Rental Car deals

[NotJen]

I know why rental car prices are so high right now - but I'm looking to reserve a car to visit my family at Christmas and yikes!!

Just thought I'd ask if anyone has a go-to method for getting the cheapest rental car rates.  I've been using AutoSlash for the last few years, and they are still getting me the lowest rate I can find, but I'm balking at the $700 price tag.

My other option is to drive 13 hours, but obviously prefer the direct flight instead (flight cost is $11 since I use miles).  Gas costs I'm estimating at $200 to drive.  So I'd be paying $500 to avoid 26 hours in the car.

[terran]

Don't forget wear and tear on your car. Last time I gave it any thought valued wear and tear+gas at 30 cents/mile when comparing to a rental car. The IRS values it at more like 57 cents/mile.

I don't know how common this is, but my wife's employer has corporate contracts with a few rental car companies that also include reduced rates for personal use, so you could see if yours has anything like that.

[dandarc]

Turo can be cheaper than regular car rentals - basically AirBnB style car rentals. Do your own verification of course, but our car insurance with Progressive covers the same as if it was a more traditional car rental service - I called and asked this specific question before I was willing to try.

I'm always wanting to rent a car in Chicago specifically, usually at Midway and the prices have sometimes been so high I actually ride the train to my normal final destination in Kalamazoo, where I wind up renting a car unless it is a super short trip where I'm not expecting to do much in the way of transportation once I get there. This year, close to Thanksgiving - just woof on what I've been seeing on "normal" rentals, so we have a reservation with Turo for our upcoming trip. Since it is just like a friend picking you up, it theoretically can be even more convenient than the usual rental cars. In Chicago anyway, the "just leave the car in the hourly garage" we go to do last time was amazingly convenient - no checking out, dragging everything to the bus, riding the bus. Get out of car, snap 4 or 5 pictures and leave.

[NotJen]

I mentioned possibly driving to my BF, and he immediately offered to pay half.  So that's pretty much decided.  (We split rental car costs when we go on vacation, but when visiting my family I never make him pay for any expenses I'd still have if I went alone.)

I don't know how common this is, but my wife's employer has corporate contracts with a few rental car companies that also include reduced rates for personal use, so you could see if yours has anything like that.

FIREd, so not a possibility.  BF works for the same small company and they don't offer anything like that.  I know I have checked out "member rates" for organizations I belonged to before, but they never seemed to have any true discounts.

Turo can be cheaper than regular car rentals - basically AirBnB style car rentals. Do your own verification of course, but our car insurance with Progressive covers the same as if it was a more traditional car rental service - I called and asked this specific question before I was willing to try.

I've heard of Turo, but am really reluctant to try it.

[dandarc]

Yeah, we don't rent cars frequently enough to say one way or the other on Turo. It worked very well all of the the very small number of times I've used it - but obviously that experience can vary more when dealing with individuals / very small operations compared to the big companies. Not that the big companies are necessarily "good" - just more consistent.

[kina]

Although I have never used the service, you can rent through Costco and save a bit.

We have booked hotels and saved substantially but this was several years ago.

[Dave1442397]

I've used Costco for my last few rentals, including international. The guy at the desk in Dublin Airport couldn't believe we were paying so little.

The handy thing with Costco reservations is that there's no payment up front and no penalty if you cancel or just don't claim your reservation. I always make the reservation thru Costco knowing I can cancel if I find something better at the last minute.

[JJ-]

Thanks for this thread. I made a rental reservation with Costco s few months ago for Christmas travel and haven't really kept an eye on prices. I checked this morning and prices were $150 cheaper for that week.

[NotJen]

I did forget to check Costco - I usually do, though they've never been the cheapest option for me.

They do have lower prices for my Christmas trip, but not once I factor in the cost of the membership.  Autoslash found me a rate of $620.  Costco is giving me $565, which is (slightly) higher after the $60 member fee.

Thanks for this thread. I made a rental reservation with Costco s few months ago for Christmas travel and haven't really kept an eye on prices. I checked this morning and prices were $150 cheaper for that week.

Track your existing rental with Autoslash!  You'll get an email if the prices drop.  I think they check the Costco rates, but if not, it will at least be a reminder to check the Costco site.

[JJ-]

I did forget to check Costco - I usually do, though they've never been the cheapest option for me.

They do have lower prices for my Christmas trip, but not once I factor in the cost of the membership.  Autoslash found me a rate of $620.  Costco is giving me $565, which is (slightly) higher after the $60 member fee.

Thanks for this thread. I made a rental reservation with Costco s few months ago for Christmas travel and haven't really kept an eye on prices. I checked this morning and prices were $150 cheaper for that week.

Track your existing rental with Autoslash!  You'll get an email if the prices drop.  I think they check the Costco rates, but if not, it will at least be a reminder to check the Costco site.

I used autoslash years ago when they rebooked you. But then it turned into a pseudo Priceline. I also found their tracker unreliable. It's been a few years though. Is it more reliable now?

[NotJen]

I did forget to check Costco - I usually do, though they've never been the cheapest option for me.

They do have lower prices for my Christmas trip, but not once I factor in the cost of the membership.  Autoslash found me a rate of $620.  Costco is giving me $565, which is (slightly) higher after the $60 member fee.

Thanks for this thread. I made a rental reservation with Costco s few months ago for Christmas travel and haven't really kept an eye on prices. I checked this morning and prices were $150 cheaper for that week.

Track your existing rental with Autoslash!  You'll get an email if the prices drop.  I think they check the Costco rates, but if not, it will at least be a reminder to check the Costco site.

I used autoslash years ago when they rebooked you. But then it turned into a pseudo Priceline. I also found their tracker unreliable. It's been a few years though. Is it more reliable now?

I've been using it since 2017 (I don't remember them ever rebooking apparently my first rental did get automatic price adjustments), and have saved a lot of money through catching price drops.  It is all done through Priceline now and the savings aren't quite as good as they used to be, but I still find it helpful.  They do get better rates than just browsing Priceline directly because they find and apply coupons.  When I book a year in advance, I do sometimes need to reset the tracker, but it "sticks" for rentals that are booked a couple months out.

[NotJen]

Believe me, I had a whole matrix of airfare cross-referenced with rental car prices to try to figure out which days to travel.

Non-airport rental locations are a good idea - but every time I've looked, the transportation costs to get to the location eat up any savings.  And they're not always open at the hours I need to rent/return.

Flights are now locked in, but still willing to entertain new-to-me methods of finding cheaper car rentals.

[px4shooter]

Off site is a huge savings. My last Uber was $15 to get there. I saved that in airport taxes alone. The rate was half of the airport.

In the current market, all rates suck. The good deals are gone and the fleets have really been reduced. It will be some time before recovery. Turo is a good option if the area has enough of a market.

[NotJen]

Update: I've managed to reduce my rental car rate from $710 on the day I first started searching to $510 today by letting AutoSlash alert me to rate drops.  Current rate is $4 less than Costco.

[MaybeBabyMustache]

I was really reluctant to try Turo, but we had a trip this summer where it was really pretty much the only option. I was pleasantly surprised. Consider it next time, perhaps.

And, Costco rental prices tend to be better when booked as a package. For example, if you are booking a hotel + car, the hotel itself is cheaper than you can find elsewhere, and the car is "free".

Another option. Not sure where you work (or if you are FIREd), but my employer offers corporate rates for personal travel. That's always the best rate we can book.