I think I learned about the website Autoslash here years ago - if you are looking to save money on your car rental, it’s a great tool.
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Autoslash is great but remember it is strictly a tracking tool for low price. It is based partly on the ability to cancel reservations up to 24 hours in advance–so priceline reservations for example will end the deals and lock you in. You have to make the reservations and if something cheaper comes up you need to cancel the previous reservations. But it works great!
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One thing I appreciate about Costco is that you can cancel up to the last second of your reservation time. You can make multiple overlapping reservations and then cancel the rest when your plans become clear.
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Which can become a hassle if things go wrong.
Arrived at a large airport, and they had no car (due to large amount of flight cancellations the day before). I recognized the problem quickly, before that insight trickled down the line - and hopped to an almost empty line at a bigger name and was fine.
Getting an obvious refund of the prepaid amount from Expedia (I think), or the national “brand”, became a two weeks struggle because everyone kept pointing to the local franchisee not responding!
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We rented a car from Budget at LAX last weekend. I was prepared for the worst after following this thread but was pleasantly surprised with the experience. The only thing that gave me pause was that I would be charged $9.99 per gallon of gas if I brought the car back less than full. Yikes!! Welcome to LA, the land of $8 per gallon gas.
I use Autoslash to “track a rental” after I’ve got a reservation. It will send an e-mail when the price goes down, which is a great tool, since I’m a price watcher. It gives me an opportunity to rebook at the lower price, and the have Autoslash watch that one.
I have never had an issue with any of the major car rental companies. In the dark ages (80s) I worked for Dollar at the Kona airport (Hawaii) and learned all the tricks - many of them (tricks) don’t exist anymore (like pushing hard on insurance and upgrades), some do, like selling gas in advance (bring it back empty - that is never a good deal for the renter and should only be used in the most extreme times…or by traveling business folks who just don’t care because they aren’t paying out of their own pocket). Things I watch for are cruddy windshield wipers and tire tread wear.
You also have a higher chance of surprise charges and worse service with Budget. At least that’s what I’ve experienced.
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I always rent through Costco now. It saves me even more money than the rental companies’ loyalty programs, and it’s one of the main reasons I have a Costco membership. The only problem is it’s hard to compare prices on the Costco site, so I’ll go to Kayak to get an initial idea of who’s offering the lowest rate, and then go to Costco to book.
THIS. The Avis counter people have solved my last two Budget rental pick up issues. The Budget counters were…closed…despite the website saying they were open.
H just checked Costco for the other car rental on our trip and the rate for that was also $80 less. He’s a very happy camper now!
We’re flying to SEA, driving/ferrying to BC, dropping off car #1, then taking Amtrak Coast Starlight to San Jose. Getting another car two days later, keeping it for ten days, visiting with S1, GF and friends, then returning car to SFO and flying home.
Our trips are never simple.
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If you read reviews, Denver seems like it is very location specific for rentals. I read all the reviews and ended up going with Avis (four rentals now) and have been very happy. Shuttle and drop-off are incredibly fast. We’ve never had a problem with getting the car we want even though it tends to be during busy times. One of the things I became concerned about after reading reviews was the proper tires for winter driving. We have not had a problem with this with Avis.
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Not sure if this will help anyone, but S23 has been having a lot of luck with Turo. It’s basically like AirBnB for cars. As he’s under 25 he can’t rent from the major agencies, and because in our state licenses are provisional until you’re 21, he can’t rent from Zipcar. He figured out a workaround and rents from Turo to be able to go hiking and skiing on weekends which costs him way less than a parking pass on campus. He gets a ride over to the renter’s house to pick up the car, but I’ve heard that some rentals will deliver the car to you right at the airport. He pays a much lower rate than what we pay renting from the airport, so I think on future trips out to school, we may have him rent through Turo and pick us up at the airport.
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My S23 (19 yo) rents from Zipcar in MA. I was thinking you are also MA but maybe not.
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While at DIA (the Denver airport) departing for vacation I pondered out loud - “I wonder if DIA will ever switch to a consolidated rental car center, like the one we’ve found convenient in Boston”. Hubby said “Never”
After getting back home, I read this news
I really do like this kind of all-rental-companies arrangement. Makes it so much easier to pick up the bus. In Boston, it’s actually the same bus that goes to South Station. So we ever have to wait very long, even when arriving early on a red-eye flight.
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It varies by state. He is in CO. It seems to be a glitch in the system. I have a friend in MA that works for Zipcar and they are trying to address it.
In the meantime, S23 finds Turo more reliable. He rents from a guy that has a few cars on the site. My son knows the car will be there are ready, unlike Zipcar which sometimes cancels the reservation. He is also able to rent a higher clearance SUV to carry their equipment when they go hiking and camping. There is usually 4 fo them and I think he said it comes to about $15 each.
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Per day?
I’m not sure if when he tells me the price it’s per day, per trip, or just what it came to for the hours they had the car. I know they usually leave very early in the morning and come back either late at night or the next day. He has a group of about a dozen kids he explores with, so between them, there are usually enough cars depending on the combo of kids that are going that weekend. When there isn’t, he’s the next driver up and they end up renting through Turo.
I’m only asking because $60 a day is what I have paid through regular rental car companies.
But I will check this out!
While the rental car companies might be $60/day, they also get you with a ton of extra fees and taxes. It also includes all the insurance (which you probably don’t need and can decline)
Actually my total cost ended up being $60 a day…everything included (I don’t get the insurance).