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Marriott's Newport Coast Villas - Suggestions for offsite car rentals

hajjah

hajjah

TUG Review Crew
TUG Member
Joined
Jun 8, 2005
Messages
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Resorts Owned
Marriott Grande Vista
4 Resorts In Cocoa Beach, FL
We are returning to Newport Coast Villas in May, but have not been able to find a car rental under $800. We stayed there twice last year, but the rental rates were around $500 for a week. So far, the only rentals that are at the $500 mark are with Fox, for which the reviews are very mixed. We've been going to MVC for the last 7 years, but this year is proving to be very different. We have always booked our cars for John Wayne Airport onsite. Does anyone have suggestions for off site rentals that were positive? I'm leaning to book with Fox, but I am also very hesitant. I have Googled this and checked on Trip Advisor.
 
hajjah said:
We are returning to Newport Coast Villas in May, but have not been able to find a car rental under $800. We stayed there twice last year, but the rental rates were around $500 for a week. So far, the only rentals that are at the $500 mark are with Fox, for which the reviews are very mixed. We've been going to MVC for the last 7 years, but this year is proving to be very different. We have always booked our cars for John Wayne Airport onsite. Does anyone have suggestions for off site rentals that were positive? I'm leaning to book with Fox, but I am also very hesitant. I have Googled this and checked on Trip Advisor.
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How far do you usually travel offsite?
$500 would pay for a lot of local Uber rides?
 
We always travel away from the resort. Especially since the friend who is joining me this trip has never been to the west coast, I'm planning to take her to Balboa Island, Laguna Beach, Irvine, Huntington Beach and a few other places. We'll probably also book the tour to Hollywood from the resort this time. I make trips for groceries at Ralphs and eat at several restaurants in other cities. I enjoy driving around the local areas, but these car rentals are sky high.
 
If you have a Costco membership, it might be cheaper.
 
Do you have a Costco membership? I find Costco travel has the best deals for car rentals - I book with Costco Travel way in advance then start checking the rates again periodocally up to about a week before we arrive. Over Christmas, at John Wayne Airport, I ended up with a car rental a little over $315 including unlimited tolls. We use the toll road a lot to visit family. I eneded up booking three times and cancelling twice - saved about $200 doing this. In August using the same sytem I saved over $400 from the original booking of a car rental at Salt Lake City Airport. I have been using the Costco site for years and always seem to get the best rate.
 
Vacation1 said:
Do you have a Costco membership? I find Costco travel has the best deals for car rentals - I book with Costco Travel way in advance then start checking the rates again periodocally up to about a week before we arrive. Over Christmas, at John Wayne Airport, I ended up with a car rental a little over $315 including unlimited tolls. We use the toll road a lot to visit family. I eneded up booking three times and cancelling twice - saved about $200 doing this. In August using the same sytem I saved over $400 from the original booking of a car rental at Salt Lake City Airport. I have been using the Costco site for years and always seem to get the best rate.
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I start with Costco, then register the rental with AutoSlash. They will search for you and send an email when they find a lower rate. You can then choose to take that lower rate, or not. If you do accept the rate from AutoSlash be sure to cancel the one with Costco.
 
Thanks for your suggestions. I do not have a Costco membership since there are none near my town. At this point, I will book with Fox and keep checking to see if the rates on site at John Wayne go down any. At least I have until May.
 
Are you driving into Laguna Beach to get groceries at Ralphs? There is a much better grocery, Pavillions, just up the hill from the resort.


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Yes, I shop at Ralphs at the Pavilion. The other Ralph's in Laguna is very small. We've only shopped there a few years ago while in that area. I'm deciding to book a rental with Fox for 9 days since we're staying at a Marriott hotel in Irvine for two nights prior to checking in at MVC. I always add 2 nights since we're coming from the south and love staying in this area. I haven't read any other reviews for off site car rentals other than Fox. I'll keep checking.
 
hajjah said:
Yes, I shop at Ralphs at the Pavilion. The other Ralph's in Laguna is very small. We've only shopped there a few years ago while in that area. I'm deciding to book a rental with Fox for 9 days since we're staying at a Marriott hotel in Irvine for two nights prior to checking in at MVC. I always add 2 nights since we're coming from the south and love staying in this area. I haven't read any other reviews for off site car rentals other than Fox. I'll keep checking.
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Definitely keep checking. We will be flying into John Wayne on Jan 14 and have a rental for $298 for the week. It was much more when I first booked some months ago but has come down recently.
 
I will echo the keep checking!! I booked a car for Tampa several months ago and it was $429 cheapest I could find for the week. Suddenly this week this price has dropped every single day and I have re-booked each time. Now down to $324 for the week.
 
Have you looked at Turo? We need a mini van for our trip to CA and it was half the price of rental cars.
 
If you are flying into John Wayne Airport, have you checked the rental agencies(Avis, budget, enterprise) on Campus Way? They are a couple of blocks from the airport and will pick you up. You can generally save at least $50 instead of an airport pickup.
 
I used to rent from Hertz in Santa Ana. I don't know if it's still there or if it's still cheaper than the airport.
 
I will check the agencies that are off airport. That's the information I was requesting initially. In the meantime, someone else suggested that I check with AutoSlash. I forgot about them. They gave me a quote via Fox, but I was hesitant about booking with Fox. As long as there's no problem declining insurance and paying at the counter, I'm good. I may have read somewhere that people were forced to accept the insurance, which I never use. My American Express Platinum covers me for car rentals in addition to my auto insurance. Oh, I was not aware of the rental agencies on Campus Way. I'll check those as well. I always re check all rentals prior to any trips. As a matter of fact, I found a cheaper rate for Myrtle Beach in two weeks via Alamo. That price has come down $20, but I'll keep checking.
 
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I've rented at Fox at Ontario Airport for, I don't know maybe 10 years or so? I've never had any issues. Yes, it's not as convenient, have to take TWO shuttles last time I was there at that airport, but I'll live for half the cost!
 
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