Any strategy for best rate on rental car?

[Livingthedream55]

I need a rental for a long distance driving family vacation - a one week trip in June - will prices go up as my date nears (i.e. should I lock in now?) or are there any strategies to get best deal?

I am limited to Enterprise or Hertz (as they are in my town and will pick me up and drop off before and after trip) - Enterprise is usually cheaper - I've signed up for Enterprise Plus. I can get an economy car if I pay today with unlimited mileage for $246. I haven't found any promo codes that beat that price.

Should I grab it?

[ketchup]

Hertz is cheaper every time by me.  If you have AAA, they give you a discount at Hertz too, in addition to waiving certain fees (young driver, additional driver, etc.).  Similar discounts if you have a Merrill+ credit card.  (We happen to have both.)

$246 is decent for a week.  The cheapest I've gotten for a full week was $102 but that was a planets-aligning situation.  I'd consider anything under $200 to be excellent, and under $250 to be good.

[marielle]

Maybe Turo, where you rent from local individuals?

[Nothlit]

AutoSlash

Seriously, it's great. I've used it several times now. You can either make a reservation directly with them, or import one you've already made elsewhere. They will automatically track it for price drops, and automatically rebook (if the lower price is for the same company & car size) or send you an email with easy instructions for manual rebooking (if the lower price is with a different company and/or car size). It may be worth clarifying that AutoSlash is not a rental car company themselves, they are a frontend booking agent/interface to all the major rental car brands (i.e., similar to Kayak or Travelocity or whatever).

I sound like a paid shill, but really I'm not. I've just saved anywhere from $40 to $100 per rental using AutoSlash in the past, and I have nothing bad to say about them.

[SuperSecretName]

+1 to autoslash.

also check costco.  very competitive prices.

[Livingthedream55]

Thank you! The only cars near me on Turo were way more expensive than renting. I just submitted my info on Autoslash - waiting to hear back.

[marion10]

Another recommendation for autoslash. Very satisfied.

[Livingthedream55]

HOLY Toledo!  I just booked for $177 via Autoslash!   Thank you fellow frugalistas!!!   I love this community!!

: 0 )

[HipGnosis]

AutoSlash

Seriously, it's great. I've used it several times now. You can either make a reservation directly with them, or import one you've already made elsewhere. They will automatically track it for price drops, and automatically rebook (if the lower price is for the same company & car size) or send you an email with easy instructions for manual rebooking (if the lower price is with a different company and/or car size). It may be worth clarifying that AutoSlash is not a rental car company themselves, they are a frontend booking agent/interface to all the major rental car brands (i.e., similar to Kayak or Travelocity or whatever).

I sound like a paid shill, but really I'm not. I've just saved anywhere from $40 to $100 per rental using AutoSlash in the past, and I have nothing bad to say about them.

Thanks for sharing that!  My car has to go into the shop for some pretty major maintenance as it's nearing 100K miles.  If it takes more than a couple days I will need to rent a car.
The last time my car was in the shop it took them 3.5 days to start working on it (it was unsafe to drive), I rented from Turo.  I got the cheapest they had (an Elantra) and found out I paid more than if I had gone to Enterprise or Budget.

[MoonLiteNite]

Check with your company and see if they have any deals with car rental companies. If your company has alot of traveling done, they normally have deals for their employees if they rent with the same company.
And i have heard some CCs also may get you a nice discount with car rentals.

[Rewdoalb]

I need to look into Autoslash.

Another useful tool is bidding on Priceline. If they don't take your desired price per day you can just try another time. Start with a smaller car, sometimes they'll bump you up for free once you're on-site.

[Ankenystache]

Another option is that if you have a mechanic/body shop that you primarily visit, see if they can help you out. Insurance rate for rental is 30 bucks a day unlimited mileage. Just have a shop give them a call and the shop gets credit for the lead and you get a cheaper rate.