Car Rental .....Best Booking Time ?

[wee-haggis]

I would appreciate hearing from folk as to when they booked their car rental (ieid they constantly book...then cancel,,then book again etc,etc )while watching for codes and better prices?
Generally,does the price of rentals decrease as you get closer to the dates you want.or the opposite ?
I did a little experiment with both Dollar and L&M and discovered when I punched in ficticious one week duration dates every day through the end of June,they stayed very reasonable until I hit the 1st July onward.
Is this because of how far in adance I'm looking at?
or
Because July is a peak month ?
or
Both ?
Anyone get good prices for minivan with Priceline or Hotwire ?

thanks

 

[VacationMan]

Hey Wee-Haggis. I always do the same thing as you, and see the same things.... It appears the rental companies are so flexable in rating, the can dynamically change them depending on their volumes, up or down.

I've seen the price plumet from an advanced bookings as the time approached.... and I guess that was due to a much lower volume than was anticipated.

I'll assume, like myself, you run the gamut of codes ( most seen at www.mousesavers.com ) and watch for the best deal.... often double booking until the day of.

I'd also like to suggest to ANYONE reading this thread to keep an eye on Alamo (a good thing). If you are a quick silver member, and print-out your resivation (to be safe), you can simply go to the parking structure, there is a mini-booth for Quicksilver members, typically NO LINE, and then they send you to pick out the car you want within the type grouping "Compact, Sub-Compact, Medium size, etc.

If you get there late... and we did two weeks ago, at about Midnight, you simply pick up your car out of the category, and proceed to the "check out booth". They do all the paperwork right there....

Mind you even at Midnight, I walked right by about 30+ People in the Alamo line in the terminal waiting to get their paperwork to go get their car.

This usually shaves about 1/2 hour off your "travel time", and Alamo usually has the best rates, it not near the best.

Have a great vacation.

 

[miles1]

For our last trip in February, I booked in early December. I tried ALL of the codes listed on Mousesavers, and got the best deal from National Car Rental using the AMEX discount code. For some reason, booking through the internet, I didn't have to stop at the counter, even though I wasn't a member of their Emerald Isle Club. The rental was DIRT CHEAP. I still think it was a glitch with their website. The car was brand new, with only 37 miles on it when I picked it up.

Although Alamo usually has the best rates, I have never had a good experience with Alamo in the 6 or 7 times I've used them. Orlando seems to be their worst spot. Last time I used them, I wound up with a Cavalier with nearly 40,000 miles, and the brake pads were so worn they were metal to metal. Then they gave us a car seat for my then-9 month-old that had to be 20 years old, and a total safety hazard. I wound up turning around and returning the car, but they told me it was the ONLY car seat they had!

Moral of the story is to shop around using the codes, and stay away from Alamo.

 

[VacationMan]

For our last trip in February, I booked in early December. I tried ALL of the codes listed on Mousesavers, and got the best deal from National Car Rental using the AMEX discount code. For some reason, booking through the internet, I didn't have to stop at the counter, even though I wasn't a member of their Emerald Isle Club. The rental was DIRT CHEAP. I still think it was a glitch with their website. The car was brand new, with only 37 miles on it when I picked it up.

Although Alamo usually has the best rates, I have never had a good experience with Alamo in the 6 or 7 times I've used them. Orlando seems to be their worst spot. Last time I used them, I wound up with a Cavalier with nearly 40,000 miles, and the brake pads were so worn they were metal to metal. Then they gave us a car seat for my then-9 month-old that had to be 20 years old, and a total safety hazard. I wound up turning around and returning the car, but they told me it was the ONLY car seat they had!

Moral of the story is to shop around using the codes, and stay away from Alamo.

Odd. I've used them for about 10 years (Specifically on Trips to WDW), including the times when they were off-site taking a airport shuttle, down the beeline 1 mile to the next exit, and have only had about 2 times where there were problems. I just rented from Alamo on May 25 in Orlando a brand new Chevy cobolt.

One time I eneded up at the end of a trip returning a card that had a dent in it. It was there when I picked it up, but I missed it (unless martians did something to the car when I was driving from Alamo to WDW). Anyway, they did contact me after with an official letter, asking for information from me. After filling out the questionaire, they agreed that it was their vehicle problem, and I received an official letter abolishing me from any liability.

So I guess I'm at the opposite extreme, have had excellent service, and While looking for the best rates, usually go with Alamo they are within $5 of the cheapest rate.

 

[Nemo14]

We've had trouble with Alamo, particularly when they were off premises, and I would never rent from them again. However, we have rented several times from L&M, and with the exception of last year's hurricane season, we've never had a problem with them. just my 2 cents worth...