Rental Cars WOW!

[Lorraine444]

Ok it's 8 days to go till I arrive in Florida.
Sorry, I forgot to post the single digit dance.

We'll be arriving in Disney the 10th.
I accepted an offer to go with a friend this year for vacation. She has a house in Sarasota, and a time share 2 mles from Disney. I accepted and have paid for flights, park passes so far.
What blew my mind was not even realizing I needed to rent a car since we'll be off site.
I need a rental from 8/5 - 8/18, and holy cow is this going to cost me! I didn't even think of the rental expense. 14 days will be about 500.00 +, that's with the economy car.
I really can't get over this. Does anyone have some clues for me on savings????
I do have triple A, but don't think that's much of a discount. I'll be sending an email out to my friends to watch for coupons...
Any other clues that would help me save $$$?
Hmmmm, next time I'm thinking I'll stay on site!
Not to mention the 11.00 per day of parking.
I'm over budget unfortunately.
HELP!

[goofynmd]

Sign up for email alerts from all of the major companies (Avis, Alamo, National). Prices change day to day so check back often.

I rebooked multiple times for our trip last year. I got a midsize car for $130 for 8 days with an Entertainment book coupon and booking directly through the car rental website.

[Mickey 101]

We always rent a car and due to terms of service here I won't post the website, but there is one that provides codes available for the general public of discounts on various car rental agencies. It's specifically geared toward Disney-area agencies. You should be able to find it through a search engine. I also keep checking on rates practically up until our date of travel and get it as reasonable as possible. Unlike the airlines, there is no penalty for rebooking as many times as it takes. Have a great trip!

[Mickey 101]

I went ahead and sent you a pm.

[laprana]

Wow! $500 for an economy car is crazy! Which company were you looking at? We've always rented a car on our WDW trips and we've always rented from Alamo. We've never had any problems at all with them! They're right at the airport and they have online check-in so you can bypass the counter and go straight to the cars to pick one out. Couldn't be easier! On our trip this past June, we got a full-size car for 12 days for around $230.

Try doing a search online for Alamo (or any rental company) coupon codes. There are a lot out there that can really save you some $$$! Also, one thing I noticed when we were looking for a good deal from Alamo for our last trip is that Alamo seems to reduce their prices on Wednesdays or Thursdays, and the prices seem to go up on the weekends and on Mondays. This isn't the case 100% of the time, but it was pretty consistent, and I was checking just about every day to get the best deal we could. Be sure to check the website on different days, and you could end up saving $$$ that way, too! Hope this helps, and have a great trip!

[SuzieBell]

You should get some discount with AAA, also if you work, see if your company gets any discounts. I just book my rental car and ! $45.00 total with my company discount. I opted for a 1 day rental and will brave the buses! Just need to get to the grocery store! Good luck and have fun! Sarsota is my home town!!!
3 more days till

[MississippiDisneyFreak]

We looked into renting a car for 2 weeks to use on our trip and it was going to cost about $700 with taxes and all included fees Luckily, my mom decided to buy a new car and so now we have a brand new Camry to take and no rental expense

[tys_mommy]

If you could grab a taxi or your friend wouldn't mind picking you up at the airport look at all rental options - we saved big time 4 years ago by getting our rental from one of the downtown Disney hotels. As also mentioned look for coupons or specials through all companies.

[Lorraine444]

Ok, Here is what I've come up with thanks for all of you & your advice. I knew 500.00 was way too much something was wrong there.
The companies were National & Alamo.
So I called Dollar Rental the price for 8/5 - 8/18 is 208.32!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!What is going on here? How can there possibly be such a difference? She said depends on the # of cars they have on there lot? I also received 30.00 for AAA.
Should I be worried?
This sounds too good to be true????
Man, can anything ever go smoooooooth for me...
There will be a summary of my whole pre-trip report soon. Gotta love my life!

[#1disneyfan]

While it might sound too good to be true, usually if you are quoted a price, that is what it is. Just check to see if that includes all their taxes and fees and if possible get a printed copy of the quote. Either via email or ask them to mail you a copy.

We had an issue with a rental car company this last trip to visit family and they charged us slightly more than our quote. Luckily I had traveled with the quote and they were able to credit my account with no problems.

Anyway, I hope you have a great time. We will be there during your trip. Can't wait to read your reports when you return.

[Mrs Bus Driver]

Watch out for insurance, they will try to tell you to pay extra for insurance on the rental. Just make sure you use a credit card that covers rental cars and you won't need their insurance and their insurance is really expensive

[Vito]

Here's my experience:

Rental car prices vary greatly, sometimes even from day to day. Keep checking over and over, and check all the big travel sites, including hotwire, expedia, etc. That can sometimes be a quick and dirty way to search several different rental companies at once to track rates.

If you find a "decent" price, even if you're looking for something better, book it. Most (all?) rental car companies do NOT require a credit card commitment, and you can cancel your reservations online without penalty. In the event a better rate comes along, book the better rate, and then cancel your original reservation after doing so.

Rental car codes vary - some are good for long term rentals, others good for weekends, others good for a week or more, etc. Try different codes (you can find tons of codes online) and check them frequently.

Also, make sure that you know where the rental car pickup is. Some rental companies will rent cars at Orlando Airport, when in reality you may need to take a shuttle to the car pickup. That might not be an issue, but it's something important you might want to find out ahead of time.

[Vito]

Watch out for insurance, they will try to tell you to pay extra for insurance on the rental. Just make sure you use a credit card that covers rental cars and you won't need their insurance and their insurance is really expensive

Good tip - also, check with your car insurance provider. Many car insurance providers will cover you not just for your own car, but also when you're driving a rental. The terms may vary, but it's worth checking out for that extra peace of mind.

[Lorraine444]

I thank you all for your great tips!
I do know that all taxes & extra charges were in the quote, believe me I asked, openly and said what hidden charges will be added... Hee Hee! They did tell me there is none.
Having a quote emailed to me is a GREAT idea, I will do that today. This will for sure confirm the quote, and see to it that I do get the rate.....
This year I will definately do a pre trip/trip report. I didn't do one last year & was kinda upset with myself. But the whole vacation was sooo busy, and I hadn't wrote notes. My memory is horrible & I couldn't sort out the Where, whats, and whens that I did everything.
Thanks everybody, I will be searching out the intercoties while I'm there, and will try to plan on be in Epcot for the drinks! Don't worry, I'm not shy, I will walk up to you & say hi!
Thanks again! I'm going to take a nap, mentally exhausted! I have the day off it's my Birthday today! Big plans for tonight! Hopefully I'll win money @ Foxwoods casino, that would be a great B-Day present...
Good night!

[tys_mommy]

Watch out for insurance, they will try to tell you to pay extra for insurance on the rental. Just make sure you use a credit card that covers rental cars and you won't need their insurance and their insurance is really expensive

My normal auto insruance covers rentals as well.

[Hair_Razor]

I have many clients that travel for work. Many of them had said it has been cheaper to get bigger mid-size and SUV's because there has been a higher demand for fuel efficient economy cars. Just a thought. Good luck.

[crazeedizneefinatic]

I once got a rental car for $12 a day through a "name your price" website. You don't pick the company but the area and class. We choose a midsize and ended up with a PT Cruiser. Other than being a little bit ugly it worked and we saved a ton of money. Also try the big name coupon books they often have coupons for multiple day rentals. That 1st car quote you got was way out of line.

And as others have mentioned get a written quote. Had we not printed out our $12 a day rental they did not have it on file. They had to adjust it once we showed them the email.