Using Hotwire for rental car

[MELSMICE]

I posted this on the Transportation board, but have not gotten a response, so I thought I'd try here also:

I have a pretty dumb question, but I'm going to ask anyway, because I'm skeptical about this..............

We're trying to get a rental car for our WDW trip. We'll need the car for 15 days. We'd like a mini van. We want to rent in terminal.

We've never rented through Hotwire, but the price is significantly lower if we do rent through them. The choice says "in terminal" & the "total price" says $721 & change. It does say that it includes taxes & fees. Will this really be my total price & is "in terminal" always a rental place on site at the airport or can "in terminal" mean I'm going to hop on a bus that is in the terminal.

I'm just skeptical!!!!

 

[bamor]

In Terminal, should mean just that. Normally if a shuttle is involved it will state it.
Just be aware, once you book it you own it. Depending on which rental car company you get, you may have to pay for an additional driver. I think Hertz charged $5.00/day last time we booked through Hotwire. Something to consider if you need it.
I would first try every discount you can find through mousesavers.com.
We always have good luck with Alamo. Try every code you can and play around with times by a half hour.

 

[bumbershoot]

I haven't booked for MCO, but I have used hotwire for a car rental. And the price we paid was the price paid. I could have added the car fillup thing, we could have gotten the extra insurance (but we made sure with our insurance agent that we did not need to), etc etc, but we opted out of those.

On their car rental pages they have a link to the list of the rental companies they use; you could double check with MCO's website to see if those places are in terminal, and what that really means...

But if you're using a "blind" booking, if you accept a price and go forward with it, you don't find out what the rental company is until it's DONE, no refunds...so you do have to make sure you understand the terms and conditions, and understand that it might be your least fave car rental company.

 

[MagiKitty]

I shopped around for months before turning to Hotwire for a trip last May. Usually I can get decent rates, but for that week, the prices were crazy.

When are you going? If its only a week or two away, go with Hotwire. But if its still some time, as PP said, look for promo codes and watch the Transportation board. Usually there's a "watch" thread and people post if they find a really good rate.

Otherwise, I used Hotwire and got a company in terminal...Hertz I think? Anyway, no troubles with my reservation at all. Car was available and no extra charges, although they did try to sell me the extras. I would do it again if it was getting close to my trip and I still didn't have a reservation.

 

[momofsamandeden]

Every time we have used hotwire and it says in terminal for MCO it is always Alamo. Last time we rented full size got to the terminal counter and they offered us a van for free. This is what we are doing this time also but we can fit in a full size if they don't let us have a van. Also we have never paid more than what we wanted to add on at the counter such as gps when ours was taken.

 

[MELSMICE]

Thanks - we're about 5 weeks out. I do have a rental with Dollar. I'll keep that, keep checking for a better rate as it draws closer but also check Hotwire if I can't find something better.

I just hate giving my credit card # & paying for something without knowing what I'm really going to get. I'm not a gambler & I hate to take the chance!!!

Thanks for the info!!!

 

[disneymarie]

Although I have used Alamo and Priceline for rentals, I wonder if on an extended rental you may be chared less through Carl's vans. I used them our second trip and at that time they were very affordable. The next time it was higher. They are very nice, consumer friendly, and maybe you can even negotiate a rate????

What is nice is they curb pick you up and return you to the airport. There are no airport fees.
They are in Orlando, google Carl's Van rental, orlando...

Mousesavers.com web site always has tons of codes too. Oftern there is one for SAMs club members, shoppers at Walmart, seasonal codes for each renatl agency.

 

[geek]

My family has used hotwire for several of our car rentals. The one major downside is you cannot make any changes and there are no refunds. You also cannot use Hotwire for one-way rentals. The price is great though.

 

[Colinsmom]

I wouldn't lock in that price when you are still 5 weeks out. I would check rental rates daily because you are in the window when you may see prices start to drop. Our last two trips, we paid about $225 including taxes/fees for a 10 day minivan rental.

 

[leighs]

I am considering renting a car through hotwire for my trip in Las Vegas. I know that I can add addition drivers at the counter when I go to pick up my car and that additional fees may apply, but I am wondering if I would be able to add an additional UNDERAGE driver if I rent through hotwire? If someone could let me know, I would greatly appreciate it.