Ten Surefire
Ways to Save Money
on Car Rentals
by John
Rosenthal
Trying to get the
best deal on a car
rental is kind of
like shopping in a
Turkish bazaar.
The price changes
depending on
location, length
of rental, day of
the week, hour of
the day, city you
live in, the day
you make your
reservation--and
maybe even your
shoe size! But you
don't have to get
taken for a ride
just because you
need wheels. Note:
All prices were
quoted during the
summer of 2001.
1] Use the Web
The days of
phoning every car
rental company to
see who's got the
best rates are a
thing of the past.
Point your browser
to one of the many
car rental booking
engines on the Web
(Travelocity,
Expedia, Orbitz,
whatever) and
enter your
destination and
dates. It will
search every car
rental company in
the area, saving
you dozens of
phone calls, and
return a list of
options arranged
by price. It will
even return the
names of some
local companies
(especially in
foreign countries)
that you might not
know about. If you
like any of the
rates you see, you
can reserve the
car with the click
of a key on your
laptop.
2] Always rent
the smallest car
The smallest cars
have the cheapest
rates, and if the
location doesn't
have a subcompact
when you arrive,
they'll give you a
free upgrade to
the next smallest
vehicle they have
on the lot. The
people who deliver
cars to satellite
locations (called
shuttles) don't
like squeezing
into subcompacts
any more than you
do, so they don't
stock the lot with
small cars unless
they have to. In
locations with
very few cars, you
will often--as a
result--be given a
full-size car for
the price of a
subcompact. And if
they do have a
subcompact, and
you want a bigger
car, you can
always ask for an
upgrade on the
spot, but there's
no reason not to
try for the lower
rate. This
strategy surely
won't work at a
giant airport like
Miami's, where
there are hundreds
of cars (and
therefore dozens
of subcompacts) on
hand. But it will
work in downtown
locations and
smaller airports
with room for only
a few cars. At the
Hilo airport on
the Big Island of
Hawaii, this tip
recently landed me
a convertible for
the price of a
subcompact.
3] Compare
rates between
downtown and
airport locations
Say you're
arriving in St.
Louis on September
10, and need a car
for four days. If
you rent one (a
subcompact,
naturally) from
Budget's airport
location, you'll
pay $51.99 a day,
or a total of
$207.96. But if
you rent the same
car from Budget's
downtown location,
just a few blocks
from the
convention center,
you'll pay $39.99
a day, or a total
of $159.96. And
here's the best
part: You get the
lower rate--a
savings of
$48--even if you
return the car to
the airport. But,
you may ask,
doesn't it cost
something to get
from the airport
to downtown?
Yes--all of $3.
That's the price
of a Metro link
ride from the
airport to
downtown.
4] In New York,
the savings can be
even greater if
you're willing to
take a train ride
to the suburbs
Say you want to
rent a car for the
Fourth of July. At
any of Hertz's
Manhattan
locations, a
subcompact will
cost $71.99 per
day. But if you
take a train to
Hertz's location
in North White
Plains, the same
car rents for
$42.99. The rental
lot is right next
to the train
station, and the
ride takes no more
than 50 minutes
from Grand Central
Station ($6.50
one-way). The
savings are even
greater if you
keep the car for a
week: $311.99 at
North White
Plains, compared
to $409.99 in
Manhattan. What's
more, you still
get the lower rate
even if you return
the car in
Manhattan.
5] Check
differences
between weekend
and weekday rates
Sometimes you can
save money by
keeping the car
longer. At
airports and other
locations catering
to business
travelers, weekend
rates are so much
cheaper that it
might make sense
to pick up a car
on a Saturday or
Sunday. (At some
locations, there
may even be more
than one rate on
the same day!) For
example, at the
Dallas-Fort Worth
Airport, National
charges $55.99 a
day for a rental
starting on
Monday, July 16.
If you keep the
car for three days
and return it
Wednesday night,
you pay $167.97.
But if you pick up
that same car on
Saturday night
(July 14) and keep
it for four days,
you pay for two
days at the
weekend rate of
$21.99/day and two
days at the rate
of $48.99/day, for
a total of
$141.96. Viola! A
savings of $26.01!
If you pick up the
car Friday night,
you pay only
$163.95, still $4
less than what
you'd pay to pick
it up on Monday
morning, and you
get the use of a
car all weekend.
In Manhattan,
where car-less
urbanites flee the
city on weekends,
the equation is
just the opposite.
Weekday rates are
lower than weekend
rates, but again,
you can save money
by keeping the car
longer. For
example, if you
pick up an economy
car at any of
Budget's Manhattan
locations on
Friday, August 3
at 10 a.m. and
return it Sunday,
August 5 at 10
p.m., you'll pay
$75.99 a day, or a
total of $227.97.
But if you pick up
the car the night
before (Thursday,
August 2 at 10
p.m.) and return
it at the same
time, you pay only
$65.99 per day, or
a total of
$197.97. That's a
savings of $30,
which will more
than offset the
cost of storing
the car overnight
in an expensive
Manhattan garage
if you can't find
a parking spot.
Why do the car
rental companies
do this? For the
same reason
restaurants have
early-bird
specials. They
want you out
before the big
rush. If you take
a car off their
hands on Thursday
night, that opens
up room for one
more car they can
rent on Friday.
6] If you're
keeping the car
for four or more
days, check if
there's a weekly
rate that might be
cheaper
Weekly rates for
most car rentals
usually kick in on
the fifth day.
Most rental
companies' weekly
rates allow you to
keep the car for
five, six, or
seven days with no
difference in
price. In many
cases, the weekly
rate might be
cheaper than the
four-day rate, and
in a few cases,
even cheaper than
a three-day
rental. Here's an
example of the
latter: If you
pick up a
subcompact car
from Alamo on July
13 at the
Charlotte, North
Carolina, airport
and keep it for
three days, you'll
pay $60.99 a day,
or a total of
$182.97. Keep it
for four days and
you'll pay
$243.06. But keep
it for five days
(or pick it up a
day earlier) and
the weekly rate of
$146.99 kicks in,
a savings of
nearly $100.
7] Join all the
frequent renter
clubs you can
find--the ones
operated by the
major car rental
companies
themselves (call
them and request
procedures for
joining)
These clubs, with
names like "Gold
Service" or
"Emerald Club,"
are free to join,
and usually get
you a minimum of a
5 percent
discount. But
sometimes,
preferred-renter
discounts are
greater and even
better than what
you get with AAA
or AARP discounts.
On a three-day
rental for August
3 to 5, when
everybody is
trying to get out
of Manhattan, my
Avis Wizard number
saves me 15
percent. And like
frequent flyer
programs, some
frequent renter
clubs allow you to
earn points toward
future free
rentals. In
addition to the
financial
incentive,
frequent renter
status gets you
better service,
beginning the
minute you make
your reservation.
8] Always
return the car
with a (mostly)
full tank
You don't have to
fill up right
outside the
airport. As long
as the needle says
"F," nobody can
say the tank isn't
full. When I
worked as a
shuttle for a big
car rental
company, we filled
up the cars with
gas at the airport
and then delivered
them to satellite
locations around
Boston. The gas
gauges still
indicated a full
tank, but after as
much as an hour in
Boston traffic
(with the A/C on
full blast), the
tanks were
obviously somewhat
less than full.
That said,
returning your
rental car
(almost) full is
still the most
economical option.
If the gauge is
not on "F" when
you return the
car, you'll pay a
fortune in
refueling charges.
If you pay in
advance for a full
tank, you'll come
out ahead only if
you bring the car
back empty (not
something you want
to chance).
9] Check your
automobile and
health insurance
policies to avoid
hefty daily
insurance charges
The rental
companies will try
to sell you
additional types
of insurance,
ranging from
liability
(sometimes called
liability
insurance
supplement) to
accident (a.k.a.
personal accident
insurance) to
policies covering
personal
belongings. If you
already have an
auto insurance
policy, decline
them all. Each
charge is several
dollars a day, and
they add up fast.
If you have
automobile
insurance, you're
probably covered
for rental cars;
if you have health
insurance, you're
covered for
personal injuries
regardless of how
you end up in the
hospital. And if
you have
homeowner's
insurance, you may
be covered if
somebody steals
your swimsuit from
your trunk. Even
if you don't have
homeowner's
insurance,
personal effects
coverage is a
waste of money
unless you're
transporting the
crown jewels in
your Ford Escort.
10] Check your
credit card
coverage to avoid
CDW charges
Then there's that
painful charge for
a Collision Damage
Waiver (CDW) or
Loss Damage
Waiver, both of
them lures the
rental companies
use to get you to
pay the collision
portion of the
insurance on their
vehicles. Unless
you sign the CDW
agreement,
sometimes adding
more than $10 a
day to the price
of your rental,
you're responsible
for damage to the
car in an
accident. Many
states (but not
all) have outlawed
this liability by
requiring the car
companies to pay
for collision
insurance, so you
don't have to
worry. But even if
you rent in a
state that allows
CDW charges, you
can decline the
hefty fee by
paying for your
rental with a
credit card that
covers you in case
of collision.
American Express
provides this
service to holders
of its Gold,
Platinum, and Blue
Cards, as well as
standard green
cards, but not
every Visa or
MasterCard does.
MBNA America is
one bank that
does; check with
your credit card's
issuing bank to
see if yours does
too.
John Rosenthal,
a New York-based
freelance writer,
once worked for a
major car rental
company
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