How to Get Best Price On Rental Car?

[srobinet]

We are planning a trip to see Mickey in late May probably 5/23-5/30. My only experience with renting cars is when I have had to get one due to car accident/car repair while car was under warranty. My car is now out of all warranties and will have about 120,000 miles on it by the time we take our trip. We live about 7 hours away and I don't want to put the extra miles on my car or face unexpected repair bills. I will be trading cars next fall so every mile counts. I think economy cars would be too small. Would these cars be similar to a Toyota Yaris or Honda Fit. I drive a 2008 Chevy Malibu which is comfortable for the 2 adults and kids ages 9 and 10.

I would appreciate any advice you can offer. Would I get better deals if I had AAA? I also would like to know if a major credit card is required? Can you use bank debit card or pay cash?

 

[SEA333]

We are planning a trip to see Mickey in late May probably 5/23-5/30. My only experience with renting cars is when I have had to get one due to car accident/car repair while car was under warranty. My car is now out of all warranties and will have about 120,000 miles on it by the time we take our trip. We live about 7 hours away and I don't want to put the extra miles on my car or face unexpected repair bills. I will be trading cars next fall so every mile counts. I think economy cars would be too small. Would these cars be similar to a Toyota Yaris or Honda Fit. I drive a 2008 Chevy Malibu which is comfortable for the 2 adults and kids ages 9 and 10.

I would appreciate any advice you can offer. Would I get better deals if I had AAA? I also would like to know if a major credit card is required? Can you use bank debit card or pay cash?

You can pay with credit/debit. The company we use (a major rentL company) holds a $200 authorization that drops off when your contract is closed, usually the day after you return the car. Sometimes same day. You cannot use cash. We signed up for the gold club, which gives a discount and other perks like your paperwork will be set to go when you arrive to pick up the car, or the special area in the airport for pickup so you can bypass the lines. DH actually works for a fleet management company that is owned by this company, so we get an employee discount of 40% , or better yet, a free fleet vehicle when available. Dont get any extra ins if you have your own insurance, or if you use a real cc (not a debit/credit). You are covered. For 2 adults, 3 kids, we usually chance it and reserve a cheaper 2-door sedan because the manager at our location told us they rarely have 2-door cars and will auto bump us to a 4-door standard or full size. Although it is possible, we have yet to get a 2-door. (We rent approx 4 times a year, sometimes more). DH, who is in part in charge of new aquisitions of fleet vehicles, concurs that the company rarely buys 2-doors.

 

[SandyinMonterey]

If I read your post correctly it sounds like you want a rental car to drive from your home (7 hours away) to WDW? If that is the case, I would make sure ANY car you get has unlimited mileage. Usually they do, but just for peace of mind, read the fine print. Whenever we've rented cars, they always have wanted a credit card to hold the reservation. Sometimes there are benefits when using cc because, depending on what you have, you may be covered when renting. I know with our cc, we have coverage and we also are covered via our car insurance. So, be cautious when they want to add on all these extras, especially insurance. I believe a Toyota Yaris and a Honda Fit are really small and, IMO, would be too small and uncomfortable to drive a family a 4 a far distance. I've seen a Honda Fit and would even say I don't think you can get much luggage in it. First, look at all the websites of car rental agencies. Even Costco. Start price watching. Sign up for the membership loyalty programs (like the Emerald Aisle). They send special offers and things like that. Mousesavers.com also posts coupon codes to help get the price down. The transportation thread always has a lot of information too. If you see a rental car deal you like, you can always reserve it, just make sure you don't do the "pay up front price" because usually they're non-refundable. Make sure if a better deal comes along you can cancel that one and get the better one. If I remember correctly, a chevy Malibu, Nissan Altima, Toyota Camry falls into a mid-size category? When researching, the categories and what cars offered will be explained. Good Luck and have a Magical trip!

 

[pjlla]

With rental cars (much like airline tickets) a lot of it is about timing and demand.

Check, recheck, double-check, and check again. The nice thing about car rentals is that they are almost always easy to cancel if you find a better price (unless you click on the "pre-pay for the lowest price" deal). Don't be afraid to have multiple reservations out there (just remember to cancel whatever you won't use!!). I usually continually check (about once a day or so as the trip gets closer) and I have NEVER failed to drop my price at least a few times!

Not sure what your plans are once you arrive in Orlando, but it may be cheaper to pay the one-way drop-off price to drive down and return the car during your time at WDW (and use Disney transportation), and then rent a car (on Disney property) for the drive home. Or not..... but you should definitely check both scenarios.

As the PP said, you usually need a credit card for the actual reservation (and be prepared to have them put a hold on some amount of $$ for the duration of the rental).... and it wouldn't hurt to have a copy of your auto insurance card with you. Sometimes they are a HARD SELL on "their" insurance, but if you can prove that you are fully covered, they will often just drop the issue.

Find every possible discount you can through lots of different connections.... AAA often has a decent deal as does Southwest Airlines (and you can get RR points if you are using their credit card!)..... but for a few years now I have never been able to beat the deals I can get through Costco Travel (and yes, you need a membership).

Best of luck................P

 

[srobinet]

Thanks for all the tips I will keep checking prices.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

I would also double check any fine print about what states you're allowed to drive the car in. Our summer vacation a few weeks ago was in Utah & Arizona but we flew into Vegas. The confirmation email specifically stated we could only drive in Nevada, California, Utah or Arizona. This was with Budget.

 

[Fierce Fairy]

We just rented 3 weeks ago so that my older kids could go to an anime convention. I checked and checked for a few weeks. Then I picked up the phone and called the local office to verify my reservations but they were not. They did a reservation for me over the phone right then and it was HALF the cost of the internet or national number price. . We also normally use a discount with my husband's employer. So you may want to call your local office directly. We rented from Enterprise, they held $100 and it was back on my card in less then 24 hours. I used a debit, did not buy the insurance because our car and home coverage was enough. Good Luck

 

[poohj80]

As previously mentioned, rental car prices fluctuate daily. Search sites like Kayak then set up a daily e-mail reminder and it will automatically send you an e-mail every morning with the current rental cost so you can easily watch for a lower price. Also, if you are a Costco or SAMs member check through them as well as they can have some good deals. Keep checking up until the day you leave as prices tend to drop the closer to your departure day if there are lots of cars available.

 

[tvguy]

Well, for reference, a quick check of rental car companies finds they consider a Malibu a full size car. A Fit or a Yaris would be the smallest they rent.

You'd have to check with the location on credit card requirements versus debit versus cash deposit. After all they are giving you a $25,000 car, they have a right to have a way to get $25,000 out of you if you destroy the car.

I worked for Budget out of college, and we did have pre-qualified customers without credit cards who were regulars. We required a $200 cash deposit and that was back in 1979, so if it's still only a $200 cash or hold, I'd me amazed.

 

[poohsspoo]

booked our rental back in June got best price available at that time. Just rechecked reservation 2 weeks out from trip, price dropped by $209. called hertz and they issued a refund of the difference.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

Back when we used to stay offsite at WDW, I would sometimes end up rebooking & cancelling car reservations 10x by the time the trip happened. It takes less than a minute to check and often can save a lot or at least know that you tried.

On our trips out west, picking up a car in Vegas and either returning back to Vegas or dropping off in Phoenix, 2 times I booked early then just watched the price go up, up, up. At first I thought $315 for a minivan for a week was a lot but by the time of our trip it was over $800.
Glad I locked in early.

 

[trstno1]

For my family of five, I always rent an SUV or a minivan, and for the last 2 years my best deal has come from using the KLM code at National. I learned about it on the transportation board, and it has saved me money in Hawaii, Washington DC, Orlando, and Fort Myers. Here's the link to the tread about the KLM code:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2878667

I still check the mousesavers car rental site - most of their codes work outside of Orlando, but the KLM code just always seems to be cheaper. Also, the KLM rate includes insurance, something I don't pay for otherwise. Here's the link to mousesavers:

http://www.mousesavers.com/transportation-for-disney-vacations/rental-car-discounts/

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

For my family of five, I always rent an SUV or a minivan, and for the last 2 years my best deal has come from using the KLM code at National. I learned about it on the transportation board, and it has saved me money in Hawaii, Washington DC, Orlando, and Fort Myers. Here's the link to the tread about the KLM code:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2878667

I still check the mousesavers car rental site - most of their codes work outside of Orlando, but the KLM code just always seems to be cheaper. Also, the KLM rate includes insurance, something I don't pay for otherwise. Here's the link to mousesavers:

http://www.mousesavers.com/transportation-for-disney-vacations/rental-car-discounts/

What exactly is the KLM rate? I'm a little leery of discounts that include insurance. I always think they're for some corporation or TA or something like that. If a code is used fraudulently, their insurance probably wouldn't be valid. I'm not saying it's not for the general public but I just like knowing the source of the codes.