Renting a car for four days.. Wow!.. Always this pricey? (Denver: rental car, fit in)

[jonwb]

Hi,

Visiting in mid-August and need a 4-day car mid-size rental to go up and down the state. Arriving on Sunday. The total amount out of Denver airport is more than the two-person roundtrip airfare! . I did some searching around here and found offsite rental to be favored (hotel based), but not sure if we can still take advantage of the airport shuttle to the hotel, even though we're not staying there?

Went to Turo.com and it seems like a good option. I'm just leary of renting a private car. Any thoughts on that?

Thanks

[illinoisphotographer]

Originally Posted by jonwb

Hi,

Visiting in mid-August and need a 4-day car mid-size rental to go up and down the state. Arriving on Sunday. The total amount out of Denver airport is more than the two-person roundtrip airfare! . I did some searching around here and found offsite rental to be favored (hotel based), but not sure if we can still take advantage of the airport shuttle to the hotel, even though we're not staying there?

Went to Turo.com and it seems like a good option. I'm just leary of renting a private car. Any thoughts on that?

Thanks

You could also rent in the suburbs and take the train out to the burbs. When my parents came and visited, it was almost half the price.

[Dreaming of Hawaii]

This topic has been discussed at some length on the TripAdvisor Colorado forum. You could look there for suggestions.

One thing you could do is take the light rail (A line) to Union Station and rent from one of the majors located downtown. Last time we were in Denver we took the light rail to the Central Park Station (about four stops from the airport) and the guys from Enterprise picked us up. It was definitely a lot cheaper than renting from the locations at the airport.

[Heidi60]

Originally Posted by Dreaming of Hawaii

This topic has been discussed at some length on the TripAdvisor Colorado forum. You could look there for suggestions.

One thing you could do is take the light rail (A line) to Union Station and rent from one of the majors located downtown. Last time we were in Denver we took the light rail to the Central Park Station (about four stops from the airport) and the guys from Enterprise picked us up. It was definitely a lot cheaper than renting from the locations at the airport.

Agree! We have had better prices from Enterprise than anyone else.

[COcheesehead]

We usually get the best rates through Costco, but your results may vary.

[Lizap]

Depends on when you go. We go to the Denver area every year in May and rent a car. The rates are very reasonable then, even with the big rental car companies.

[BabyBoomers2]

We will be paying $469 for a mid-size (Malibu type) for 7 days and picking up at DIA after we arrive and get our luggage. Seemed kind of expensive, but we chalk it up to today's rental costs for that size of car and simply part of our vacation cost, along with round-trip airline tix for both of us and nice/descent hotel room for the 7 days.

Prices today are much higher on almost everything, compared to 15+ years ago and more.

[Count David]

I always use Alamo when I travel. Always.

The price runs the gamut. For example:
-Detroit, $88, 3 days. Pickup.
-Los Angeles, $150, 5 days. Pickup.
-Spokane, $135, 4 days. Standard pickup.
-Los Angeles, $161, 3 days. Compact SUV.
-Nashville to Evansville, $248, 3 days. Paid for a full-size car, received a Large SUV (it was all they had).
-St. Louis to Cincinnati, $453, 1 week. Midsized SUV
-Phoenix, $351, 1 week. Pickup.
-Phoenix, $91, 4 days. Paid for a midsize car, received a full-size car (I didn't fit in the midsize {I'm 6'7"}).

We had to rent a one way for work from Thrifty last week, as Alamo was sold out in Denver.
Denver to Minneapolis, 2 days, $750. Compact.

For Aug 12-16, a midsize is showing $376 at Alamo. Cheapest level they have available. They're showing sold-out for Aug 12-15. Ridiculous.

Enterprise is showing $222 for a full-size for Aug 12-16, but it appears to only be at the S. Broadway location.

[Dogmama50]

I always use Costco for good rates and free cancellation, check back after booking because they sometimes drop in price.

[ADogNamedSam]

I'm wondering if the prices haven't spiked to take advantage of the increase in demand due to so many folks north and west of Denver needing their cars repaired from all the recent hail storms.