Fly Down, Rent a Car and Drive Back?

aerfirmie

Earning My Ears
Joined
Aug 14, 2015
Has anyone done this? Did it cut down significantly on the cost of the trip or did you break even?
 
One way rentals are generally very expensive. Sometimes you will luck out if you just happen to live where they need to get more cars to at the time you're traveling.

The only way to know is to check prices yourself. Good luck!
 
Agree with the above post. Based on my experience from working at Enterprise Rent A Car, one way rental is discouraged by management because the company would need to find someone to drive the car back to where it comes from. Nevertheless, it does not hurt to call around to get the first-hand information for yourself! Wish you luck!
 
It really depends on where you are going to. But as mentioned usually one way prices are significantly higher. If you price it out, be sure to price out airport to airport, the larger airport the better.

But if it's a money savings, why not rent both ways?
 


Alamo is cheap right now for this. just for comparison I got a full size one way rental from MCO to Portland ME for two days. Price was $36 for the rental. Gas would be $150-$200, and one night at a hotel $150ish. About half the cost of flying in april for a 1400 mile trip.
If you live within a one day driving window, you could probably pull this off for less then $150.
 
We have done one way car rentals with Enterprise about a dozen times. The largest drop off fee we have paid was about $400! Not cheap. But for us, the journey was part of the vacation (Route 66 was a favorite). So check out the various companies and decide if the drop off fee is worth it for you.
 
Has anyone done this? Did it cut down significantly on the cost of the trip or did you break even?
From where? As I'm sure you can imagine a one way rental from WDW to Seattle will be more than a flight.
 


Alamo is cheap right now for this. just for comparison I got a full size one way rental from MCO to Portland ME for two days. Price was $36 for the rental. Gas would be $150-$200, and one night at a hotel $150ish. About half the cost of flying in april for a 1400 mile trip.
If you live within a one day driving window, you could probably pull this off for less then $150.
There are WAY too many variables to say whether this would/would not work.

1) When are you going? If in the spring, rental agencies might need more cars north and cut down or waive the drop fee.
2) Where are you starting from? Orlando? Cape Canaveral, Tampa, Miami, Lauderdale, Jacksonville, etc? They might need cars moved or they might need cars there.
3) Where are you going? There might be a need for cars in the NE, but not in the midwest
4) What size vehicle do you need?
5) How many people are travelling? The more travelling, the higher the airfare would be.
6) Are you OK driving long distances?

The best thing to do would be to price it out with YOUR specific information. Once you know the cost savings (if any), you can decide if it's worth it.
 
Timing is everything. Every year, some of the car rental companies run "Drive Out" specials in order to move vehicles of out Florida. Here's an example from Alamo:

Between March 26 and May 31, 2018, you can pick up a car in Orlando and return it to a participating location outside of Florida and only pay $9.99/day for an economy through full size vehicle. SUVs are $19.99/day and minivans are $24.99/day.
Link to Special: https://www.alamo.com/en_US/car-rental/deals/deals-details/featured/florida-one-way-drive-out.html

Typically, if you have access to an airport location in a city somewhere east of the Mississippi River, you can use this type of promo. Other companies have similar promotions.

Avis is offering a rate of $14.95 to $24.95 per day (based on vehicle class) between April 1 and May 31, 2018. They list the return cities, which include destinations as far away as Seattle. If you want to drive cross-country in a rental car, this is your chance. (I'm thinking of you, StageTek!)
Link to Special: https://www.avis.com/en/offers/us-offers/one-way-out-of-florida?ICID=av-all-180214-op-onewayflorida

Even if a company doesn't list an advertised special, it's worth checking the rate. They may have a small number of cars they need to move northward. About two years ago, I got a $5.95/day rate going from Fort Lauderdale to Atlanta with Hertz in the spring. It wasn't an advertised special.

[Slightly Off Topic: Rental car companies also usually offer "Drive Out" specials in the spring to move cars out of Arizona. With some planning, doing that can create a fun road trip vacation that doesn't break the bank.]
 
I just checked the link you posted, writerguy. A one way from MCO to LAX in May is $121! With full coverage it's $390. That's six days for a nice little road trip. $226 (full coverage) for an easy 4 days. A mini van is about double that. For a family willing to do a road trip this really could be a money saver.

Not so good for a solo traveler which is what I do a few times a year.
 
We did this 2 years ago in August when a storm was moving in and they let us cancel our JetBlue flights and refunded us. We rented a minivan close to the GF where we were staying and drove home to NJ and dropped it off at Newark airport. It only cost us around $120 and it was unlimited mileage. We booked it the night before we needed it. I couldn't believe how cheap we got it. Between 2 nights refunded from GF and JetBlue for 5 people, we got around $1K back. it was awesome and drive wasn't too bad.
 
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I did several years ago. Got a good rate on flights from PVD to MCO but return flights were crazy. Found a great rate at National for a one-way trip from Orlando to Providence. Landed in Or,ando, picked up a nice minivan (emerald aisle). Kept it for 2days in Disney. Drove it to the port, parked,for our 3day Cruise, then drove home to RI. Total cost for rental. $85 or so.
 
Timing is everything. Every year, some of the car rental companies run "Drive Out" specials in order to move vehicles of out Florida. Here's an example from Alamo:

Between March 26 and May 31, 2018, you can pick up a car in Orlando and return it to a participating location outside of Florida and only pay $9.99/day for an economy through full size vehicle. SUVs are $19.99/day and minivans are $24.99/day.
Link to Special: https://www.alamo.com/en_US/car-rental/deals/deals-details/featured/florida-one-way-drive-out.html

Typically, if you have access to an airport location in a city somewhere east of the Mississippi River, you can use this type of promo. Other companies have similar promotions.

Avis is offering a rate of $14.95 to $24.95 per day (based on vehicle class) between April 1 and May 31, 2018. They list the return cities, which include destinations as far away as Seattle. If you want to drive cross-country in a rental car, this is your chance. (I'm thinking of you, StageTek!)
Link to Special: https://www.avis.com/en/offers/us-offers/one-way-out-of-florida?ICID=av-all-180214-op-onewayflorida

Even if a company doesn't list an advertised special, it's worth checking the rate. They may have a small number of cars they need to move northward. About two years ago, I got a $5.95/day rate going from Fort Lauderdale to Atlanta with Hertz in the spring. It wasn't an advertised special.

[Slightly Off Topic: Rental car companies also usually offer "Drive Out" specials in the spring to move cars out of Arizona. With some planning, doing that can create a fun road trip vacation that doesn't break the bank.]

Do you know if they ever do this in August?
 
Do you know if they ever do this in August?

No, not that I've ever seen. The Drive-Out promotions are always in the Spring.

That said, it's worth checking occasionally. You may get lucky and find that a certain rental company needs to move cars out of Florida. If it's just a handful of cars, they'll just offer cheaper than normal rates instead of doing a formal promotion. In those cases, you'll just see the cheaper rate appear in the normal search process.

Also, sometimes you can find cheap rates just by changing the rental locations. For example, try changing the pick-up or drop-off location. For example, I can walk to a neighborhood Avis office from my apartment. But, sometimes I can save $60+ per day on a rental if I pick up the car at the airport. (Sometimes it's the reverse.) If you're trying for a one-way, multi-day rental leaving Disney World, be sure to check prices at the airport as well as some of the locations at nearby hotels. It might be worth paying $15-20 to take a cab to pick up a car if it saves you hundreds on the rental.
 
No, not that I've ever seen. The Drive-Out promotions are always in the Spring.

That said, it's worth checking occasionally. You may get lucky and find that a certain rental company needs to move cars out of Florida. If it's just a handful of cars, they'll just offer cheaper than normal rates instead of doing a formal promotion. In those cases, you'll just see the cheaper rate appear in the normal search process.

Also, sometimes you can find cheap rates just by changing the rental locations. For example, try changing the pick-up or drop-off location. For example, I can walk to a neighborhood Avis office from my apartment. But, sometimes I can save $60+ per day on a rental if I pick up the car at the airport. (Sometimes it's the reverse.) If you're trying for a one-way, multi-day rental leaving Disney World, be sure to check prices at the airport as well as some of the locations at nearby hotels. It might be worth paying $15-20 to take a cab to pick up a car if it saves you hundreds on the rental.

Thanks for the valuable information.
 
My daughter used the drive out of fl deal. She rented a suv for $19.99 a day, but after codes and a free weekend day for a 3 day rental, it cost her around $50 for the rental for the 4 of them to drive home, plus gas.
 
I would do this in a minute BUT you have no idea if they are going to run this special about cheap one way car rentals and we usually buy our airline tickets months before we are going to use them. Guess it's a crap shoot!!!
 
This is on Alamo right now

Leaving Florida? Rent a car one-way for as low as $9.99 base rate per day (excludes taxes, fees, and surcharges).

  • Available on one-way rentals picked up at participating Florida locations and returned to a participating Alamo location in the Continental US outside of Florida.
  • Offer valid for reservations picked up between March 26-May 31, 2018 from the following participating Florida locations: Fort Myers, Sarasota, Naples, Punta Gorda, Orlando, Disney Hotels, Daytona Beach, Melbourne and Sanford.
  • Offer valid for reservations picked up between April 1-May 31, 2018 from the following participating Florida locations: Tampa, Clearwater, Fort Lauderdale, Miami, West Palm, Key West and Boca Raton.
  • Offer rate as low as $9.99 base rate per day applies to an Economy through Full Size vehicle, as low as $19.99 base rate per day applies to Intermediate and Standard SUVs and as low as $24.99 base rate per day applies to minivans.
 
I would do this in a minute BUT you have no idea if they are going to run this special about cheap one way car rentals and we usually buy our airline tickets months before we are going to use them. Guess it's a crap shoot!!!
Not really, they do the same specials every year. Drive into Florida from after labor day through mid December and Drive out of Florida 4/1 to 5/31. There are some minor variations on dates by agency but it is has been like that for years.
 

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