Car rental deals?

[Mike Oxlong]

I am wondering if anyone out there in the world of CP has any good advice on where or how to get the best deals on car rentals.

My wife and I are heading to Maui with our 7 month old in about a month from now and we are going to need to rent a car when we get there. Having a kid means no more taking taxi's as he needs to be in a car seat all the time.

I have checked the usual suspects like Budget, Enterprise, National etc....
I have even heard of bidding for a car on Priceline.com which I may end up trying.

We are going to be sharing the car with another couple we are going with so we need an SUV or even minivan to fit us all and the car seat comfortably.

I just wanted to see if anyone here has any experience they could share on getting a good deal. Right now we are looking at between $600 and $650 for 10 days which is pretty pricy.

If you know of any good websites, places to get coupons, discounts, anything really I am open to suggestions.

Also for those that travel with children, do you generally rent a car seat or do you bring your own with you?

Thanks in advance!!

[MoneyGuy]

Make sure you have insurance coverage before you go that covers a rental car so you can refuse that expensive insurance they offer you. Don't let them shame you into it. If you book a car off the airport site you don't have to pay the airport fee. Sorry, I can't help you regarding car seats. At 6-3, my son barely fits into the car as it is; no way he fits into a car seat.

[drewboy12]

depending who you fly with, I know you can get 10% with a westjet boarding pass at budget I believe. Im not sure if other airlines offer this deal or not.

[cmyden]

Use Orbitz or Kayak to determine which rental car companies have the best prices for your dates.

Which dates are you trying?

Looks like National has SUVs for $519 USD after taxes.

After finding the cheapest couple of car companies you could try searching for discount codes.

$50 USD/day seems fairly reasonable for an SUV. 13 bucks a day for each person.

[Mike Oxlong]

Originally Posted by cmyden

Use Orbitz or Kayak to determine which rental car companies have the best prices for your dates.

Which dates are you trying?

Looks like National has SUVs for $519 USD after taxes.

After finding the cheapest couple of car companies you could try searching for discount codes.

$50 USD/day seems fairly reasonable for an SUV. 13 bucks a day for each person.

We arrive in Hawaii on March 25th and leave Apr 3rd. So we really need it for 10 days. $500 I could deal with I suppose, $600 or $650 is a little more than I wanted to pay.

Thanks for the advice so far.

[getbak]

Entertainment Book usually has the best discount codes. Odds are if you have friends with youngish kids, someone probably bought one as part of a school/scouts fundraiser. Some of their codes don't even require a coupon.

Also, just Google "rental car discount codes" and try any of them that you can find. It's amazing how much of a difference you can find even looking for the same vehicle with the same company.

[Fobulous]

I would check out Hotwire.com... I have always found that they have some really good deals in the states.

You can also get a discount at Enterprise using the APEGGA discount. You need to be a member of APEGGA in order to use this discount. However, with that being said, I have rented a car on numerous occasions using this discount code and never been asked by Enterprise to show my APEGGA membership card, although I always have it with me.

In order to use the discount code you have to go to enterprise.com, type in 5CA3400 in the coupon code box, and than on the next screen the PIN is APE. Like I said, you need to be a member of APEGGA to use this... but I have never been asked to prove I am with APEGGA.

[chuckles]

Originally Posted by Mike Oxlong

We arrive in Hawaii on March 25th and leave Apr 3rd. So we really need it for 10 days. $500 I could deal with I suppose, $600 or $650 is a little more than I wanted to pay.

Thanks for the advice so far.

We just got back from Hawaii, rented a intermediate car (pontic G5 - nothing fancy) Jan 21-31 inclusive and paid a total of $212 taxes in from Costco. If you are an executive member, go onto the website and it will link you to the Budget site.

[FlamesKickAss]

Originally Posted by MoneyGuy

Make sure you have insurance coverage before you go that covers a rental car so you can refuse that expensive insurance they offer you. Don't let them shame you into it. If you book a car off the airport site you don't have to pay the airport fee. Sorry, I can't help you regarding car seats. At 6-3, my son barely fits into the car as it is; no way he fits into a car seat.

When I went to Miami, it was still cheaper to rent the vehicle at the airport, and then take into account that there might not be a shuttle for an off airport rental place. Rented through Alamo, they had discount coupons on their website.

[Suave]

Originally Posted by Fobulous

I would check out Hotwire.com... I have always found that they have some really good deals in the states.

Hotwire is showing the following for a SUV
$41.68/day $473.79/trip

[Shazam]

AMA has discounts as well.

[csnarpy]

if you have a costco card then go to www.costco.com and hit the travel section. You can usually get rentals for 25% off with an additional 25$ off as well. You don't have to be from the US to use this either.

We use this all the time, in fact were using it in LA in 3 weeks.

Also, in the 4 years i have used these discounts, i have never had to produce my costco card. At Alamo you don't even need to go up to the counter, just use the kiosk and get your car and leave.

[GGG]

Originally Posted by Suave

Hotwire is showing the following for a SUV
$41.68/day $473.79/trip

I only use Hotwire and priceline. Usually Priceline you can end up getting a little cheaper so if Hotwire is 41.68 a day you can bid between 35 and 38 to win on Priceline.

If you go the priceline/hotwire route remember that there are no changes. NONE. Consider your money gone as soon as you book it. So make sure things like pick up location and such are correct before you bid.

[photon]

I used Hotwire last month and got a minivan for $250 for 10 days!

If you have lots of time, here's a forum dedicated to deals in the US:

http://www.fatwallet.com/forums/trav...on/car-rental/

I've used the coupon thread once before and it was complicated but I saved a few bucks.

[ken0042]

What about local Calgary rentals? I need to rent a car in April for a week. Anybody know of a place that has good deals on rentals in town?

[Ace]

I find Costco.com usually has some good rates.

Go to Kayak to find the cheaper providers, then click on the Costco.com links for those providers and try them all to see what is best.

[cral12]

Any updates on suggested ways to get best deals for car rental. In this case, headed to Hawaii, Maui that is.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

[Calgary14]

Spend $15 to take a cab to an off-airport location. There's a rental company that specializes in used cars located close to the airport but not right there. We rented from there and they were about 40% cheaper than any airport rate. Can't recall the name but if you google it you should find it

[sparky69]

Use priceline.com use the bid options and you can get a rental for about $10 a day not including taxes

[calgarygeologist]

Originally Posted by Calgary14

Spend $15 to take a cab to an off-airport location. There's a rental company that specializes in used cars located close to the airport but not right there. We rented from there and they were about 40% cheaper than any airport rate. Can't recall the name but if you google it you should find it

Might be Kehei rentals that you are thinking of. If I'm not mistaken they are the cheapest place in Maui but they also don't have new vehicles. They are older cars but they get the job done.