Recession Blues: Rental Cars

A few years ago, I made many of my clients very happy because I was usually able to get them a bigger rental vehicle for cheaper than a compact or midsize. I reaped the benefit of their gratefulness simply by taking advantage of the times. In the early days of the recession, travel slowed down but rental car companies had lots of cars on the lot. Gas prices were extremely high and so travelers were opting for smaller cars. The result was a cheap rental on a SUV.

Unfortunately, while the economy still hasn't rebounded, the price of a rental car has changed significantly. Car rental agencies simply quit buying as many cars, particularly larger vehicles that cost more in upkeep and require more fuel.  Car rental prices are steep. And no longer am I barraged with an assortment of special offers and coupons to cut costs. Finding any coupon is hard and usually they make little difference. $5 off a day is significant when your rate is $24.95/day. When it is $68/day, it barely matters.

If you need to rent a vehicle here are a few ways to help keep costs lower:

1) Avoid renting at the airport whenever possible. Rent at the airport and you will tack on an airport concession fee, facility fee, energy surcharge and additional taxes that add up to as much as 40% more than the base rate of the rental. If you need it for more than a day or two on the end of a flight, check out nearby locations and compare the final cost. Is it worth it to take a bus, subway, or cab? (Hertz and Enterprise typically have a lot of off-airport rental facilities.)

2) Don't pay for more than you have to. Be sure you know if you need any extra insurance; if you do, different companies charge differently for what you need. There are differences between additional driver fees too. As well as for car seat rental. If you belong to AAA, you can often have additional driver fees waived, and Hertz provides AAA members with one free car seat. And unless you know exactly how much gas you will be using, never prepay a tank.

3) Shop for the best price. A great place to compare prices among companies is: CarRentals.com. If your plans are set, and you are certain your needs won't change, check Hotwire. You can do this from the CarRentals.com web page as well. If you see a good deal on Hotwire and are prepared to prepay, this is a great way to go.  Priceline is similar but I prefer Hotwire for these reasons: they are very clear about what companies they use and they are all ones with solid reputations and the descriptions include whether you will have to take a shuttle to the rental company or if it is onsite at the airport. Car rental charges fluctuate so if you haven't prepaid consider checking back a few times to make sure you have the best deal. Canceling and rebooking is easy.  And if you are looking at a car rental company directly, always look for the specials on their web site.

And you might decide on that compact car after all.