Renting a car to drive down to Orlando

[minniemomof3]

I am in the process of planning a trip to Disney in December. We were'nt planning on going this year, but decided we wanted to see the lights during the holiday season. Anyway, I've been checking the flights and for our family of five...wow are they ever high, gone are the $49 Southwest flights.

If I can't get a decent priced flight, we were thinking of driving down, however, my dh doesn't like the idea of putting so many km's on our van.

Has anyone ever rented a car to drive down? I would imagine it would be expensive to rent it from Canada, but was thinking of picking it up in Buffalo, has anyone ever done this?

 

[canadaman]

I have not done this, but I would advice against it. Any rental car i have had had a 250km/ day allowance. I forget the exact cost for excess km but by the time you drove the round trip 4500km to and from disney it would cost you a whole lot of money. 4500km on your van isn't a huge deal i don't think, unless you already drive lots of km and you are on a lease.
I would start by maybe contacting some rental companies and seeing if they would have some sort of deal or package that would allow for that type of km.

Good luck.

 

[DearDaisyinDurham]

I am in the process of planning a trip to Disney in December. We were'nt planning on going this year, but decided we wanted to see the lights during the holiday season. Anyway, I've been checking the flights and for our family of five...wow are they ever high, gone are the $49 Southwest flights.

If I can't get a decent priced flight, we were thinking of driving down, however, my dh doesn't like the idea of putting so many km's on our van.

Has anyone ever rented a car to drive down? I would imagine it would be expensive to rent it from Canada, but was thinking of picking it up in Buffalo, has anyone ever done this?

You might want to look at the Transportation board for some awesome discount notices on rental agencies Alamo, National, etc. - and check a few prices that way. HTH.

We rented a car from National here in Durham Region to drive to Tennessee. Make sure you get unlimited miles so you don't have to worry about that part, as canadaman pointed out (for us to go to Tenn. it was worth it to drive to have a car there to see family, take our dog w/ us, and not put the miles/kms on our car).

Good luck!

 

[I Am Canadian Eh]

It's not a hard & fast rule, but I've found that it's easier to find unlimited mileage at airport locations than local agencies. You pay a bit more in surcharges, but if it's the difference between a mileage cap and not, I'll pay the difference! Do a bit of research to make sure a Canadian rental would be allowed into the US... just check under "Rental Rules" or something similar to that.

If you go this method, make sure you make an extra copy or two of the rental agreement, just in case you run into any problems with Johnny Law!


Oh, and to Canadaman, greetings from just up the Grey-Bruce Line!

 

[suprgrlx]

I just want to second the recommendation that you be careful to find out your rental company's policy on entry to the States.

We rented once (sorry, can't remember who from! maybe National?) for a trip to Niagara Falls and asked about the possibility of going to the US for the afternoon. I was told that we had unlimited kms, but that if we were to go into the states at any time, then we'd only get 200 km/day for our whole rental. Other places, I'm pretty sure wouldn't let you go into the States at all. So renting from Buffalo might be the best option if that's a possibility. Of course, that means you have to get to Buffalo some other way or pay for parking for your own vehicle there.

Good luck with whatever you decide!

 

[lgaston]

Well with National you get unlimited mileage and yes you can drive to the States. Here's a few sites for some good saving :

http://www.rentalcodes.com/national.html
http://www.retailmenot.com/view/nationalcar.com
http://www.neotravel.com/deals/coupons_national.php

Also, here's a past post from someone who rented a car to drive down Orlando :

http://disboards.com/showthread.php?t=944707

 

[iluveeyore]

We have rented from Budget and Avis (like Avis better) in Niagara Falls, drove down through the US both times and had unlimited mileage with no problem.

 

[minnie56]

We've done it a few times...last time to NYC with a rental and unlimited mileage over New Years. Used someplace that I know my DH would recall (just not me!) around Dundas and the 403.

 

[minnie56]

It was Discount Car Rental in the Auto Plaza there..was a great deal! Used them for Florida a few years back as well.

 

[laura001]

It has been a few years since we have rented a vehicle, but I believe our last two trips we used Budget and prior to that Hertz. Each will allow you to go to the US and they will have only specific types of vehicles that have unlimited km's, which is what you really need!!!!!

I have also found that if I can find a better price somewhere and have a reservation with Hertz, if you call to cancel (only at store level number) they will give you the same price as what you were offered. That may come in handy for you at some point.

 

[bubba]

Once a year, my dad rents a car in Buffalo and drives it to Port Charlotte Florida (near Fort Meyers). I can't remember what it's called - repositioning or something like that. Anyway, he gets a great deal on the car to drive it down to where the car is needed. I wish I had more details. Next time I'm talking to him I'll ask.

 

[minnie56]

Another option..drive a car down for someone that winters in Fla. Might have to get a one way flt home as most cars obviously remain until Spring. DH and I used to do this all the time..there was a company, not sure what they were called...Toronto Drive-a-way or something like that..often they included a tkt home, paid for all the fuel and an overnite accomodation enroute whilst driving down. Not sure what the deal is now or if they are even still around? A thought tho...

 

[mtmbyck]

Did you check the JetBlue prices out of Buffalo? Do you remember how much snow we had last December?? Even if it is $200 more, you'll have extra days at the parks and be more rested! I am not a big fan of driving in the winter!