Comments on: Avoiding airport rental markups

By: ten links for today

ten links for today — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 05:02:34 +0000

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By: ten links for today « Travel On The Dollar

ten links for today « Travel On The Dollar — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 01:12:05 +0000

[...] Palace on Wheels 7. 10Best.com Discounted Hotel Package Deals 8. Germany Recipes 9. Avoiding airport rental markups 10. National Geographic Traveler’s “50 Places of a [...]

By: MB

MB — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 18:59:56 +0000

Did you also price taking a taxi and changing your downtown Dallas rental to 7 days? The weekly rate for 7 days may have been even cheaper than doing a 6 day rental.

By: Joyce

Joyce — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 23:37:25 +0000

I use Auto Europe regularly and get a pretty good deal most of the time. They will also beat (barely) other vendors. You do have to prepay but if things change, you can do so at no additional charge. I’d recently rented a vehicle with them and shortly after my husband found a better deal on the internet. They verified the deal, beat the price, issued a new reservation, and credited our credit card. The dollar had got stronger so even the exchange rate was better.

By: Carls

Carls — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 23:21:01 +0000

Something to watch out for: leaky tire. When I called in about a slow leak (tire went down overnight), the repair crew arrived without compressed air or towtruck, so we just changed to the small emergency tire. Dropped the car off the next day with the original in the trunk and two weeks later heard that the tire had been damaged and I was responsible for a new one and installation! It would have been _much_ better had I simply plugged the tire on my dime. (This is bad policy on their part, because plugging isn’t always a wise repair!)

By: Rob Manderson

Rob Manderson — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 07:11:56 +0000

Forgive the plug but you might get a chuckle out of this piece I wrote a few years back.

http://robmanderson.blogspot.com/2005/05/how-to-make-3999-equal-9711.html

By: Mark Ashley

Mark Ashley — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 01:36:14 +0000

I love the moxie, Jason. Perhaps you can even time it right and show up at a complimentary cocktail hour, a la Embassy Suites.

Regarding Enterprise’s damage-checking, Mark, it varies by location, but I still hear about it. Perhaps not as much as a few years ago, though.

By: mark

mark — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 22:28:49 +0000

Is Enterprise still trying to soak customers for microscopic “damage” such as tiny and/or pre-existing bumper dings?

I haven’t rented thru Enterprise itself since an atrocious experience 4.5 years ago, when there were widespread reports of questionable Enterprise tactics. (In fairness, I’ve had several recent rentals with Alamo & National, both now under the Enterprise umbrella, and encountered no problems.)

By: Jason Steele

Jason Steele — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 19:56:23 +0000

These are great suggestions. Here is mine: Take a free shuttle to a nearby hotel. Once there, either rent from a company that has a desk in the hotel, as many hotels do, or have enterprise pick you up. Why bother taking an airport shuttle to a massive rental car facility when you can take a hotel shuttle, and wait comfortably in their lobby until Enterprise shows up?