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Old 08-22-2013, 11:49 AM
 
148 posts, read 265,373 times
Reputation: 41

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I know that renting at the airport can be quite pricey, so we are trying to find a place just outside the airport. We arrive at the airport at 9:30am so we can just take a cab to the car rental place. We will also need to be able to drop of the car at the airport on January 1st, I know that only certain car companies let you do this, but can't remember which ones they are.

Thanks in advance
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Old 08-22-2013, 11:59 AM
 
Location: Raleigh, NC
19,437 posts, read 27,838,210 times
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I just checked this out last month, and the savings was insignificant for a 6 day car rental. However, that was using summer rates.

Added: We got the char rental through Costco. Can't beat their rates.

Last edited by Jkgourmet; 08-22-2013 at 12:49 PM..
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Old 08-22-2013, 12:17 PM
 
Location: Rural Michigan
6,341 posts, read 14,687,030 times
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if you're a costco member, on the costco travel website, there's an option to look for "off airport" rentals. the taxes on the rental are way lower than at the airport, but you would need an airport cab to get *to* the rental place. you can get a cheap cab back *to* the airport, but the one *leaving* the airport will be pricey. Yellow cab has a $15 (up to ten miles) fare to the airport. On a shorter rental, the cab fares may kill your savings. The wife took an airport cab home about two months ago & her ride to north Phoenix was about $80..

I just got back with a 19 day, off-airport / full sized car rental / unlimited miles rental from Budget in North Phoenix. the cost was ~$575 , and I put 5400+ miles on their Charger! According to the wife, we spent $599 on gas, so the rental was the cheap part of the deal.
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Old 08-22-2013, 03:22 PM
 
4,235 posts, read 14,063,176 times
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sometimes I've found that off-airport per-day rates are much higher than on-airport rates, so the significant taxes/fees savings may be offset by the higher regular rate...maybe....

yes, some airport fees/taxes totals can be more than 50%!!!
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Old 08-22-2013, 06:45 PM
 
Location: Out there somewhere...a traveling man.
44,630 posts, read 61,620,191 times
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OP you don't need to take an expensive cab ride to the off site rental offices, the rental companies shuttles will pick you up at the airport and transport you to their off site location for free. Pick up the phones at the rental banks inside the airport.
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Old 08-22-2013, 08:38 PM
 
Location: Rural Michigan
6,341 posts, read 14,687,030 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by wit-nit View Post
OP you don't need to take an expensive cab ride to the off site rental offices, the rental companies shuttles will pick you up at the airport and transport you to their off site location for free. Pick up the phones at the rental banks inside the airport.
if you ride the shuttle to the off-site location, you're paying the airport tax. the discussion is about neighborhood locations, which do not collect the higher airport taxes.
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Old 08-22-2013, 08:52 PM
 
Location: Calgary, AB
681 posts, read 1,560,724 times
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The airport taxes are high - but you can often get a REALLY low daily rate. Definitely depends on duration of rental and time of year - but my last 4 trips have ranged from $8.95-$13.95 / day plus taxes. The rental rates fluctuate wildly from day to day for the exact same itinerary - so be sure to check and re-check rates. I often book at one rate and then a few days later (or weeks) I find a much better rate and I just cancel the original reservation and re-book at the lower rate.
If you are a costco member - the rates are really good on their travel website - also check the rental companies directly and an aggregater site like Hotwire.

Current example: We arrive tomorrow and will be renting for 4 days from Enterprise for $13.73/day - with taxes the total bill will be $104.48. Nice thing about Enterprise is that they are one of several companies that do not charge an additional daily fee for a spouse to drive the car (not sure if this will apply in your situation?).

With the cost of a cab and the added inconvenience factor... I think it would be hard to beat this in total cost.
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Old 08-22-2013, 08:59 PM
 
148 posts, read 265,373 times
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We will be in AZ from Dec 26th to Jan 1st, so I assume the prices will be quite high, I guess I will keep checking on rates.
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Old 08-23-2013, 08:15 AM
 
Location: Calgary, AB
681 posts, read 1,560,724 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mj-rk1 View Post
We will be in AZ from Dec 26th to Jan 1st, so I assume the prices will be quite high, I guess I will keep checking on rates.
Yes - the rates will definitely be higher at that time... I think we paid somewhere in the neighborhood of $20/day last year in that time frame (plus the horrific airport tax of course). It might have been a non-refundable, pre-pay deal on Hotwire (other wise knows as a Hot Deal).

I find the prices for rental cars tend to go down as you get closer to actual travel date - but if you see something that looks like an ok price... book it and you can always cancel when you find a better deal, as long as it's not one of those pre-paid prices.

I did rent off-site once from National and they did not charge me any extra for dropping the car at the airport.
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Old 08-23-2013, 09:00 AM
 
Location: Willo Historic District, Phoenix, AZ
3,187 posts, read 5,743,772 times
Reputation: 3658
The best trick, if you don't mind shepherding your luggage on the train, is to find a rental location on the light rail line and then use SkyTrain/light rail to pick up the car. Depending upon the company, you may be able to return the car to the airport. I used to recommend the Hertz location behind the Mercedes dealer at 3rd Ave and Indian School but the dealership is closing in December so Hertz will probably close there too. There is an Enterprise desk in the Hyatt Regency Downtown that is a couple of blocks from the 3rd Street and Washington rail stop.
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