Tips on renting cars

[bcm119]

For you frequent travelers... I'm looking to rent a small SUV from Newark airport for a week. Everything is over $500. I haven't rented a car for personal use in a long time, but this sounds really high to me. I'm just looking at Kayak.com, etc. Is there something I'm missing or has renting cars become a lot more expensive lately?

[BShow]

For you frequent travelers... I'm looking to rent a small SUV from Newark airport for a week. Everything is over $500. I haven't rented a car for personal use in a long time, but this sounds really high to me. I'm just looking at Kayak.com, etc. Is there something I'm missing or has renting cars become a lot more expensive lately?

Do you really need an SUV or can you work with a compact car? You'll pay a premium for the SUV's or larger cars. I dont commonly rent cars, but when I do, I usually compare a bunch of travel sites with the different rental company sites and I feel like I can get at least a respectable deal that way. Doesnt hurt to pick up the horn and ask about any special promos either. Once you decide who you're renting from, make sure you know what their terms are and are prepared with a credit card or whatever. I once had prepaid for a car but when I got to a rental place I learned that they required a significant security deposit. I didnt have a CC with me at the time and I had to put the deposit/hold on my debit card. That locked up ~$2500 for a couple weeks. I was pissed, but I didnt really have a choice.

[Noteddy]

Not sure I can save you a lot, but I can relate what I've learned. Renting has gotten more expensive. Each market is different. I have mostly rented cars in Denver and San Jose in the last year. As a frequent user with a corporate rate, I pay about $57/day for a compact or intermediate car in Denver and probably about $80/day in San Jose. (National or Avis). That's before taxes, fuel, taxes, fees, and taxes. Which can raise it 30% or more. SUV's are popular and more expensive across the board. Day of the week and week of the year matter a lot. E.g. in Denver during spring break in March, you'll pay twice the regular rates because everyone is going to the mountains. There are no cars sitting around.

The SUV is driving your price up for sure. If you can survive with a minivan or a larger car, you can probably get a better deal. Also, booking the car with your airfare can sometimes save $. And, if you are risk-taker, there are such things as last-minute deals on places like hotwire. If you can reserve a car on a refundable reservation and then find something cheaper at the last minute, you can cancel the original reservation.

Of course, one-way rentals are usually astronomically priced. Avoid unless someone else is footing the bill.

Economic note. Recently read about how auto builders keep their dying model assembly lines running by building fleet cars and selling them dirt cheap to rental and corporate clients. SUV's sell well for the car companies, so they can charge the fleet buyers close to retail for them. That's why you find certain models everywhere in the rental car companies.

Just for fun, I just tried my codes on Avis for Newark airport the last week of July and they wanted $540 for a Ford Escape. Same dates, same car in Denver was $360. So, you aren't far off.

[robin3mj]

If you're staying near the airport and can drop it off the day before (or start your rental a day later) you might want to run a search on that. You may just be seeking a quote for a peak time period and if you can slide off that on one side or the other, it may help.

[prcrstn8]

Yes, it has become more expensive in the past 5 years. The rental companies have decreased the size of their fleets AND they're holding onto the cars longer.

AAA membership gives you a 15% discount at Hertz, but be prepared to show your membership card.
Avis doesn't really try harder.
Watch out for daily mileage limits at Zipcar and Hertz247, they'll screw you something fierce.

[joosttx]

$500 for an SUV seems very reasonable. My experience an SUV for 5 days usually is in the $700 range.

[prcrstn8]

And bring your own EZ-Pass.
Platepass seems to have a monopoly on bad passes that don't work, and they bill you for the charges plus a fine two months after you've forgotten that you even rented a car, and claim that to be your second notice (not that you ever got the first notice).

[BShow]

one more thing to add... if you can rent a car from someplace other than the airport, you might get a better deal. I think I saved a few hundred bucks renting a Dodge Ram in downtown Denver as opposed to the airport. I took public transit to go get the truck and came back to pick up my friends, luggage and bikess. The airports will sometimes bend you over because they can.

[Matthew Strongin]

Are you picking up and dropping off at the airport? For my trip a couple weeks ago I rented a car from San Diego to San Francisco. I first booked from an independent agency in Carlsbad, dropping off at an independent agency in Larkspur. The cost was around $400 for 6 days. I changed my pick up and drop off to San Diego Airport and SFO. Same dates. The rate dropped to around $110 with tax. This was for an economy car through Expedia. I guess the tip is that if you can play with some of the criteria, like pickup/dropoff location or dates you can dramatically reduce the price. That said, SUVs do command a premium, so I'd also suggest something smaller, if possible.

[Matthew Strongin]

one more thing to add... if you can rent a car from someplace other than the airport, you might get a better deal. I think I saved a few hundred bucks renting a Dodge Ram in downtown Denver as opposed to the airport. I took public transit to go get the truck and came back to pick up my friends, luggage and bikess. The airports will sometimes bend you over because they can.

Perfect timing...this is exactly the opposite of my experience which I just posted before seeing your post. Maybe there's some kind of black magic at play with the rental car companies.

[Jonathan]

I've done really well upgrading when I pick the vehicle up. The rental car places are negotiable on site.

[funcrusher]

it's called an oligopoly...there has been so much consolidation in the rental car industry that the big 3 don't compete on price...basically the same thing as domestic air travel

[NYCfixie]

For you frequent travelers... I'm looking to rent a small SUV from Newark airport for a week. Everything is over $500. I haven't rented a car for personal use in a long time, but this sounds really high to me. I'm just looking at Kayak.com, etc. Is there something I'm missing or has renting cars become a lot more expensive lately?

My wife and I just rented a car for 3 weeks with a drop off and pick up at Newark. We were moving to Boston, had just sold a car, but needed something for a few more weeks. Funny enough, renting a car for 3 weeks was not cheaper than three 1 week rentals. We even looked at rnting a u-haul pickup or van but our insurance would not cover "moving" and/or "commercial" rental vehicles.


My point is, after a great deal of research we found Budget with the AAA discount and pre-paying online out of Newark Airport to be the least expensive for any type of rental by a huge margin.


And yes, renting a car has become much more expensive the past few years. The rental car companies all told me that the daily 9/11 fee is hurting them all and customers are always pissed off about it because it can add 1/3 cost to the overall rental.

[cny rider]

I've done really well upgrading when I pick the vehicle up. The rental car places are negotiable on site.

Similar tactic: Reserve the cheapest piece of crap they have on the website.

It is very unlikely that car will actually be on the lot and you will be upgraded to whatever they do have.

Has worked for me on multiple occasions.

[prcrstn8]

It is very unlikely that car will actually be on the lot

So you say.


IMG_3240.JPG


Disclaimer - it was waayyy faster than my '76 Rabbit.

[bcm119]

Good info, thanks. Unfortunately I do need something that will carry 5 adults comfortably, my old parents included. A mini van would work, but they didn't appear to be any cheaper than the small SUVs. Upgrading on site sounds like a good tactic, but I'd be SOL if it didn't work. Sounds like it's just a lot more expensive than I remembered.

[j44ke]

I usually do the cheapest car deal too, and it nearly always works out that I get a bigger car for the cheapest car rate.

Unfortunately, when we visit my sister-in-law we always end up with one of these:



What a crap design this thing is. Can't see a gddm thing out of any window other than the front.

[Jonathan]

Similar tactic: Reserve the cheapest piece of crap they have on the website.

It is very unlikely that car will actually be on the lot and you will be upgraded to whatever they do have.

Has worked for me on multiple occasions.

Oh yeah. We've gotten a convertible upgrade for as little as $7 a day.

When I'm on a new city I prefer a small car. They are so much easier to park and zip around in.

[bcm119]

I usually do the cheapest car deal too, and it nearly always works out that I get a bigger car for the cheapest car rate.

Unfortunately, when we visit my sister-in-law we always end up with one of these:



What a crap design this thing is. Can't see a gddm thing out of any window other than the front.

my 87 year old neighbor who knows nothing about cars has one of those. Even he regrets the purchase.

[11.4]

A SUV gets mistreated more than other vehicles, it's more expensive to repair, and it's in demand, so prices are 2-4 times what they are for big sedans. For your number of passengers, including elderly, get a big old honkin' American sedan. Not a luxury one, just a big one. Gas efficiency isn't all that bad any longer, but the prices will be much lower. The SUV's aren't even comfortable for five people -- seating is not comfortable for older people and whoever is on the hump in the middle in back will be very unhappy. That's with a big GMC SUV, which is the most common one you'll find.

I'm often in your situation with groups of clients I have to drive somewhere. Check off-airport because not only do airports charge usurious fees for on-site rentals, but airport rental offices often gouge more. Unfortunately, you can't usually go to a hotel rental location a couple miles away because they adjust their prices for what you're trying to do, and some airports have agreements with rental companies on how far their next rental offices can be from the airport. (You'll notice on a map that there are often big airport rental locations, then nothing for 4-8 miles and then it's a bunch of them again. It isn't workable to deal with those locations in many instances.)

Get a cheap AAA membership -- it'll pay for itself on one big rental. Don't rent at the last minute -- like air fares, prices will be locked in. There's about the same window for optimal pricing at about 3 weeks before the rental date that you get for air fares. Your dates may be fixed but if you can be flexible, check adjacent days to see where the best rental fees are. It's not always the same pattern -- some locations have less demand on weekends, some on weekdays. I've gotten a rental car for one day just to make the bridge to a much lower extended rate. Also, weekly rates are much cheaper but if you tell them rental company five days, they may give you a daily rate for five days versus a weekly rate that you return early (without refund for the unused days). Get on one of the preferred rental company programs (like Hertz Gold) -- it can sometimes make a big difference, though not always. And Enterprise Rental and a couple other discount firms really do have a much better pricing in many cases -- shopping really is important.

Above all, start by ditching the SUV. It's the single most expensive way to jack up your rental rate.

Lastly, be sure and inspect the vehicle very carefully -- under the front bumper, wheel wells, hub caps, alloy rims, etc. They say only to look for big issues but I've had to fight smaller issues, including scrapes on the top of the bumper from dragging suitcases in and out, etc.
I had an Enterprise rental location that took its vehicles with front bumper damage and parked them nosed into a concrete wall -- you didn't see the damage, drove away, and then they charged you to repair it.

The add-on collision liability waiver has gotten ridiculously expensive. It's one of their biggest profit opportunities on the rental. I used to get the coverage, and would do so today when I have corporate reimbursement that covers it, but by and large, credit card insurance on Amex and the like isn't perfect but ends up being a lot more cost effective.