RentalCarFilter: Best options for "return it wherever" in Santa Fe, NM

April 13, 2025 6:38 PM

In late June we'll be flying to Santa Fe and getting a rental car from the airport, for local excursions. In all likelihood we'll return the car to the airport before we fly out a week later. However, there's a very small but nonzero probability we'd need instead to drive the car several hundred more miles -- across state lines -- instead of boarding our return flight. Is there a particular rental car company you'd advise choosing, or other tips, tricks, guidance?

*IF* we end up needing to drive the car instead of boarding our return flight, we would return it in California (possibly the same major-metropolitan-area airport from which we flew to Santa Fe -- though the car return doesn't need to be an airport). That return would happen within 48 hours after it would have been returned had we actually returned it in Santa Fe and boarded our flight.

I'm fine with 'but you'll need to pay extra for the privilege of letting the rental company sit calmly in uncertainty' and will gladly read all The Fine Print on whatever rental agreement I do sign, but want to avoid absurd unexpected overages/penalties of the several-hundred-dollars-or-more variety due to vanilla or other-flavored corporate shenanigans; e.g. "we would have just charged you more but you drove through state lines on a Tuesday with a NE wind and Aquarius rising so you owe us a penalty equivalent to the regional manager's next boat payment."

The only company I've used regularly (but with less frequency in recent years) is Enterprise, but I'm not married to them. For whatever it might we worth, I do have California AAA.

Thanks!

posted by jerome powell buys his sweatbands in bulk only to Travel & Transportation around Santa Fe, NM (7 answers total)

Response by poster: Apologies for potentially misleading title: rental will be in Santa Fe, but return could be elsewhere -- in California.
posted by jerome powell buys his sweatbands in bulk only at 6:40 PM on April 13

with (e.g.) hotwire, if you select where you're going, you can see differences between rental companies, whether they will have sites in both cities, etc., i.e. difference returning to LA or santa fe with one company was ~$60/day & with another $4/day
posted by HearHere at 7:24 PM on April 13

The safest way to do this would be to return the car and make a new one-way rental ending at your new drop-off location.

Asking to extend the rental with a new drop-off location would also be reasonable but the fees quoted may be the highest.

One-way rental fees vary greatly depending on inventory desires, say they want minivans near Disney, that might be a good price but dropping cars in the north at the end of snowbird season may be expensive.

I can't even imagine just not returning the car when agreed and returning somewhere else. Recently budget tried to charge me $500 for a little bit of beach sand on the floor mat, I'd guess they would charge quite a bit more for not returning the car on time.
posted by RoadScholar at 7:25 PM on April 13 [8 favorites]

I agree that while it may be a pain to do so, making this two rentals is the way to go if price is the most sensitive thing for you. Ballparking, I can get a 48 hour rental from SAF to SFO for $170 all in. The last time I had to extend a rental that already was in-progress, it was close to that just for a single day and I was staying with the same dropoff location.

How long in advance will you know whether you'll be changing the plan? If it's outside of the cancellation window for the one-way trip, just reserve both cars and cancel the one-way one when it becomes clear you won't need it.

I can't even imagine just not returning the car when agreed and returning somewhere else.

I did do this successfully with Budget circa 2016 or 17 when I missed my initial flight at RNO but the layover at SFO was long enough that I could make the drive. I got charged several hundred dollars for it.
posted by Candleman at 8:28 PM on April 13

Not that simple, unfortunately. Not all companies support one-way rentals, esp. the "franchised" ones, because they are technically separate entities, even if they fly a big brand name (such as Hertz, which operates both direct and franchise depending on location). As others said, two separate rentals would be much easier to calculate rather than trying to "append" a one-way on top of your regular rental.
posted by kschang at 12:19 AM on April 14

Seconding all the suggestions about two separate rentals.

I reserved a one-way rental for 3-days in 2016 with Avis on their website. This was Peoria to St Louis. Both offices seemed confused about the entire reservation at pick up and drop off, even though it was set up like this from the start. I cannot imagine how much more of a mess it would be had I changed it mid-rental.
posted by soelo at 9:11 AM on April 14

Two back to back rentals, make sure the one way is cancelable.
posted by koahiatamadl at 5:59 PM on April 14 [1 favorite]