Rental car confusion, what is your best advice?

[Pixieflip]

We have decided to fly for our trip and are so overwhelmed by the rental car market. Every website is different, how do you ever feel like you know you've gotten the best rate? Or at least close to it?

We're flying in and out of Burbank July 29-August 4 and need about a midsize car.

Any help would be so appreciated. Thanks!

 

[tzeitel]

I check Priceline first and then I double check prices with the actual car rental sites. Check for online coupons - I find codes all the time (just Google the company name and coupon) and have received emails with discounts from several companies in the last couple of weeks.

Once you see what they are going for then you can either go with what you find or name your own price with Priceline. I have had very good luck getting cheaper prices that way and the cars have all been exactly what I was looking for. Priceline only deals with the big car rental places when doing the name your price.

 

[mcjaco]

Try Priceline, Expedia, Travelocity, etc. I've found Enterprise to usually be the lowest, depending on the area of travel and the vehicle you want. Then Budget.

 

[Pixieflip]

Thank you!

You've had good service from the third party websites? I had a bad experience one time with a flight with Expedia where something changed (I think the airline cancelled the flight) and then the airline refused to deal directly with us, we had to use Expedia to rebook something new...but Expedia wasn't at the airport, the airline was. Oh my gosh it was a nightmare.

 

[tzeitel]

The only time I had an issue with third party booking was actually at WDW - booked the hotel through Orbitz. But it was more of a mix up (and not a real problem) and was fixed right away. Other than that I have booked hotels, cars, flights and bought tickets with no problems. What I do is call (or check online) the individual companies a couple of days before we leave home and make sure all of our reservations are in place. I also print out every reservation confirmation and have it with us just in case.

 

[jhoannam]

Here is a good tutorial on bidding a car rental.
http://www.portlandtraveltips.com/2013/01/12/how-to-save-money-with-priceline-part-1-rental-cars/

 

[Angrose]

I have never rented a car at Burbank airport but I have a few times at SNA and found good rates on Southwest's site. I like to book through them to get the points and I've never had a problem. I have found that prices can differ greatly amongst the different airports. Also, I have sometimes found better rates a few days in advance of my trip and in those cases I just cancel the old one and rebook.

 

[nicolispicoli]

I use kayak.com because it lists all those other websites prices. However, I always get the best rate using Costco, if you happen to have that. Also, I always re-check the price once a week until I leave for vacation. I go on an annual trip to a festival in Tennessee and I rent a car for a week. Usually when I book it's way in advance and I check monthly until a couple months before and then I check weekly. I am always able to get the price down by at least half just by checking and re-booking.

 

[Zbugz]

Costco Travel and check the rate daily. It usually drops quite a bit at about a month out.

 

[wildflower329]

Check Costco travel... I have had the best luck there

 

[mcjaco]

Thank you!

You've had good service from the third party websites? I had a bad experience one time with a flight with Expedia where something changed (I think the airline cancelled the flight) and then the airline refused to deal directly with us, we had to use Expedia to rebook something new...but Expedia wasn't at the airport, the airline was. Oh my gosh it was a nightmare.

I travel for business frequently, and book through Costco all the time. That 10% off can be significant savings.

However, I still typically find Enterprise, then Budget to be the lowest. Avis pops in sometimes as well. It really depends on the vehicle, the time of the travel (weekends are cheaper), and the area of travel.

 

[sharona]

I use carrentalsavers and expedia and hotwire to get a baseline on rates. Then I try booking direct with the individual car rental sites. Make sure you join the loyalty programs and check online for coupon codes.

My best advice is to not prepay - make a reservation and keep checking as your travel dates get closer. When you find a better rate, cancel and rebook.

Lately, I've found the best deals using Alamo booking via the Southwest website.

 

[bfost87]

A website like Kayak will show you all the prices for all the available companies servicing that airport, start there. I would also try to call and see what kind of price you can haggle with the rental agent on the phone (coming from someone who's working in rental for more than 4 years, and is usually on the other end of the haggle lol)

 

[mgd]

Costco Travel and check the rate daily. It usually drops quite a bit at about a month out.

Even if you are not a member, you can use costcotravel to check prices, since they usually apply the best available coupon for your trip so you can see what to expect.

But I would disagree about prices dropping a month out, especially for minivans during summer. You'll want to book them as early as possible, free cancellation through costcotravel if you do find a cheaper price later.

 

[riostoker]

Here is a good tutorial on bidding a car rental.
http://www.portlandtraveltips.com/2013/01/12/how-to-save-money-with-priceline-part-1-rental-cars/

That's a fantastic tutorial!! Thanks! I have used Priceline in the past for rentals and always thought it was a good way to go. This tutorial confirms that! I was just about to book a car for our Disney trip with Alamo using a discount code that seemed like a good rate. Now, I'm going to plan on going ahead and booking that and then trying priceline a couple weeks before the trip to see if I can get something even lower!!

Thanks,
ann

 

[jeffg4]

Use the techniques the others have mentioned to find the best deal and reserve your car. Then, the day before your trip, put in a Priceline bid for a lower amount that you think might get accepted. Often times, rental agencies will accept a very low bid the day before because they'd rather rent a car at a reduced cost than not at all. This same strategy works for hotels, especially if your stay is only one night. I've gotten 4-star downtown hotels for as low as $50 using this strategy and a one-week full size rental for as low as $160. If your bid is rejected, sometimes they will tell you how much more to bid to get it accepted. If that price is still cheaper than your reserved price, you've come out ahead and you can cancel your original reservation.

 

[Kittyskyfish]

Also check with your auto insurance company to see if they offer rental car discounts. I'm with USAA and I get up to 25% off the list rate because I'm a member.

 

[ktlm]

Check online for coupon codes. retailmenot.com is a good source for that. Also, if you have checked a certain company, then clear your cookies before putting in the code and trying again. I have noticed that when I do that, the price can suddenly drop. Also, even if you have checked with a code, open up another window on the computer and run the price without the code. I did that last time, and found that some of the codes claimed to be giving me a discount when they were not, and others really did reduce the price. I actually found several codes online for the same company last time we were booking a rental car, and even though some of them claimed to be giving the same discount rate, the prices would come up very different. It is hard to tell if you have come up with the best rate. The same company's rate can vary widely even for the same dates. It is similar to booking airlines- the price fluctuates and you just have to keep trying until you find a price you can live with. Look and see the company's policy on cancelling. Car rentals are typically a lot easier to cancel than flights. I have booked a car before, and then found a cheaper rate with the same company, so cancelled my original booking and rebooked at a lower rate.

 

[Zbugz]

But I would disagree about prices dropping a month out, especially for minivans during summer. You'll want to book them as early as possible, free cancellation through costcotravel if you do find a cheaper price later.

Yes, definitely book, cancel and rebook as necessary. Sometimes I do this six times, but it eventually comes in for about half of the first price I see (several months out) on Costcotravel.

 

[disadventurer]

HI. We are coming out to CA in August and are using Autoslash.com. I have used them in Florida before and have had good luck. Our rate has dropped from $280 to $166 just this week. They track it for you. Look it up. I started in February and it has dropped at least twice. They automatically rebook it for you and send you an email stating this. We are using Dollar. Make sure you have a Dollar card as well if Dollar is what you end up with. Sometimes for us it was Budget etc. All the best.