rental cars

[teacher2525]

Any know what's up with the rental car prices? I have never seen them so high I love having my rental car and I will b going in August for 16 days. Prices for a compact are over $700 before tax and fees. 2 years ago I went for 11 days and got an SUV for $209.00 after all taxes and fees. Anyone know if they will go down?

 

[mzlee]

Yes they are very high. I'm going in August also for nine days and the prices are ridiculous. I've been comparing prices for pickup other than the airport and have found that prices are at least $200 cheaper with Budget & Hertz at other locations not far from MCO. And these lower prices are with returning the vehicle to MCO. So I am seriously considering catching a taxi to pickup at another location.

 

[Lisa_M]

Try a name your own price through priceline. I did this and got a compact car for 7 days for $129 total ($10/day plus taxes) for our June trip. My best price w/ a coupon before that was $235.

Also, check Hotwire.com. They had pretty good rates too.

 

[mzlee]

I'm going to try priceline a couple of weeks out from my trip and hope that I can get something for $10-15/day.

 

[eeyoregon]

There is a lot of discussion on this topic over on the transportation board.

Bottom line is that the rental companies ditched large portions of their fleets due to the economy = less cars available for rent = higher prices. Add in the increase in taxes/fees/surcharges in Florida and you have extremely high prices.

My $76 rental of last year is costing me $170 this year.

I booked my October rental using Costco discount codes/coupons and got my 8 day rental for $170 total thru National picking up at the Dolphin and returning to MCO.

Note: rentals airport to airport seem to be running much higher right now . So, we will take the free DME from the airport and then have National pick us up at our resort and take us to rental office at the Dolphin and then return the car to the aiport at the end of our trip.

Tip: Be sure to only book on the hour...no 1/2 hour time slots as they charge more for on the 1/2 hour pick-up.

 

[Nermel9]

I'm having the same problem, going in September but car rental prices are crazy...I paid around $150 for a compact car last year around the same time in September that I'm going this year, and this year prices are up to $375 for the week! Prices dropped to around $200 a few weeks ago, I'm so mad at myself for not booking one then, but I'm hoping since they dropped once, they will drop again. If I don't find anything by mid August, I might try priceline or hotwire, but I'd really rather not since you don't know what you're getting with them. Until then I'm just going to keep checking every day!