Tips for finding a good deal on a car rental this holiday?

December 15, 2006 12:21 PM

Tips for finding a good deal on a car rental this holiday?

I'm going down to West Palm Beach, FL the for the week between Christmas and New Year's, and would like to rent a car. Unfortunately, the fares I found are ridiculous (~$100/day for the cheapest models)- anyone have any tips for finding more down-to-earth rates?

posted by mkultra to travel & transportation (12 comments total)

I'm not sure how many sites you've tried searching, but I would recommend these two because they search across a large number of sites simultaneously: SideStep.com and Kayak.com

John
posted by jpozadzides at 12:35 PM on December 15, 2006

Are you aware that there's a 10% to 15% premium (usually itemized on your bill as a separate fee) for picking the car up at an airport location?
posted by winston at 12:42 PM on December 15, 2006

I always find great deals at carrentals.com but on such short notice you might not get any good deals.

Also, the farther you get away from the East Coast, the cheaper it gets. A rental car from Newark airport is almost three times the cost of a similar rental car from Allentown, PA - just 90 miles away.

In your case, consider flying into a smaller airport and getting a rental car from there. Perhaps look up rates at Vero Beach airport or Ft. Lauderdale airport and driving the less than 100 miles to West Palm Beach.

You can also try to get a better weekly rate if you have the car for at least 5-7 days (varies at each company). There are also plenty of coupons and discounts online. I recall seeing some for the various Disney clubs for people flying into Orlando.

Lastly, always ask for the AAA discount (if you have AAA), or you work for a corporation ask if they have a corproate discount. Often they don't check IDs and take your word for it.
posted by camworld at 12:49 PM on December 15, 2006

I use kayak.com and carrentals.com to price out what the going rate deals are. I've found that if you can possibly NOT pick up the car at an airport, you can ovften reap massive savings. Occasionally I've gone with Priceline.com and lowballed and sometimes gotten lucky. This has the added advantage of someone at the rental place not trying to upsell you on every last thing. The downside is no flexibility, zero, none. I think there was a thread a ways back about where you could take the train to from NYC that would get you cheaper rental car rates, but a quick check doesn't have me finding it.
posted by jessamyn at 12:50 PM on December 15, 2006

It is called market forces--not a good time to travel and find a bargain--I checked a couple of sites and I see what you mean. I would try locations other than major airports and major cities. Look around at some of the smaller cities around your destination. It might be worth a taxi, train or bus ride. Good Luck
posted by rmhsinc at 12:56 PM on December 15, 2006

I have a car over new year's for $24.99/day CAD.

I use only the car rental companies' websites to book.
I always read the "deals" page and pick the best thing I can find. Be flexible about dates and locations and it's even better.

I find booking an awesome rate on a hotel room or car to be so exciting.

On a cursory search the National in Jupiter (which is listed under WPB, so it must be close) has compacts for $50.99/day USD without even looking at the deals page. It's a high rate for normal use but for short notice over the holidays in Florida it looks pretty good.
posted by loiseau at 12:59 PM on December 15, 2006

I think there was a thread a ways back about where you could take the train to from NYC that would get you cheaper rental car rates, but a quick check doesn't have me finding it.

Ha, I actually asked that question ;) (notice a trend?)

I've already booked my flight to PBI, so I'm kind of trapped on that front. Looks like Priceline may be my best bet...
posted by mkultra at 1:01 PM on December 15, 2006

When I was pricing rental cars for my annual drive-back-to-Michigan-from-NYC-for-the-holidays about a month ago I discovered that some rental car companies will add a fee if you plan on taking the car into Brooklyn. I think this is because Brooklyn has the highest auto insurance rates in the country.

Others will only allow you to take their cars into neighboring states. I'm pretty sure most of the rental cars these days have lo-jack systems in them so they can check to see if you did this or not and then charge you an arm and a leg for extra mileage.

You might not find any deals because of the short notice and because it is the holiday season. Higher demand means higher prices. If you do not care about what kind of car you get, definitely try to low-ball it on Priceline and see if anyone bites. Rental companies would rather rent you a car for $50/day than let it sit on the lot unrented.

Also, look into car rental locations away from the airports where you can avoid the airport taxes and also the demand is lower. Though this is not true in NYC, where reates are actually higher for cars stored in Manhattan.
posted by camworld at 1:02 PM on December 15, 2006

Oh - also, check your credit card privileges. There's a site called visaperks.ca here in Canada, and there is probably a US version.

And check with the chain of hotels you're using. Sometimes a hotel booking gets you special car rates.
posted by loiseau at 1:19 PM on December 15, 2006

Just to amend what camworld said about NYC, I've found that while the per-day fee is higher in Manhattan, the airport overhead fees basically even it out. In choosing between an airport and city location in New York, definitely shop around, but generally go with what's most convenient to get to. The money/time spent on a cab ride to the airport, or the time spent on the bus to the airport, may tip the scales in the city's direction for you.
posted by lampoil at 1:27 PM on December 15, 2006

Don't forget to search for web coupons after you've found a reasonable rate. 15-20% off the daily rate is not uncommon.
posted by trevyn at 1:37 PM on December 15, 2006

Huh. I wound up getting a rental via Priceline for $50/day, taxes and fees included.

Thanks for the tips, all.
posted by mkultra at 2:35 PM on December 15, 2006