Comments on: My Experience in Trying to Find a Rental Car

By: Peak Personal Finance

Peak Personal Finance — Fri, 28 May 2010 05:19:17 +0000

I’d be a bit hesitant to wait until you get there to rent a car — for both price and availability concerns. Not sure how long you are going to be renting the car from, but you may want to really consider whether it would be worth it for you to rent a convertible versus another type of car — if you are going to be there for a while, the price difference can really add up.

Also, in general you might see about renting from an office that is not right at the airport. Airport rental locations tend to charge more and/or have extra airport fees added on. I often have good luck finding deals with Enterprise, and as their ads say they will pick you up. Not as convenient, but again, if you are going to be there for 2 weeks the difference could add up.

Best,
Rob

By: FinEngr

FinEngr — Wed, 26 May 2010 20:27:45 +0000

Check your professional affiliations. Given your lawyery job – there may be some group discount for a specific rental agency.

I get two different discounts – one through my credit union and one through an engineering society.

Have fun – enjoy the trip!

By: Bucksome Boomer

Bucksome Boomer — Wed, 26 May 2010 02:09:31 +0000

You can look up rates on hotwire and then bid about 15-20% lower on Priceline.

By: Stephan

Stephan — Tue, 25 May 2010 15:38:42 +0000

ya im with kevin, i dont think youll find a convertible for less than you found, and i hope your plan of doing it last minute doesnt force you to accept a much higher price. I say forced, because once your down there, youll need a car pretty much as soon as you arrive. if the convertible is 150, will you just downgrade?

By: Car Negotiation Coach

Car Negotiation Coach — Tue, 25 May 2010 14:57:15 +0000

Try Priceline, you may get lucky.

Also, do a general rental car coupon search before searching your date/location. Just about every rental agency has some promo going on at all times.

By: Kevin M

Kevin M — Tue, 25 May 2010 13:34:25 +0000

Second the Hotwire recommmendation, I used it when we went to Boston last summer and got a good deal. Plus we ended up getting upgraded to a Prius when we picked it up.

That being said, you’re probably not going to pay less than $100 for a convertible unless you get lucky and they have an extra one sitting around that day.

I did a quick search for June 16th-23th in the same area and Hotwire starts at $47/day.

By: Evan

Evan — Tue, 25 May 2010 13:18:17 +0000

When I did Kayak they didn’t ask my age which leads to questions of whether those were firm offers. 28 is a youngster! I am like an old man in the world of these personal finance bloggers lol

By: Evan

Evan — Tue, 25 May 2010 13:17:15 +0000

Nope. I had intentions of joining, but didn’t follow through because I think my insurance (AllState) covers towing, but I should check that out. It might kill 2 birds with 1 stone.

By: Nunja

Nunja — Tue, 25 May 2010 12:11:40 +0000

Go to Hotwire. Cheap rates but not refundable. Your age might have an effect on your rates,youngster.

By: Investor Junkie

Investor Junkie — Tue, 25 May 2010 06:58:17 +0000

AAA member?