It's cheaper in LA.

August 2, 2009 4:32 PM

Is there a cheaper way to rent a car at JFK?

I will be in the New York area Aug. 27-30, and need a car for the 4 days: Thursday Morning to Sunday evening. The cheapest car I can find on line is $72 a day!!! I am more accustomed to paying $20-30 a day (plus gas) in my local airport zone. Is this rate typical for New York? Are there cheaper car-rental options?

Quibbler-filter: 1. I already bought tickets. So it will be JFK.
2. I do need a car, as I will be driving out of the city with huge amounts of luggage.

posted by SLC Mom to travel & transportation (13 comments total)

You can usually get something cheaper in other areas of the country with Hotwire or Priceline.
posted by grouse at 4:43 PM on August 2

Sorry. Welcome to NYC. You might find something cheaper in outer Queens or Brooklyn(or in NJ). But I don't know if that would be worth the hassel of getting there.
posted by kimdog at 5:08 PM on August 2

***Sigh***

Thanks Grouse, I took you advice and checked. Hotwire is giving me the same price. Priceline won't take $30 or $45, and I am scared to try higher until I check out any other options.

Anybody else?
posted by SLC Mom at 5:09 PM on August 2

There's also another $75-90 airport fees and taxes on the bill. It's a crime.

I can't really think of any alternatives that wouldn't be a complete pain. You could take a car or van to somewhere with more reasonable prices, but that would probably cost $50+ each way, so would it really save you money? Plus many off-airport car rental places are closed on Sunday or have limited hours.
posted by smackfu at 5:23 PM on August 2

I've heard Action is cheaper than the airport places, though not as much as out of town places.

Otherwise, public transport to Newark airport might be your best bet. Car rental there should be cheaper than JFK. Again, it'll be a hassle.
posted by reptile at 5:24 PM on August 2

And like smackfu says, for 4 days it's probably not going to be worth it in terms of savings. For a longer rental period it might.
posted by reptile at 5:27 PM on August 2

I remember reading that car rental prices are spiking right now for some reason. A few weeks ago I rented a car in Seattle and was surprised to not be able to get anything for less than $50/day.
posted by lunasol at 5:36 PM on August 2

NY state law requires a higher minimum level of insurance on rental cars than other places, and the companies pass the savings onto you!
posted by unknowncommand at 5:41 PM on August 2

Lunasol, this might be the article you are referring to. Rental prices have gone up because rental companies have trimmed their fleet sizes.

And to second everyone else, yes, those prices are normal for NYC. And even if you could find cheaper rates somewhere outside of JFK, simply getting to such a location would be costly in and of itself.
posted by Conrad Cornelius o'Donald o'Dell at 5:51 PM on August 2

Thanks everyone. Action is somewhat cheaper. On future trips I might change my airport so I can use them. Depending on flight costs.

Dang, travel is complicated.
posted by SLC Mom at 5:57 PM on August 2

Definitely do priceline... you'll get one much cheaper if you name your price... there are a few websites that help you track what they are accepting for a name your own price. When I last traveled in May, there were several cars going for under $10 a day for a standard size car. I thought I got a great deal bidding $40 a day for a standard size, until I found out that they were renting for $15/day during the same time frame.

Check out Bidding For Travel for more info. Scroll down to the rental car section. This is IMHO one of the best resources for traveling on the semi-cheap. Good luck!
posted by newper at 6:02 PM on August 2 [2 favorites]

Yes. Two suggestions:
1. kayak.com, way cheaper.
2. rent from the city. it can be as much as $100/day cheaper. you can run the prices at kayak.com, and see for yourself. so you would fly to jfk, then take the A/C subway express into manhattan, and hop into a car. it'll take you an extra 90 minutes, but depending how many days, save hundreds.

Or, 3. if you're a zipcar member, zipcars are all over the city. just not at jfk.
posted by Household Tipster at 7:32 PM on August 2

What Household Tipster said, but if you're going to be driving outside of NYC you may as well go even further afield and rent outside the city entirely. When I lived in NYC and needed a car for trips to New England, for example, I'd take public transit (subway + Metro North) into Stamford, CT and rent from there. The Stamford station has a number of car rental places right across the street.

Doing all this may be a royal PITA with lots of luggage, of course. I wouldn't take the A or C into Manhattan though. There's a elevated train connection to the Long Island RailRoad commuter rail system from JFK now for $5 a passenger and that's set up to accomodate travellers with lots of luggage. It'd also be easier to navigate, IMHO, for someone not familiar with NYC public transit.

Time wise, I'd expect that you wouldn't really be losing out as you'd avoid having to drive through NYC.
posted by ursus_comiter at 12:03 AM on August 3