The Official December 2009 Car Rental Thread

[Snakebit12]

I just booked a mid-size/intermediate with National through Priceline for the week of November 28 - December 5 for $148.81 all inclusive.

 

[DebbieB]

Hi. Quick question on the national $40 coupon. Could someone tell me what the dates are on it? It is working for my late January rental and works out to be a few $ cheaper than my alamo rental. Just want to make sure I'm covered since the coupon isn't needed at check in.

Thanks,
Val.

The copy I have says 10/22 - 12/15

Still can't get a good rate for 12/5-11. For some reason the 12/5 arrival is more expensive. For once, my corporate rate is the cheapest, with the $40 off it's $194 total. Almost double what I paid in previous Decembers. At least it includes insurance.

 

[mmmgood]

Thanks to all on this thread:

Went with National (like MCO pu/do) for a Minivan. Used contract ID 3717122 (have to book with Mastercard) and coupon ND1881jdk as others have posted for an additional $40. My dates are Jan 25-Feb 1 for a week-long rental and my total, all in, is $348.38 which I am pretty happy with for a minivan for a week!!

Does anyone know if the minivans have a TV in them?

Just a note of caution - this contract ID has limited mileage. It is 750 miles then .30 per mile. Hopefully this will not be an issue for you.

 

[Southernswthrt]

I just booked a mid-size/intermediate with National through Priceline for the week of November 28 - December 5 for $148.81 all inclusive.

Would you mind sharing how you got this rate?

 

[EMom]

Would you mind sharing how you got this rate?

Related to this, when you book via a bid/auction on Priceline or Hotwire, does the bid include taxes and fees? Suppose you bid $14 per day for 7 days.....Does that mean you pay only $98 if your bid is accepted OR do you pay $98 plus all the assorted taxes and fees?

I assume you have to pay at the time of winning the bid and there is no refund. True?

 

[cjnix29]

Related to this, when you book via a bid/auction on Priceline or Hotwire, does the bid include taxes and fees? Suppose you bid $14 per day for 7 days.....Does that mean you pay only $98 if your bid is accepted OR do you pay $98 plus all the assorted taxes and fees?

I assume you have to pay at the time of winning the bid and there is no refund. True?

You pay the 98 plus the taxes and fees. At hotwire, you know what the rate is before you book, just not the car company. I did hotwire, and got Avis in terminal. They have had some great rates lately, unfortunately, after I had already booked! Should have waited. But you can do really well, but are stuck when you buy, no refunds.

 

[robinb]

Related to this, when you book via a bid/auction on Priceline or Hotwire, does the bid include taxes and fees? Suppose you bid $14 per day for 7 days.....Does that mean you pay only $98 if your bid is accepted OR do you pay $98 plus all the assorted taxes and fees?

I assume you have to pay at the time of winning the bid and there is no refund. True?

You will always see the whole cost of the rental (including taxes and fees) before you make your final decision. Like the hotel product, car rental is non-refundable.

cjnix29, don't beat yourself up. Rates could have just as easily gone UP!

 

[EMom]

You pay the 98 plus the taxes and fees. At hotwire, you know what the rate is before you book, just not the car company. I did hotwire, and got Avis in terminal. They have had some great rates lately, unfortunately, after I had already booked! Should have waited. But you can do really well, but are stuck when you buy, no refunds.

I looked at your rate and if you're paying $116 for 7 days, that's only $16.50-ish per day. Assuming that includes taxes and fees, I think that's a very good price. I'm paying $19.45 per day for a mid-size and while I'd like better, I think that's pretty good.

 

[Snakebit12]

Would you mind sharing how you got this rate?

I bid $12.00 per day for a mid-size car on Priceline. While that adds up to only $84.00, they add a bunch of taxes and fees to arrive at the $148.81. I don't really care about the taxes and fees, just the bottom line.

You do have the opportunity to see the full cost (after taxes and fees) before you bid.

You pay immediately and it is non-refundable. But it's a good price (not a great price as I have won at $10.00 per day before).

 

[klam_chowder]

robinb - thx a mint for your search and reply For some reason I didn't get notification of your post like I usually do to threads...only saw it now when I came back to check out the thread

cheers,

 

[EMom]

I bid $12.00 per day for a mid-size car on Priceline. While that adds up to only $84.00, they add a bunch of taxes and fees to arrive at the $148.81. I don't really care about the taxes and fees, just the bottom line.

You do have the opportunity to see the full cost (after taxes and fees) before you bid.

You pay immediately and it is non-refundable. But it's a good price (not a great price as I have won at $10.00 per day before).

I see your point. If the amount you paid is for 7 days, that's about $21 per day. And $21 per day is a far cry from the $12 per day you bid. As I told DH, it's the taxes and fees that kill you. I think I mentioned that I found our email from when we rented from the same company at MCO two years ago. The actual price of the car rental had not gone up much, if at all. But the taxes and fees had gone WAY up in two years.

 

[Snakebit12]

I see your point. If the amount you paid is for 7 days, that's about $21 per day. And $21 per day is a far cry from the $12 per day you bid. As I told DH, it's the taxes and fees that kill you. I think I mentioned that I found our email from when we rented from the same company at MCO two years ago. The actual price of the car rental had not gone up much, if at all. But the taxes and fees had gone WAY up in two years.

You are correct. What I really bid was $148.81 for a week, or as you stated, $21/day. When I said that I don't care about taxes and fees, I meant that I don't care how the $148.81 is split up - I just care about the total bill (although I find the taxes irritating).

The trick is figuring out how much to bid to end up with an acceptable total bill amount. Fortunately, Priceline does show you the total amount before you bid. If it's too high, go back and lower your bid.

Priceline is all about timing. I have been bidding $12 (or $21) for weeks now. My email is full of rejections. It was just a matter of time and I probably could have done better but wanted to get it over with.

 

[n2mm]

My National rental for Dec. 4-12 (8 days) is now $97 ($148 after taxes). Pretty good for a guaranteed full size or better (Executive Aisle).

 

[MyMuse]

My National rental for Dec. 4-12 (8 days) is now $97 ($148 after taxes). Pretty good for a guaranteed full size or better (Executive Aisle).

Wowee! that is a grat rate!

I have Alamo for 12/4-15 for $170, but for a compact.

 

[cbsnyber1]

I agree that it is never too early to search. Alamo ran a $199 a week minivan deal in April. I booked my 11/27-12/6 rental at that rate - with my $25 Costco coupon the total with tax it comes to just over $300 for the 9 days. I haven't seen anything close to that rate since. Sorry, the deal is no longer being offered so I don't have any codes to share. Just wanted to second the opinion that it's never to early to book if you see a good deal.

Hey, I booked that same deal; $262 total with tax for a week (Dec 12 - 18). Unfortunately, we revised our plans and now no longer will rent a car. Wish I could transfer it to someone who needs it!

 

[2boys1girl]

My National rental for Dec. 4-12 (8 days) is now $97 ($148 after taxes). Pretty good for a guaranteed full size or better (Executive Aisle).

Wow that is awesome!!

Did you use any coupons/codes?

Thanks!

 

[n2mm]

Wow that is awesome!!

Did you use any coupons/codes?

Thanks!

Just the regular stuff. 5007160 (Continental FF code) and ND1881JDK ($40 e-coupon from the National rental car email). My base rate is $149 before any discounts are applied.

 

[duffy]

No matter what codes I try, I can't get the National rate to drop. I've cleared my cookies, tried various codes, but...it's still showing prices in the $300 range, and they've never dropped.

I need a car from Sanford, arriving late on 11/27, leaving on 12/4. I just don't get it.

 

[n2mm]

No matter what codes I try, I can't get the National rate to drop. I've cleared my cookies, tried various codes, but...it's still showing prices in the $300 range, and they've never dropped.

I need a car from Sanford, arriving late on 11/27, leaving on 12/4. I just don't get it.

Sorry to say, it's that holiday weekend that is killing you.

 

[chocovrdmicears]

Just the regular stuff. 5007160 (Continental FF code) and ND1881JDK ($40 e-coupon from the National rental car email). My base rate is $149 before any discounts are applied.

Those are the same 2 discounts that I used as well.
Our rate for 12/9-12/16 is $160.52, but our pick up and drop off times added an extra $21.70 to the base rate of $151.89. After the 2 discounts it came to the $160.52.
On the 5007160 Contintental Code, will we need to show anything for that when we pick up the car?