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Does anyone have any experience with renting a car with the shortage going on?
I have a trip planned to Alaska in late June and I'd hate to get up there only to find out that they don't have a car waiting for me. I guess I should call a day or two before to make sure they'll have one ready.
Yep, and even calling will not guarantee they'll have one. I had a prepaid recently hoping to ensure availability and was shut out, but luckily a competitor next door had one. I did get a refund from the first place. As always, ymmv!
Does anyone have any experience with renting a car with the shortage going on?
I have a trip planned to Alaska in late June and I'd hate to get up there only to find out that they don't have a car waiting for me. I guess I should call a day or two before to make sure they'll have one ready.
I rented a car in Hawaii for about $100 a day back in mid April. I considered myself lucky to get if for that price. I have been to Hawaii many times in the past. My wife and I wouldn't go without getting a rental car. We like to get all around an island like Oahu and we aren't satisfied with public transport.
We booked our FL rental for next weeks trip in January. I booked our Hawaii rental in January as well. We paid $450 for the week for a convertible in both places. The Hawaii one is now $1300 and the FL one is now over $700.
This is the main concern I have. I'd hate to fly somewhere only to be told there are no cars.
Patience is a virtue at that point. Luckily.. I'm going to Santa Monica and it's a vacation drive along Route 66.. If I had to spend an extra day there.. Wouldn't be the end of the world.
More than that.. I'd start getting upset probably.
yelling and screaming won't make a car appear. My tact will be that i'm the one NOT yelling and screaming should it happen.
Location: We_tside PNW (Columbia Gorge) / CO / SA TX / Thailand
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We rent cars every week, try to book 1 Month in advance, no good deals recently, usually $20-$40/ day. Hawaii has been tight so we have had to use friends, and family to shuttle us, plus local transit / rideshare.
Today we are getting a car at Dulles for $147/ week, and one at STL for $220/week. Airport fees use approximately 1/2 our daily rate.
Boom in advance and cancel if you must. The hassle is frequent changes from the airlines as they change flights and routing as passenger load increases. If flight changes more than 2 hrs.... Rental car companies can cancel your reservation. (As in GONE), no cars.
I usually rent a car when I go back to visit my family. Typically it's about $32/day. Right now, I need to rent one for the first week in June it's over $65/day. DOUBLE what I usually paid. Apparently the car companies stupidly sold off a bunch of their fleet with the Covid downturn in Travel. I guess they saw the sell off as one way to make some money during that slow time. Only now, they can't get replacements because the auto manufacturers are way behind on orders. So we all get scrood.
Location: Huntersville/Charlotte, NC and Washington, DC
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Quote:
Originally Posted by lepoisson
Does anyone have any experience with renting a car with the shortage going on?
I have a trip planned to Alaska in late June and I'd hate to get up there only to find out that they don't have a car waiting for me. I guess I should call a day or two before to make sure they'll have one ready.
I rented an SUV in Cleveland in late April from Hertz. It cost me $65 per day for 4 days. I got one that was held for me specifically. It was a Rogue that needed a wash after a snowfall a prior day and they said they had nothing else in that class.
I had one SUV reserved in Las Vegas in March from Hertz and they canceled on me a couple of days prior because they sold out after having the reservation a month prior. I ended up booking a Turo rental last minute.
I have a trip to LA in June and I decided to book on Turo because there was not a price break with renting from a typical airport rental company,
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