Renting a Car

[Purerockfury1]

Hi Everyone,

My husband and I plan on renting a car for the drive from Vacaville to Disneyland to save the wear and tear on our vehicles. Looking for opinions on the best place to rent a car. I know there's Costco, Budget, Enterprise, Hertz, etc. Please tell me your go to place to rent a car and why! Hoping to find a really good deal so we have more money to spend at the parks.

 

[SteveMP]

Do you have AAA? Does your car insurance cover rental cars? Do you have access to an Entertainment coupon book?

 

[KBinCO]

will you need the car while you are there? Can you rent at Alamo and return it to Downtown Disney when you arrive?

 

[Purerockfury1]

Do you have AAA? Does your car insurance cover rental cars? Do you have access to an Entertainment coupon book?

We do have AAA I'll have to look into if my insurance covers it I've never rented a car. Where would I find an entertainment coupon book?

 

[Purerockfury1]

will you need the car while you are there? Can you rent at Alamo and return it to Downtown Disney when you arrive?

We would like to have a car when we are there!

 

[Pamela M]

We would like to have a car when we are there!

I think AAA will only give you a discount with Hertz. I've gotten some great deals from Costco. Last year I got a compact car for a week for $170 and this year I rented a SUV for $250 for the week. And if you have a Costco credit card I believe it covers the rental if there is an acccident.

 

[Purerockfury1]

I think AAA will only give you a discount with Hertz. I've gotten some great deals from Costco. Last year I got a compact car for a week for $170 and this year I rented a SUV for $250 for the week. And if you have a Costco credit card I believe it covers the rental if there is an acccident.

Awesome! Does Costco offer insurance options?

 

[Pamela M]

Awesome! Does Costco offer insurance options?

insurance would be extra but... check with your credit cards. A lot of them cover the rental insurance. My Costco credit card covers my rental car insurance so o don't have to pay the daily fee.

 

[SteveMP]

I think AAA will only give you a discount with Hertz. I've gotten some great deals from Costco. Last year I got a compact car for a week for $170 and this year I rented a SUV for $250 for the week. And if you have a Costco credit card I believe it covers the rental if there is an acccident.

What AAA does is give you a free membership in Herz gold. This gives you some benefits like 20% discount, self check out, check in, upgrades, etc. but they aren't the lowest price.

Personally I find Enterprise usually fits my needs and price and i can usually find a coupon for them somewhere.

Costco does have some good specials too. Though they still aren't as cheap as just going to Budget rentals. But I don't have experience with Budget.

Do check your car insurance to see what they recommend, usually just your deductible. As far as getting all the added insurance. Car rental places tend to scare you into buying their added insurances that nickel and dime you to death. And make sure you fill the gas up to where it was before returning. Also, check if credit card offers insurance, or purchasing through work travel( i know ours covers that, even when booking personal travel)

Rates also vary dramatically depending on pickup and dropoff locations. Airports usually being the highest.

You can try something like Kayak to get a conparison of prices.

 

[blueskymom]

I really like http://www.discountusacarrental.com/ They have the best prices. I've used them a few times in Hawaii and once in Las Vegas.

 

[EpcotGuy]

I've found costcotravel.com gives the best prices

 

[PairOfDice]

will you need the car while you are there? Can you rent at Alamo and return it to Downtown Disney when you arrive?

I hadn't even thought of that. I wonder how much I can save by returning the car when we arrive. Otherwise I'd have a car we won't need for four days. Thanks for the tip.

Coincidentally, Purerockfury1, we will be traveling from Vacaville too and will probably go with Hertz. I'm not sure if I'll go with the Fairfield or Vacaville location.

Edited to add
I just check on the Hertz and Enterprise sites and interestingly it was almost the same price for renting the car for one day as it would be to keep it for four days because there's a drop fee. You'd be charged for leaving the car at another location. I guess I'll be keeping it for the whole trip.

 

[KBinCO]

I hadn't even thought of that. I wonder how much I can save by returning the car when we arrive. Otherwise I'd have a car we won't need for four days. Thanks for the tip.

Coincidentally, Purerockfury1, we will be traveling from Vacaville too and will probably go with Hertz. I'm not sure if I'll go with the Fairfield or Vacaville location.

Edited to add
I just check on the Hertz and Enterprise sites and interestingly it was almost the same price for renting the car for one day as it would be to keep it for four days because there's a drop fee. You'd be charged for leaving the car at another location. I guess I'll be keeping it for the whole trip.

While picking up from one location and dropping off at another can be pricey, it saves us money in the end rather than having a car for days that we don't need it (and depending on some things- paying for parking).

 

[tarheelalum]

insurance would be extra but... check with your credit cards. A lot of them cover the rental insurance. My Costco credit card covers my rental car insurance so o don't have to pay the daily fee.

Something to consider with the Citi Costco credit card is that the rental car insurance benefit is secondary auto insurance. So in the event you get into a wreck with your rental car, your personal auto insurance will be the primary insurance and a claim will be filed against it and your deductibles will likely apply as well as the obligatory increase in your auto insurance rates for years to come. Also many personal auto policies do not include loss of use of the rental car which can turn into a really big charge for you if it takes weeks for them to fix the car. In fact most credit card car rental benefits are secondary and few have loss of use covered under the policy. The old Diners Club card I believe is one of the few left that covers car rentals as primary coverage and I believe it also covers loss of use for the rental car.

 

[SMD]

Costco isn't a rental car company, they just give you rates and pass your through to make a reservation with Budget, Enterprise, Hertz, etc. It's not always the best rate, you have to compare.

 

[NewbieMouse]

I usually get the best rates through Costco, but for our December trip I ran the rates with the MiceChat discount and it was way better, so you may want to give that a try.

 

[Pamela M]

You can also save on car rentals by renting for the week even though you only need a for a few days. I found a rental car for our recent trip was $50 cheaper if I kept it an extra day.

 

[tarheelalum]

Check a local enterprise location that is not at an airport. Since you are driving from home, stay far away from any airport rental locations that always seem to add a ton of airport fees and taxes.