Best deal on rental cars?

[Johdus Fanfoozal]

I rarely rent a car when I travel, but I need to for a five-day trip to L.A. later this summer.

Any suggestions for sites where I can get the best deal? Should I just roll the dice with Priceline or is there something better?

 

[intent]

Most rental companies usually have promotions or coupon codes.

Also, check to see if you belong in any corporate or preferred plans. Amex cardholders have a code, for example.

 

[Pilot]

Don't get a rental car from the airport. Find one off sight and then pay for a taxi there. Most airports are 20-50 more a day than somewhere in town.

 

[cheessus]

i just rented a car from enterprise a few months ago.

for a compact, it was 10/day fri, sat, sun and about 20 every other day. there is a mileage limitation, so i'd look into that. also there was a $250 deposit.

all in all i thought it was very reasonable since i only used it for the 3 day weekend. they actually upgraded me to a "luxury" car (chevy impala) free of charge since they ran out of compacts (i did my reservations online).

i did not rent it from the airport. there are plenty of car rental places just right outside.

 

[whodini]

Personally, I've never found the "don't rent from the airport" advice to hold water. It might be true if you're just calling them up or booking straight through them online but there are loads of deals to be had through travel sites like priceline, mobissimo, kayak, etc.

I typically rent a car a couple of times a year while traveling and every single time has been through an airport (or off-site shuttle) location, even when there were more convenient locations nearby, because they had the lowest rates. And I'm talking ~$17-23/day, major cities, unlimited mileage, mid or full-size, during holiday periods like New Years and spring break, and through companies like Avis, Enterprise, etc.

One piece of advice I do have is to not try to pinch pennies because you won't get the deals. More often than not, while the advertised rate for a compact is supposed to be the cheapest, it isn't. It might be true on a day-to-day rental basis but typically the mid size is the cheapest for a weekly rate. Gas is almost a non-issue these days since most of the mid size fleet push mpg into the high 20's-30s, or nearly identical to an "econo" compact. And even when the compact is cheapest, it's usually only a few bucks less than the mid size and my legs like to breathe.

 

[RanMan]

Decent rates can be had at Avis with a Costco membership. Costco dot com, Travel, Rental Car, Avis. Pretty happy with that set up.