What is up with car rentals?!?

[WDWFanatic]

Looking for a car rental for the middle of April. Last week they were $250 which I thought was high, now this week they are between $450-700:eek:

I know they will come back down, but my goodness! Any suggestions on the best time to book? Other than last week? ;)

[MarkC]

I hate to bring up the old rule of supply and demand, but that's basically it. They're like airline seats-- once the cheap ones are gone you pay through the nose.

If you ever see a good rate, book it. If you find a lower rate later you can always rebook. However, if you fail to book you are stuck with the going rates or using bus service for your trip.

There are a couple of websites like hotwire or priceline that may help. Alamo has their hot deals section that sometimes has decent rates. There is a site called slickdeals that has good coupon codes other people post for use. Otherwise, you may have to go to the non-name brand companies and who knows what kind of cars you get.

[SandmanGStefani24]

there is an older post on page two of vacation planning that goes into this a bit. check it out, it should help lots!

[megustamex]

Wait until 2 weeks prior and then check again the week before. It seems with Orlando rentals you either have to book way out, or 2 weeks before.

[WDWgoofy]

Yes if you do not book early and check often the rates can be high.

In early Feb, rates were generally running $170 for 5 days, but I was able to snag $115:mickey:

[WDWgoofy]

Another thing that I found works well is to always secure the lowest price reservation available whenever you look.

Then you can use this as a reference in the future and if a lower rate comes along you can cancel the original reservation.