My aunt's car is unreliable so she needs to rent a car for two weeks to drive to help out some family members in Iowa. She doesn't know how to use the internet, so she's asked me to look around for her to get the best price. Well... I think I've only rented a car once or twice and that was a long time ago. So.. I could use some help with helping my aunt out.
Can you recommend a car company that has fair prices? Is there anything she needs to know about such as insurance or hidden costs? Are car rental fees negotiatable? Any way to get
a better deal? Thanks for you input. I really appreciate any and all!
I recently used priceline.com to get a car for our trip to Disney. You have to bid, and you can start out lower than the "suggested" rates. I got an SUV in Orlando for spring break for $30 a day. They only use the major rental companies. My mom has done this before and it always works out well and saves money.
From my previous business travels, I found that the car rental places are pretty much the same. I've rented from the majors (Hertz, Avis) and the moderates (Enterprise, National, Budget, Alamo, etc.) They are all the same.
Now, I always use www.orbitz.com for obtaining my car rentals. You'll get quotes on almost every company available at your location.
EDIT: Forgot to mention a couple things. First, some Visas and MasterCards offer a certain amount of "car rental coverage." If your Aunt has any of this coverage on her credit cards, she should not buy any additional insurance. As for buying the insurance from the rental place...it's not very pricey but most people don't need it (because they don't get into an accident). If I was renting a car for 2 weeks, I might be more inclined to consider the insurance (depending upon the price).
The only fee I can think of is the gas fee. Never, ever purchase the "fill-up tank of gas" from the rental company! They charge much, much more than the going price of gas and will charge you for a full tank, rather than the portion of the tank that is empty. Instead, your Aunt will need to return the car with a full tank of gas (usually at a gas station within 5 miles of the drop-off).