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It pays to keep searching for car rentals

1

#1 Cowboys Fan

TUG Review Crew: Expert
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I had a March Orlando Reservation for a Full Size car, 10 days, $339.

Today, stumbling around (carrental.com) I found a Minivan for $308.

More vehicle, less money (still Dollar car rental company)!!!

So, now I'll just keep searching to see if I can beat $308!!

Pat
 
Not bad... in my stumbling for a May Orlando 10 day trip I snagged a convertible for $272. I found it about 4 months ago and in my every other day searches I have not found anything cheaper.

I'm also stumbling for a OGG week and a HNL week. While the current full sized rentals I have are not bad, I think I can do better.
 
I have thru Dollar a full size car for 9 days in Orlando (MCO) for 258.00. Saw this yesterday also and then later pm it went to 287.00. I reserved it at this price this morning but will keep checking for a price drop
 
It is not uncommon for rental car rates to fluctuate.

I booked an Orlando convertible through Dollar back in September ($162 rate that totalled $208 with all the fees and taxes) for the week of Feb 25 - March 4. I haven't found a better price yet (same car is $223/$280 right now), but most of the rental companies do have promotions that they run.

Look for promotions at the company's websites and other coupons that get posted in places like Mousesavers.com.
 
Detailor said:
It is not uncommon for rental car rates to fluctuate.
Click to expand...

Exactly. Once I book a trip, I find the lowest price on the car size I need and book it. Then keep checking Orbitz for lower weekly rates. If I find one, go directly to the rental car company site and book it...cancel the other reservation. Our last trip was to Kauai for 13 days...I made at least 6 reservations, finally ended up with a full size for $308 (tax included) for the entire stay.
 
Another example: For our July Yellowstone trip, I reserved a 9 day rental for a minivan in Jackson for $358 from National months ago. Now there will be only 4 of us instead of 6, I was thinking to change it to something smaller. On orbitz the economy to premium ranges from $622 to $875 ! I'm keeping my minivan (except that on the web site an airport fee of $25 was added).
 
checking car rentals

Now besides my Dodge full size car at Dollar, I have a Chevy Trailblazer reserved thru Alamo for the same price of 258.00

Alamo has the SUV at a lower price then the full size car.
:)
It's not that the 3 adults and 1 toddler need a big car, it's the suitcases and stroller we will be bringing.
We'd be packed like sardines riding from the airport to the room.

I'll still check. The rates may go lower
 
I reserved a Trailblazer with Alamo for $208.08 including tax! I was surprized to see the SUV priced lower than a fullsize car. Overall Orlando car rentals seemed high. Prices are higher than I paid in Hawaii last year.

Sandy
 
#1 Cowboys Fan said:
I had a March Orlando Reservation for a Full Size car, 10 days, $339.

Today, stumbling around (carrental.com) I found a Minivan for $308.

More vehicle, less money (still Dollar car rental company)!!!

So, now I'll just keep searching to see if I can beat $308!!

Pat
Click to expand...

An even better site is CarRentals.com (plural).
 
You are right. I had already reserved a full sized car in Ft lauderdale for two weeks this summer for $480 all-in for two weeks, did this a few weeks ago. Went to reserve one for B-I-L last night and found mine for only $360 all-in, quickly booked and cancelled previous.
 
another coupon (alamo)

I don't know if I just missed it before -- or if they just put it there -- but I just found another coupon on mousesavers.com for $20 off the weekly rental. I applied it to the reservation that I already had through alamo (with other discounts through mousesavers) and it brought my mini van rental (Uplander or similar) in Miami for one week down to $264.60 total. BUT, I'm still going to keep looking :)

If anyone knows how to get better, please let me know how.

Debi
 
Keep checking Alamo. We have rented an SUV from them for less than a full size. Maybe due to higher fuel cost? We weren't putting a lot of miles on so we were happy with the SUV.
 
Sidestep.com

I use sidestep.com to occassionally check for a lower price. With sidestep you can check multiple sites with one search. Of course, it was a Tugger that informed me about this site.
 
Car Rentals Orlando

We just rented a minivan through Dollar for 213 (incl. tax) for the week of March 18. The minivan was less than any other category except economy.
 
We are going to West Pam Beach in July. Three weeks ago I rented a minivan from National for $199 for a week. Now it is $360. Will keep checking back.
 
What kind of discount codes (if any) did you have to use to get that rate?

Thanks,
Debi
 
#1 Cowboys Fan said:
I had a March Orlando Reservation for a Full Size car, 10 days, $339.

Today, stumbling around (carrental.com) I found a Minivan for $308.

More vehicle, less money (still Dollar car rental company)!!!

So, now I'll just keep searching to see if I can beat $308!!

Pat
Click to expand...

An UPDATE---last night I got it down to $285 !!!

Pat
 
Hi Pat,

How are you finding these rates? Are you using discount codes or anything? If so, where from?

Thanks :)
 
mikey0531 said:
Hi Pat,

How are you finding these rates? Are you using discount codes or anything? If so, where from?

Thanks :)
Click to expand...
I'm sure Pat will correct me if my assumptions are wrong, but I think he's accessing the Dollar website without a coupon. My test for Orlando minivans just brought back a $286.95 rate (fees and taxes included) without coupon or corporate code for a ten-day period at the end of March.
If you're not finding the same rate results for a different period of time that's because there's no one-rate-fits-all concept for rental cars. A rate that you find for early March will probably not be the same rate that you find for a couple of weeks later - March 22-April 1 brings the above rate, March 1 - 11 brings a $518.85 rate. This is normal for car rental companies,pricing is sensitive to demand and can fluctuate greatly based on inventory and can change daily. And pricing will tend to be higher during holiday weeks, expected high vacation periods, etc.
Pat has found a key to car rental savings - go back often, check rates, re-check rates and revise your reservation when the price goes down. Also try different coupon combinations available from sites like Mousesavers and check the rental company's online promotions or specials (there's usually either a special for upcoming dates or specials about to be released). The whole process can be a little frustrating if you hear somebody else is getting a great rate that you can't find for your vacation week, but you've got to deal with your time frame and keep trying to find the small discounts and changes that add up to savings.
Dick Taylor
 
Yes, I can see the same $286.95 as Detailor mentions.

Mine was a buck cheaper ($285.93 ) and has a code attached of RWUW8.

Pat
 
Yes, I have been checking back regularly. I just checked for the same dates as you did and put Miami in (which is where I'm flying into) instead of Orlando and the rate is $526 :( So -- I guess my destination is the issue :( Oh well -- thanks for the info and I'll keep searching.

Debi
 
:) I love TUG - just saved myself $50 by using the www.carrentals.com link for 8 day rental in MCO for early March. Got an midsize SUV from Alamo for about $200 with all taxes and fees. Had a midsize with Thrifty before for $250.

Well, a SUV will use more gas - but not $50s worth in a week.
 
Alamo seems to be positioning itself as an SUV renter IMO. I was able to get a Trailblazer (or equivalent) for $211 for August from Alamo. I wish National had the same price (since they are owned by the same company) so I could use Emerald Reserve.
 
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