Rookie needing some help on car rental

[rt3773]

Arriving MCO Nov 30, 2018 on Southwest needing car for 8 days AAA member, SAMs Club member, AARP member

Suggestions on how to find best deal, what company is best. blowing my mind!!

Probably will want a standard SUV (small one ok)

 

[JimMIA]

I like to start by going to one of the travel sites (Expedia, etc) and doing my initial search there. That gives me a good idea of the pricing in that market during that timeframe. It gives me an intelligent place to start.

One thing that is critical to understand is there is NO uniform categorization of rental cars. What one company calls midsize might be a compact to another company (and to you). So I always use the feature of the vehicle search that shows the car model which is typical of each category quoted. I often find the same car model less expensive because a company puts that model in a less expensive category. Same car, cheaper price.

Once I get a feel for the prices in a particular market, I go to the actual car rental company website to book. Couple of advantages to doing this -- you can join their loyalty program (always free and almost always worthwhile), and you don't have to pay up front. So if your plans change, or you find a better deal, you haven't lost anything.

I'd also suggest you read the threads on this forum about the "loaner toll passes" available at MCO. If they are still available in November, be sure to get one. That way you won't have to worry about tolls, and you won't pay any exorbitant fees to the rental car company. Here's a link to one of those threads: https://www.disboards.com/threads/visitor-toll-pass-extended-through-8-31-19.3756912/

You'll get a lot of excellent advice here from people who have rented cars at Orlando recently. Pay attention to the dates of their visits because a great price someone got three years ago is irrelevant today. OTOH, the price may be irrelevant but the techniques they used to get that price may still be very helpful.

 

[StageTek]

The prices and companies are all generally the same. People do have loyalties and favorites, but I think you'll find the overall price and "best company" is very close. Remember that more people who are upset will write reviews than those who had a good experience.

Out of MCO I've had great experiences with Advantage. Locally I always use Enterprise.

I second checking the comparison sites; Expedia, Priceline, Kayak and even rentalcars.com - then checking the website of the cheapest to confirm.
Go with AAA. Check their recommendations and discounts.

 

[Wild4Walt]

I show the rates quite a bit - what the rate may be today can change next week.

In the past, I have found Alamo or Budget have had the best prices. So I start by checking any specials on the car rental companies site, then I check Costco ( I'm a member ). My experience is Costco typically is a bit lower. I'm not a AAA member so I can't comment on that.

Once you book the car, I do check back periodically to see if the rates have dropped. If they have, I cancel and rebook at the lower rate.

 

[Lewisc]

Check your personal auto policy and credit card coverage. Most of us have coverage and decline rental agency waivers.

Skip extras like prepaid gas, GPS rentals etc

 

[richmo]

Some very good advice above.

I'll just add and confirm a few things:
- Many of the car rental agencies are onsite at MCO, so try to stick with one of those. That way you won't have to take a bus or shuttle to some offsite agency. The list of onsite rental agencies is here:
https://orlandoairports.net/parking-transportation/rental-cars/- @JimMIA gives some very good advice about using some of the travel sites (Expedia, Travelocity, Kayak, etc.) for research, but its best to book directly at the vendor site (alamo.com, hertz.com, etc.). Issues are unlikely to occur, but its easiest to resolve if you deal direct.
- He also gives very good advice on joining the agencies' insider "club". These are usually free and many have the added benefit of being able to skip the counter in the terminal leaving the airport and instead head out to the garage. In some cases, especially with Alamo and Hertz, if you check in properly, you not only can skip the terminal counter, but when you get to the garage you can head straight to an aisle and pick out which car you would like. Others, like Dollar and Budget, allow you to skip the airport terminal counter, but have you stop at a booth in the garage, which is still much better than the lines in the terminal.
- I would advise you to look around now and make a reservation. But, my most important piece of advice is to stay away from prepay rates. While many agencies will allow you to rebook without penalty if you find a better rate at their agency, if you find a better rate somewhere else, you'll either be penalized or lose it entirely (in which case you wouldn't rebook). Which leads to my last point...
- Car rental rates change, sometimes dramatically and sometimes often. The odd thing is that you'll often see the best discounts the last 3 weeks or so before your trip and in that last few weeks my advice would be to check rates daily if you can. That's why to stay away from prepay. I've occasionally initially booked a vehicle around $300, only to get it for less than $100 near the trip. That may an extreme case, but it does happen. But, I'll reverse that and tell you that sometimes rates go up...it's hard to predict. Especially since you're dealing with part of Thanksgiving weekend and you're interested in an SUV, sometimes the usual "rules" don't apply. Book now, and keep looking...

 

[Chumpieboy]

The prices and companies are all generally the same. People do have loyalties and favorites, but I think you'll find the overall price and "best company" is very close. Remember that more people who are upset will write reviews than those who had a good experience.

Out of MCO I've had great experiences with Advantage. Locally I always use Enterprise.

I second checking the comparison sites; Expedia, Priceline, Kayak and even rentalcars.com - then checking the website of the cheapest to confirm.
Go with AAA. Check their recommendations and discounts.

Aren't most of those sites all owned by the same company and provide the same list of prices and discounts?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Expedia_Group

 

[richmo]

Aren't most of those sites all owned by the same company and provide the same list of prices and discounts?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Expedia_Group

A lot of the travel sites are owned by the same company now, so I imagine they'll have similar pricing, although I've sometimes seen different promos. The car rental rates tend to be more aligned with what the rental agencies are charging, not Expedia and the like. As I noted in an earlier post, I prefer to book directly with the rental agency, but that's up to you...

Also worth pointing out that the car rental agencies have similar ownership, in some cases. Alamo, Enterprise and National are the same company, as is Budget/Avis and Dollar/Thrifty and I'm sure there's more. They often have similar pricing, but not identical (Avis tends to cost more than Budget, for example)

 

[JimMIA]

Aren't most of those sites all owned by the same company and provide the same list of prices and discounts?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Expedia_Group

The point is that the travel sites give you a good look at the overall market (all, or almost all, of the rental car companies). You won't see that just checking individual company sites.

That gives you a good sense of the market for the city and time that you search. That overall look at things -- in addition to often revealing the best pricing -- is very helpful in determining a) which vehicles fall within a specific category for a specific company, and also b) if you are renting in one city and returning in another, what the dropoff fees might be, if any. I've had dropoff fees ranging from $400 to $0 for the same rental scenario, depending on the companies policies.

The same idea is operative in searching for hotel rates, flights, etc. But it's usually a good idea to do the actual booking directly with the company, rather than the travel site.

 

[Lumpy1106]

Autoslash FTW!

Book a car at any rental place and submit your rental information on the Autoslash site. They will e-mail you when thy find a better rate, and you decide if you want to re-book at the lower rate. I just recently rented a minivan for 4 days; the rate I put in was $450 for those 4 days, I ended up reducing my rate twice and ended up paying $280. That's been my typical experience. The service is 100% free.

 

[StageTek]

Aren't most of those sites all owned by the same company and provide the same list of prices and discounts?

Since you added the wiki page then I guess you already know the answer. In your experience is using those sites not worth the time? How do you find the best rate and the best company?

 

[_19disnA]

The prices and companies are all generally the same. People do have loyalties and favorites, but I think you'll find the overall price and "best company" is very close. Remember that more people who are upset will write reviews than those who had a good experience.

Check your personal auto policy and credit card coverage. Most of us have coverage and decline rental agency waivers.

Skip extras like prepaid gas, GPS rentals etc

^^ I agree, reviews for car rentals are generally useless as you almost never have an issue with a car and rarely use 'customer service'. As a novice, the things to know are to DECLINE any of the expensive extras they try to push on you. Anyone with regular car insurance (which you should already have) has NO need for their pricey 'collision damage waiver' (which is really 'insurance' by they say it isn't) and often more expensive then the daily price of the rental. Some rental companies are VERY pushy about extras so be prepared to firmly say NO to all of them. Return the car with a full tank of gas to avoid excessive 'fees' for them to refill your tank.

The other thing to consider is where the pickup location is. Some of the very low cost companies have off-site areas not easily reached which is part of the reason for lower prices. Major rental companies are either right at the airport or provide a shuttle bus to get to their off property location.

Rental cars are basically a commodity, so those are the important things to consider for a novice renter.

 

[Disco Lemonade]

Costco is typically cheapest if that’s an option

 

[Lewisc]

Do you need a second driver? Agencies generally have an extra charge. AAA rates generally include an extra driver. COSTCO rates generally include an extra driver. If you need a second driver include that in your cost analysis.

PP is wrong, damage waiver is not insurance. If it was insurance it would be regulated by the states and would cost a lot less.

 

[_19disnA]

^^ Well they can call it whatever they want, but anyone in the US with regular car insurance does NOT need that pricey option.

 

[EACarlson]

I'll second Autoslash. They do great work and if you go there before you book they do all the searching for you. They ask about AAA, Costco, loyalty programs, etc.

 

[Lewisc]

^^ Well they can call it whatever they want, but anyone in the US with regular car insurance does NOT need that pricey option.

People should always check with their agent. Some states, some unbundled policies might not include car rental. Look at the ads which suggest only buying the coverage you need. Some policies in some states might only include car rental coverage if you have collision on your personal auto policy.

Unless something has recently changed NY requires car rental coverage under the damage to personal property section of your policy. In other words your rental car is covered even if your personal car isn't covered for collision.

Most people have adequate coverage through the personal auto policy. A renter should verify and not assume

BTW Some renters don't even have a car. Third party travel insurance policies will sometimes include rental coverage. Cost might be less then the rental agencies waiver.

 

[Lumpy1106]

I'll second Autoslash. They do great work and if you go there before you book they do all the searching for you. They ask about AAA, Costco, loyalty programs, etc.

They search but don't book the reservation, right? They used to do it all including re-booking at the better rate. The Rental car monopoly put an end to that though. That's too bad, but still the best method I've found to find the cheapest car rental rates by a long shot.

Now if only there was an Autoslash for airfare...

 

[kwdw]

I don't know if Sam's Club does rental car discounts - but nearly every time I have found Costco to be my cheapest option between AAA and work discount program. Rates fluctuate - but book something (that is not full pay in advance) - and then keep rechecking prices. I think prices are best about 6-8 weeks in advance - though I have done better farther and shorter. Within a week or two, though, unless they estimated wrong on travel, prices are usually quite high. I think I pay for my Costco membership each year based on rental car discounts at MCO.....

Stick with the companies that are ON-SITE at MCO.

Once you book a car - join that company's loyalty program - as many of them allow you to skip the desk and go straight to picking up a car in the correct row.

SUV - in general - is USUALLY a higher priced category. Really look at what they describe in terms of people and stuff you can get in a car for their category. Last trip, for example, we book an intermediate car for $3 higher than a compact - but it still said only 2 large suitcases would fit in the trunk - which was correct for all the models in the row the day we arrived. However - we only had three people - so our third large suitcase could ride on the backseat in the fourth passenger spot. So - small SUV's might not fit more than a some car versions - but have a higher price tag. And all the categories mean little across companies - so look at each company's definition separately - and see what they say are example cars in the category.

 

[EACarlson]

Autoslash just saved me 40+% on my one day minivan rental from the Car Care Center. I was going to pay $112, I'm now paying $67.