Layout:
Home > Car Rentals?

Car Rentals?

May 18th, 2010 at 03:34 am

I perused airfare to Colorado, today. It's not horrid. Probably $250-$300 per ticket.

But, hard to stomach all the same. I am a very "reactive" traveler. Not "proactive" at all. Last time we flew to Colorado was "because tickets were $150 per person."

In fact, I've rarely flown anywhere across the country for more than that.

So, I should probably just suck it up and be happy that I have probably never paid more than $200 for an airline ticket. May this be the first and last time? Big Grin

OF course, I have never PAID for 4 airline tickets before, either. Yeesh!

--------------------------------------------------

Along the same lines, when in the hell did car rentals get so expensive?

I was thinking about our Hawaii trip today and thinking maybe we should get a car reserved. It will be our main expense, since the room and air is covered with timeshare points and miles (courtesy of MIL - she ain't SO bad!)

I peeked today and cringed at the prices.

So, I was discussing it with dh. I don't think I have ever rented a car. Maybe once like 10 years ago. To which dh tells me it should be $35 a day. To which I think he is crazy. He did tell me, "It's been a while. Maybe it cost more these days."

So, I have questions for all you wise bloggers:

1 - How far in advance would you generally reserve a vehicle?

2 - Where and how do you get a good deal on a rental car? What are all the tricks??

Airfare, I can so do. Car rentals are like a foreign language to me - hehe. I suppose we just drive so much or tend to travel to areas with good public transport. Just not something that has come up much.

Last time I rented a car was because we got some awesome one-way air ticket deal, to Vegas. So we rented a car to drive back. Must have been 1997 or something. Big Grin Another reactive trip! I don't think we had much choice - being 21 and renting a car - not many companies would rent to us. (The plane ticket was something like $30, and splitting the car rental 4 ways was like $20 each - a trip with the girls).

We rented a car in 2003 also. That was a whole other thing. Basically, our flight home from LA was canceled (indefinitely, due to wildfires - the whole airport was shut down), and getting this nursing momma home in 6 hours was priceless. I don't remember what that cost was - just that I can't imagine the alternative. It's a miracle we got that rental car in the first place. I don't think we had much choice that time either - probably got the last rental car at the airport.

That really sums up my car rental experience!

5 Responses to “Car Rentals?”

  1. Swimgirl Says:
    1274152450

    I remember that you don't love the system... but I always rent from Hotwire. Cheap. Never a problem.

  2. Frugaltexan75 Says:
    1274153840

    I'd check with your car insurance company for any discounts. But yes, car rentals are not cheap. It's the add on fees they don't include in the price estimate that really bite.

    As far as when to reserve ... It would depend on how busy that time of year was. You'd probably be safe a month or two in advance.

  3. Swimgirl Says:
    1274154206

    I rented a car for 24 hours in Seattle two months ago. The complete total was $21. I did put gas in, but gas + $21 was all it cost.

  4. ambitioussaver Says:
    1274189791

    I agree with FrugalTexan, we usually use the insurance company or AAA or government discounts - whichever is better. To rent a car in Hawaii this past October I think we spent around $700 or so.

  5. creditcardfree Says:
    1274229972

    My car rental experiences are primarily for our trips to Florida. I paid more for a car in July than October. I rented direct from the rental company that was at the airport. I reserved one once and then found a better deal and cancelled, since there were zero deposits required. I think I reserved at least 3 months ahead each time. Look for codes that might give you a discount, but compare it to their regular price. AAA/associations you might belong to are good ones to start with. Look for travel blogs for Hawaii that might clue you into other discounts. I think we ended up with Budget once and Dollar the other time. Good luck, MM.

Leave a Reply

(Note: If you were logged in, we could automatically fill in these fields for you.)
*
Will not be published.
   

* Please spell out the number 4.  [ Why? ]

vB Code: You can use these tags: [b] [i] [u] [url] [email]