What is considered a good rental rate for a mid-to-full sized car?

[thisismyusername]

We don't rent cars very frequently, so I'm not very sure what's considered a good rate for a car that would seat 5 + a suitcase.

Also, is it generally cheaper to rent from Lake Buena Vista or from MCO?

Thanks!

 

[rwdavis2]

I would suggest you go to expedia.com (or a similar site) and do a search on rates. It will show you over a dozen rental agencies at MCO or where ever you tell it to look. Rates vary all the time.

 

[dancef150]

http://www.airportrentalcars.com/

I saw good rates here!

 

[vacation_junkie]

try Alamo
Vegas Brazil LLc code 7016427
We've found our best pricing this route.

 

[Hisgirl]

If you are a Costco member, you can't beat their prices. I try...AARP, AAA, anything....can't touch their good prices.

 

[vacation_junkie]

If you are a Costco member, you can't beat their prices. I try...AARP, AAA, anything....can't touch their good prices.

Did you try the Vegas Brazil code? That's the lowest we've found.
For us we've never found a good price through Costco (Canadian Costco).

 

[peacefrogdog]

try Alamo
Vegas Brazil LLc code 7016427
We've found our best pricing this route.

Second this, at least for booking this far in advance.
I typically use the Budget Travelocity Code BCD X474200 but this Alamo one beat that by quite a bit.

 

[nacho113]

We don't rent cars very frequently, so I'm not very sure what's considered a good rate for a car that would seat 5 + a suitcase.

Also, is it generally cheaper to rent from Lake Buena Vista or from MCO?

Thanks!

A "good rate" is going to depend on several factors, the biggest being "supply and demand". If demand is high (supply low) such as Christmas week, Spring Break etc, then prices will typically be higher. Sometimes larger vehicles will be cheaper than smaller ones because the demand is high for Economy and Compact. In the summer vacation period, minivans command a premium because of the large number of families visiting, in January they can be one of the cheapest options because family travel is way down and Snowbirds and couple visit for their winter vacation.

There is lots of competition at MCO so there can sometimes be some excellent prices to be had, if you are vigilante.

Your best bet is to book something that you can live with now and then check back frequently, re-booking as prices drop (cancelling your higher priced ressie as you go).

Here's some examples of pricing from our trips this year:
Jan 13-23/2015 Standard size vehicle 10 days through Alamo at MCO $189 all taxes and fees incl. (originally booked several months out at $332, kept checking and rebooking to get my final price of $189) . Picked a Chev Impala from the FS aisle
April 3-10/2015 Full-size vehicle 7 days with Hertz pickup at MCO drop at MIA (one way rental before cruise) $94 all taxes and fees incl. (originally $424) Drove a Nissan Pathfinder.
Sept 22-Oct 2/2015 Premium vehicle 10 days with Alamo at MCO $184 all taxes and fees incl. (originally started with a Compact for $293 and after several rebookings, ended up with a Premium for $184) Picked a Mustang from the Premium aisle

 

[thisismyusername]

Thanks everyone on your input so far! Even with the coupon codes and Costco, etc., I am not finding rates anywhere close to what you guys have. I've Priceline'd a few times, and haven't found anything yet, either. We go in March--should I wait until we're much closer to the dates to see if I can find something better?

 

[Hisgirl]

I tried the vegas brazil code (what IS that??) and the costco code beats it by a mile. I'm paying 140 for a minivan and this code with alamo is 231.

 

[tabrizia]

Okay has anyone ever had them ask for any documentation with the vegas brazil code? Because it is a great code for what I need.

 

[CourtneyBags]

I highly recommend the website autoslash.com. It will book your car for you and then track the rates if it drops and rebooks. It saved me about $175 for my car this week. I got a full-size car at alamo for a full week (turned out to be a large SUV) for only $101!!!!! I don't think it will work if you use it close to your dates, but if you are booking ahead of time, then it will. It doesn't require any credit cards. It can also track a reservation you've already made yourself. Check it out!

 

[blrem]

Another tip is to use Bj's wholesale club and combine with a code. The great feature through BJ's is that it allows an extra driver FREE, so I can share some of the driving with my husband with no extra cost. Keep checking rates as your dates get closer. I started out with a rate almost $200 for next week, 8 days, but a few weeks ago it had dropped to $131 and included all fees and taxes. I could not beat this for the both of us, although if only one of you will drive I have found great rates on Carrentalsavers.com as well.

 

[nacho113]

Thanks everyone on your input so far! Even with the coupon codes and Costco, etc., I am not finding rates anywhere close to what you guys have. I've Priceline'd a few times, and haven't found anything yet, either. We go in March--should I wait until we're much closer to the dates to see if I can find something better?

March rates can get high because of Spring Break (especially mid-end of March)
Use a search engine like www.carrentalsavers.com to get an idea of what the current rates are and which company has the best rates.
Pick the best you can find now and book it (non-prepaid). Don't wait, you are booking during Spring Break so rates could remain high or go higher.
Check back often and re-book when/if the rates drop. Rates will fluctuate up and down and can change several times per day sometimes.
With any luck you will find your own awesome rate.
Quite often I found our best rate at about 3-5 weeks out but this is not a hard and fast rule. I have found my best rate the day of, or day prior to travel on a couple of occasions. On one occasion the rate I booked when I first started looking (about 4 months out) for a trip in early April was the best rate and rates just continued to climb after my initial booking.
If you start to get down to the wire (less than a few days out) and your rate is still high, you may want to consider trying the "name your own price" option on Priceline or a pre-paid rate from one of the rental agencies. These are generally non refundable (Priceline) or have cancel/change fees (Pre-Paid rental) so I would only book these as a last resort.
Good luck and happy hunting.

 

[CourtneyBags]

That is what I love about autoslash.com. I used to obsessively check and it does it for you. No searching for coupon codes or price drops! Seriously, check it out. I don't work for them or get any sort of reward. Just so pleased with my experience with using the website!