Deals on car rentals?

[TripleDigitRide]

I've never rented a vehicle before, but it looks like we may need to rent a van/full-size SUV for a few days around Thanksgiving. Anyone have any helpful information about getting the best deal?

[btq96r]

I've rented vehicles for work when the company pays and for pleasure on my own dime.  Here are my quick thoughts...

• I'd imagine a van would be cheaper to rent than an SUV if you aren't out for style points
• Be ready for sticker shock regardless, holidays are peak times for rentals with all the travel
• Check now if your personal vehicle insurance covers rentals; insurance can be a rip off from a rental company
• Note any scratch, dent, chip or imperfection you find on the checkout inspection- that goes double for the interior- as a safety precaution
• Do the math if they offer a pre-pay for fuel option; it seems convenient, but it's not always a great deal
• Don't bother paying for a GPS in the rental if your smartphone has a good map & directions app

[Hershmeister]

Check out Biddingfortravel.com You can view successful priceline bids so you can tell the range to use. Unlike hotel rooms, where you can buy abad view or location, a rental car is a car.

[Trekbike]

You might check out priceline.com. You can make offers on what you want to pay for the vehicle and then see if a rental company will accept it. In some cases you can get cheap rentals. The thing that will hurt your chances is the type of vehicle you need. Their stock is not as deep so the chances of a company having unrented vehicles is lower. That's basically how the site works. The rental company would rather take a lower rate than have a vehicle sitting there. Even if you don't book through them it's a great site to see all the companies rates on the different vehicles in one place. Also, don't be afraid of renting from some of the smaller companies since you'll get cheaper rates most of the time. Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk

[Dolomite_supafly]

Contact your personal insurance to see if they will cover you in a rental. Insurance on the rental is what makes it seem outrageous. The last car we rented they wanted over $20 per day for insurance.

[UncleJak]

I don't have a lot to add, but I will share that I had a horrible experience with enterprise. I consider myself a very reasonable person and what they dod was way out of line. Do yourself a favor and pick another company. Sent barefoot from the hills of Tennessee

[TripleDigitRide]

So far, Enterprise is the cheapest. Budget was a little cheaper, but we'd have to pay for an extra day, making it more expensive in the long run. Plus, we have an Enterprise location right down the street.

I may get a cheaper rate if I find a coupon or other discount between now and then.

[TripleDigitRide]

I don't have a lot to add, but I will share that I had a horrible experience with enterprise. I consider myself a very reasonable person and what they dod was way out of line. Do yourself a favor and pick another company.Sent barefoot from the hills of Tennessee

Great! That's not what I needed to hear. :lol:

[Dolomite_supafly]

Most places give discounts to military and former military as well as LE.

[LawVol]

a lot of credit cards offer rental insurance as an added benefit.  It's normally secondary to other insurance, but may cover things your primary auto insurance policy doesn't (like the deductible).  They're all different, though, so you'll have to read your credit card agreement to see what it provides.  

[Dane]

[quote name="TripleDigitRide" post="1174232" timestamp="1406822223"]Great! That's not what I needed to hear. :lol:[/quote] I've used enterprise for business functions a few times in the past. Other than getting a dirty van once it hasn't been bad. Considering my company makes the reservation and I have to handle the pickup and drop off I haven't had any issues. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

[Erik88]

Great info above. As info, I've only rented from National and I was very happy. Always for work and they treated me fairly. 

[Dustbuster]

Book early. Look for coupons and discounts through aaa SAMs club le gov etc. use your own insurance if u can. Take the loss damage insurance. It covers lost revenue and damage insurance co won't pay for if the vehicle is trashed or stolen. It's worth it...
I use hertz, thrifty, enterprise and budget. All neccessary evils....

[runco]

NRA members get discounts at some rentals.

[Troutburger]

Forget all other discounts. Call enterprise tell them you want the insurance rate on a rental. Insurance rates are Appx 50% off retail rates. Source: was my first job out of college.

[Karnage]

Priceline is the way to go. I rented a mid size car, from Hertz using Priceline's name your own price, in May that normally was $29 a day for $10 a day. Last thanksgiving I rented an SUV, from Budget Priceline's name your own price, that was normally $49 a day for $20 a day. Start your bid low and work your way up. Priceline will try to "trick" you by saying your bid is too low before you submit it. Submit the bid anyway and it might be accepted.

[Murgatroy]

I had issues with Enterprise. Several years ago my wife's car was hit and totalled. The other driver's insurance paid for the rental, but Enterprise strong armed me into $100 for a week's worth of insurance. The car was good, drove it, turned it back in and life went on.

 

Six months later they hit my debit card (that they HAD to have, I couldn't have the car without it, I paid cash for the insurance) for $400 for the rental. They never called, never said a word, they just charged me. Turns out the other woman's insurance never paid the invoice, so Enterprise just charged me.

 

It took me nearly two weeks to get it fixed, after being hung up on multiple times by the local agent.

 

I will NEVER use Enterprise again, nor recommend them.

[vontar]

One thing I highly recommend is the incidental damage.

 

I have only rented twice. first time almost didn't take but I did.  Inspected the car like I was buying it, we made a few notes of minor damage. 

10 minutes after getting home and getting out I found a scratch on the roof about 2 foot long I had missed that wasn't wrote down.  I was mad, but covered either way. 

 

Second car we rented I was going to Alabama just over a month ago and a semi tire had a blow out right as I was passing.  Tire debris hit the front and blow over the top of the car.  I didn't find any damage but it very easily could have caused some. 

 

In short, you don't want to get a repair bill on a rental or have to turn it into your insurance.  I took the complete coverage with them, about doubled the price but had great peace of mind during the trips.  Had I wreaked it and totaled it out, it was on their insurance, not mine.

[runco]

I do recommend the incidental insurance as well along with roadside.  I have rented 100s of rentals in my professional career traveling for the company, not one time have I ever had an accident, a scratch, a flat, or any thing else happen.  Not even a conversation or an eye brow raised.  Last October, my son and I were on a quick family vacation together out to San Diego and like the 100s of times before, I rented a car from Budget.  Since this was my dime, I did not take the roadside assistance, and my personal auto insurance would cover me in accident.  Wow I saved $10.  The next morning, went out to the Hotel parking lot to get in my car, had a flat.  I hadn't put 5 miles on the car.  Called the car rental, the first question, did I take the roadside?  No!  We can come out to help you, but its a $100 charge.  So I changed the flat myself and brought the car into the rental since it was a doughnut tire.  They happily switched cars, but I had to see the manager.  He had me fill out a damage report, geezzz its a flat, then he said that will be $30.  I said for what, the repair of the tire.  !@#$@#, lessons learned on my behalf at least for roadside rental coverage on my dime, the next time I rent for myself, this penny pincher will loosen his grip!

[frankmako]

if you have usaa use them to rent.  lowest price going, they get a special discount with several rental companies.  i rent a car several times a year with usaa.  if not look for discounts with any organization that you belong.  most rental companies have better rates for longer rents, like 10 days.  the pre paid gas can be a good deal it at the end of your trip the tank is all most empty, never works that way for me.   check with your insurance company for coverage so you don't have to buy the rental high dollar stuff.  don't add drivers, it will cost more.  forget the gps and sat radio, just more money.  rent ahead, 30 days or more for better/lower rates.  check the vehicle out good and takes pictures before signing the rental papers.  do not smoke in the vehicle, they will charge your card for lots of clean up money.  the rental company will try to get more money from you on all type of mickey mouse things, don't fall into the trap.  

[vontar]

I do recommend the incidental insurance as well along with roadside.  I have rented 100s of rentals in my professional career traveling for the company, not one time have I ever had an accident, a scratch, a flat, or any thing else happen.  Not even a conversation or an eye brow raised.  Last October, my son and I were on a quick family vacation together out to San Diego and like the 100s of times before, I rented a car from Budget.  Since this was my dime, I did not take the roadside assistance, and my personal auto insurance would cover me in accident.  Wow I saved $10.  The next morning, went out to the Hotel parking lot to get in my car, had a flat.  I hadn't put 5 miles on the car.  Called the car rental, the first question, did I take the roadside?  No!  We can come out to help you, but its a $100 charge.  So I changed the flat myself and brought the car into the rental since it was a doughnut tire.  They happily switched cars, but I had to see the manager.  He had me fill out a damage report, geezzz its a flat, then he said that will be $30.  I said for what, the repair of the tire.  !@#$@#, lessons learned on my behalf at least for roadside rental coverage on my dime, the next time I rent for myself, this penny pincher will loosen his grip!

 hindsight, could have pushed a plug in it and not said a word to them.  But also probably wouldn't have wanted to drive cross country like that either.

[Sam1]

Best people we deal with is Dollar rentals.  We've tried all the big ones, but Dollar seems to have the best deal and are the easiest to deal with (rent cars on trips at least 2 times per year).  With Dollar, we just pay for whatever kind we want (usually a midsize) and they just let you go pick out your own car from their inventory at the airports.  If you see something better you like, just go ahead and hop in it and they'll figure out the price difference later.

 

Having the option to just pick what you want on the spot is worth paying a few bucks extra (although it's usually the cheapest).

 

Also to add in, we've had issues when not having the insurance with Hertz & Budget both - they tried to scam us, but I always take photos of the cars from every side before touching them.  In 4 different states and probably 6 or 7 times renting, Dollar has never given us an iota of grief over anything.

Edited August 2, 2014 by Sam1

[.357SIG]

Just throwing out another option, a lot of car dealers have rental cars. When I was looking at renting a car last year, two dealerships within 10 miles of me offered rentals. I specifically remember that one of them offered vans to rent.

[Clod Stomper]

hindsight, could have pushed a plug in it and not said a word to them. But also probably wouldn't have wanted to drive cross country like that either.

I would. Thats how any repair shop would fix it. Done it plenty of times and they always hold up fine.

[Clod Stomper]

Just throwing out another option, a lot of car dealers have rental cars. When I was looking at renting a car last year, two dealerships within 10 miles of me offered rentals. I specifically remember that one of them offered vans to rent.

I did that once. It was cheaper. Next time I checked it was more expensive. So YMMV.