How to find a rental car deal in the US?
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We want to rent a car for three weeks in the summer.
I tried priceline.com, kayak.com and ladybug.com.
One website, kayak.com, offered a deal that looked significantly cheaper than others. The rental car company is "Fox Rent a Car". I briefly glanced at a couple of reviews which seem to suggest that people end up paying twice of what they were originally supposed to pay. Is that a real concern?
One thing I noted: It seems to be rather intransparent what I'd have to pay extra for full insurance.
Is there a way to book a rental car in such a way that all costs are fully transparent, while still making a deal?
Concretely, we are looking for something like an intermediate SUV size car, with pickup on August 15 at SEA and drop-off on September 5 at SFO.
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I would deal directly with Enterprise.
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You do not want to deal with an off-brand rental company. The horror stories are legion.
I would echo Lufin's suggestion of Enterprise. I've used them for 20+ years with good results and decent prices. Avis and Hertz are good too but a little more expensive. Enterprise will give you a week for the price of five days usually.
As far as insurance, check with your company to see if it covers you for an overseas rental. Also use a major credit card like Amex. They have some protection on rental cars. I have never paid for extra insurance.
“I am fond of pigs. Dogs look up to us. Cats look down on us. Pigs treat us as equals.” ~Winston S. Churchill
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@mik said in How to find a rental car deal in the US?:
You do not want to deal with an off-brand rental company. The horror stories are legion.
As I posted in T(O)NCR:
When we were in Portland last year, we rented a car from Hertz, with a scheduled pickup late Sunday morning.
The guy in front of me was having a fit because he reserved a car, and there were none available. It seems that he booked through Expedia, TripAdvisor, or some other such outfit. Apparently those reservations are not guaranteed, but the aggregator "makes the request."
At least that's what the guy at the desk said.
Customer got loud and obnoxious, and was finally told to leave the shop.
I walked up, having booked through Hertz, and got my car in 15 minutes.
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In addition, these aggregator sites like Kayak don’t actually save you money. One time I got a quote from them and then Karla got the rental directly from the agency. Her rate was $5 cheaper per day. I’ve done comparisons twice since then and it comes up the same. I get a better rate from the company directly. I’ve checked the hotels, too. Same thing.
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@lufins-dad said in How to find a rental car deal in the US?:
I would deal directly with Enterprise.
You mean book directly via the Enterprise website?
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@lufins-dad said in How to find a rental car deal in the US?:
I get a better rate from the company directly. I’ve checked the hotels, too. Same thing.
This.
"Now look here, you Baltic gas passer... " - Mik, 6/14/08
The saying, "Lite is just one damn thing after another," is a gross understatement. The damn things overlap.
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@klaus said in How to find a rental car deal in the US?:
@lufins-dad said in How to find a rental car deal in the US?:
I would deal directly with Enterprise.
You mean book directly via the Enterprise website?
Yep.
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Stick with Avis, Enterprise, Alamo, and Budget. I’d stay away from Dollar and Hertz.
Enterprise has consistently given me the best value vs service/convenience. Hertz used to be right there too, but there have been too many horror stories lately.
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One thing I just found out: I don't want to book via the local Enterprise.com website. Check this out. This is for exactly the same car, same dates, same locations.
US website:
Local website:
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$443 per week is great! I was expecting to see $700…
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I've found an offer that looks suspiciously cheap on the budget.com website.
Can you spot anything that is obviously wrong with this offer? It's far cheaper than what I found elsewhere for a similar car.
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@george-k said in How to find a rental car deal in the US?:
@lufins-dad said in How to find a rental car deal in the US?:
I get a better rate from the company directly. I’ve checked the hotels, too. Same thing.
This.
And today’s little life hack…Look up the closest college/university to the hotel and ask if they offer a _____________ rate…
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The best car rental deals I have found were at Costco
And it is nice to see several options all together
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