Yet Another Rental Car Thread

[JLB Please excuse me, I'm a Dick. Not a moron just a Dick Find all posts View Profile Close JLB]

Anyone else doing Florida this summer (August) and finding high prices?

Retail is like $900 for 8/20 through 8/27.

Looks like Priceline/Hotwire need $40/day for an economy.

Really!?

[philsfan Administrator Find all posts View Profile Close philsfan]

I've been seeing the same crazy prices in Portland, OR in July for the last 10 months. I have checked every day. The lowest it ever got was $49 a day for the econobox. Today, it is back to $56. I ended up using MC points and I will still have more than $100 in fees to pay because some of that is based on the price I would have paid it I had paid the rental fee.

[Luanne Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Luanne]

Going to Florida (Tampa) end of August. What area are you looking at for car rentals? I've found the best price using my corporate discount with Avis. Costco couldn't beat them this time. A little under 3 days for an intermediate is $136.00. Not great. I'll look again closer. But we're there just after the Republican National Convention so that could be keeping prices up....maybe.

[JLB Please excuse me, I'm a Dick. Not a moron just a Dick Find all posts View Profile Close JLB]

Going to Florida (Tampa) end of August. What area are you looking at for car rentals? I've found the best price using my corporate discount with Avis. Costco couldn't beat them this time. A little under 3 days for an intermediate is $136.00. Not great. I'll look again closer. But we're there just after the Republican National Convention so that could be keeping prices up....maybe.

there

the Convention is probably the problem

shucks

heck

darn

[Dori Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Dori]

Head over to Southwest's car rental section, and use the promo codes for Budget (or any of the other companies). I often find their rates are pretty good. Also, If you are a member of Rapid Rewards, Southwest's FF program, you will receive bonus rewards.

Dori

[Luanne Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Luanne]

Head over to Southwest's car rental section, and use the promo codes for Budget (or any of the other companies). I often find their rates are pretty good. Also, If you are a member of Rapid Rewards, Southwest's FF program, you will receive bonus rewards.

Dori

I rented through Southwest website at one point and it was the worst experience, mostly because of Budget which is who the rental was through.

Also, if you enter your Southwest number on ANY car rental site you'll get the credit for it.

[JLB Please excuse me, I'm a Dick. Not a moron just a Dick Find all posts View Profile Close JLB]

Looks like Priceline/Hotwire need $40/day for an economy.

I got a "sale" email from Hotwire and prices are $26.99/day. Full Size is $28.99.

[JLB Please excuse me, I'm a Dick. Not a moron just a Dick Find all posts View Profile Close JLB]

Now I'm getting emails from both HW and PL every day, saying someone just got what I was after for a great price. Priceline keeps saying $15. So, like a fool, I go through the process of entering all our information, and bidding $18.

No way!

Still $28.99 on HW.

[shaggy Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close shaggy]

The very lowest I've seen in $24 for a compact in RSW plus the taxes so it's over $300!! I got a used car at Sensible Car Rental thanks to BWolf at $183 total for the week. It has a limit of 100 miles/day or 700/wk which should be fine since I'm in Sanibel and not planning on doing much driving. shaggy

[jackio Gold Contributor Find all posts View Profile Close jackio]

I've been searching for Buffalo for July 25-28th and can't find anything under $48/day plus fees. Carrentals.com beat Southwest by just a few dollars. I made a cancelable reservation and I'll keep looking right up to the last minute.

[JLB Please excuse me, I'm a Dick. Not a moron just a Dick Find all posts View Profile Close JLB]

When DW went last summer, she got Hertz through Priceline.

She called me at about 10 PM saying she had picked up the car and she and her GFs were heading out. But, she said the gas guage was strange and she couldn't tell if it was reading empty or full. Next call was to say, "Empty", discoverd around the Tampa Bay Sky Bridge.

She only got a gas credit and a $50 comp certificate for her next rental, which had to be direct through Hertz, which we figured wasn't worth the paper it is written on, and we were right.

[JLB Please excuse me, I'm a Dick. Not a moron just a Dick Find all posts View Profile Close JLB]

Now I'm getting emails from both HW and PL every day, saying someone just got what I was after for a great price. Priceline keeps saying $15. So, like a fool, I go through the process of entering all our information, and bidding $18.

No way!

Still $28.99 on HW.

Not every email is a waste of time opening. Today HW dropped economy and compact to $17.95/day and Mid Size to $19.95, as if they somehow knew I had been bidding $20 on Priceline.

I took the midsize.

As a note to future car rentors via HW, it is exactly one month until the pickup date.

[JLB Please excuse me, I'm a Dick. Not a moron just a Dick Find all posts View Profile Close JLB]

Not every email is a waste of time opening. Today HW dropped economy and compact to $17.95/day and Mid Size to $19.95, as if they somehow knew I had been bidding $20 on Priceline.

I took the midsize.

As a note to future car rentors via HW, it is exactly one month until the pickup date.

Another note . . . HW has dropped rates. Compact and economy are now $16.95/day. Next are $18.95/day.

I could now get a full-size for $19.95/day.

So, be patient and wait it out if you can.

[JLB Please excuse me, I'm a Dick. Not a moron just a Dick Find all posts View Profile Close JLB]

Today, a week before our pickup date, Economy and Compacts on HW are:

$58 95 per day
$539.07 total*

[M. Henley Class President Find all posts View Profile Close M. Henley]

Got a midsize for $143 at Jacksonville for Aug 24-Sep 1. Took weeks of fooling with priceline, but finally got a $209 midsize in Jacksonville (JAX) for aug 14-21. We picked that one up yesterday and are enjoying our condo in Ormond by the Sea. However, we had extensive tile work done last month and this month, so spent most of today cleaning up the fine tile dust which was all over everything.
We fly back on the 21st, then I drive to the state Capitol for meetings, then fly back on the 25th and pick up the cheaper car.