Even when I am just shopping for a rental car for a week or two, I get so annoyed! The prices vary quite a bit and when you factor in the seemingly unlimited number of combinations of discount and loyalty codes, I am convinced I am missing out on the perfect combination for a deal. Ugghhh
What are your go-to sites or discount codes for rental cars? I’ve tried Costco, USAA, Orbitz, and Kayak. We’re looking at over $2000, so I need the best possible deal.
(We need a mid size SUV for this trip…6 weeks in Florida at the beginning of the year).
I booked a car in Florida through Turo. It’s like Air BNB for cars. I would have saved a lot of money. I ended up canceling it and getting a total refund because my husband’s audited let us borrow her car for a week. I will try it again the next time I rent a car.
What I’ve found is I book the best price I can find, and never pre-pay. Once every 12 days or so (I’ve got my own algorithms) I check the pricing. 9 times out of 10 it remains the same, or worse, it increases…but then starting about 3 weeks before reservation time, the pricing drops. I’ll snag the new pricing, and cancel the original. I’ve had pricing drop substantially as close as 3 days before trip. My last trip was a perfect example. Reservation made 6 months before trip, pricing was “ok” - over the 6 months pricing skyrocketed - like crazy pricing, 3-5x my pricing - 6 days before reservation my the price dropped 85% from my original pricing! I took that offer and never looked back.
I suggest booking the car, and not pre-paying. I use Kayak to price compare. Then casually check pricing every 10-12 days. You may have a similar experience to mine. Car rentals are so crazy right now, like everyone else, “we” are seeing the revenue loss of Covid days in everything we’re buying.
Do not pick up at the airport. The daily rates may be lower, but more importantly you get rid of the fees. There are daily fees you are paying everyday for the airport commission or other airport taxes. I have done it for years - just book at the Avis (or whoever) in town and hop in a cab or Uber to the off airport site. I usually save 1/3 to 1/2. My kids and husband cringe, but we paid 1/4th of what we would have at the airport in Alaska for a Suburban for 2 weeks. Many times you can return it to the airport. Compare prices when you book.
Check your car insurance and credit cards. If your do not need the rental insurance that saves you money. Just make sure your policy covers a more expensive rental if you are upgrading If you have a car worth $8,000 at home, make sure your insurance policy covers the $68,000 SUV with all the bells and whistles.
Compare renting and returning over the course of the 6 weeks. Are there bowl games or other “high rent” days in your 6 weeks. Turn the car in for a few days if you are at a resort or in a city and save on the parking fee, too. Sometimes there are deals when you rent one way and leave it in an area that needs cars. Florida needs cars in February and March. There may be some one way deals.
Or get real creative - buy a used car and sell it at the end of the 6 weeks at Car Max. The way the used car market is it right now you would probably make money.
I don’t know if this is possible now…but I have rented directly from a car dealership in the past which was way less costly than the rental car companies.
@jpga13 Autoslash looks helpful. I did not know about it before. Interestingly, it gave me quotes for lower prices than I was able to find directly on the corresponding websites (i.e… the quote from USAA through autoslash is lower than the lowest price I could find on USAA. This was true for several websites.)
@MaineLonghorn and @Creekland: I just learned about Turo a couple of weeks ago. I am tempted–my only hesitation is with the fine print about what happens if your Turo rental car breaks down. I don’t want to be dealing with auto repairs on my own.
@JustaMom: Thank you! This is my kind of deal strategy. I will try this too.
@Pathnottaken: Thanks. I did know about looking off airport, but have gotten lazy about that, and I had no idea I could save that much. We won’t be needing a car for any “high rent” days. The idea of buying and selling has been tossed around–if we were going to be there 3 months, I do think we’d just do that.
@groundhog74: me too. But I think I’ve been missing some harder to find deals.
@thumper1: Wow! I had no idea this was possible. I’ll make a couple of calls to find out. Thank you!
If you qualify for AAA or AARP discounts, I’ve sometimes found those less expensive than Costco.
I’ve never had a bad experience through Costco (usually Budget or Enterprise cars). But I had a very lousy experience recently through Budget directly, so will never rent from them direct again.
We always rent from rental lots outside airports for the reason cited above.
If you have flexibility (and patience), play with different pick up dates and even time of day. I’ve sometimes found much different pricing if I were able to pick up (and return) the car earlier or later in the day than originally planned.
I’ve mostly had my best experiences booking with Costco and checking back often. Some folks have rented U-haul for much cheaper than regular cars. Even though you pay per mile, if not driving long distances it may be a good deal.
It’s amazing how much the prices in rental cars will rise and drop. I book when it drops to lower than my confirmed rate and then cancel the higher one and keep looking. I have been booking cars like this for years and believe I’ve saved hundreds or thousands of $$$. I never prepay as I always want to be able to book a lower rate and cancel.
I book hotels similarly but there tends to be less fluctuation and fewer deals close to the reservation date.
I just looked at Turo prices in a city we’re visiting early 2022. Anyone else ever used Turo? (like AirBnB for cars). Other than triple checking our insurance coverage, any other advice?
I considered Turo pre-Covid, but was never impressed. Choices were very limited, and pricing higher than the standard rental companies. But this time cars were about 1/3 the cost of a Costco rental, and much more available than I’ve seen in the past. Perhaps more are willing to rent their cars due to the current demand.
Besides the insurance aspect, my concern with Turo is if you have a mechanical issue (or worse), you’re not going to have access to another vehicle quickly. In a tight rental market that could be a real bummer. I’ve also heard that some Turo renters are having issues with “normal” wear and tear like sand and suntan lotion (Hawaii) and Turo owners jacking up the costs of getting their cars back to “normal” - On the other hand, a principal in my firm couldn’t find a one day rental (back in early 2021) and used Turo with zero issues. I think for a longer term I’d shy away.
If you have a car worth $8,000 at home, make sure your insurance policy covers the $68,000 SUV with all the bells and whistles.