Name your own price

[disneytopdog]

It has been years since I hve rented a car. I usually do the name your own price on priceline or hotwire. I have gotten an economy car for like $12 a day. But as I said that was about 5 or six years ago and in Nebraska.

Has any one done this for economy car for pick up at MCO. Whats the normal bid that you have put in? The full price rate is something like $28 a day.

 

[Rob562]

If you shop around, do some reasarch and be a little persistent in trying out different agencies, you can actually get a very good deal out of MCO.

First, go to Mousesavers and read up on the various discounts for rental cars. If you belong to a warehouse club like BJ's or Sam's Club, look for coupons and rate codes in the store.

Back in September, we really lucked out, and had a mid-size car from Alamo for just over $100 *with* taxes, for 9 days. That's about $11/day.

Also, don't just make a reservation and be done with it. Check back periodically, punch in your trip dates and info again, and see if the price has gone down. In the past, I've been able to chip away little-by-little at my rental price ($5 here, $3 there), and when the price finally bottomed out, I'd lowered the price by about 20-25% over the course of 2-3 months.

-Rob

 

[SAV]

I second the Mousesaver's codes. I got a fantastic deal last year using one. A co-worker just got a mini-van in June for $250 + tax/fees for the week at Dollar. The non-code price was about $550.

I also go back and check rates weekly and just re-book if they go lower. To me it's worth the little time to check and re-book. Like Rob, I have saved a good chunk of money doing this. Especially since new codes are added all the time.

If you want to see what price people have been getting on Priceline for MCO rentals, go to biddingfortravel.com and look at the postings. The rental car forums are towards the bottom of the page. They also have forums for Hotels and Airfare.

 

[ewensell3]

It has been years since I hve rented a car. I usually do the name your own price on priceline or hotwire. I have gotten an economy car for like $12 a day. But as I said that was about 5 or six years ago and in Nebraska.

You can also get some decent rates by bundling the car with the airfare. Some of the airlines have partnerships with the car rental companies.

Allegiant Air flies into Sanford and partners with Alamo. June '08 I got a mid-size car (Sebring or Malibu, comfortable for 4) for $75 for 5 days ($15/day).

I've never done the name-your-price, but $15 to $17/day for a midsized car seems completely reasonable.

 

[SAV]

Just don't forget about taxes and fees on the priceline bid. If you don't factor those it, you may not get a deal at all and may end up paying more. Because once you book it, you are stuck with it. Even if regular rental prices go down.

 

[nepalostparks]

As the other posters have said above, Mousesavers.com is a great resource for a number of current promotions and codes.

And since you don't have to pay anything up front when you make a regular reservation through one of the companies, you can keep shopping around for a better deal until you actually get there.

For our car reservation this past September for 8 days, when I first booked it in April, for a mid-size I was looking at just over $225 total. By August, I had it down to $125, just by checking for new promotions and different car companies. It takes a little time, but for a hundred bucks, it was worth it for me.