WDW car rental next week help!

[stewpette]

I have been so busy with getting everything ready for Thanksgiving and our upcoming trip on the 28th that I totally forgot to book a rental car. I've been playing around on Expedia for the last 20 mins or so, and am wondering if anyone has any secrets to getting the best deal on a car rental? Any coupons or codes? Or knowledge about what company has the best rates at Orlando Int Airport? We will need it for 11 days. Please help!!
Thanks
Lisa

 

[Redwitch]

The only way to get the best deal is to compare the prices from all the car rental sites. I use Mousesavers as she has a list of most coupons and codes. Also, check each site for specials, like last minute deals. I usually find my best price at Alamo, but you may find your car class cheaper elsewhere. It takes time, but I have found the price for the same car class can vary by hundreds of dollars between companies. Good luck and have a great trip.

 

[encinc]

You might also try hotwire/priceline. You won't know which agency you're renting from until after you book/pay, but they often have some great deals, especially at the last minute.

 

[Dizneydaz]

I usually go through Alamo but this last Sept. I went through National (same company basically). I went through a link on mousesavers.com to sign up for their Emerald Club. (usually costs $50). Then all I had to do was book a mid-size car and I was able to pick out ANY CAR (free upgrade)in the Emerald Aisle. I got a car for about $170 for 10 days. Complete, all fees. I did use a coupon code from the Entertainment book for a small discount as well.

Once we arrived at MCO all we had to do was go out the parking structure, pick out our vehicle from the Emerald Aisle (and we got a really nice, large, one!) and show my DL and CC at the parking booth upon exiting. Couldn't have been easier, or cheaper. It was basically $17/day, complete.

Since you are so close to your trip you can't expect to find as good of deals but I would check with National (and/or Alamo) direct. I've never had much luck using 3rd paryt sights. I can usually get a vehicle for under $200/10 days.

Good luck.

I just entered your dates (arriving on 11/28 and departing on 11/9-11 days and the rate for a mid-size is $266/complete. That's not too bad last minute. If you follow what I did above, you can get ANY CAR in the Emerald Aisle for the same rate. You could probably save a little more if you have an Entertainment book.

 

[SILLYANDI]

The only way to get the best deal is to compare the prices from all the car rental sites. I use Mousesavers as she has a list of most coupons and codes. Also, check each site for specials, like last minute deals. I usually find my best price at Alamo, but you may find your car class cheaper elsewhere. It takes time, but I have found the price for the same car class can vary by hundreds of dollars between companies. Good luck and have a great trip.

I second this approach. I always use the mousesavers codes and try every single one til I get a deal.

 

[beansmom]

we did priceline for next week and got a mid-size from Hertz for $15 per day.

 

[stewpette]

Thanks guys! Going to get started working on it now!

 

[quentina]

You might also try hotwire/priceline. You won't know which agency you're renting from until after you book/pay, but they often have some great deals, especially at the last minute.

Priceline.....I bid 20-22$ for a minivan and I think there was only one time that I didn't get it. If I need a smaller car, way cheaper. I have bid 8-10 bucks and have got it.

 

[goofyfordisney]

If you are a Costco member, I would go to Costco's website. I have always found the best prices/coupons using Alamo. I've also used my Entertainment card in conjunction with the Costco ID number to get good deals.

We are going next week (12/2 - 12/8). I booked a compact for a total of $112 (including taxes & fees). I think that's pretty good. Good luck!

 

[andycat]

http://kayak.com has a car rental search function that checks all the major carriers. It will at least confirm that the "special" price you're getting with a coupon code really is "special".

You didn't say where you're staying or what parks you're visiting. If we're staying in and only visiting the world, we've rented a car for one day to get from the airport to the hotel. That let's us stop at the Disney outlet store and the grocery to stock up for the week. One of the car rental companies has a drop-off location at Swan and Dolphin, and while the one-way rental is a little more, it's still cheaper than keeping the car for a week. Of course, we generally stay on DVC points, so we can use Magical Express to get back to the airport for free.

 

[bumbershoot]

The other day I modified my National reservation with a Continental frequent flyer contract ID (from Mousesavers, and I do have a Cont ff program membership) and a coupon code also from Mousesavers (it ends in ADT), and got 16 days and a few hours for 311 and change. That was the best I'd seen yet (actually, there's a thread on the Transportation forum talking about an Entertainment Book coupon code and the contract ID from Continental that gave me 305, but I don't have an Entertainment Book) and I've been checking for months.

We do have an Emerald Club membership already, so that's a mid-size booking, and then we can go to the Emerald Aisle and pick out anything that's there, mid-size and up.

I'll still probably play with priceline and keep checking hotwire.

Oh and our trip starts Nov 30th.