# Auto slash.com



## Icc5 (Jul 7, 2015)

Over the past month I rented a car using Costco Travel and then put my car rental info. into auto slash.com.  It has sent me messages 3 times and currently I'm sitting at aprox. $200 less then the original.  I just cancel and rebook.  It sent me another a few minutes ago for another $2 less which I won't bother with.  I still have it set up for more since I'm about two months out still.
Bart


----------



## DavidnRobin (Jul 7, 2015)

Per other thread - for our rental - right now Costco is less than AutoSlash ($332 vs $357 - Int. car, 14 days, LIH, late-Aug - Alamo). But, I check Costco everyday. Another $2 drop this morning - no notifications from AS for weeks.


----------



## Icc5 (Jul 8, 2015)

*Down another $21 today*

Have car rental down by $221 total for 10 days.  I haven't had to keep checking because the auto slash site does it for me.  
A cousin that saw my post tried it and saved almost $60 in Los Angeles on a weekend rental.


----------



## DavidnRobin (Jul 8, 2015)

While AS supposedly checks for you - that does not explain why AS hasn't sent me a recent notice, but Costco prices have dropped a few times during this period. If you are not checking against Costco - you are doing yourself a disservice. IMO. It takes me about 1 minute to check Costco prices.


----------



## Luanne (Jul 8, 2015)

I used AutoSlash once since I found out about it.  It was for a rental in San Diego.  They beat Costco by about $40 for the week.  I will try them again as I get closer to our trip to Hawaii next year.  I'm all for finding out who has the lowest prices.  So far it's always been Costco (over discount Hawaiian car rental) but I haven't tried AutoSlash for Hawaii yet.


----------



## Ken555 (Jul 8, 2015)

Luanne said:


> I used AutoSlash once since I found out about it.  It was for a rental in San Diego.  They beat Costco by about $40 for the week.  I will try them again as I get closer to our trip to Hawaii next year.  I'm all for finding out who has the lowest prices.  So far it's always been Costco (over discount Hawaiian car rental) but I haven't tried AutoSlash for Hawaii yet.




Autoslash is about $40 less for me for a September trip to Maui than Costco, but I still have both reservations at present. Unfortunately, it's quite inconsistent, as Costco is still significantly less than Autoslash for December and March trips (the only others I've tried so far). 


Sent from my iPad


----------



## PDXGolfer (Jul 8, 2015)

I think YMMV depending on location, dates and vehicle size.  I've always used Costco as they historically have had the best rates -- until now.  Earlier this year, we booked through Costco a one-week rental for an intermediate SUV, for our Kauai trip in August.  The price was $388.  Since then, I have been regularly monitoring the Costco website.  The price never went down.  At one point, the cheapest rate even went up by $20.  Just checked it right now, and it's still $8 more expensive than the $388 price I booked earlier this year.

In the meantime, after reading the recommendations of others on TUG, I requested a quote from AutoSlash last May.  The best price they found for the same location, dates and vehicle size was $243.46 -- over $144 cheaper than Costco.  The AutoSlash price hasn't gone down since.  But neither has the Costco price.  So, unless something drastic changes in the next few weeks, looks like we are sticking with AutoSlash for our upcoming trip.


----------



## MichaelColey (Jul 8, 2015)

I've had excellent success with AutoSlash.com.  Love how simple it is.  I don't have time to check every day.


----------



## deemarket (Jul 8, 2015)

*Will we have a problem*

Just checked Costco again and my rental rate went down $50 for a two week rental.  So I booked a new reservation at the lower rate and used my Costco sign in and password (hubby doesn't have one)  and put the rental in my husbands name because I will not be with him when he picks up the car.

The reservation has his name as renter's name and my name as member name.

Will he have any trouble picking up the car?

Also I got en error message that said there was a problem sending to my email account.  I don't know why there would be a problem with my email.


----------



## Icc5 (Jul 9, 2015)

*Autoslash*



DavidnRobin said:


> While AS supposedly checks for you - that does not explain why AS hasn't sent me a recent notice, but Costco prices have dropped a few times during this period. If you are not checking against Costco - you are doing yourself a disservice. IMO. It takes me about 1 minute to check Costco prices.



David, have you re-entered your info with Auto Slash.  Each time they have gave me the info. I have gone back into Costco and that is where I get the lowered rate.
Besides me, my cousin whom is coming to LA put in her weekend rate and got it down to $28 for the weekend.  I don't know what company or what her rate was before but she kept thanking me for saving here so much money.  This was after I posted to friends and family on Facebook.  First, she told me darn it because she had just booked and then almost as soon as she posted on Autoslash she got the cheaper result.


----------



## Luanne (Jul 9, 2015)

Beach Star said:


> Just checked Costco again and my rental rate went down $50 for a two week rental.  So I booked a new reservation at the lower rate and used my Costco sign in and password (hubby doesn't have one)  and put the rental in my husbands name because I will not be with him when he picks up the car.
> 
> The reservation has his name as renter's name and my name as member name.
> 
> Will he have any trouble picking up the car?



Your dh shouldn't have any problems.  I routinely make the Costco reservations.  Although both dh and I have Costco cards the online account is in my name.  I do as you did, put him as the driver.  He's never had an issue picking up the car.


----------



## Icc5 (Jul 9, 2015)

*Check email*



Beach Star said:


> Just checked Costco again and my rental rate went down $50 for a two week rental.  So I booked a new reservation at the lower rate and used my Costco sign in and password (hubby doesn't have one)  and put the rental in my husbands name because I will not be with him when he picks up the car.
> 
> The reservation has his name as renter's name and my name as member name.
> 
> ...



The other day my email said net net.  Don't know how it happened but had to look twice to catch it then fixed it.


----------



## DavidnRobin (Jul 10, 2015)

Icc5 said:


> David, have you re-entered your info with Auto Slash.  Each time they have gave me the info. I have gone back into Costco and that is where I get the lowered rate.
> Besides me, my cousin whom is coming to LA put in her weekend rate and got it down to $28 for the weekend.  I don't know what company or what her rate was before but she kept thanking me for saving here so much money.  This was after I posted to friends and family on Facebook.  First, she told me darn it because she had just booked and then almost as soon as she posted on Autoslash she got the cheaper result.



My AS is still active - Costco is still $25 less than AS. Perhaps the difference is the $25 Costco discount coupon?

About 30 secs to input info and search in Costco and get results - guess I am fortunate to have 30 secs of free time...


----------



## dundey (Jul 20, 2015)

I almost always use Costco too, but the nice thing about AS is you don't have to constantly check.  Make the best reservation you can find, then put it into AS and see if they can do better!  Can't get much easier than that


----------



## csxjohn (Jul 20, 2015)

I'm looking for a car in Orland at the beginning of Sept.  On Expedia I found prices of $254 to $292 depending on size.

Costco give me a price of $227 to $239 for the week.

Am I missing something here?


----------



## Icc5 (Jul 20, 2015)

*Do Costco for now*



csxjohn said:


> I'm looking for a car in Orland at the beginning of Sept.  On Expedia I found prices of $254 to $292 depending on size.
> 
> Costco give me a price of $227 to $239 for the week.
> 
> Am I missing something here?



I would do Costco for now and then put info. Into Autoslash. If better price shows up you can always cancel and rebook.  I've done it 5 times and now am at less then half of what I first booked.


----------



## dundey (Jul 20, 2015)

Icc5 said:


> I would do Costco for now and then put info. Into Autoslash. If better price shows up you can always cancel and rebook.  I've done it 5 times and now am at less then half of what I first booked.



That is exactly what I did for our trip to Orlando in Oct.  9 days, got a total of $207 for intermediate from COstco.  I made the reservation, then put that info into AutoSlash.  I have already lowered it to $195 for the rental.


----------



## DavidnRobin (Jul 21, 2015)

DavidnRobin said:


> My AS is still active - Costco is still $25 less than AS. Perhaps the difference is the $25 Costco discount coupon?
> 
> About 30 secs to input info and search in Costco and get results - guess I am fortunate to have 30 secs of free time...



so far for my rental (LIH, Int, 14 days, late-Aug)
AS lowest was $357
Costco lowest $332(now above $360)


----------



## DavidnRobin (Aug 5, 2015)

DavidnRobin said:


> so far for my rental (LIH, Int, 14 days, late-Aug)
> AS lowest was $357
> Costco lowest $332(now above $360)



Update:
AS still at $357
Costco now at $324


----------



## DEScottzz (Aug 5, 2015)

I just used Costco to reserve a full-size car in Orange County CA for a week in mid-November. It was $109 including all taxes. 

It seems unlikely that the cost can go down too much from there. Am I right?


----------



## Patri (Aug 5, 2015)

Never heard of this site. Hope I remember next time I need a car.


----------



## Icc5 (Aug 6, 2015)

*My Guess*



DEScottzz said:


> I just used Costco to reserve a full-size car in Orange County CA for a week in mid-November. It was $109 including all taxes.
> 
> It seems unlikely that the cost can go down too much from there. Am I right?



Yes, at least I can't imagine it going lower but you don't pay until after the Costco Rental so still check on it every so often


----------



## Luanne (Aug 6, 2015)

I was checking on Autoslash for our next trip to the Big Island.  Instead of having the see if they could better a rental I already had, I had them do the search.

They did come up with competitive prices, *BUT* I noticed that in every case there was a charge (usually $13/day) for an additional driver.  

So if you do use Autoslash, just watch out for those additional fees.


----------



## abbekit (Aug 6, 2015)

Beginning in March I booked a car for Kauai for a week at the end of October on the Costco site, started at $221 for an economy car. In June I rebooked it (twice) and got it down to $184 (for a premium car which we really didn't want). 

Then I looked at Autoslash and booked via their website for $178 for an intermediate car.  They have rebooked me twice so far, the most recent price has now dropped to $161. And I still have two months to go! 

We don't need a second driver so using Costco just for that doesn't matter to us.


----------



## Luanne (Aug 6, 2015)

abbekit said:


> Beginning in March I booked a car for Kauai for a week at the end of October on the Costco site, started at $221 for an economy car. In June I rebooked it (twice) and got it down to $184 (for a premium car which we really didn't want).
> 
> Then I looked at Autoslash and booked via their website for $178 for an intermediate car.  They have rebooked me twice so far, the most recent price has now dropped to $161. And I still have two months to go!
> 
> We don't need a second driver so using Costco just for that doesn't matter to us.



We used Autoslash in San Diego and since dh was the only driver, we didn't need to deal with the additional driver fee.  And I think I read somewhere that in California there isn't an extra driver fee anyway.

For Hawaii even though dh does most of the driving, I do like to know I can drive the car if I need to.

Be sure that you have the reservation in the name of the driver.  I make all of our reservations, but I also make them in dh's name.  Once we got sucked into the additional driver fee (had rented using Priceline) because the reservation was in my name and I went to pick the car up.  In order for dh to drive we had to add him and pay the fee.


----------



## DavidnRobin (Aug 9, 2015)

DavidnRobin said:


> Update:
> AS still at $357
> Costco now at $324



AS at $357
Costco ---- $296 {<$150/week}
(started over $620 a few months ago)


----------



## Jimster (Aug 9, 2015)

*the point*

The point is you make a reservation with autoslash and you pursue the issue with Costco and perhaps make a reservation with them too.  That just makes sense.  Clearly in some instances one will be better than the other.  The reason I reopened this thread was too many expressed the opinion that Costco was better and in some cases it is, but not ALL.

I liken this whole thing to what I see on this forum all the time on many questions.  Namely, questions like What is the best credit card for ...?  It is an attempt to fulfill a need to find a definitive answer so you don't have to do your homework.  Life just doesn't work that way.  Just like there is no definitive answer to the credit card question, there is no definitive answer to the Autoslash v Costco question.  Look we have narrowed the field, now go do the homework.


----------



## Icc5 (Aug 10, 2015)

*Even with Costco*



Jimster said:


> The point is you make a reservation with autoslash and you pursue the issue with Costco and perhaps make a reservation with them too.  That just makes sense.  Clearly in some instances one will be better than the other.  The reason I reopened this thread was too many expressed the opinion that Costco was better and in some cases it is, but not ALL.
> 
> I liken this whole thing to what I see on this forum all the time on many questions.  Namely, questions like What is the best credit card for ...?  It is an attempt to fulfill a need to find a definitive answer so you don't have to do your homework.  Life just doesn't work that way.  Just like there is no definitive answer to the credit card question, there is no definitive answer to the Autoslash v Costco question.  Look we have narrowed the field, now go do the homework.


I also like to use Costco and I use AS to moniter the prices.  Several times it has reminded me by showing a cheaper price.  I then recheck Costco to see their price and several times it has come down.  For me this works while we are busy looking for flights,cars, etc. with other bookings we have going on.
So for me, it is a great reminder to check back every so often.


----------



## linsj (Aug 10, 2015)

I tried Autoslash for the first time for KOA next month. It found better prices than I had at National, but adding in the extra driver charge made all their slashes more expensive. In the meantime, National came down $100. One thing I like about National is they don't nitpick over scratches and little dents, so I don't fear a big repair bill after the fact, and I can pay for an intermediate car and drive away in an SUV for the same price.


----------



## Jimster (Aug 10, 2015)

*scratches*

I always use my phone (before and after rental) to video the car.  Then if they try to charge me I can always use the video against them.   The fact that i do that in their presence tends to eliminate the problem.


----------



## DavidnRobin (Aug 10, 2015)

Jimster said:


> The point is you make a reservation with autoslash and you pursue the issue with Costco and perhaps make a reservation with them too.  That just makes sense.  Clearly in some instances one will be better than the other.  The reason I reopened this thread was too many expressed the opinion that Costco was better and in some cases it is, but not ALL.
> 
> I liken this whole thing to what I see on this forum all the time on many questions.  Namely, questions like What is the best credit card for ...?  It is an attempt to fulfill a need to find a definitive answer so you don't have to do your homework.  Life just doesn't work that way.  Just like there is no definitive answer to the credit card question, there is no definitive answer to the Autoslash v Costco question.  Look we have narrowed the field, now go do the homework.



As to 'The Point' - and reasons for my postings for my INDIVIDUAL circumstance and experience... is that AS has not been cheaper than Costco (which was implied...). I am not saying that at times AS does not beat Costco, and I am also not saying that there is not a convenience factor for AS (because there is). But, if I were to rely only on AS - it would have cost me >$50/week (to the point).

But, I am a researcher - and therefore want to compare using a real life, real time data - over a long time interval.  And why I updated my results when prices decreased.  Yes, it has caused me too check Costco daily (really 5 of 7 days) - but I can search Costco in <1 min.

These results are listed - in my case - at this point (couple weeks to go) - Costco has out performed AS (and btw HI Discount)

YMMV


----------



## bobpark56 (Aug 10, 2015)

*Autoslash beats Costco?*

We have 5 upcoming car rentals. Costco provided the best deal for the first (it's no longer available) and Autoslash, so far, has won our next 4 rentals.


----------



## Luanne (Aug 10, 2015)

bobpark56 said:


> We have 5 upcoming car rentals. Costco provided the best deal for the first (it's no longer available) and Autoslash, so far, has won our next 4 rentals.



Is Autoslash still better when you factor in the additional driver fee?  Or do you only have one driver?


----------



## AutoSlash (Aug 11, 2015)

Hi folks! AutoSlash here. We just wanted to help clear the air on 5 quick things related to our service for the TUG community:

1. A number of companies allow spouses to drive for free. We have a complete rundown of additional driver policies in this post on our blog.

2. Additional drivers (regardless of relationship) drive for free in California by law.

3. If you book with Costco initially and track the rental on our site, we will add the Costco discount into the mix as one of the ones we check automatically. If you need the additional driver and *ONLY* want us to use the Costco discount code when checking for lower rates you can email us to let us know.

4. Related to #3 above, if you are booked through AutoSlash using the Costco discount code, you get all the benefits would would normally get when booking directly at Costco.com including the free additional driver.

5. If you don't want to bother with booking elsewhere and tracking on our site, you can get a discounted rate quote across all companies by going to autoslash.com/quote.

I hope this helps. Happy to answer any further questions.


----------



## MichaelColey (Aug 11, 2015)

Great information and incredibly helpful!  Sounds like booking on Costco and then letting you track it is the best of both worlds.

I wanted to share my personal experience with this part:





AutoSlash said:


> If you need the additional driver and *ONLY* want us to use the Costco discount code when checking for lower rates you can email us to let us know.


I have status at National, so I almost always book there for the perks (and to requalify).  When I've tracked through AutoSlash, I've emailed them and asked them to set my tracking to only include National, and they've happily done it.  They are VERY easy to work with.  You won't find this kind of service with most companies.


----------



## Ken555 (Aug 11, 2015)

AutoSlash said:


> Hi folks! AutoSlash here. We just wanted to help clear the air on 5 quick things related to our service for the TUG community:
> 
> 1. A number of companies allow spouses to drive for free. We have a complete rundown of additional driver policies in this post on our blog.
> 
> ...




Great to see you here! Thanks for the additional info - I didn't know you would track Costco and will review and update upcoming reservations accordingly. This will make your service much more relevant for many of us on TUG.


Sent from my iPad


----------



## AutoSlash (Aug 11, 2015)

Ken555 said:


> Great to see you here! Thanks for the additional info - I didn't know you would track Costco and will review and update upcoming reservations accordingly. This will make your service much more relevant for many of us on TUG.
> 
> Sent from my iPad



Yes, and in fact, the best way to ensure that we know it's a Costco reservation is to forward your Costco confirmation email to track@autoslash.com AFTER you submit it via our tracking page. We usually can pick up the discount code from the reservation and we know which ones are for Costco, but forwarding your Costco email confirmation is like a second check for us to ensure that we mark your reservation as a Costco member.


----------



## Luanne (Aug 11, 2015)

Ken555 said:


> Great to see you here! Thanks for the additional info - I didn't know you would track Costco and will review and update upcoming reservations accordingly. This will make your service much more relevant for many of us on TUG.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPad



When I used Autoslash this was the way I did it.  They used a Costco reservation I already had.

The rental was in California so the additional driver fee didn't apply.  But good to know there are car companies it won't be charged with.  It's just the quotes I've seen for the next trip I'll need a car for, all have shown the fee for the additional driver.

I just checked the current reservation I have for the Big Island.  Made it with Discount Hawaii and it's with Dollar.  No additional driver fee.  The post from Autoslash says: Dollar/Thrifty: Both companies typically charge per day for all additional drivers (including spouses).


----------



## DavidnRobin (Aug 11, 2015)

AutoSlash said:


> Yes, and in fact, the best way to ensure that we know it's a Costco reservation is to forward your Costco confirmation email to track@autoslash.com AFTER you submit it via our tracking page. We usually can pick up the discount code from the reservation and we know which ones are for Costco, but forwarding your Costco email confirmation is like a second check for us to ensure that we mark your reservation as a Costco member.



excellent info - thanks.


----------



## linsj (Aug 11, 2015)

MichaelColey said:


> I wanted to share my personal experience with this part:I have status at National, so I almost always book there for the perks (and to requalify).  When I've tracked through AutoSlash, I've emailed them and asked them to set my tracking to only include National, and they've happily done it.  They are VERY easy to work with.  You won't find this kind of service with most companies.



This is great to know. I've been sticking with National (have had some bad experiences with other companies) and check prices periodically, but doing it this way will save me time.


----------



## DavidnRobin (Aug 14, 2015)

DavidnRobin said:


> AS at $357
> Costco ---- $296 {<$150/week}
> (started over $620 a few months ago)



Finally got another AS decrease notice - $348
Holding Costco @ $297
(<$150/week for Int car w/ add driver - ain't bad)
cancelled AS search

just a data point - not trying to irritate anyone...


----------



## Icc5 (Aug 16, 2015)

*Lower Again*

So I got a message again today and keeping my rental with Costco I went from$238 down to $206 for 10 days.  Auto slash let me know so I cancelled the higher and went again with the lower.  From the start it is down over $200.


----------



## Sugarcubesea (Aug 17, 2015)

So far I have only received one notification from auto-slash…They should me a price reduction but it was with a car rental company I had never heard of called Sixt and it was only a savings of $8.92.  I’m hoping I will get other notifications with a company I have heard of and can use….


----------



## Jimster (Aug 17, 2015)

*Sixt*

While not a favorite of mine, Sixt is a worldwide rental company.


----------



## Sugarcubesea (Aug 17, 2015)

Jimster said:


> While not a favorite of mine, Sixt is a worldwide rental company.



Thanks, good to know


----------

