Car Rental

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Have something of a business trip tomorrow, and no longer trust my Jetta. My truck would burn 30 gallons of gas for this trip (600miles I estimate); wife needs her Camry and while I will drive farther I don't think she wants to drive the truck (she did not offer that option while she argued with me to not take the Jetta).

So I tried looking at Hertz and their quote was $141. Looks like Enterprise is similar. I need to pick up at 6am and return at 9pm, that won't work, so 2 days of rental. Close to $70/day.

So fine. Talked myself out of a rental. [Truck would cost $96 in gas, a 30mpg rental would be $64, spend $140 to save thirty bucks and wear/tear on my truck? does not compute.] My question: do they get much cheaper if you rent for a week plus? Sometimes the thought is that one can rent a car if they think their jalopy won't make a trip, or if said jalopy down for a few days for a repair. Seems like a week at $70/day would make two car payments! That sort of money would indeed pay reg&ins on a jalopy that is kept strictly for this purpose (main driver down).
 
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My question: do they get much cheaper if you rent for a week plus?

I'll be renting a car from Hertz next week in NC. Weekly rate is $141. With all taxes and fees included, it'll be $198. However, that's a discounted rate that my employer allows me to use, but even without it, the prices didn't seem much higher.
 
Try Hotwire. You have to prepay and can't cancel or change your reservation, so you need to be certain your schedule won't change. You also don't know what company you'll be getting, but it almost always seems to be Hertz or Alamo.
 
Check a rental location away from an airport, as airport fees and surcharges are crazy.

That said, my travel schedule has me renting a car at BWI in the not too distant future, and for a day I'm paying just under $26 (plus taxes and fees) for reference.
 
Originally Posted By: JHZR2
Check a rental location away from an airport, as airport fees and surcharges are crazy.

True that. The prices I quoted above were actually for an airport location. It's just more convenient for us to get it from the airport, despite the higher price.
 
Originally Posted By: supton
Have something of a business trip tomorrow, and no longer trust my Jetta. My truck would burn 30 gallons of gas for this trip (600miles I estimate); wife needs her Camry and while I will drive farther I don't think she wants to drive the truck (she did not offer that option while she argued with me to not take the Jetta).

So I tried looking at Hertz and their quote was $141. Looks like Enterprise is similar. I need to pick up at 6am and return at 9pm, that won't work, so 2 days of rental. Close to $70/day.

So fine. Talked myself out of a rental. [Truck would cost $96 in gas, a 30mpg rental would be $64, spend $140 to save thirty bucks and wear/tear on my truck? does not compute.] My question: do they get much cheaper if you rent for a week plus? Sometimes the thought is that one can rent a car if they think their jalopy won't make a trip, or if said jalopy down for a few days for a repair. Seems like a week at $70/day would make two car payments! That sort of money would indeed pay reg&ins on a jalopy that is kept strictly for this purpose (main driver down).


Does your company have corporate rates or relationships established?

I rented a Sienna recently and it was $280 for the week at corporate rates but the last 2 days were $50/day. It is cheaper by the week.

People I work with rent Prius at corporate rates on their own dime and use for business and make money on mileage reimbursement.
 
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Well, I don't think Concord Airport would drive prices up but Manchester-Boston might. I was checking Concord area though. Going down to Manchester wouldn't be out of the question. Too late to price shop anyhow, was planning on taking my Jetta but last night changed the mind--trip is tomorrow.

It's nice that they have coupons but if you rent because your car is broken then can you count on those coupons?
 
Originally Posted By: rjundi

Does your company have corporate rates or relationships established?

I rented a Sienna recently and it was $280 for the week at corporate rates but the last 2 days were $50/day. It is cheaper by the week.

People I work with rent Prius at corporate rates on their own dime and use for business and make money on mileage reimbursement.


Did not think of that. Nope, checked, do not have.
 
So many things change in the "services" category. You've got to shop around to know what to buy.

Years ago I'd rent cars from Budget for a recurring 730 mile weekend trip.
They had the best rates.
The agent listened and always granted me 1,000 free miles.
I'd return the car full and in spotless condition and always got free upgrades to full sized cars.

At that time it seemed that Enterprise only wanted to rent to people who's cars were in the shop for collision repairs. I remember trying several Enterprise locations.

Don't overlook your AAA or AARP discounts. Every little bit helps.

There's an independent rental company a mile from me which charges "$2 more" but they always have cars and light trucks available. Kira
 
How unreliable is your jetta that a 600 mile drive is worrisome?

As for the truck, go 65 instead of 70...enjoy the comforts of your own vehicle.

Curious about this jetta though...
 
Gotta ask? Don't they reimburse you for mileage you incur on your own vehicle??????

I used to travel a lot for work so I kept my 95 Civic with 250k miles. Getting $0.40/mile then getting 38MPG with fuel
 
If I'm not comfortable with the reliability of my vehicles, I either fix them or sell them. Why keep the Jetta if you can't/won't use it?
 
Originally Posted By: SuzukiGoat
How unreliable is your jetta that a 600 mile drive is worrisome?

As for the truck, go 65 instead of 70...enjoy the comforts of your own vehicle.

Curious about this jetta though...


I generally drive the truck at 60mph actually, if I do just commuting in it I have hit 21mpg. Not bad since it was rated at 19mpg. But I'll be pressed for time, so I'll have my foot in it and will keep up with traffic at 70-80. I think the last time I did that I got 20mpg, but that was on summer not winter gas.

Jetta developed a bit of a bearing noise a few years ago. I didn't think much of it, I figured it was a wheel bearing going out again, as the original set did 100k and needed replacing, so, since it was around 200k on the clock it had to be another wheel bearing. But I figured I'd wait until it got worse.

Well, now at 300k it's bugging me. It's worse. But at times I swear it's to the point where I can get it to knock--might be lugnuts, I've tightened those twice and that may have resolved the knock. But recently I redid the cv joints, and with the axles off I traced the noise to the transmission itself instead--wheel bearings are a-ok.

However: the trans sounds aweful! Clattering sound.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_hs_Vu_cahM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LwyyTrjEfYo
 
Originally Posted By: BowNisPar
If I'm not comfortable with the reliability of my vehicles, I either fix them or sell them. Why keep the Jetta if you can't/won't use it?


Driving 600 miles vs relatively locally is quite different. I know quite a few folks who have plenty of money drive older vehicles and then rent as needed.
 
Originally Posted By: rjundi
Gotta ask? Don't they reimburse you for mileage you incur on your own vehicle??????

I used to travel a lot for work so I kept my 95 Civic with 250k miles. Getting $0.40/mile then getting 38MPG with fuel div>


I have not nailed that down just yet. I think so but there might be expecation that we carpool--and I wanted to meet up with my brother for dinner. Plus originally I was going to stretch this out into a vacation, now it's not, so I ought to figure out carpooling. But it seems so odd to sit in silence with others around--I'm not a conversational type. If I do get compensation it'll more than pay for gas (55c/m these days, give or take).

Originally Posted By: BowNisPar
If I'm not comfortable with the reliability of my vehicles, I either fix them or sell them. Why keep the Jetta if you can't/won't use it?


Some days I wonder the same... But really, if I just use the Jetta for commuting, the farthest it's from home is 50miles. A 50mile tow isn't that bad. So why fix if the trans might go another 20k? Car might get totalled before then, or something else will go which will better indicate that it's time for the end. Run 'er 'til she blows. But I don't feel like dealing with a failure out of state, so it'll only get used close to home.

I broached the subject of trading out of my truck with the wife, but she wanted to know what I'd replace it with. I don't have a clue--we both like having the truck around. We tend to drive long distances, so I do need a long distance highly reliable vehicle which can also tow >2,000lb. But my daily commuter goes short distances and thus can be... less reliable.
 
Someone on slickdeals claims he gets similar rental rates on Costco's website that he was getting with priceline and hotwire.
 
I would just spend the $96 and take the truck. 600 miles isn't that bad. Conveinience is a lot nicer than having to deal with renting a car and getting a ride to the car rental place.
 
Originally Posted By: Nick1994
I would just spend the $96 and take the truck. 600 miles isn't that bad. Conveinience is a lot nicer than having to deal with renting a car and getting a ride to the car rental place.


+1, take the truck!
 
It's all supply and demand. You can find it all over the map. I've seen the off-airport locations really cheap without airport fees. I've also seen it where there was probably a huge oversupply at airport location and the rate was as low as $7/day (before fees and taxes). Sometimes you can also try to tweak the timing, but it doesn't always work out. I tried once (didn't make the trip) but the rate went way, way down if I would just extend the return date one day. I wasn't sure what would happen if I returned early. I've heard of some that will revert to a higher rate if it's returned early. So you can't really know until you look.

Enterprise has a weekend $9.99 daily special for its non-airport locations. However, that's weekend and

I've also never prepaid for a rental car. I like the flexibility of being able to cancel or taking a better rate if I can find one. The last time I reserved a rental car we got to the destination late and I figured I'd just cancel. I booked through Priceline, but not prepaid. I called Priceline and they said they couldn't cancel since it was hours after the assigned pickup time. I called the rental agency, and they said they couldn't cancel and that I didn't need to worry about it since there was no penalty. I just made a reservation for the next morning and get $14/day at the airport. It did include some airport fees, but the Hertz operating out of our hotel (the only car rental in the neighborhood) wanted $70/day plus fee. My total rental for 1 day was less than $23.
 
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