Priceline Car Rental - a Little Help Please

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

Hi. I have read the threads (here and at Biddingfortravel) but haven't seen this info mentioned anywhere.

If I bid and win a car rental, do I get to pick the times for pick up and drop off? Are all times available or do I pick from a list? If so and times are not a good mesh, can I cancel with no penalty?

I also see that fees, taxes, etc. are added on to the bid amount after acceptance. So a $25/day bid may end up costing $35/day or more... right? Is about 40% a good margin for calculation into my bid amount?

I did take the advice here and do have a "normal" reservation with Payless for a minivan at PHX for my travel dates in 2 weeks... for $404 all in for 10 days rental.

All help is apprecated!

[dougp26364 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close dougp26364]

Hi. I have read the threads (here and at Biddingfortravel) but haven't seen this info mentioned anywhere.

If I bid and win a car rental, do I get to pick the times for pick up and drop off? Are all times available or do I pick from a list? If so and times are not a good mesh, can I cancel with no penalty?

I also see that fees, taxes, etc. are added on to the bid amount after acceptance. So a $25/day bid may end up costing $35/day or more... right? Is about 40% a good margin for calculation into my bid amount?

I did take the advice here and do have a "normal" reservation with Payless for a minivan at PHX for my travel dates in 2 weeks... for $404 all in for 10 days rental.

All help is apprecated!

You will tell them your pick up and drop off time when you place your bid. All sales are final and, if you have any changes to bad. There are no refunds. I did find out that if my flight times changed to a later time that the pre-paid reservation was held for at least 24 hours. This was through Avis. Other rental car agencies may not have this same policy. I would imagine with the ever changing land scape for airlines and their schedules that there will always be some flexiblity in pick up time afforded to the Priceline customer. However, I'd also bet there are penalities if you drop the car off later than what you agreed to when you made your purchase with Priceline.

In the bids I've put in with Priceline there has always been a page before entering the bid that listed the approx. total price including all taxes and fee's. When accepted the final price has always been extremely close to this quoted approx. final price. The only additions would be if you accepted the additional protections/coverages/services (CDW or pre-paid gas for example) when you pick up your car.

[T. R. Oglodyte Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close T. R. Oglodyte]

When you place your bid, you enter your pickup and dropoff times, just as you would when making any reservation.

Before you reach the page where you actually submit your bid, PL will serve up a page that details the charges, including taxes and fees, and shows the total amount that will be charged to your credit card if your offer is accepted. You can't place a bid unless and until you click to agree with the information on that page.

[Beaglemom3 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Beaglemom3]

Actually, the taxes and extras are shown with the final cost to you before you confirm your bid.

I'd bid lower if you have the time to place new bids in the coming days. I think that $25 might be too high.

I got a brand new Volvo S70 for $16 day in Orlando during August.

When you go on Priceline's website they now show what the winning bids were and in what cities these bids were.

[T. R. Oglodyte Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close T. R. Oglodyte]

When you go on Priceline's website they now show what the winning bids were and in what cities these bids were.

Those are not necessarily the cheapest.

I believe that one of the key ways that PL makes money is on the spread between the prices charged to PL by vendors vs what they collect from you. That is, it's in Priceline's interest to get you to bid higher than you actually need to. I figure that whenever PL is providing pricing information or making a counter offer, their pricing information is higher than what they are actually willing to accept.

I've seen that often in bidding for hotels, where they've make a counter offer but I've still had remaining free rebids available to ratchet my bids. Invariably I've been able to make a winning bid that was less than the PL counter offer.

[Beaglemom3 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Beaglemom3]

Those are not necessarily the cheapest.

I believe that one of the key ways that PL makes money is on the spread between the prices charged to PL by vendors vs what they collect from you. That is, it's in Priceline's interest to get you to bid higher than you actually need to. I figure that whenever PL is providing pricing information or making a counter offer, their pricing information is higher than what they are actually willing to accept.

I've seen that often in bidding for hotels, where they've make a counter offer but I've still had remaining free rebids available to ratchet my bids. Invariably I've been able to make a winning bid that was less than the PL counter offer.

Very true ! But, they do let you know how very off you might be. This is what I meant, but did not explain as well as you just did !

You a smartie !!!

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

I won a priceline bid for a standard size car in San Diego recently (trip was last month). I had requested a pick up of noon and drop off of 8 a.m. The bid was accepted by Hertz. My flight plans changed and it turned out we weren't going to get in until 5 p.m. I called Hertz and was told they would hold the car until midnight, normal policy, so no problem. When we picked the car up we were very pleased to get a Sebring touring convertible as our "standard" car. Also noticed that drop off was noon, rather than 8 a.m. on the requested day.

[T. R. Oglodyte Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close T. R. Oglodyte]

Very true ! But, they do let you know how very off you might be.

I'm not sure of that. Sometimes I've been within $5 of a winning hotel bid (bidding at about $80 for a 4*), and their counter offer has been for about $30 more than my current bid.

In general, when I make my first bid and I don't get that warning that says my bid has little chance of being accepted, I figure that my initial bid is too high. I then back up and lower my bid.

[Beaglemom3 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Beaglemom3]

I'm not sure of that. Sometimes I've been within $5 of a winning hotel bid (bidding at about $80 for a 4*), and their counter offer has been for about $30 more than my current bid.

In general, when I make my first bid and I don't get that warning that says my bid has little chance of being accepted, I figure that my initial bid is too high. I then back up and lower my bid.

Aha ! I think that we are talking about two different things here.

I am referring to their winning bid list where you click on the map. This is just about at their opening page, not where youi fill in your information in order to place your bid.

This differs from "your chance of getting a hotel/car/etc. for $XX is unlikely" message.

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

I did take the advice here and do have a "normal" reservation with Payless for a minivan at PHX for my travel dates in 2 weeks... for $404 all in for 10 days rental.

All help is apprecated!

Don't be late returning the car! I hear that's where Priceline can really soak you--if you go over your return time.

$404 for 10 days in a minivan sounds pretty good to me. I'm paying about $500 all in for a minivan in Buffalo in August, and that was after a LOT of hunting.

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

Don't be late returning the car! I hear that's where Priceline can really soak you--if you go over your return time.

I agree. My experience with my last rental was that Hertz actually had a later return time than what I'd bid for. So, just be sure to check the paperwork you get when you actually pick up the car.

And, you would have the same problem returning a rental car late, even when you don't get it through priceline.

[T. R. Oglodyte Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close T. R. Oglodyte]

Aha ! I think that we are talking about two different things here.

I am referring to their winning bid list where you click on the map. This is just about at their opening page, not where youi fill in your information in order to place your bid.

This differs from "your chance of getting a hotel/car/etc. for $XX is unlikely" message.

No - I was trying to encompass both sets of information. In both settings Priceline is trying to get you to bid higher than you otherwise would. Their "winning bids" are selected to get you to bid more than the minimum they are willing to accept. Similarly the "little chance of being accepted" page is designed to get you to increase a bid above the minimum they will accept.

They're both part of the same strategy - to get you to bid higher than the minimum they will accept.

[T. R. Oglodyte Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close T. R. Oglodyte]

And, you would have the same problem returning a rental car late, even when you don't get it through priceline.

Correct! The high late charge isn't because it's a Priceline rental; it's because it's a late return. I've been soaked just as bad for a late return on a conventional rental as I have for a late return on a PL reservation.

The big issue with PL rentals is the possibility of flight times being changed so that your needed pickup and drop times no longer fit within the allowances for your car reservation. Since PL reservations are prepaid and non-refundable, you can get stuck with an unusable reservation.

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

Don't be late returning the car! I hear that's where Priceline can really soak you--if you go over your return time.

$404 for 10 days in a minivan sounds pretty good to me. I'm paying about $500 all in for a minivan in Buffalo in August, and that was after a LOT of hunting.

I don't think $400 for the 10 days is all that bad either but heck, if I can get it for less, why not!

Off Topic:
BTW...Buffalo?? That's my hometown (well, a suburb)! Going to the fair?

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

I don't think $400 for the 10 days is all that bad either but heck, if I can get it for less, why not!

Off Topic:
BTW...Buffalo?? That's my hometown (well, a suburb)! Going to the fair?

Is there a fair in Buffalo? We're taking the train to Buffalo, then going to Niagara Falls and Toronto for general sightseeing. What should we do in Buffalo?

Listen, what do you think, is it easier to take the train to Buffalo Exchange Place and get the car from a downtown rental place (which is what we're doing right now) and then stay out by the airport, or take the train out to Buffalo Depew, get a cab to the airport and get a car there? The downtown place actually has a better price and they'll pick us up from the train.