Renting a car? Wanting to save some $$

[ottawamom]

Just thought I would pass along a money saving tip I've come across when renting a car.

If you want say a 7 day rental starting at 6pm. A lot of people might just put in a return time of 6pm 7 days later. If you put in a return time of 5:30pm you can sometimes save $$.

I just reviewed a reservation I had made with Costco. If I pick the vehicle up at 6pm and return it at 6pm,7 days later the price is $330. If I pick it up at 6pm and return it at 5:30pm price is 282. That's enough of a saving for me to make it work. Considering they usually have a 59 minute grace period anyway. I've noticed this the last three times I've rented a car (through Costco).

I don't know if this is a glitch in the system or if it's just a car rental quirk. Either way I though I would pass it along in case it works for the car rental company you may be using.

 

[tookie1000]

thanks for the tip...will definatly try this!

 

[FigmentSpark]

To add to that, sometimes the pick up time will change the price. So a 6pm pick up might be one price, but a 4pm pick up might be another. Play around with pick up times. Oh and once in awhile, you'll find that 7 days (or 14) is better than 6 (or 13), because there's a weekly rate, vs the daily rate.

 

[dancin Disney style]

Just thought I would pass along a money saving tip I've come across when renting a car.

If you want say a 7 day rental starting at 6pm. A lot of people might just put in a return time of 6pm 7 days later. If you put in a return time of 5:30pm you can sometimes save $$.

I just reviewed a reservation I had made with Costco. If I pick the vehicle up at 6pm and return it at 6pm,7 days later the price is $330. If I pick it up at 6pm and return it at 5:30pm price is 282. That's enough of a saving for me to make it work. Considering they usually have a 59 minute grace period anyway. I've noticed this the last three times I've rented a car (through Costco).

I don't know if this is a glitch in the system or if it's just a car rental quirk. Either way I though I would pass it along in case it works for the car rental company you may be using.

Not a system glitch at all. In fact, it's not a new thing. Whether you use a third party like Costco or even directly on the car rental site you can get discounts by playing around with the times. Keep in mind that the grace period is usually 30 minutes (there are some rental locations with literally zero grace period) and subject to the person receiving the car upon return. Also, there can be a penalty for returning too early.

 

[ottawamom]

All great information. I was just amazed that the rates could vary so much when basically booking the same time period.