So, how much should I be paying for a car rental?

So, you know me, the "thrifty Asian", who checks the rates several times a week, but I'm not seeing much in the way of "deep deep discounts" as I saw before the COVID-19 phenomenon.

Before that, I could see $12.95 a day (before taxes and fees) from Payless, and comparable rates from Enterprise.

My trips are 4 days tops and usually solo, so weekly rental fees and bigger than economy sized vehicles aren't necessary.

I don't even check Hertz or their family anymore, they appear to be "out of touch" because of the environment and their bankruptcy.

So, do you think that the "other guys" are telling themselves "one less player in the game"?

Right now a $27.00/day rental is $40.00 after taxes and fees, and before any primary addl. coverage. I use AMEX, so I'm only adding $19.95 per rental period.

Just curious what other renters think. I guess what I'm asking, it at what level do you just say "I'll take uber/Lyft/the Deuce/the monorail"

 

Dollar Car Rental . usually goes down 1/2 weeks before trip.

 

I always rent a car but due to the high costs, I was considering just using a taxi/uber for our Oct. trip.
However, reading through the recent TRs it appears that the wait times for ride shares or taxis are longer than normal because of lack of availability.
So my rental, although costing me $45/day ATM, will eliminate the wait times.

 

Sixt had luxury cars for $30/day. Baseline Merc C-class. They also had a basic CLA for like $28. When I was looking, they had more standard vehicle (VW Jetta-type stuff) for $22-23/day. They were putting me in a Benz for the same price as Avis was putting me in a Ford Fusion, once all the "car rental resort fees" were accounted for.

They're not in the rental depot - they're right down the block - like 500' from the rental depot. They have a small van that brings you there, or it's very easily walkable with roller luggage when it's not 135 degrees in the valley.

It's not the cheapest, but it's probably the best bang-for-buck, if you care about such things.

 

I should have mentioned that the 5 agencies that I regularly check are:

Sixt
Enterprise
Hertz (no longer)
Payless
Avis

 

I'm renting next week from National (not LV) $375 all in for 11 days, about $34/day .($28@7days+$33@4days) I have Emerald EE so full size or better. Had an organizational discount and a $20 coupon.
Also prefer them as I hate dealing with the counter lines/staff.
I drive by the airport here and am amazed how empty the rental lots have been! (Hopefully they will have something decent)
Also use AMEX's addon.

 

I saw that Hotwire has a $30/day all-in rate for a Nissan Versa but no changes or cancellations allowed.

https://book.carrentals.com/offers?account_id=&dropoff_datetime=2020-09-14T10%3A00%3A00Z&dropoff_location=LAS&language=en&pickup_datetime=2020-09-10T10%3A00%3A00Z&pickup_location=LAS&pos=US&sort=Price

 

Hi @DaiLun

Add Alamo to your rotation. I have seen lower rates there in Vegas and if you log on and input information before your trip, you can skip any line and just pick out a car.

BTW, I agree with your observations on Hertz (and it's subsidiaries Dollar and Thirty) its like they aren't even trying to compete for business. I only rent them to use up my Gold points.

FAB

 

Costcotravel.com is where I usually check my prices, if you're a Costco member, of course.

 

Just to give a heads-up, Dollar is effectively shut down here at McCarran. They handed me my express contract this morning at the main upstairs desk then sent me to the Hertz garage to get my car.

 

On costcotravel.com for a five day trip I have planned for mid October, an intermediate size car from Budget has dropped from $308 when I first started looking at the end of June to $254 today. That rate should drop another $70 or so, but we live in unusual times. If I have to pay $35-40/day for a rental car, so be it. In order to be somewhat mobile on an LAS trip, you're going to have to allocate x amount of money for transportation. To me a rental car gives me the freedom to go at my own pace whenever and wherever I want to go, plus on this trip I will be eating a late afternoon or evening meal at someplace that's taking reservations, so I have to account for that as well.

 

I can (almost always) beat Costco by a few bucks every time I rent with Avis and AWD code: A074800. It's been real good to me in markets that aren't las vegas.

 

Thank you. I have a personal grievance with Alamo and will not rent from them ever again.


UPDATED.

I deleted Hertz and added Alamo to my rental list. 35 years is long enough to hold a grudge.

 

I am a costco member. Costco is OK, if you want to "one stop shop" or have specifics that you have to have, but I have been able to beat them every time by going direct.

 

I would only recommend this car to my ex-boss. I'm really not very particular when it comes to rentals, but this car is a total piece of crap. I had one for a week in Florida and thought about exchanging it for something different.

Use Autoslash dot com and it will do the work for you. I have never received decent rates with Costco, although I appreciate their $5 rotisserie chickens.

 

I feel the same way. We do a lot of gallivanting & I also have family & friends to visit so instead of making them come to me we go to them.
Plus, I don't like the wait or the small talk that goes into taxi or ride shares, lol.

I only rent cars in Vegas but thanks for the code info!

 

It's possible I don't travel enough to get better rates renting directly, lol. I only go to Vegas 2-3x a year & I don't like to prepay on the direct sites because of the cancellation fees they charge.

 

Yes, talk about "disposable" cars. The Nissan Versa fits that description. I'm thinking of buying a used one for my son's first car. If he totals it (I hope that he doesn't), it won't be a big deal.

 

I book my rentals with AMEX as well because of the extra protection but you referred to a $19.95 ad on and @vegasvstr mentioned it as well. What is the ad on?

In answer to your question, if I do rent in Vegas I historically used Hertz as there is a counter right in Encore and I get Wynncore rides to and from the airport, but yeah, Hertz has gone INSANE.
I used Avis for the first time a few weeks ago and had a decent experience (I really like the serve as Hertz better) and got a good deal here in NYC, even with one-way rental, going through the Amazon promo and also pre-paying.
Interestingly enough, my Enterprise rate in Vegas was slightly better than the Avis rate and the locations are walking distance from Encore -- I picked the Westin location -- as opposed to heading downtown to the Avis location there. I didn't have any promos other than the Enterprise member promo, which was a 5% discount, but my all in is $414 for two full weeks for a Standard SUV, which is bigger than I needed but the rate was great when I booked. (It is higher now.) I didn't think that is a fantastic rate but relatively speaking I think it's pretty good.

Also, I don't always rent in Vegas but with a long trip, wanting to visit some areas off strip and with the ride share issues, renting a vehicle was a must.

Edited to add: I also "feel" (whether or not it is true dunno) that a rental car that is mine for 2 weeks (after I spray it with Lysol and use Lysol wipes on various surfaces) will also be more sanitary in a Covid environment than regularly using ride sharing or taxis.

 

sometimes - but not always - it is worth checking off-airport rental locations. You don't have to pay the airport taxes, but their rates are usually higher, and you will need a uber to get there, but you may be able to book it to return it to the airport. Most of these are enterprise, and to a lesser extent Hertz, Avis, Budget, and in Vegas you will also see Advantage.

It has been a while since I have done this; and I have found it to be worthwhile in some cities but not LV, but it sounds like you may have the bandwidth and patience to shop around.