Community Forums

Roach Coach · 02-22-2011, 04:27 AM

Does anyone know of a good car rental in Orlando Florida we are going to need one for a week but our first investigations found that for one week a mini van is like 550$ ..yikes.....I thought vehicles were suppose to be cheap to rent...LOL

mikron · 02-22-2011, 05:05 AM

They are all about the same. You need to search and search. Vans will always be high, they are special and they know they have you. In traviling I haven't found any one co you could use all the time. Time of travel plays big in price.

HD4Mark · 02-22-2011, 05:35 AM

Call too. Don't just rely on online pricing. Ask for any discounts you can get like AAA. If you can get to an airport or somewhere that has multiple rental desks walk away form one and head to another. Vans, convertibles and any other that are special like mikron said will be high so if you can get by with a car it might help.

bldrbob · 02-22-2011, 06:35 AM

I think if you rent at the airport there is an added tax . Off site is less.

GaryKD · 02-22-2011, 06:01 PM

Hi Roach Coach,
I just Googled "car rental orlando fl" and got quite a few choices starting around $270/week. It all depends on what kind of vehicle you are looking to rent.

bluepill · 02-22-2011, 09:10 PM

It may be cheaper to rent two "economy class" cars than one van-sized unit, if that works for you. About 1 out of 3 times that I booked the cheapest vehicle they were out of stock and gave me a free uprgade. Just like with the airlines, it's a game. I would not use Alamo at Orlando - I had a 3 hour wait there the one time I used them during early March, which is Spring Break time.

FormerBoater · 02-23-2011, 05:56 AM

Rental car rates fluctuate quite a bit based upon demand. Orlando is likely a high demand market.

If you can pick up a car enroute in a smaller town you might find more attractive pricing.

Get on an Enterprise site and try a few alternate towns for the same dates and see if that helps.

JMonroe · 02-23-2011, 10:40 AM

Vans do tend to be relatively expensive. Those 'killer' rates you'll see advertised are usually for something barely big enough for two and a suit case. They're typically offered as loss leaders. (I had a long argument with an Alamo clerk one time when he insisted I'd not be happy with what I'd reserved. I advised him, in no uncertain terms, give me what I had a confirmed reservation for, or at least something at that price, or show me to the closest law enforcement agency. I got my car) Airport rentals can be much higher, they typically pay an airport fee in addition to all the taxes everyone pays, so the advice to look at someplace off the airport property is good.

We don't rent a lot, but when I have I've always checked several companies. Sometimes it was surprising as to just who had the lowest prices. Years ago it would usually be Enterprise, or some local independant, but the last couple times we needed a rental it was one of the old guard companies we'd find offering something significantly lower than the others.

Moral of story, shop around, do your homework. It could save hundreds.

Good luck.

DuaneMiller · 02-23-2011, 05:10 PM

Someone once told me the Orlando was the rental car capital of the US. You may want to check out Priceline.com. I used them once in Orlando several years ago and saved a ton of money on a car. At that time, you name the size car you want, when you want it, where you want it from, and how much you are willing to pay, and they shop the the companies for you. The companies that participate are well known brands. I think we ended up with a nice car from Alamo at the time.... Heck, its worth a try.

Also, if you are a member of Good Sam, BJ's Warehouse, Sam's Club, etc. they always have discount rates that can be used for cars as well....

Garranch · 02-27-2011, 10:20 AM

We just did this last week. Payless car rental was the cheapest we found. It's near the airport but off site.
This time of year there are very few "deals" in Fla.

Good luck