I just made a reservation to rent a car, why is there so much price fluctuation between rental place

[AlCzervik]

I finally ended up using Travelosity and went with Avis, i have to rent a car big enough for 5 people and stuff and unfortunately the best deal around was not on a mini-van as i hoped but on a Chevy Trail blazer? Anyhow, Hertz wanted a little over $1,000 for the same type of car but Avis will be $544 for the time period. Anybody know why? Also, i'm not rentning at the airport, that was actually way more, Hertz and Avis are both in my town.

[elleng]

1. Its called COMPETITION!

We should try it in a few more markets, don'tcha think?

[AlCzervik]

2. i understand there's competition but that is a pretty big price difference.

[elleng]

3. Yes it is,

and it WORKS! I've experienced similar.

[AlCzervik]

4. well i guess Hertz should try harder because they are a rip off.

[harmonicon]

5. for how long are you renting it for?

I'm just asking, because I may be driving a rental cross country this summer. We might get one of the smaller U-haul units, but I'd be more comfortable with a normal ol' van if we can fit enough stuff in it. I also don't know if there would be room in the U-haul van for the dog to not have to be in some cargo area. For ten days, the cheapest and smallest U-haul van was $1,500, but that was to return it in a different city.

[AlCzervik]

7. 14 days.

[KitchenWitch]

6. I believe it has to do with demand

There is probably more demand for a minivan since they are perceived to be more economical (the key word is perceived) than SUVs.

[AlCzervik]

8. Dollar rental did have a mini van but it's at the airport and that whole thing

is going to be a giant pain in the ass, it was just about $10 more for the mini van a week than the chevy thing.

[KitchenWitch]

9. Part of it has to do with anticipated inventory as well.

Car rentals away from airports tend to have a fluctuating inventory, so there may be more demand in a certain time frame for a particular vehicle than the place might have on hand.

[AlCzervik]

10. i was hoping for a mini van becasue of the gas, hopefully this Chevy won't kill

me. Rental cars-drive them like their stolen!

[KitchenWitch]

11. I have heard cheap gas and a free LAWNMORE can be had in Hemet!

:silly:

[AlCzervik]

12. then We Ride!

be ready, i'll come and get you.

[KitchenWitch]

13. I am SO there!

:D

[LeftyMom]

14. Have you tried calling a dealership with a rental department?

A lot of the time that's a better deal for a truck or a van, and then you'd only have to go over to the automall by the Wallyworld, or maybe over to Florin Rd, to pick up.

God, that's a lot. I mean geez, you can buy a used SUV for not much more than that these days. :P

[AlCzervik]

15. omfg. I'm going to buy a tahoe for next to nothing, use it once and throw it away.

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

how fucking awesome would that be, or better yet, give it someone homeless after it gets converted into living quarters.

[LeftyMom]

16. There's a pretty sweet Suburban out in front of Tognottis for $3K.

Sure, it probably takes $200 to fill up, but you could carpool with the Duggars and have seats left.

[AlCzervik]

17. $200 is worth it just so i can ask what space age polymer her uterus is made out of.

:D

[Maddy McCall]

18. Be sure to call back and ask if that Trailblazer has a third seat.

I rented a Dodge Durango from Enterprise once. I had six people traveling with me. Got there to pick it up...no third seat.

A lot of rentals don't have the third seat, so call and ask, if you're counting on it.

[AlCzervik]

19. there's only 5 of us and they are all going with carry on luggage only.

i hate even having to rent a anthing but my car is only for 4 but really it's only for 2, the back seat is tiny and the trunk, we call it the trunk hole, you can stuff in there if you can jam it through the tiny truck hole.

[SoCalDem]

20. Jeez-Louise.. car rentals are HIGH .. When I was a travel consultant

in the "olden days", one of our most popular vacations was a fly-drive to Florida (we were Chicago area).. Flight..Eastern/Delta...ORD-MIA... 1 week in a beachfront hotel & a car...all for around $350.00..

rental cars used to be bargain..I guess that's a thing of the past too.:(