Unacceptable car rental rates - tips for getting a deal
I started looking for a last-minute car rental for this weekend and next week in the Bay Area. I was shocked when I found prices of more than $780 with Budget, Avis and Hertz for (July 11-20) on my favorite car rental booking site, Orbitz. The cheapest economy fare they had was with Fox for $439 including tax.
What about the $12/day deals I see offered on travel websites? I refuse to pay $500 for a week’s worth of car rental let alone $700 or $800. Maybe this would teach me not to book at the last minute, but I wasn’t going to give up without a fight.
Three car rental booking tips to get a better deal:
1. Booking away from the airport: Many times you can get a cheaper rate if you pick up your car in a local neighborhood versus the airport. Since I had a friend willing to pick me up, I tried looking up rates in Burlingame instead of at the San Francisco airport (SFO). I tried Orbitz again but used the city pick-up for Burlingame instead of airport pick-up. Prices were the same so I tried Redwood City. That did it, the price finally dropped to $352 with Payless. I still wasn’t satisfied.
2. Using airline partners: Earlier this summer I got a great deal on a car rental by booking with a Hertz coupon on United. I got a week for $184 out of Las Vegas. Today, Hertz had a 50% off deal for weekend rentals through United. The cheapest rate I could find for the same dates was $672. If I was going to take it just for the weekend, the price was $236 including all taxes and fees. Could I beat $352 for the 10 days?
3. Scouring for deals: I remembered that Enterprise had a 50% off weekend deal and thought that I could break up my trip with two cars. Unfortunately it had expired and I couldn’t find something similar on its website. Priceline has a 30% off deal if you name your own price, but I wasn’t ready to resort to that just yet.
Finally I went to the home of uber-cheap car rental deals — Smarter Travel. I’ve seen $12/day deals with them before so surely, I thought, I could find a rate that was less than $500 for the week. I plugged in my dates and they returned a compact car for $155/week plus two extra days at $25/day. The total price including tax came to $264. I couldn’t remember if I had heard of Ace Rent a Car before, but I had to take the chance. Paying $500 or more for 10 days of car rental was unacceptable.
In this case, price was more important to me than sticking with a favorite car rental brand. But maybe you pick car rental companies based on loyalty? Travel & Deal blogger Susan Derby discusses Choosing a car-rental company — price versus loyalty. Also, the Sourcebook 2008 lists contact info for all the major car rental companies.
Do you have any budget car rental tips to share?
— Jen Leo, Los Angeles Times Travel Deal blogger
[Photo: acerentacar.com]
18 Comments on “Unacceptable car rental rates - tips for getting a deal”
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July 9th, 2008 at 11:21 am
In some cities airport rates are far higher than off airport. In other cities like Vancouver BC airport rates are close to off airport rates.
In Costa Mesa, last month I rented a car for a week, with only a couple days notice and still got a rate of $125.00 at the local Enterprise.
July 9th, 2008 at 11:35 am
Remember when people rented cars mainly for the purpose of vacation transportation? These days, things have changed. The car rental industry has grown by leaps and bounds; the most current estimates available put annual car rental revenue at a whopping $17.6 billion.
July 9th, 2008 at 12:21 pm
I had the exact same problem. I couldn’t find a weekend rental in SF for less than $45/day. I did find a great deal through Expedia when I packaged a hotel and car together. Separately they would have cost $700 for 3 days, but together I paid only $370!
July 9th, 2008 at 3:00 pm
I like checking at Hotwire.com, similar to priceline, but you get to enter your dates and the location, and it will come back with its low fares by car type. Just like Priceline, they won’t tell you the actual rental car company (but they use the top 5 major companies only), but their is no cost, obligation, or guessing. You can take the deal, pay for the car upfront and then ind out the car company (no refunds), or go elsewhere.
What I tend to do, is check Hotwire first, then see if I can get a better deal elsewhere.
Of course, no frequent renter points or other type of goodies, just a basic low rate.
July 9th, 2008 at 3:19 pm
So, some of these companies that charge high prices are probably trying to make enough money to pay for a season that only lasts for a couple of months. I wonder how much it costs them to buy and then get rid of the car. Nobody probably really cares, It’s just like the airlines, we all want a cheap price until they are all going out of business and won’t be able to fly us where we want to go, then we would gladly pay their price to get us to our destination.
I for one really don’t care to pay $12.00 per day for a rental car. I’m smart enough to realize that it would either have to be a real old car, or the company that I was dealing with was about to go our of business and wouldn’t be there to take care of me. I would guess that an average rental car should cost upwards of $75.00 per day. I paid $150.00 per day to rent a snowmobile last year.
July 9th, 2008 at 3:21 pm
Keep in mind that when you rent from the Majors, you have the peace of mind of protection in case of breakdowns if you need to exchange at another location or if you are travelling long distances and will be in need of towing. Good luck finding an office, much less 24 hour roadside assistance if you break down and need help. Also, how old of a car, and how many miles are you willing to put up with when you rent a car from the smaller operators.
July 9th, 2008 at 9:30 pm
If you try Alaska,New York, the rental car is over $100 per day. So $40 to 50 per day is normal this year.
As gas price soaring, the business in rental car is down 20%, some want to make up the loss, and increse the rental fees, very few lower the fee to attract the driver.
Check priceline.com and hotwire.com , the price usually better.
July 10th, 2008 at 12:26 pm
I rent cars all the time. VroomVroomVroom.com guarantees the cheapest price and they don’t add on their own booking fees.
July 12th, 2008 at 4:46 am
Hotwire is the way to go. I just got back from Atlanta, and they have that fee they add on at the airport. But in ATL you can take one metro stop from airport, walk a few blocks and pick up a car at Enterprise for half the price…
July 12th, 2008 at 7:39 am
This August I need a car from LAX for just 2 days. I’ve always gotten compacts for about $25 a day. Not this time! Everyone wantsover $50 a day and Hotwire is about $40. Then there’s Enterprise with an SUV for only $29.99 a day. Even with the extra cost of gas, I’ll break even at worst and have a nice ride. Weird
July 12th, 2008 at 4:49 pm
Sorry to tell you all this ,but the days of the $12 car rental rates are over ( thank God). The car company’s are no longer offering the give away deals to the rental company’s so prices are going to be base on real world car cost for all the RAC’s . Take my word for it, fasten your seat belts because rates will soon be the highest in history. More bankruptcy’s coming like Thrifty and dollar soon, Hertz is in trouble, etc. I own a large car rental company at the Los Angeles airport for 15 years ( Deluxerentacar.com ) , and switching all my fleet over to new Toyotas and Hondas with great MPG, this is were the demand is and rates will reflect it.
July 13th, 2008 at 11:43 pm
another good practice is to check convention VTR events when prices spike. Semicon is in San francisco next week, whch I’d a hospitality industry sell-out, rental cars included.plan your trips to avoid sell out periods, if possible.
July 20th, 2008 at 7:53 am
One point missed here is the car rental companies must be thinking that we consumers are buying into this “high gas prices are affecting our business”, but let’s remember, we buy the gas, so why did the rates jump as high as they did? Last week I rented a car for $21.95/day out of Oakland. This week it is $86.95/day.
I rent a car every week and at these prices I think I will take the bus.
July 21st, 2008 at 1:02 pm
i find this article helpful :)
July 21st, 2008 at 4:32 pm
Somethings up with car rentals lately. I regularly rent cars and I’ve never seen prices like these (i.e. $500 for 4 days). I made two reservations last week: one for the beginning of August and one for the end of September. Just since last week the prices have almost doubled. What’s going on? It sure wasn’t like this last summer.
July 22nd, 2008 at 6:05 pm
Two things about car rental rates:
First, rates fluctuate very frequently based on supply and demand. Two, there are always applicable discounts or promotions. Check out RentalCarMagic.com, it provides a great service in tracking prices, applying discounts and alerting of your lowest rates.
July 30th, 2008 at 6:39 am
Car rental rates seem to keep going up! A lot of organizations and memberships offer discounts for the members: auto clubs,sams club,costco and frequent flyer members. You can usually find coupons to go with these as well. Also if you are self-employed or own your own business you can get great rates and discounts if you sign up for a business account with your favorite rental company. I found some great car rental tips on http://www.best-car-rental-tips.com
August 18th, 2008 at 1:31 pm
First, look for the rental car company that will suit your trip the best. Major rental companies are your best choice for short trips, plus they usually come with support services such as roadside assistance for when you come upon an accident. When it’s a long trip however, go with the local rental businesses, since they’re rates are usually cheaper. Be warned though, they might not have extra support services that big rental companies have.
Second, think of what type of vehicle suits your needs the best. If you’re traveling alone, a compact or a midsized car is just what you need. If it’s a big trip however and you’re taking the entire family with all your kids and lots of extra baggage, opt for a large sedan or an SUV. Whichever the case, if you’re looking to save money on gas expenses and rental rates, ask for the smallest and cheapest available model.
Having the wrong car on the road may cause a lot of complications. Be aware of the car’s compatibility with the terrain you’re going to come across with. Also take note of the kind of transmission the car has, manual or automatic, at which case; go with the one that is easier for you. Don’t forget to ask the company if they offer any additions to the car such as a GPS system or car seats for the baby, these may come in handy, long trip or not.
Before confirming your reservation, read the terms and conditions carefully. Ask about the limitations, additional rates, and if there are penalties for certain situations that might occur during your trip. For liability purposes this is VERY important. Always get a reference number to your booking reservation.