-up & drop-off locations. Of course, in some airports, this would require taking their buses to each of the rental agencies and waiting in line, so I don't know how practical that would end up being in the end.

 

[jcarwash]

This doesn't work right. I tried it and it shows the offer and code on Budget's main page but the prices it comes up with are WAY higher than $22 a day. At that rate for say, 11 days it should be around $242 plus fees and taxes, etc. But everything that comes up is over $900! Worse than Alamo. More like break your budget.

A rental with pickup in San Jose and drop off in LA area is likely to involve expensive mileage and drop off charges. Unless an agency has specific deals for one-way rentals (where they want to move cars from one location to another) this type of rental is very likely going to be really pricey. Certainly going to be more difficult than a usual single location rental to find a good deal.