Rental Car Prices are STUPID!

[EACarlson]

And if you are avoiding airlines, wouldn't they be driving their own cars having no impact on rental cars?

I thought the conventional wisdom is that they sold off their fleets in 2020 and haven't been able to replenish them yet? I belive our airport is back to pre-pandemic travel stats, so even if there is a small % of rental cars still unavailable, that's enough to cost us all more to make up the revenues.

Not everyone owns a car, not everyone's cars are in good enough shape to make a multi thousand mile road trip, not everyone wants to put that many miles on their car, especially as cars have to last longer with how much more expensive they are compared to three years ago.

Some of the companies sold off their fleet, there was a huge fire in Ft. Myers that took out a large number of rental vehicles. More people are wanting to rent cars since fewer people are trusting public transit, more people are travelling and rideshares are much more expensive than they were previously.

 

[BroadwayHermione5]

It’s so bad.

HOWEVER I recommend reaching out to your supervisor or boss. We all did and discovered my dads company has rental car deals and partnerships up the whazoo. While it’s still expensive, it’s not nearly as expensive as actual price or even AARP/AAA/other discount sites. We are saving about $200 (not including taxes) AND because we are flying into a smaller/not as big airport we are getting an even bigger deal then if we were at a bigger airport.

 

[leeniewdw]

Not everyone owns a car, not everyone's cars are in good enough shape to make a multi thousand mile road trip, not everyone wants to put that many miles on their car, especially as cars have to last longer with how much more expensive they are compared to three years ago.

Oh, I'm sure. I just don't think that's as big an impact as the size of fleets in general now that everyone is traveling again. Everyone's choices are their own, no judgement here.

For those of us (myself included), we can't substitute a car (ours or a rental) to travel out west because we'd just be driving there and turning around and returning with just a week available to be off. If someone is taking a multi-week trip and opting to drive, the rental car costs would be very high even before you add in gas. Perhaps there is a significant demand from road trippers, I just don't know anyone doing that.

 

[MrsPete]

We wrecked my car a couple months ago, and -- being a one-car family -- a rental car was 100% necessary. The wreck wasn't all that bad. In normal times, you would've expected the fix-it shop to keep it 3-4 days. NOPE. Thank you supply chain, they kept my car a whole month because they COULDN'T GET THE PARTS to fix it -- and my car is a super-common vehicle! In the past I've always been able to get quick service and parts because "everyone knows" my car!

I had to keep that rental car /pay for that rental car for a full month. In a foolish moment, I dropped my rental car coverage, thinking, "My car is unlikely to be in the shop, and -- if it is -- it'll only be a few days. $1800 I paid them to have that rental for a month. Back to the point: my wreck meant Budget Rental had one car fewer to rent each week to tourists.

Also, they offered to sell me the rental car. I did like it, and if my car had turned up totaled, I might have bought their rental. Anyway, with the lack of available cars on lots, some people may be finding the rental car purchase an easy option.

Anyway, two reasons why rental cars are in short supply, and we all know about the law of supply-and-demand.

 

[MrsPete]

AND because we are flying into a smaller/not as big airport we are getting an even bigger deal then if we were at a bigger airport.

Yes, looking around for non-airport options can save you money. Big airports demand a premium price. Even though it requires an Uber or a shuttle, renting off-site /from a non-airport location can save even more.

 

[pigletto]

We are a one car family. Our engine seized on our vehicle two weeks ago and though it’s not our fault we have to buy a new vehicle right away.

It is a very very bad time to buy a car and it’s only getting worse. Our options were what is on the lot …but it’s all the very expensive highest trim package vehicles. I’m not paying 10-15k more for my car because it’s all I can get. So we tried used . Way worse. In some cases used vehicles are more expensive than the new. Again, I’m not paying 40k for something with high mileage.

So we looked to order. The wait times are mind boggling. Labour shortages, material shortages, lockdowns in other countries forcing production stoppages supply chain issues ( did anyone know there is a glass shortage of all things?! )

Some vehicles .. RAV4 Prime for example, had delivery dates over a year out. The dealer actually said “well we would call you in a year and let you know where we are” .

We called dealerships anywhere within a four to five hour drive of where we are. Same story everywhere. If it was reasonably priced it was spoken for before it got to the lot.

A dealership finally called us and said that the manufacturer was sending them a model for test drives and did we want to buy it ? Yep . They won’t be using it for demos and we get it the day it comes in. In August.

Long story Long, it’s a terrible time for the car industry and it’s going to affect rental prices and supply.

 

[MrsPete]

We are a one car family. Our engine seized on our vehicle two weeks ago and though it’s not our fault we have to buy a new vehicle right away.

Every choice has pros and cons; one of the negatives of being a one-car family is that when your car dies, you have to move fast. We've been there /done that -- but not in these bad-for-buyers times.

In some cases used vehicles are more expensive than the new.

Yes. I bought my car new-new December 31, 2020 -- that was right before Covid hit, right? Now my daughter's looking for a car, and we saw my exact car selling for MORE than I paid new for it. Insane.

it’s a terrible time for the car industry

Disagree -- I think it's a great time for them. They're selling at above asking price without negotiating. It's a terrible time for buyers!

 

[BrightMorningStar]

What makes you think people are avoiding airlines? Flights are full by the way.

People were avoiding airlines until the ridiculous mandate was removed. The airlines admitted it themselves. So did the people renting cars. It isn't really a surprise.

 

[BrightMorningStar]

And if you are avoiding airlines, wouldn't they be driving their own cars having no impact on rental cars?

I thought the conventional wisdom is that they sold off their fleets in 2020 and haven't been able to replenish them yet? I belive our airport is back to pre-pandemic travel stats, so even if there is a small % of rental cars still unavailable, that's enough to cost us all more to make up the revenues.

People rent cars for various reasons..... some do not want to put the wear and tear on their own vehicle....also, the ability to pay for the full coverage insurance and avoid all liability in the event of an accident is a perk. I used to be in the travel industry. Super common.

 

[Twilghtsprkle]

I don’t know what happened but my June car rental price dropped from 745 last week to 435 yesterday. I quickly locked in that rate.

 

[BroadwayHermione5]

I don’t know what happened but my June car rental price dropped from 745 last week to 435 yesterday. I quickly locked in that rate.

Kind of like airfare….the prices do fluctuate

 

[tvguy]

People rent cars for various reasons..... some do not want to put the wear and tear on their own vehicle....also, the ability to pay for the full coverage insurance and avoid all liability in the event of an accident is a perk. I used to be in the travel industry. Super common.

I worked at a Budget Rent A Car franchise location in the Downtown area. We had regulars who rented a car every weekend. One guy was retired and didn't own a car. Another guy's car blew it's engine. He was rebuilding it himself, and rented a car just to do stuff on the weekend. Most of our regulars also had no credit cards. Our owner was willing to accept cash deposits in place of credit cards.

 

[5 Disney Fans]

Can you get access to booking through a corporate account with a car rental company, and pay for for it personally? Those are more reasonable.

thank you so much for this suggestion! I was able to rebook two upcoming trips through a leisure travel link from my company and saved $600. Great advice

 

[disneychrista]

I was looking to book for week in California from a non-airport location and it was close to $1,000

 

[cvjw]

We needed a rental car for our week in Key West last week. I started looking thru Costco a couple months before. Booked a Camry for $600 for the week just so we would have something. Then kept checking. Repeatedly. Ended up with a Jeep for the same price that I found a couple days before the trip. The Jeep rental had started out around $1200 for the week.

Keep checking prices. They fluctuated sooo much before our trip.

 

[LilyWDW]

Just did my rental for our December trip.

I hate flying. HATE flying. And all the issues with flight cancellations, pilot shortages, and prices make me just not want to deal with it. So my friend and I are splitting the cost of a rental car. Her car won't make the trip. Mine would but she doesn't feel comfortable driving my car and there is no way in heck I am making the drive down to Disney as the only driver again.

I booked through Costco and will keep an eye on prices. Cancellations are allowed with no charge so if the price comes down then I can rebook. Right now I have 10 days at about $740. This is about $100 less then it was about 2 weeks ago so it does fluctuate.

 

[BroadwayHermione5]

Just did my rental for our December trip.

I hate flying. HATE flying. And all the issues with flight cancellations, pilot shortages, and prices make me just not want to deal with it. So my friend and I are splitting the cost of a rental car. Her car won't make the trip. Mine would but she doesn't feel comfortable driving my car and there is no way in heck I am making the drive down to Disney as the only driver again.

I booked through Costco and will keep an eye on prices. Cancellations are allowed with no charge so if the price comes down then I can rebook. Right now I have 10 days at about $740. This is about $100 less then it was about 2 weeks ago so it does fluctuate.

Check out triple A (and if you are of age AARP-I don’t know how old you or your friend are but I figured I would politely mention just incase-no offense intended)