WHERE to RENT a CAR!?!?!? -car rental newbie

[happy2012]

Looking for a recommendation on a rental car. 10-14 days Who generally has the lowest rates &/or where can I get a discount?? Entertainment book? Thanks all!

 

[Disworldluv]

Assuming your are landing at Orlando (MCO) stay away from the off site
car rentals. Long lines, little concern for you as a customer, and in general poor service IMHO. I have tried these places in the past so I'm not blowing smoke on this issue. Rent on-site and walk right across the street to pick up your vehicle. Alamo, Thrifty, Dollar offer some of the best over-all rates for an on-site pick-up. Check their websites regularly and I have received great rates
without hassles. Plus the added advantage of driving directly to the airport and dropping off your rental. Good luck and start with Hotwire.com as a good place to check prices.

 

[Donna M]

www.mousesavers.com will give some discount codes. Keep reading the threads here and the one for the month you'll be traveling in; that's where I found out about the Visa discount for Alamo.

Check with your insurance co and credit card to find out what coverage they'll provide for the rental; you don't want to buy any rental car insurance if you already have it covered.

Don't prepay because prices usually drop 2-3 weeks out. You can always cancel and rebook the cheaper rate.

 

[Annie78]

If you are a Costco member, they have great car rental discounts and their website has an easy to use search engine that will quickly show you all the options for your dates with Costco's set of car rental companies (Alamo, Avis, Enterprise, and Budget). It's not prepaid, so you can keep checking prices and rebooking/canceling the old one whenever you see a price drop. Last year my 8-day minivan rental fell from $700ish the first booking to $240, all with Costco.

 

[mmmgood]

Try http://www.carrentalsavers.com. They have coupons and discounts built in and compare rates for multiple companies. I find it much easier than going to all the individual websites.

Best advice I got was to book the best price you can find then keep looking. If you do not prepay you can simply rebook when you find a better rate. Depending on when I travel my best rate has come anywhere from 6 months out to the week before.

 

[suffieldhockeymom]

I got a 1 way weekly van rental from Dollar through BJ's for $295

 

[DopeyDonald]

I have had great luck with priceline and naming my own price. In Dec, I scored a minivan for a week for $245 - and that included all taxes, fees, etc. I use priceline and name my own price for A LOT of things and have never had any trouble....