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The Path To A Great Car Rental Deal

When renting a car several things are required. You need a credit card to make the deal, a reservation and confirmation. You can do this on the internet if you have the time. You might find that you get a really good deal and save some money this way. Besides, there is no risk in checking around for the best deal.

Rental companies all want you to believe that the price for car X is always Y, and that the amount is carved in stone. But the reality is that rates are always fluctuating, even within the same company. Watch the rates rise and lower, and in time you'll be able to identify good deals when you see them. This article outlines a technique that is legal and simple to get the best value possible for your dollar. Read on and learn how to save your hard-earned money on rentals!

1. Are you planning a vacation? You should make your reservation ahead of time, to get the best deals you can without receiving penalties for cancellation. Most agencies do not have penalties for cancellation, unless it's the peak of the season or for specialty cars. If this is a last minute booking, skip this step.

2. Bring comfortable footwear and your laptop with you!

3. When you get to the rental car agency, start up your laptop. Connect to Hotwire, Priceline, or any other discount website that you like. Most of these sites will not let you make your reservation if it is within 2 hours of your pickup time. Because of this, be ready for a delay. Spend the time shopping at the airport, or read a book. When you get onto the website, pick a reservation for the time that you want. Then choose the class of car just below the one you really want.

4. Use the Hotwire price as a starting point in your search for a better deal, as unlike Priceline, Hotwire's results reflect the best deal they can offer. If the Hotwire price is higher than the cost of the reservation you made previously, you probably have the best deal already reserved.

5. Take your reservation price, your discount site estimate, and shop around. Walk from agency to agency and negotiate. Smile, be polite, and be cunning, whatever it takes to get a price lower than what you have. You see, the more people who walk up to a agency in the airport, the better location that agency gets. They have a reason to give you a good price as a walk up. They want your traffic. They want you to come back.

6. Keep going until you've visited with them every agency. Let them know about the discounts the other companies have offered you. Let Avis Car Rental know that Budget offered you $10 off. They may offer you a lower price. Don't forget, they want you as a customer. Make them compete to be your rental car company of choice.

7. Researching rental companies will not cost you anything but time and may save you a lot of money. Your original offer may turn out to be the best one, but be prepared to call and cancel your reservation if a better deal is found. "Prepared" is the key word!

8. You've almost arrived at a great deal, but don't sign anything just yet. Let the agent know that you'll only accept if they upgrade you to the next class, free of additional charge. This sounds like a lot to ask, but it's really quite simple for the rental agent to arrange. It's their call. The only time this approach fails is when they really are sold out and don't have anything in the next class up to offer you.

Don't take the first deal you find. There are easy ways to get a lower rate when renting a car. Give yourself time to comparison shop. Practicing this technique will help you save money and will show the rental agencies you won't be pushed around.
Richard Edmunds worked as a manager of a big name Car Rental Agency for the past 20 years before retiring. He now spends his time writing car rental articles for you about such topics as Car Rental Discount Codes and How to Negotiate the Best Car Rental Deal