February 2012 Car Rentals

[schoen]

I am not having great success for my reservation on February 29-March 5. It is a five day rental. So far the best I have found is a mid-size SUV through Avis for about $230. I need at least a full size. If anyone has any tips or codes that would work that would be wonderful. I just rented 11 days from Alamo for $104, so maybe I was just spoiled, but I hope I can do a little better than $230!

 

[mareed]

If anyone is looking for a car for President's week I encourage you to check hotwire.com. Rates are alot lower than through the car rental agencies. I would definitely give Priceline a try. You can usually get the rate even lower than what hotwire has published.

Even Hotwire is really high for President's day timeframe, and I assume Price would also be (although a bit less as you said). Starting with pickups on Feb 16, a week is around $280 which I could match directly with codes from Budget found here. If you pick up by Feb. 15 the rate for same size car is less than half - $132. I don't see prices budging for those of us stuck with 2nd half of Feb!

 

[JennSaint]

Even Hotwire is really high for President's day timeframe, and I assume Price would also be (although a bit less as you said). Starting with pickups on Feb 16, a week is around $280 which I could match directly with codes from Budget found here. If you pick up by Feb. 15 the rate for same size car is less than half - $132. I don't see prices budging for those of us stuck with 2nd half of Feb!

I was checking for dates of feb 18-25 or feb 19-26.
feb 18-25 midsize SUV $280.30 on hotwire is a good price for that week for someone who didn't snag a good price early on.
standard SUV $296.96
Like I said if these are the prices on hotwire most likely you could bid on priceline and get even lower.
I personally don't need a car just trying to help those who may need a last minute ressie.

 

[ashleyrm]

I had not been able to find many good deals as am renting from Sun-Thurs (Feb 26 to Mar 1) which means it is a weekly rental without an overnight stay.

Currently have a ressie with National Emerald Aisle for $233.30. Just found a deal through SW for Budget $164 for mid-size or $182 for a full size. Have never rented through Budget at MCO and am interested in any reviews.

Thanks!

 

[poohbear8]

I got some pixie dust today and am very surprised at what I got! I have with Alamo 2/23 -2/26 a convertible for $161.89. I am returning it to the car care center and taking ME back to the airport on the 28th. It's not the best rate, but it's the best I have seen for my dates. The funny thing is the economy ends up being $229.88. If I had kept the convertible the whole trip, it was going to be $491.56. I only "need" the car Th-Sun, so this works for me.

Also, just an FYI: I was trying to use an Entertainment Book coupon good on convertibles (and actually ALL of the other coupons) and none of them would work. I called Alamo and the lady told me that airport has "so many" coupons they will accept and that is why none of them will work.(they have maxed out the coupons they will accept for anyone she said...Costco, BJ's etc.) I asked if it was likely any would work as it got closer to the dates and she said probably not.

So, if you see a rate you can accept, I'd book it. (then look for coupons)

Hope this helps someone else.

 

[SuzyQue]

I had not been able to find many good deals as am renting from Sun-Thurs (Feb 26 to Mar 1) which means it is a weekly rental without an overnight stay.

Currently have a ressie with National Emerald Aisle for $233.30. Just found a deal through SW for Budget $164 for mid-size or $182 for a full size. Have never rented through Budget at MCO and am interested in any reviews.

Thanks!

Budget is the cheapest I'm finding also, it will be our first time using them. FYI, if you go through the Budget site instead of Southwest, your dates bring up 132.27 using coupon code D420000 for an Intermediate (which is a Dodge Avenger) or a few dollars more for a Standard (Fusion, same size as Avenger if you ask me) or a Full Size (Impala).

 

[poohbear8]

I had not been able to find many good deals as am renting from Sun-Thurs (Feb 26 to Mar 1) which means it is a weekly rental without an overnight stay.

Currently have a ressie with National Emerald Aisle for $233.30. Just found a deal through SW for Budget $164 for mid-size or $182 for a full size. Have never rented through Budget at MCO and am interested in any reviews.

Thanks!

I just checked Alamo Insider with no coupons and saw a Fullsize for $138.94 total!! I had it as a 1:30 pickup and drop off. Hope that helps!

 

[ashleyrm]

Budget is the cheapest I'm finding also, it will be our first time using them. FYI, if you go through the Budget site instead of Southwest, your dates bring up 132.27 using coupon code D420000 for an Intermediate (which is a Dodge Avenger) or a few dollars more for a Standard (Fusion, same size as Avenger if you ask me) or a Full Size (Impala).

Thanks. I checked this and it came up as 113.95 but 165 with taxes for an intermediate. That is the same price as it was on the SW website. I think the price difference is because we are getting in at 9 am and leaving at 6 am. If we were arriving and leaving at the same time it would be a 4 day rental, but since we have the early arrival and late departure it changes to a full week rental. That doesn't make sense to me as it is less than 5 full days.

Becky

 

[Belle599]

Well, usually I am quite self sufficient when finding great car rental deals, but I am really stuck this time.

My travel dates are Feb 24 late evening to Feb 29 dinner time.

It seems to me that Feb 24 and 25 have just horrible rates. I could do Feb 26-29 Mco to Mco and it would be about $60. But when I throw the 24th and 25th into the mix, we're over $400.

I thought maybe I would take Magical Express from Mco to the hotel on Feb 24 and then pick up the rental at the car care center on Feb 26, but renting from Car Care Center (or Dolphin) and dropping off at Mco is expensive (about $300).

All the above prices are with Alamo. I prefer Alamo/National.

Currently, the best I can find is if I do Avis Mco to Mco from Feb 24 to 29 for $213.

Any rental pros have suggestions for dealing with Alamo/National for my Feb 24 & 25 problem?

Thanks in advance!!

 

[poohbear8]

Well, usually I am quite self sufficient when finding great car rental deals, but I am really stuck this time.

My travel dates are Feb 24 late evening to Feb 29 dinner time.

It seems to me that Feb 24 and 25 have just horrible rates. I could do Feb 26-29 Mco to Mco and it would be about $60. But when I throw the 24th and 25th into the mix, we're over $400.

I thought maybe I would take Magical Express from Mco to the hotel on Feb 24 and then pick up the rental at the car care center on Feb 26, but renting from Car Care Center (or Dolphin) and dropping off at Mco is expensive (about $300).

All the above prices are with Alamo. I prefer Alamo/National.

Currently, the best I can find is if I do Avis Mco to Mco from Feb 24 to 29 for $213.

Any rental pros have suggestions for dealing with Alamo/National for my Feb 24 & 25 problem?

Thanks in advance!!

How big of a car do you need? Could you rent rent first, then return to the Car Care Center and take ME back to the airport? That's what I ended up going for. I will pick it up at MCO on 2/23 and drop off at CCC on the 26th and take ME back on the 28th to MCO.

I tried 2/24 at 6:30pm pickup at MCO with a 2/27 6:30 pm drop off at the CCC and there is a convertible for $161.89 with taxes. Alamo told me yesterday that MCO has used all of the coupons they will allow, so if you like the deal I would book it. I haven't been able to find any coupon that will lower it more.

 

[CTJKLAB]

We are traveling February 25th with a late arrival (10:30 p.m) and departing on March 1st returning the car around 6 p.m. Usually I can find a decent car rate and am in the same boat as the rest of you since I am under 5 full days. I am finding the $400 + rates right now. We are arriving during the school break week. Until the car rental companies see their inventory numbers for returns, the rates won't go down. But I do believe they will go down closer to that timeframe. I reserved Budget with the code mentioned above...a compact at $189.99 with fees and tax will be about $250.00....ugh. But it is the lowest around. Did not ask for anything but an email address to hold. If I find better, I can always cancel. Good luck all and see you in Disney!!!!

 

[Ragman]

Family coming into Orlando via Amtrak on Feb 19th. Heading back via Amtrak on Feb 24th. From what I can tell Hertz is only car rental that valets to train station. They want almost $100 a day for regular size sedan. I cant pay that.

I punched in the codes on Budget using mco and start and end point (figure maybe I can get a shuttle there?) and wound up with $357 incl tax for minivan. That is doable but from what Im reading here I should be able to do better.

ANyone got any ideas to help this family of 5 - one needs car seat - get a rental car at a decent price?

Still unsure how I will get from train station to rental place...... $100 a day sheesh.

Thanks in advance.

 

[MarthaJr.]

Have you considered taking a taxi from the train station to your resort? You could try Mears or any of the other transport companies.

Are you staying on property or off? If on property you could check out the rates from the CCC or at the Swan once you arrive at your resort. Or, if off property, many resorts do offer free transportation (although not always convenient) to the parks. Some even have car rental agencies on site.

 

[Ragman]

Martha,

Thank you for replying. We are not staying on site. Yes I thought of maybe just grabbing a taxi for me to run over to the car rental place (would I be able to access the mco rental if Im not arriving/departing on a flight?) We all wouldnt be able to fit in a taxi with all of our luggage tho, so my family would have to wait at the train station for me to get back with the car. I am going to call the Amtrak station tomorrow to see if they have any shuttles. Any other suggestions?

 

[Belle599]

How big of a car do you need? Could you rent rent first, then return to the Car Care Center and take ME back to the airport? That's what I ended up going for. I will pick it up at MCO on 2/23 and drop off at CCC on the 26th and take ME back on the 28th to MCO.

I tried 2/24 at 6:30pm pickup at MCO with a 2/27 6:30 pm drop off at the CCC and there is a convertible for $161.89 with taxes. Alamo told me yesterday that MCO has used all of the coupons they will allow, so if you like the deal I would book it. I haven't been able to find any coupon that will lower it more.

Hi Poohbear8, thank you so much for your help!! This is a good and valid option for me.

I am going to book this for now and will sit on it. I would prefer to drop off at MCO since the whole drop off at the car care center and then take magical express would be time consuming.

Thanks again!

 

[MarthaJr.]

Martha,

Thank you for replying. We are not staying on site. Yes I thought of maybe just grabbing a taxi for me to run over to the car rental place (would I be able to access the mco rental if Im not arriving/departing on a flight?) We all wouldnt be able to fit in a taxi with all of our luggage tho, so my family would have to wait at the train station for me to get back with the car. I am going to call the Amtrak station tomorrow to see if they have any shuttles. Any other suggestions?

I'm pretty sure you can access MCO, however I'm sure there are others on this board that know for sure. Perhaps Amtrak could be of some help. Do you belong to AAA? Hertz offers good AAA discounts. It is President's week so rental fees are gonna be high. Good luck!

If you can get to MCO ...you can get a Dodge Caravan from Budget Rental cars for your dates for $295 incl. taxes using the famous code used on this board.

 

[poohbear8]

Hi Poohbear8, thank you so much for your help!! This is a good and valid option for me.

I am going to book this for now and will sit on it. I would prefer to drop off at MCO since the whole drop off at the car care center and then take magical express would be time consuming.

Thanks again!

I believe the CCC will take you to any park or resort. My plan is to get there as early as I can (it's the Princess 1/2 marathon, so it might be tricky) and have them take me to the resort that I want to spend the day at.

 

[SuzyQue]

We're flying into Tampa 2/21-3/6. We'll only be at Disney for part of the trip. In the past Alamo has always had great rates that drop to about nothing before we leave but this year they aren't budging (I'm assuming because we're coming in President's week and Daytona week). Anyway, right now I have an intermediate OR intermediate SUV (BCD D454301) at Budget for $487. I could also get a Grand Cherokee at Alamo for $497 (freak happening booked 1:00 AM one morning). For the heck of it I tried Alamo coming in a week later and the prices dropped from $600 to $300.

Anyone else having any luck with codes in this same time frame?

 

[webworm]

We're flying into Tampa 2/21-3/6. We'll only be at Disney for part of the trip. In the past Alamo has always had great rates that drop to about nothing before we leave but this year they aren't budging (I'm assuming because we're coming in President's week and Daytona week). Anyway, right now I have an intermediate OR intermediate SUV (BCD D454301) at Budget for $487. I could also get a Grand Cherokee at Alamo for $497 (freak happening booked 1:00 AM one morning). For the heck of it I tried Alamo coming in a week later and the prices dropped from $600 to $300.

Anyone else having any luck with codes in this same time frame?

You can get a prepaid rate on expedia.ca for a full size car with Dollar for $267.46 inc taxes. US residents can book there as well.

 

[SuzyQue]

You can get a prepaid rate on expedia.ca for a full size car with Dollar for $267.46 inc taxes. US residents can book there as well.

Thanks webworm, I've been keeping my eye on that as a last resort, but still want to hear from someone from the States who has actually booked and picked up their car going through expedia.ca. ~~