# Car Rental in FL  --- WOW they are very High



## Sugarcubesea (Sep 25, 2020)

My family really wants to use our VBHC in Naples over December and I tried to book a rental car and its $480. I hope the prices come down between now and December...ugh


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## rapmarks (Sep 25, 2020)

They have you in a tight place


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## TheTimeTraveler (Sep 25, 2020)

Sugarcubesea said:


> My family really wants to use our VBHC in Naples over December and I tried to book a rental car and its $480. I hope the prices come down between now and December...ugh




Car rentals are such a ripoff.

Tip;  Never rent from an airport.  Your daily or weekly rate is higher because airport rental taxes are higher.

Rent your vehicle from somewhere in the nearest city or town where you are staying.



.


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## Luanne (Sep 25, 2020)

Make your reservation, then register it with AutoSlash.  They will notify you when they find lower prices.


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## Sugarcubesea (Sep 26, 2020)

rapmarks said:


> They have you in a tight place




They sure do...ugh


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## rapmarks (Sep 26, 2020)

They are saying that the Canadians who own or rent in my neighborhood may not come down this year because the health insurance they purchase dies not cover Covid and to include it is prohibitively high


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## maddog497 (Sep 26, 2020)

rapmarks said:


> They are saying that the Canadians who own or rent in my neighborhood may not come down this year because the health insurance they purchase dies not cover Covid and to include it is prohibitively high


Insurance isn't the only issue. Short term rentals will be difficult. We like to plan our vacations in 2 week intervals. Right now there is a mandatory 14 days of isolation when coming back into Canada (Ontario at least). That would mean we would need to get 28 days off work for 2 week vacation. That's impossible for my wife. Her employer wouldn't approve it.

At this point we figure we will be staying in Canada for 2021, at least for the first half. Hopefully it improves and we don't have to bank all our points. 

We just visited our daughter in Alberta and the car rental price was 50% higher than last time. Fortunately, we got a brand new vehicle with only 12 km' on it. 

Sent from my SM-G975W using Tapatalk


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## jabberwocky (Sep 26, 2020)

Car rentals are high everywhere it seems. With Hertz going bankrupt and other companies paring back their fleets (it’s been a good time to sell used vehicles) the supply is becoming more limited and the agencies need to cover their costs over fewer rentals. 

They also know that if you are renting a car then you probably really need it (think auto accident repair replacements).


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## Luanne (Sep 26, 2020)

rapmarks said:


> They are saying that the Canadians who own or rent in my neighborhood may not come down this year because the health insurance they purchase dies not cover Covid and to include it is prohibitively high


I also thought the borders were closed.


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## rapmarks (Sep 26, 2020)

Luanne said:


> I also thought the borders were closed.


One if them said they could fly but not drive across the border


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## jabberwocky (Sep 26, 2020)

Luanne said:


> I also thought the borders were closed.


Only the land borders.  Canadians can fly to the US from Canada.


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## Luanne (Sep 26, 2020)

jabberwocky said:


> Only the land borders.  Canadians can fly to the US from Canada.


That doesn't seem to be a very effective border closure then.  Are people less likely to have Covid if they fly?  Or do you need a Covid test to get on a plane?


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## jabberwocky (Sep 26, 2020)

Luanne said:


> That doesn't seem to be a very effective border closure then.  Are people less likely to have Covid if they fly?  Or do you need a Covid test to get on a plane?


I think the main purpose of the closure was to prevent Canadians from doing shopping day-trips.  US Citizens can't come to Canada except for limited circumstances.  Canadians have to quarantine for 14 days upon return to Canada (some exceptions apply).

To me flying involves more interactions with people, so it is higher risk than driving, but we haven't had a single reported case of transmission on a plane in Canada - even though there have been over 1000 cases of flights with covid positive individuals.  There aren't any covid tests required for air travel in Canada (we also don't have any approved rapid tests).

We're going to California to spend Christmas with family.  Normally we would drive (airfare for 6 can be expensive that time of year), but we're going to be flying instead.


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## moonstone (Sep 26, 2020)

rapmarks said:


> They are saying that the Canadians who own or rent in my neighborhood may not come down this year because the health insurance they purchase dies not cover Covid and to include it is prohibitively high


Many Canadian Insce companies, Great West Life, Manulife, Canada Life to name a few, are now covering Covid or any other illness/accident while on vacation outside of Canada. Yesterday DH called Canada Life who we are covered with, to confirm what we had read in our news and they emailed us the new coverage policy. The cost of our coverage (up to 90 days away on each trip) is included in DH's pension benefits. Maybe some people do not realize that companies have changed their policies to include Covid.

We have 2+ weeks of timeshare booked in FL for late Oct./early Nov. & DH has been looking at flights & rental cars since even of the land border is still closed we are able to fly south. The flight prices aren't too bad from Toronto to Orlando but the rental car prices are crazy, both from an airport location or off site. If the Covid numbers are still high I'd rather stay home and stay healthy. 


~Diane


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## rapmarks (Sep 26, 2020)

moonstone said:


> Many Canadian Insce companies, Great West Life, Manulife, Canada Life to name a few, are now covering Covid or any other illness/accident while on vacation outside of Canada. Yesterday DH called Canada Life who we are covered with, to confirm what we had read in our news and they emailed us the new coverage policy. The cost of our coverage (up to 90 days away on each trip) is included in DH's pension benefits. Maybe some people do not realize that companies have changed their policies to include Covid.
> 
> We have 2+ weeks of timeshare booked in FL for late Oct./early Nov. & DH has been looking at flights & rental cars since even of the land border is still closed we are able to fly south. The flight prices aren't too bad from Toronto to Orlando but the rental car prices are crazy, both from an airport location or off site. If the Covid numbers are still high I'd rather stay home and stay healthy.
> 
> ...


The people from Canada often stay for six months but some renters Stay only three months. Even three months would help our community meet  its bottom line as the only amenities that are charged are golf course and restaurant


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## jabberwocky (Sep 26, 2020)

moonstone said:


> Many Canadian Insce companies, Great West Life, Manulife, Canada Life to name a few, are now covering Covid or any other illness/accident while on vacation outside of Canada. Yesterday DH called Canada Life who we are covered with, to confirm what we had read in our news and they emailed us the new coverage policy. The cost of our coverage (up to 90 days away on each trip) is included in DH's pension benefits. Maybe some people do not realize that companies have changed their policies to include Covid.
> 
> We have 2+ weeks of timeshare booked in FL for late Oct./early Nov. & DH has been looking at flights & rental cars since even of the land border is still closed we are able to fly south. The flight prices aren't too bad from Toronto to Orlando but the rental car prices are crazy, both from an airport location or off site. If the Covid numbers are still high I'd rather stay home and stay healthy.


You're correct that insurers are providing out-of-country coverage.  I also think Canadians need to put the risks into perspective.  We all have this image of New York in April burned into our minds, and think that is what the whole of the US is like. We ignoring that our own rates have been going up recently, and now rival many perceived "hot spots" in the US .  There is significant community spread going on in some areas of Canada right now.  For example, the active case rate in Scottsdale, AZ (26 per 100k) is less than half that of Edmonton (68 active cases per 100,000).  Orlando right now is around 79 cases per 100,000 and Palm Springs (where we will be for Christmas) is sitting at 61 cases per 100,000.

Each person needs to feel comfortable with the level of risk they are taking. The way I view it, my wife is safer sitting beside a pool in the sunshine than in the hospital where she works. Same goes for my kids - pool activities are less of a risk than being in a classroom with 24 other kids - even if it is south of the border.

The virus is transmitted by people, not geography. If you are going to Orlando, based on New York Times data, you would have to interact with around 1265 people before you would meet one that has covid.  If you can limit your interactions on a daily basis to less than 20 people while taking proper precautions, the probability of getting covid on vacation is approaching 0.


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## rapmarks (Sep 26, 2020)

The comments made at board meeting  was Covid coverage for Canadians was prohibitively expensive. This was coming from Canadians


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## moonstone (Sep 26, 2020)

jabberwocky said:


> The virus is transmitted by people, not geography. If you are going to Orlando, based on New York Times data, you would have to interact with around 1265 people before you would meet one that has covid. If you can limit your interactions on a daily basis to less than 20 people while taking proper precautions, the probability of getting covid on vacation is approaching 0.



Yes, I know the route of transmission but there are far more people and cases of Covid (asymptomatic & symptomatic) in the Orlando or St.Augustine areas of Florida than in our rural area of Ontario. I just don't want to increase the odds of contracting it.  We don't usually frequent restaurants and bars on vacation, or at home, and our favorite activity while in St.Augustine is to walk or bicycle on the beach.  We have no problems wearing a mask for many hours as I am retired from health care & DH is a firefighter. The other thing we need to consider if we go is the 14 day quarantine upon return, which will make for a much longer time of not being able to see our elderly parents or the rest of the family.


~Diane


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## moonstone (Sep 26, 2020)

rapmarks said:


> The comments made at board meeting  was Covid coverage for Canadians was prohibitively expensive. This was coming from Canadians



Some of those Canadians might want to recheck with their insurance providers as there have been changes in the last couple of days. In addition to many insurance companies now covering Covid for snowbirds and vacationers, the federal court just yesterday ruled that the decision last year by the provinces not to not allow claims for out-of-province health care must be reversed immediately as it violated the Canada Health Act. Previously, and from now on, when somebody became ill or injured on vacation they, or their insurance company, could claim the amount that the province would have paid had they been at home, and only be out of pocket for the difference. That caused the travel insurance rates to skyrocket as the companies couldn't collect that money from the province and would be responsible for the whole amount of care/treatment.

All travel insurance rates rise with age of the travelers in addition to any existing health problems. I know the rates my parents had to pay for their winter stay in Florida really jumped when they reached 80 years of age.

~Diane


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## rapmarks (Sep 26, 2020)

I just talked to a Canadian friend. Flying down and having car shipped


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## jabberwocky (Sep 26, 2020)

moonstone said:


> Yes, I know the route of transmission but there are far more people and cases of Covid (asymptomatic & symptomatic) in the Orlando or St.Augustine areas of Florida than in our rural area of Ontario. I just don't want to increase the odds of contracting it.  We don't usually frequent restaurants and bars on vacation, or at home, and our favorite activity while in St.Augustine is to walk or bicycle on the beach.  We have no problems wearing a mask for many hours as I am retired from health care & DH is a firefighter. The other thing we need to consider if we go is the 14 day quarantine upon return, which will make for a much longer time of not being able to see our elderly parents or the rest of the family.


I'm sure you'll make the right choice. As you point out, there are a number of additional factors. I'm just trying to reduce the psychological stress that we seem to be placing on people in Canada with this Canada Good/USA Bad dichotomy when it comes to covid. I too live in a rural area, but pretty much drive into Edmonton at least five days per week - our kids also go to school in the city. I figure if I am comfortable going into the city, then I should be as comfortable going to some parts of the US with comparable rates.

Good luck with the decision.  I know it's not an easy one.


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## jabberwocky (Sep 26, 2020)

rapmarks said:


> I just talked to a Canadian friend. Flying down and having car shipped


How much does the shipping cost on that?


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## moonstone (Sep 26, 2020)

rapmarks said:


> I just talked to a Canadian friend. Flying down and having car shipped


That's one way around it!  Good for them!  I was just reading on a camping forum I belong to about a Canadian couple not far from us, who are having their big motorhome shipped to Buffalo NY.  They are flying to Buffalo the next day and taking a taxi to the yard where the motorhome will be, then driving it to Florida for the winter.  They don't even need to bring any luggage on the flight as everything they need for the winter will be packed into their motorhome before it is shipped. Commercial transport and shippers are allowed to cross the border and there is no problem with them transporting vehicles, just a bit of paperwork. I wouldn't be surprised if those type of companies see an increase in business this fall.

There are quite a few people up this way with their Florida plated vehicles. When the shutdown occurred in March many couldn't get flights so they drove their FL cars back home. Now they don't know when they'll be able to drive them back and I'm sure they will be considering a shipping company.


~Diane


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## Luanne (Sep 26, 2020)

jabberwocky said:


> How much does the shipping cost on that?


Years ago we paid somewhere around $800 to have our dd's car shipped from California to Florida.  I imagine prices have gone up.


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## moonstone (Sep 26, 2020)

jabberwocky said:


> How much does the shipping cost on that?


When our former neighbours had their car shipped from Port Charlotte FL to Toronto a couple of years ago it was just less than $1500. US.  The guy had emergency surgery and couldn't drive and his wife wasn't comfortable driving home. Luckily their insurance covered the cost. 
When my mom was medevac'd home from Florida 8 years ago and we didn't want my 81 yr old dad driving home alone, his insurance company paid for my DH to fly down to drive Dad & their motorhome back home. They said paying for a last minute flight and DH's other expenses were a lot less than shipping the motorhome back to Toronto and flying dad home.  


~Diane


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## dougp26364 (Sep 26, 2020)

Sugarcubesea said:


> My family really wants to use our VBHC in Naples over December and I tried to book a rental car and its $480. I hope the prices come down between now and December...ugh



I suspect this is CoVid related in that no one wants to take public transportation or shuttles, so the demand for rental cars may be higher. 

We haven’t traveled by plane since the pandemic began. I have three trips on the books that will require flights. Car rental rates for all three trips are considerably higher than normal.


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## Sugarcubesea (Sep 27, 2020)

dougp26364 said:


> I suspect this is CoVid related in that no one wants to take public transportation or shuttles, so the demand for rental cars may be higher.
> 
> We haven’t traveled by plane since the pandemic began. I have three trips on the books that will require flights. Car rental rates for all three trips are considerably higher than normal.



I think your right just hope the costs come down a bit between now and then....


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## Papa2015 (Sep 28, 2020)

Just rented last week in FLL for 8 days -Avis full size vehicle for $234.17 through Costco.. They always have the cheapest rates. Also, we learned a few months ago, that Costco rentals do not charge for an additional driver.. We rented at Alamo in New Orleans a few months ago that we booked through Southwest Airlines that even though I was the spouse of the driver, there would still be an additional driver charge.  The rep informed us that the only way to avoid the charge is to book through Costco (at Alamo in N.O.)   So, she offered to cancel our reservation and re-booked it under our Costco account.  Not only did we avoid the Add. Driver charge, the whole rental was $20 cheaper!


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## NOLA47 (Sep 28, 2020)

I have found some very reasonable car rental rates using my COSTCO membership.  Not every time but many times.

edit note:  I didn’t see Costco mentioned in the previous note until I posted my message.


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## Sugarcubesea (Sep 28, 2020)

Papa2015 said:


> Just rented last week in FLL for 8 days -Avis full size vehicle for $234.17 through Costco.. They always have the cheapest rates. Also, we learned a few months ago, that Costco rentals do not charge for an additional driver.. We rented at Alamo in New Orleans a few months ago that we booked through Southwest Airlines that even though I was the spouse of the driver, there would still be an additional driver charge.  The rep informed us that the only way to avoid the charge is to book through Costco (at Alamo in N.O.)   So, she offered to cancel our reservation and re-booked it under our Costco account.  Not only did we avoid the Add. Driver charge, the whole rental was $20 cheaper!




I use Costco as well and for Dec 12 to the 19th all I'm finding is $400 car rentals... I have 4 adults (2 of our adult kids coming with us)


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## Papa2015 (Sep 28, 2020)

Sugarcubesea said:


> I use Costco as well and for Dec 12 to the 19th all I'm finding is $400 car rentals... I have 4 adults (2 of our adult kids coming with us)


keep checking... as you probably know, rates chance all the time.  My DH and I constantly check and usually find a cheaper rate as we get closer to our travel date.


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## Sugarcubesea (Sep 28, 2020)

Papa2015 said:


> keep checking... as you probably know, rates chance all the time.  My DH and I constantly check and usually find a cheaper rate as we get closer to our travel date.


I will for sure and I always do this, I’m just worried with it being this expensive this far out


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## hajjah (Sep 29, 2020)

The car rentals everywhere are sky high!  When we rented back in July at Orlando, the entire B side for rentals is closed.  We had to go to the A side for Alamo.  And, there was very limited availability.  We were able to select a car, but nothing like in the past.  There were only about 5 cars in our category available.  We were told that Alamo had sold off most of their inventory.  Well, when we rented in August at Las Vegas, we had to wait for a car!  There was a line of customers waiting for cars to be returned.  There was no choice of vehicles.  We waited a while for a car. Their inventory has been sold off as well.  The car rental garage was empty.  As for the prices, they are higher now than ever.  I have 4 upcoming rentals for next week in Orlando, November in Vegas, December back to Orlando and January in SNA.  I cannot believe the prices.  Keep checking daily for lower prices.


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## Luanne (Sep 29, 2020)

hajjah said:


> Keep checking daily for lower prices.


If you register your rental with AutoSlash you don't need to check daily. They will check for you and notify you when they find a cheaper rental.


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## Talent312 (Sep 29, 2020)

To avoid a high rental rate, we booked a downtown hotel with a city lot nearby.
To avoid a hotel parking fee + day's rental, we waited until check-out to pick-up.
.


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## hajjah (Sep 29, 2020)

Question: 
Can you still get airline travel miles if you book a rental via Auto Slash?  I use Alamo and get Delta SkyMiles.


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## Luanne (Sep 29, 2020)

hajjah said:


> Question:
> Can you still get airline travel miles if you book a rental via Auto Slash?  I use Alamo and get Delta SkyMiles.


Yes, I'm pretty sure you do.  I think there is a place to indicate which loyalty programs you belong to.


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## hajjah (Sep 30, 2020)

Luanne said:


> Yes, I'm pretty sure you do.  I think there is a place to indicate which loyalty programs you belong to.


I signed up with Auto Slash, but I notice that many of the rentals with the delayed payment are via Priceline.  I don't get Skymiles with Priceline.  So far, the rates I have with Alamo booked directly are lower than Auto Slash.  I'll keep checking.


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## Luanne (Sep 30, 2020)

hajjah said:


> I signed up with Auto Slash, but I notice that many of the rentals with the delayed payment are via Priceline.  I don't get Skymiles with Priceline.  So far, the rates I have with Alamo booked directly are lower than Auto Slash.  I'll keep checking.


The recent rentals we've gotten through AutoSlash have been through Priceline.  Since you put in your loyalty programs up front, I do think you still get the miles.  But if your rates booking with Alamo are lower, then go with those.  But keep checking as well.  If you have any questions for AutoSlash (like will you get your Delta Skymiles) you can ask them directly.  They are very responsive.

I just checked back through our trips and found I got Southwest points through Alamo for a rental made through AutoSlash/Priceline.


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## hajjah (Oct 1, 2020)

If anyone is planning to book a rental in Orlando, you might want to book ASAP.  I just looked on Alamo's website to see if the rates had gone down.  Well, they said there are no vehicles available for October 8-15.


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## Sea Six (Oct 1, 2020)

Remember the fire at the Ft Myers airport, where thousands of rental cars got torched?  Yes, they have their ways of turning idle inventory into cash!


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## hajjah (Oct 1, 2020)

Yikes, I had no knowledge of the fire.  But, we've rented cars twice so far since this pandemic and there were very few cars available.  This we witnessed at MCO and LAS.  My advice to everyone is to book your cars now if you are traveling by 12/31.  Some people prefer to rent after they land, but that's not happening without a reservation.


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## bogey21 (Oct 1, 2020)

jabberwocky said:


> With Hertz going bankrupt and other companies paring back their fleets (it’s been a good time to sell used vehicles) the supply is becoming more limited and the agencies need to cover their costs over fewer rentals



Makes sense that is what is happening....

George


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## Sea Six (Oct 1, 2020)

3500 cars lost in a fire at SW Fl airport:  https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/05/us/airport-fires-cars-trnd/index.html#:~:text=Fire near airport burns over 3,500 rental cars&text=The blaze began Friday, spanned,Myers, fire department officials said.

Can't rent 'em, set them on fire.  Guess where Hertz HQ is.


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## Papa2015 (Oct 2, 2020)

hajjah said:


> Yikes, I had no knowledge of the fire.  But, we've rented cars twice so far since this pandemic and there were very few cars available.  This we witnessed at MCO and LAS.  My advice to everyone is to book your cars now if you are traveling by 12/31.  Some people prefer to rent after they land, but that's not happening without a reservation.


Agree.. the line at FLL car rental counter was out the door a few weeks ago.  We rented through Budget, but were redirected to the AVIS counter, as they have merged. It was a Friday night, and someone yelled out "all we have left is minivan's (didn't know they still made them, LOL ) and pick up trucks".   Luckily we were able to go to a special FAST TRACK agent with no wait (it's a good idea to join, we never wait and we always get what we want) .  We had a reservation for 8 days at $237.00 that we made a few weeks earlier through Costco. So glad we reserved.


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## Luanne (Oct 2, 2020)

Papa2015 said:


> Agree.. the line at FLL car rental counter was out the door a few weeks ago.  We rented through Budget, but were redirected to the AVIS counter, as they have merged. It was a Friday night, and someone yelled out "all we have left is minivan's (didn't know they still made them, LOL ) and pick up trucks".   Luckily we were able to go to a special FAST TRACK agent with no wait (it's a good idea to join, we never wait and we always get what we want) .  We had a reservation for 8 days at $237.00 that we made a few weeks earlier through Costco. So glad we reserved.


Avis and Budget have been the same company for years, it's not recent.


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## hajjah (Oct 2, 2020)

Thanks for including the article regarding the fire at Ft. Myers.  So, that happened at the beginning of this pandemic.  I'm glad my rentals are booked for our upcoming 4 trips.


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## rapmarks (Oct 4, 2020)

Sugarcubesea said:


> I use Costco as well and for Dec 12 to the 19th all I'm finding is $400 car rentals... I have 4 adults (2 of our adult kids coming with us)


I hope that mean daughter in law isn't one of them


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## Sugarcubesea (Oct 4, 2020)

rapmarks said:


> I hope that mean daughter in law isn't one of them



I just love you so much, I needed this laugh today.  Nope she is not coming... My two kids that are coming are my middle son and my 3rd kid, my daughter...They love love and appreciate being in FL in December....


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