Rental Car Help Needed

[JoeWilly]

What are some of the best sites to find good rates on rental cars? We're going to Lk. Tahoe and want to pick up a car in Reno for a week.

I searched the archives, but didn't have any luck. Also, I had these sites marked as favorites in the past, but we lost everything when we had to restore our computer back to the date of purchase.

[AwayWeGo]

We've been happy with car rentals on PriceLine.

In fact, next week we'll be driving all around Orlando & HGVC & Sea World & Animal Kingdom & I don't know where all in a PriceLine minivan.

(Had to get a minivan because 1 of our guests is disabled -- walks OK with forearm crutches -- but we rented her a battery-powered mobility scooter ahead of time on-line. She was with us in Orlando a couple of years ago & we were able to oof the cart we rented that time up into the back of our own minivan OK. So we expect to be able to oof the rental cart up into the rental minivan OK this time.)

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.

[derb]

First I reserve the best rate directly from the Rental Web Site; Budget.com etc. to insure I have a vehicle.
Then I search Hotwire, Orbitz etc but only buy if there is a great deal as you can't cancel these.
Every week or so I recheck the web sites. Once on Budget I cancelled and re-reserved 3 times and saved over $130. with an unbelieveable $155. for a mini van for a week.

[MULTIZ321]

JoeWilly,

http://www.aarp.org/
Go to the approriate hyperlink, they have Rental Codes already inserted for various car rental companies.

Breezenet.com - web site is http://www.bnm.com/

http://www.carrentals.com/

http://www.traveldepot.net/car/

http://www.bookingbuddy.com/

There's no one site that's best all the time. Happy Hunting for deals.


Richard

[BassAngler]

www.mousesavers.com

They have coupon codes as well as a link to join the Emerald Club from National.

[ati2d]

Originally Posted by JoeWilly

What are some of the best sites to find good rates on rental cars? We're going to Lk. Tahoe and want to pick up a car in Reno for a week.

I searched the archives, but didn't have any luck. Also, I had these sites marked as favorites in the past, but we lost everything when we had to restore our computer back to the date of purchase.

I have an Entertainment Book with discount coupons for Avis, Budget, National, Alamo, Hertz, and Enterprise.
If you (or anyone) want any of the coupons, let me know. Some of them are good until 12/05 & some are good until 6/06.
The website is www.entertainment.com. I can tell you the coupon codes & then mail you the coupon if it is a better price than what else you've found. Sometimes it is or sometimes you hit a REALLY good sale.
Let me know!

[JoeWilly]

Thanks everyone for all the suggestions. I'll keep these for the future. I've tried several and looks like we're going to pay a lot for a puddle jumper. We're in Lk. Tahoe the same week as the Reno Air Show--hence higher rental car prices.

Re: entertainment book coupons--thanks so much for the offer. We've already purchased a book for Tahoe/Reno and tried the rental car codes, but no great rates. Oh well, we'll use the coupons for savings on restaurants/attractions.

[Happytravels]

www.rentalcodes.com

[John Cummings]

I have always gotten the best rates through the rental car company's sites. I always check the aforementioned sites but have never found a better deal than directly for the rental company.

[Indea88]

Look at Flyertalk.com, thats where I retrive most codes..

[debraxh]

Originally Posted by derb

First I reserve the best rate directly from the Rental Web Site; Budget.com etc. to insure I have a vehicle.
Then I search Hotwire, Orbitz etc but only buy if there is a great deal as you can't cancel these.
Every week or so I recheck the web sites. Once on Budget I cancelled and re-reserved 3 times and saved over $130. with an unbelieveable $155. for a mini van for a week.

This is similar to what I do except I skip Hotwire, Orbitz, etc. I make a cancellable reservation online 4-6 months ahead of time for the best price (using Costco or RCI codes), then continue checking up to a week before departure. I also saved more than $100 this way several times.

[boyblue]

Do Rental car companies honor codes even if you are not affiliated with the company who's code you borrowed? Do they ask for verrification of affiliation? Can we get in trouble for using borrowed codes?

[MULTIZ321]

Another Car Rental site to check is
http://www.traveldepot.net/car/

They also have the car rental codes


Richard

[boyblue]

Originally Posted by boyblue

Do Rental car companies honor codes even if you are not affiliated with the company who's code you borrowed? Do they ask for verrification of affiliation? Can we get in trouble for using borrowed codes?

I went over to flyertalk & got an answer to my own question. In case anyone else was wondering I thought I'd mention. There are all types of codes even some meant for the general public. The ones that are meant for private use and are sometimes exploited often backfire when used. Just as important as having a code is knowing if I.D. is required, so if you see a code somewhere leave it alone unless the poster indicates that no I.D. Was required when they used it.

Flyertalk is a pretty cool sight.

[Arb]

We're going to the area in October 07. I went to the entertainment book site, but they're showing the 08 book. Would the coupons be good in 07? I know this is probably a silly question for those of you who know about such things... but I need help!
Carole

Originally Posted by ati2d

I have an Entertainment Book with discount coupons for Avis, Budget, National, Alamo, Hertz, and Enterprise.
If you (or anyone) want any of the coupons, let me know. Some of them are good until 12/05 & some are good until 6/06.
The website is www.entertainment.com. I can tell you the coupon codes & then mail you the coupon if it is a better price than what else you've found. Sometimes it is or sometimes you hit a REALLY good sale.
Let me know!

[Timeshare Von]

The 2007 Entertainment Book coupons for cars are typically good for a longer period of time than the others (which expire on 11/1/07). If you buy a new (2008) book, typically the coupons in it are good as soon as you receive your book so you should be good if you buy the 2008 book but plan on using the coupons before 11/1/07. (The 2007 book car rental coupons say "Good now through June 30, 2008.)

[BMWguynw]

Costco.com continues to have some of the best rates around, without having to jump through coupon hoops or rent from an unknown agency to get the deal. Factor in things like free second driver, free car class upgrades, and unlimited mileage, and it often works out to be a seriously good deal. And it's frequently better then what the rental agency gives directly. On my last rental I saved well over $100 off the best deal the rental company offered me.

So at least check them out. You may be pleasantly surprised.

Dave

[pjrose]

After lots of checking we found by far the best deal for Enterprise through Travelocity. Read on...I had some successes with a discount and upgrade.

While rate-shopping we checked the rental car sites, Costco, Travelocity, Orbitz, Expedia, Interval International, and the airline frequent flier sites. Then we checked discount codes from AAA, AARP, public TV membership, Interal International, and several professional organizations, plugging them in to the various sites above. Most of those codes were for larger cars, and we wanted the least expensive. Finally we reserved an economy car with Enterprise through Travelocity.

At the airport rental car center (Phoenix), the lines for Enterprise were very long, and virtually nobody was at any of the other counters. I went to the nearby counters and asked if they'd match the price, but no deal.

Once we got to the front of the Enterprise line, I mentioned AAA and the agent zapped another 10% off what was already the best rate. When we got the car, it was unsatisfactory - the driver's seat was too cramped, and the seat belt buckle poked my hip. We asked for a substitute, and they gave us a car that smelled. We asked again, and they gave us an upgrade to a very nice car that would have cost more. The agent told us that as it gets later in the day and they run out of the smaller cars, they automatically upgrade to better ones, and then when they run out of cars entirely they pay for people to get cars from the other agencies. All this took some time, so I commented that we shouldn't have to pay for extra hours that were on the initial contract - those got zapped off as well.

Bottom line - saving $10-$20 wouldn't have been worth the hassle, but not settling for an unsatisfactory car yielded us a nice upgrade at no cost.

[Arb]

I just tried plugging in some coupon codes I had for AVIS from RCI. The site kept telling me the coupon numbers were not valid. I looked thru the latest "Endless Vacation" magazine and saw no avis ads or coupons. The RCI site didn't show me any rental car discounts. So, is RCI out of the rental car discount business?