Easy Rental Car Trick

DRD

New Member
I know this works in DEN, so it probably works other places. If you know other places, list them out.

If you rent a car in DEN, it is much cheaper to rent off site of the airport. There is a pretty large tax that the airport charges the rental car agencies for on site rentals. If you ride into town and rent there you can get sometimes 50% savings. Only downside I have found is the one I use doesn't carry many cars so if you don't like the car or want to change, it probably isn't going to happen. Also I noticed it was cheaper to call the office directly and book the car instead of booking it online. I usually rent offsite and return the car to the airport and get the savings.
 

knick1959

Level 2 Member
I discovered that off-airport rentals tend to be way cheaper long ago. And I've used it many times. I thought I'd share my major discovery back then, but googled first and it's not such a secret. It's not overly touted, so it's good to remind people to check!

I've used this in a couple of different cities, where is was feasible (Boston and Portland, for example, using Avis). It works. And it's only the pickup location that matters ... you can still choose to drop off at the airport without adding surcharges.

Unfortunately many off-airport sites have restricted hours, often normal business hours. So evening flights often nix this idea.
 

torkay

Level 2 Member
Just wanted to add that if you are not happy with the car or the limited selection at the off site location the car can usually be switched pretty easily at the airport
 

Sahara

New Member
I have found that in Washington, DC, it is usually much cheaper to rent at the airport. I wish the few neighborhood locations or some of the agencies at Union Station would be feasible, but I often choose to trek out to DCA to save the extra $$$
 

italdesign

Level 2 Member
And it's only the pickup location that matters ... you can still choose to drop off at the airport without adding surcharges.
Do you have to say you're dropping off at airport when making the res, or do you just do it without telling them?

Unfortunately many off-airport sites have restricted hours, often normal business hours. So evening flights often nix this idea.
That's the problem. Right now BOS wants $350 for a 4-day rental. Hopefully when it gets closer it will drop by at least half.
 

knick1959

Level 2 Member
Do you have to say you're dropping off at airport when making the res, or do you just do it without telling them?
I always just reserve it that way. I just did this for a rental in SLC at the end of April. We arrive late evening, but the hotel I picked to stay at anyway has an airport shuttle. So the next morning I'll go fetch the car via taxi and we're off to a couple of the Utah NPs. This saves ... well, I've already deleted my notes on this, but it was about $200 less for a 10-day rental (less taxi fare).

When booking online (or just researching) you can play around with dropping it off to the same location and then the airport. It's always been the same for me (well, unless it actually works like an open jaw where the 2 are far away). The difference is always there when picking up, tho.
 

dr0832

Level 2 Member
I was just in SLC to go skiing and had to get an SUV to get up 210 to get to Alta. Damn thing cost me $350 for 3 days! They got 55 inches of powder so it was worth it, but I should have thought of renting away from the airport.
 

italdesign

Level 2 Member
I was just in SLC to go skiing and had to get an SUV to get up 210 to get to Alta. Damn thing cost me $350 for 3 days! They got 55 inches of powder so it was worth it, but I should have thought of renting away from the airport.
I'm going to SLC and Alta soon. I'm planning to rent a normal car and take the ski bus to Alta. Hope I get similar powder!
 

stroschein

Level 2 Member
I always check capital one's (venture) website for car rentals - they must have some kind of agreement with certain rental companies. I have gotten cars/suv's for $150-200 less than the best hotwire or priceline could do for 5 or so days. For some reason they don't charge as much in fees. I do hate their new layout that they just updated to in the last few weeks though.
 

stroschein

Level 2 Member
what websites are you using to search offsite locations? just going to enterprise.com or foxrentals or whatever and searching on their website?
 

zceuxbhjutf

Panel 3 Member
Re off-airport anywhere, sometimes their rental deals one-way TO the airport are similar to the Florida/Arizona seasonal deals cuz too many cars end up off-site that "belong" to the nearest aiport.
 
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