Costco car rentals is dynamite, 25% cheaper on average I found. Just booked a car for Los Angeles, taking the kids to Disneyland. Booked through Costco (Alamo) and got an Intermediate SUV for USD$160 for 6 days. That was less than half of when I checked with Expedia and other sites,
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"In theory, there is no difference between theory and practice. But in practice, there is" — Jan Van De Snepscheu
In my experience Budget are scoundrels, Enterprise is good, and Alamo is hilariously laid back (e.g. no damage inspection, just letting me take any car I want - "the keys are in all of them, take what you like").
I usually aim for Enterprise and wouldn't touch Budget again.
Priceline might bargain a good deal if you're not picky about company.
If you've never done it before, splurge and get a jeep. Soft top so you can go open air.
Just make sure you can close the top completely if you plan on going to Haleakalā for sunrise... I made that mistake... who would've thought it could get so cold in Maui...
I swear by Priceline.... I've saved so much in my last 3 trips. At least half with the name your price. My trip 2 weeks ago to Ft. Meyers, the rates were around $45/day for 7 days on every site, booked for $22/day with Priceline.
I usually go to somewhere like carrentals. com and get a baseline price against Expedia, etc. Then, I mess around with Priceline until I get a low, low price or they give me the "lowest offer price" (because they keep rejecting my offers) which usually is comparable in terms of what other sites are offering.
I will suggest to always keep an eye out on the fees. I remember Priceline giving me stuff like $36 bucks a day (vs $44 normal on other sites) but then you'd pay something like $180 in extra fees and taxes instead of $120 on other sites which either meant you were paying more via priceline, or the prices were pretty much exactly the same. Mess around at $42 on priceline and you'd see the fees drop.
Just booked a rental for Florida in a couple weeks. I am lazy so I just looked through the first two sites I googled. Pick up and drop off at Orlando Airport. $160 Can to go Fri to Thurs.
+1...if you have a Costco membership, the Costco Travel site is dynamite.
Quote:
Originally Posted by flylock shox
In my experience Budget are scoundrels
This. I've rented from Budget a couple times...never again. Hidden charges, rude staff, crappy cars. Maybe I've just had bad luck, but I can't stand them.
In fact, we used them on our trip to Maui last year. We needed a van...every place I checked was sold out, and SUV's were over $1000 for the week. These guys rent blocks of vehicles from the companies...I think we ended up paying $900 incl taxes for the van, and they gave us a rental from Alamo. Alamo's own website said they were sold out. The rental even included a free additional driver. They don't tell you the company until you confirm, but unlike Priceline, you can cancel. If rates are too high or inventory is next to nil, check these guys out, they're legit.
I usually check National first if I need to rent somewhere. I hate having to stand in line at the counter, and call me crazy, but I am one of those guys that is very picky about the cars that he drives. I like to look at all the cars available, and pick the one that I want. National's Emerald Club allows you to walk right by the line and pick your own car from the lot. And everywhere I've gone, National's staff have always been super nice and easy to deal with. My wife and I had a Full Size res in Vegas with National, and the Branch Manager was walking around the lot when we arrived. He immediately greeted us and introduced himself, and I asked if he had any convertibles...when I booked, they were too expensive, so I thought I'd ask him. He didn't have any to spare, but he told me I could pick anything from the Luxury section for the same rate, no questions asked.
But yeah, I usually compare prices between National, Costco Travel, and Avis...one of those three usually gives me something at a decent price. Or if we're going to Hawaii, I'll check out Discount Hawaii as well. Because of my bias against Budget, I usually wouldn't touch Avis either, but my company has a corporate discount with them. I've never used Avis yet, though...so far, I've always gotten a lower rate from either National or Costco.
cral12, if you want, send me a PM with your travel dates to Maui. I can see what I can dig up for ya.
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Sign up for an Emerald Club membership with National. You get a preferred rate, and you get to skip the counter and choose your own car from the Emerald Aisle, which sometimes has free upgrades like SUV's.
I booked through priceline with National and I later signed up for the Emerald club because the second driver from the same household is free.
Is Emerald Aisle a place with cars you can choose from even if you booked through priceline?
I booked through priceline with National and I later signed up for the Emerald club because the second driver from the same household is free.
Is Emerald Aisle a place with cars you can choose from even if you booked through priceline?
Sorry, this post got way longer than I planned. Long answer in the spoiler box.
TL;DR -- Short answer, probably not. But try calling the rental location (not the call centre) and see if they'll add your EC#. If not, ask again at the counter when you get there.
You won't be able to just walk straight to the Emerald Aisle and pick a car though, especially if there's an upgrade sitting there. Whether the counter agent lets you depends on the location.
You can PM me if you have any more questions.
Spoiler!
I'm pretty sure that you would have to go to the counter, and be assigned a vehicle from the reserved section by the agent. The reservation doesn't have your Emerald Club membership# on it, or the Emerald Club "Contract ID", as they call it. The Contract ID determines what the rate for each res should be.
You could try calling them and asking if they will add your EC# to the reservation. But don't phone the call centre, the agents there don't know ####. Find the number of the location you're renting from, and call them directly. Most of the listings on Google will give you the 1-800 number, which is for the call centre. The rental location will always have a number with that city's local area code. If you search hard enough, you can find most of them...if you can't find it on Google, check the airport authority website for the place you're going to. They are usually busy or too lazy to answer the phone, but I find that if they don't pick up, I usually get through if I try again a little later.
As I'm typing this, I did a search, and found this:
Looks like its a YMMV sort of deal. They probably won't add your EC# to the res in advance...you could still try though.
If you just take a car from the Aisle and drive to the exit, chances are they will make you go back and talk to an agent.
What I would probably do is take my Priceline res and my EC membership card, go to the counter when you first arrive, say you're an EC member with a PL reservation, and ask if you can have your EC# added to the reservation. Once (or rather, if) he does that, then you can ask if you can go and pick your own car.
Chances are, they will tell you to walk to the section of car class you reserved, and pick from there, rather than from the Emerald Aisle. They may let you pick from the Aisle, but it really depends on what location it is, how busy they are, and how the manager is feeling that day.
Keep in mind, regardless, they will probably only let you pick a car thats in the class you reserved. If there is an upgrade sitting in the Aisle, then chances are, it will be off limits.
Nevertheless, it's definitely worth a try. Did you get your EC membership card in the mail yet? If not, then definitely print off one from their website, so you can show that you're a member. Some locations may be accommodating, and others may just treat you as a regular non-EC reservation.
Get ahold of the rental location and see what they say. If you don't get anywhere, ask politely if you can speak to the manager. They might tell you that they can't do it in advance, and to come talk to them when you arrive, or they may just brush you off completely. If they aren't busy or don't have a lot of cars reserved, then the manager might let you take an Aisle upgrade.
And I'm not saying you would do this, but don't act like your EC membership "entitles" you to an upgrade or anything. They get tons of EC members going through, and a lot of them are Executive or Elite tier members. If you're polite, they will be a lot more accommodating, and be more likely to give you an upgrade they haven't been able to move. If they're all booked up though, the best you'll get is the ability to pick anything in your reserved car class.
Last edited by Stealth22; 11-13-2015 at 11:42 AM.
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Thanks a lot, Stealth22. The most important thing is I can get the second driver free with my EC membership which I hope isn't going to be a problem. Free upgrade if there is is just icing on the cake as I already have a Chrysler 200 class reserved.
Thanks a lot, Stealth22. The most important thing is I can get the second driver free with my EC membership which I hope isn't going to be a problem. Free upgrade if there is is just icing on the cake as I already have a Chrysler 200 class reserved.
That part shouldn't be an issue. Just tell them you're an Emerald Club member, show your card, and they should have no problem with that. National staff have been pretty good whenever I've rented from them.
But yeah, skipping the counter on a non-EC reservation is probably a no go. I hate standing in line at the counter lol, and whenever I rent a car, the line always seems to be a few people long, so I try to go with National whenever I can.
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Alright, kind of weird but during my early driving years there was never a manual transmission at my disposal. I can ride a motorbike and I am used to the motions involved in changing gears there. However, not having driven a manual car, I am curious how fast would one pick up the skills.
The reason I am asking is that it seems the vast majority of vehicles available for rent in Europe are manuals, and the automatics are a bit pricier to rent.
Should I just go for it, or spend more money and have less options renting an automatic?
Check Sixt and Avis, I found both of them had reasonable rates for autos, I think Sixt even upgraded me to one when I had selected standard, as it was all they had.. I'm not sure I'd want to learn in the parknig lot of a rental company in a European city.
Check Sixt and Avis, I found both of them had reasonable rates for autos, I think Sixt even upgraded me to one when I had selected standard, as it was all they had.. I'm not sure I'd want to learn in the parknig lot of a rental company in a European city.
Well, Iceland. It's pretty much going to be driving into campgrounds and circumnavigating the island along the regular roads. I don't expect any city driving.
Oh, well you said Europe...Iceland would probably not be to bad. Getting out of the rental agency might suck a bit, and you may struggle on the hills but it would probably be manageable.
I would definitely get some miles in at home first (friend's car?). Iceland is probably not too bad, but learning to drive stick in an unfamiliar place sounds like a recipe for disaster.
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