# Car rental Weekly vs daily question



## chellej (Sep 10, 2009)

Lately car rental rates have been terrible.  DH often travels monday through friday so he ends up with a daily rate.  Right now I am trying to book a car in Atlanta for him and if I book a weekly rate it will save him $100 over the daily rate for the 4 days he will be there.  Do the car rental places charge a penalty if the car is turned in early?

Has anyone tried this?


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## gorevs9 (Sep 10, 2009)

chellej said:


> Lately car rental rates have been terrible.  DH often travels monday through friday so he ends up with a daily rate.  Right now I am trying to book a car in Atlanta for him and if I book a weekly rate it will save him $100 over the daily rate for the 4 days he will be there.  Do the car rental places charge a penalty if the car is turned in early?
> 
> Has anyone tried this?



While I cannot remember the exact wording, I have read in my AVIS contracts that the rate received at the time of the reservation will be void if the car is returned early.  IMO, they do this to prevent exactly what you are describing.  

They probably won't charge a "penalty", rather they would re-calculate the rate based on the current daily rates.


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## teepeeca (Sep 10, 2009)

Many car rental companies will give you the "weekly" rate if you rent for 5 days or more.  If you need the car Monday-Friday, that would be 5 days, and you should get the weekly rate.

Tony


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## gorevs9 (Sep 10, 2009)

teepeeca said:


> Many car rental companies will give you the "weekly" rate if you rent for 5 days or more.  If you need the car Monday-Friday, that would be 5 days, and you should get the weekly rate.
> 
> Tony


The OP mentioned 4 days.  If the car is picked up on Monday and dropped off the same time on Friday, then it is only 4 days.


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## teepeeca (Sep 11, 2009)

*gorves9*

You are "completely correct" with what you say, BUT, if you return the car at 4 days PLUS one minute, it is considered a 5 day rental.  Therefore, is should be considered a "5-day" rental, and then get the "weekly" rate.

"IF" you only rent for 4 days (less than 96 hours), then you might be charged for the daily rental.

It "DOES HELP" if you ask questions before the actual rental.

Tony


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## gorevs9 (Sep 11, 2009)

teepeeca said:


> You are "completely correct" with what you say, BUT, if you return the car at 4 days PLUS one minute, it is considered a 5 day rental.  Therefore, is should be considered a "5-day" rental, and then get the "weekly" rate.



I stand corrected.  
Interesting...I never thought of it that way.  Just for kicks, I plugged in a Monday to Friday rental request at AVIS.COM with pick-up and return times  for 9 am.  Then I changed the return time to 9:30 am.  The "base rate" was then calculated for 4 days, 1 hour and the price dropped over $230 for the rental.


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## Sthack (Sep 11, 2009)

*Yes, I was charged an early return fee....*



chellej said:


> ............Do the car rental places charge a penalty if the car is turned in early?
> 
> Has anyone tried this?




YES, i've returned a car in (w/Alamo) an hour or two early and was charged a $15 penalty.  Your best bet is to call the rental company to ask if/what is their penalty to return the car a day early.


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## MULTIZ321 (Sep 12, 2009)

Here's a Smart Way Around the Early Return Rule - from elliott.org


Richard


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## Talent312 (Sep 12, 2009)

Re: elliott.org ... the roadside towing services I'm familiar with will not tow a car w/o someone present...

In the past, I have stayed over a Saturday night to get a lower airfare, so why not a few hours or extra day to get a lower rental?  To get an extra few hours, you could try renting from an off-airport site which has an after hours drop box.  They'd have no idea when it was actually dropped.


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## pcgirl54 (Sep 12, 2009)

Some companies also require a Saturday stay for a weekly rental. 5 days has been the same price as 7 for the last searches I have done and I always play with the times. On more than one occasion we rented for a week and turned the car in early.

Check the fine print.


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## chellej (Sep 12, 2009)

Thanks for the replys.  I was persistant and finnally got a car through priceline for the 4 days that matches the lowest weekly rate.  It is still really high ($39/day for a compact) but it saved $20/day over any of the rental sites.


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