Anybody have any suggestions for getting a good deal on rental cars? I've used Priceline in the past and had decent rates but didn't know if there are ways of getting better rates. Any suggestions?
Rental Car deals?
- Thread starter SM0KE
- Start date
on our honeymoon i got the best deal through costco's travel site and we took a cab into town and picked up a car instead of getting it at the airport
I never even considered Costco...good idea. And yes, they're a little cheaper.
Most rental places located at a airport will have an additional airport tax. You save that money getting a car off site.
I've got a friend who, between him and the rest of the family, has rented more cars than anyone I know. I know he used to get good deals from "Rental Car Momma"
Whatever you do, DO NOT pay for the insurance through 3rd party sites like Expedia, if you plan on getting it. I work at a rental car branch, and the "insurance" you purchased online through 3rd party sites does not show up on your reservation once inside the branch.
Stay away from budget
It might not help the bottom line number but you can negotiate a higher cars rate.....especially if it's a Friday or Saturday as the branches don't want higher priced cars "sitting" on the books. When my truck was hit insurance approved the cheapest car which was an aveo, Altima etc....the had a newer charger out front that was two "tiers" higher..told him I'd take it for $.50 extra a day over the base rates.
You do know when you are hit by someone else and dealing with thier insurance for the claim, you do not need to take the lowest price rental. In fact you are entitled to a vehicle of comparable type to what you are loosing use of. IE if its a pickup, they need to rent you a pickup. If its an SUV, an SUV, not an Aveo. Most folks don't know and put up with it, so they try to skate by.
I have 80/20 rental car coverage. I guess i worded that poorly on what happened to me specifically. Someone kicked up huge piece of metal of the interstate and it hit my grill and hood..becuase i had no idea who did it it went under my insurance and comprehensive coverage with a $0 deductable except I had to pick up the rental car 20% portion... I took the lowest as I was only going to be DDing and the MPG increase was nice over a diesel on big tires. The cheapest car was around $19/day IIRC (so my portion is $3.80/day). They were willing to get me into a much nicer charger for $19.50/day or $3.90/day for me simply becuase i started negotiating with them. The Charger was closer to $30/day normally.
I don't know what you do for a living, but more companies then you think have deals already in place with rental services. Even if you aren't upper management and didn't "Get the Memo", I'd check with your HR person to see if they have a discount.
I work for a State Police agency so talking to our HR department isn't really an option. I'm going back and forth between Priceline (bidding) and Costco. They seem to have the most reasonable rates. Thanks again for all the input! I wish someone on here just worked for Enterprise and could hook a guy up w/ a smoking deal...that'd be much easier! lol
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