Phoenix - renting a car off-airport

[tiel]

Rental cars at the Phoenix airport are ridiculously expensive due to all of the facility fees and special taxes. The JW Marriott Desert Ridge has an on-site Hertz rental and Enterprise usually has convenient locations or will drop cars off. I suggest you take a taxi or shuttle to your resort, and rent a car locally if you need one. If you pick up a car elsewhere and return it to the airport, the fees do not apply, so you can return it to the airport.

We're going to be at the Canyon Villas and followed by a week at Shadow Ridge in April. I just started checking out car rentals, and the best rate I've found so far is for $670 for an intermediate for 2 weeks via Costco. YIKES!!!!!!! So, this idea of renting off-airport is very appealing, but I'm wondering how practical/easy it is.

Has anyone done it...rented from the JW then returned the car to the airport? IF so, how did you get to the Canyon Villas? The MVC website says the resort is 30 miles from the airport, so a taxi might be expensive. Also, what is the best way to price compare for rental cars off-airport? Costco provided some locations anywhere from 6 to 9 miles from the Villas, but that means another taxi (though I wouldn't think it would be that expensive).

In the past, we've always just rented at the airport so we're not sure how to go about this. Any tips or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

 

[DeniseM]

Since this was posted in a 2010 thread - I moved it to a new thread, for more visability.

I'd call the resort directly and see who they recommend - some companies with pick you up at your location.

 

[Passepartout]

I have rented from a Budget off airport location only a few miles from the airport. The taxi driver was very unhappy with the short fare, but it's not my job to make happy cabbies. We were able to return it to the airport rent-a-car center without penalty. You should be able to find it from their website.

Jim Ricks

 

[tiel]

Thanks to Denise for bumping this thread up!

And thanks to Passepartout for the suggestion. I found a rate for $410 at an off-airport location, for a larger vehicle, via Costco! Could have had a lower rate for a smaller car, but decided to splurge. As usual, I will continue to monitor rates right up until we depart, but am we found a MUCH better deal to start from.

 

[yumdrey]

I rented a car from Phoenix airport last Jan. I used Alamo coupon ($50 off weekly rental) and 15% off when you prepay.
It was around $110 for intermediate car.

 

[kkan]

I have found the car rental rates at PHX to be sky high due to taxes and fees. I think they are funding a stadium with tourist dollars.

Try this tactic. If the taxi fare is too high, rent a car (say Avis) at the airport for 1 day (24 hours) and drive it with your luggage to the resort. The next day, drop off the car at the off airport Avis site. While at the off airport site, using a second car reservation with Avis, immediately pick up an off airport rental for the remaining two weeks to be dropped off at the airport. You will find this method can save you a lot.

 

[SherryS]

My DH took the Super Shuttle to an off-airport car rental location while I waited for our luggage. He arrived back at the airport just 5 minutes or so after I had gathered our things. We returned car to airport when we departed. Saved a lot doing this!

 

[Passepartout]

Here are 2 Budget off-airport locations. I've used 1 of them (Rural road iirc). Fairly cheap taxi ride. Only snag is they are only open until about 5pm. so plan ahead. Also book ahead, 'cause they don't stock a lot of cars like the airport. W/advance booking they can just bring any car from the airport RAC center. Seem like a PITA, but saves a boatload in local tourism taxes. Unless you want to help them build a stadium.

1412 N Scottsdale Rd
Tempe, AZ 85281

3255 S Rural Rd
Tempe, AZ 85282

Jim

 

[flyboy0681]

The fees are absolutely true. Last year I rented from the airport "modal center" and the taxes, fees and surcharges added an additional 54% to the bill.

As far as I know this is the only airport rental site in the country that charges extortion.

You will need to weigh taxi fees to an off-site rental counter. Taking a taxi to the resort doesn't make a whole lot of sense since it's so far away and will likely cost one days rental in itself.

I read last year that the rental car companies were fighting all of these fees but I don't know where it landed up - nowhere I assume.

The Phoenix city council and their local governments sure have a lot of cojones.

 

[TheTimeTraveler]

The fees are absolutely true. Last year I rented from the airport "modal center" and the taxes, fees and surcharges added an additional 54% to the bill.

As far as I know this is the only airport rental site in the country that charges extortion.

You will need to weigh taxi fees to an off-site rental counter. Taking a taxi to the resort doesn't make a whole lot of sense since it's so far away and will likely cost one days rental in itself.

I read last year that the rental car companies were fighting all of these fees but I don't know where it landed up - nowhere I assume.

The Phoenix city council and their local governments sure have a lot of cojones.

All airport locations are expensive (because of added taxes). The best way around all airport locations is to rent the vehicle from the nearest location OTHER THAN the airport. Take a taxi (or public transportation) there, and return the car to the airport location.

The taxing authorities seem to feel that the business travelers can absorb these higher taxes and aren't really concerned about us little folks.



.

 

[pwrshift]

I did the same as this and not only saved a lot, I got a great upgrade for no added cost.

All airport locations are expensive (because of added taxes). The best way around all airport locations is to rent the vehicle from the nearest location OTHER THAN the airport. Take a taxi (or public transportation) there, and return the car to the airport location.

The taxing authorities seem to feel that the business travelers can absorb these higher taxes and aren't really concerned about us little folks.



.

 

[GetawaysRus]

I have the following information saved from an article I found on the Web a few months back.
--------------------------------------------

Rent off-site. Other fees that creep into your rental agreement may have nothing to do with the company. At Phoenix Sky Harbor, for example, you'll pay a daily customer facility charge, concession fees and a 3.25% county stadium tax, in addition to other state taxes.

You can avoid some of these charges by taking a cab or bus to an off-airport rental company; Enterprise (www.enterprise.com) is one company that has many neighborhood rentals, for example. But do check the hours first, as many off-site rental car companies close at business hours during the week or shutter completely on weekends.

 

[Superchief]

I checked the Marriott Website and they show the resort to be 19 miles from the airport and estimated cab fare of $60. There is a Hertz rental at the JW. Depending on your plans, you probably won't need a car for your whole trip, so you might consider renting at the JW.

When we stay at Canyon Villas, we take the train to Flagstaff and fly back from Phoenix. The rental car is less than $300 for the week when we do that, and we enjoy a stopover in Sedona.

 

[TRAVELING FOOL]

We were at the Canyon Villas the beginning of last Nov. I did lots of car rental searches and got lucky late one night on Hotwire.com. $287 for a full size for 1 week! Before that I was getting around 500-600/wk. This included taxes as well. We split the cost with the other couple we took with us, which made it even better. Have fun. This was a great vacation. Just loved the JW next door, with all the ammenities.