So I'm flying to LAX in early July; I need to rent a car for a week-9 days or so. (not buy)
Why the @$$# is it so expensive at the airport?
What is the trick to getting a rental cheaply?

(I'm lazy so I'm asking here first.)

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"Our Lady of Blessed Acceleration...
don't Fail Us Now"

Airport rentals always carry additional fees, while renting away from the airport does not, due to the fees the airport authority charges (plus some convenience gouging).

Travel websites are spotty in their price advantage over going directly to the rental company website, so compare.

I have noticed that travel websites, like Expedia, Travelocity, etc., drastically affect travel costs when you bundle airfare, hotel and rental car compared to ala carte.

I booked a car from Enterprise (via one of the travel sites) while in LA over Thanksgiving. It was cheap (at least compared to Naples, Florida). Had to use a shuttle from LAX, but it was like a 5 min ride.

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'07 Yukon 2500
'13 Subaru Outback 3.6R
'13 Orbea Carpe 9-speed

Currently Benzless
Formerly: 300TD, S600, E55, 560SEL

---= The forest breathes, listen.
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I rented for a week out of Seattle airport using Enterprise thru Travelocity. $170. Had to take a shuttle off the airport to get that rate. Took an extra 15 minutes at each end.

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1977 300d 70k--sold 08
1985 300TD 185k+
1984 307d 126k--sold 8/03
1985 409d 65k--sold 06
1984 300SD 315k--daughter's car
1979 300SD 122k--sold 2/11
1999 Fuso FG Expedition Camper
1993 GMC Sierra 6.5 TD 4x4
1982 Bluebird Wanderlodge CAT 3208--Sold 2/13

dont know about LA, but Dollar rental at the airport in Tampa is <$35/day for a midsize. my visitors got a dodge charger for $32/day

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1982 300CD Turbo (Otis, "ups & downs") parts for sale
2003 TJ with Hemi (to go anywhere, quickly) sold
2001 Excursion Powerstroke (to go dependably)
1970 Mustang 428SCJ (to go fast)
1962 Corvette LS1 (to go in style)
2001 Schwinn Grape Krate 10spd (if all else fails)

Ahh, just did this for Anaheim.

Shuttle to the hotel is $10 each way from the airport for my hotel.
I used a company out there called supershuttle. supershuttle.com

Know where you are staying. Do a google map search of car rental nearby your hotel. As it's LA, at least the area is populated.
I used a rental car facility within the hotel across the street for less than 1/2 of what the direct airport rental is.

As I'm flying in late on day one, and I don't need the car really, until day 2, I pick up the car at opening at 7:30 am after a brief stroll across the street.

My flight home is stupid early in the am, so I do the shuttle again.
I drop the car off the night before at the hotel across the street.

This likely means cheaper gas to tank up the car as they often up the price considerably nearby the airport.

Another point..the ONLY flight I have ever missed was due to LAX area traffic.
An airport shuttle from the hotel you pay $10 for asks for your flight and time, and they should get you there in time. No guarantee of course, but it provides some possible recourse if you are late, compared to a rental car being returned at the airport.

Oh, and it's still quite alright to book a car and cancel it if you find another price better.
Do searches for car rentals late at night and on the weekend.
I've seen the prices change in the off hours of searching, when business people aren't as likely to be booking cars.

Also, this may or may not affect you. 405 freeway closure.
This will apparently turn the place into a much worse nightmare than it already is.

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85' 300D No inspection, No registration fees, Cheap insurance
"If my calculations are correct, when this baby hits 88 miles per hour, you're going to see some serious %$&^."

Well okay then; now I'm getting somewhere......
Thanks everyone!

__________________

"Our Lady of Blessed Acceleration...
don't Fail Us Now"

I use rental codes dot com when not in the area of a company owned rental car location. You can also google around and get the big corporate codes for hotels and rental cars also and save some huge moola.

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00 E420
98 E300 DT
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97 E300D
86 Holden Jackaroo Turbo D
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(o\|/o)

Check with your own auto insurance company/policy to see if you are covered for rental cars. If you are, skip the offer at the counter. It's hugely expensive, especially if you go to a place like Key West where you park and mostly walk for a week.

Compared to "full retail" the corp codes and group discounts are good, I've never found them to be particularly better than the deals you can get on the company's websites or right at the counter.

In Europe some companies have a bit of a scam where they consider the deposit to be part of the rental price if you don't buy the extra insurance... what's it like in the USA?

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1992 W201 190E 1.8 171,000 km - Daily driver
1981 W123 300D ~ 100,000 miles / 160,000 km - project car stripped to the bone
1965 Land Rover Series 2a Station Wagon CIS recovery therapy!
1961 Volvo PV544 Bare metal rat rod-ish thing

I'm here to chat about cars and to help others - I'm not here "to always be right" like an internet warrior



Don't leave that there - I'll take it to bits!

In the US, some companines do place an addtional charge on the credit card used to secure the rental, however that is refunded when the car is returned. Had this on a Hertz rental in NJ EWR last month.

Yeah they do that here too but it is done in the form of a reservation - they reserve the money just in case. It isn't actually billed but your limit is reduced. This is the bit that sometimes gets abused. Particularly to tourists in Italy (so I've heard).

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1992 W201 190E 1.8 171,000 km - Daily driver
1981 W123 300D ~ 100,000 miles / 160,000 km - project car stripped to the bone
1965 Land Rover Series 2a Station Wagon CIS recovery therapy!
1961 Volvo PV544 Bare metal rat rod-ish thing

I'm here to chat about cars and to help others - I'm not here "to always be right" like an internet warrior



Don't leave that there - I'll take it to bits!

Hotwire

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1998 C230 330,000 miles (currently dead of second failed EIS, yours will fail too, turning you into the dealer's personal human cash machine)
1988 F150 144,000 miles (leaks all the colors of the rainbow)
Previous stars: 1981 Brava 210,000 miles, 1978 128 150,000 miles, 1977 B200 Van 175,000 miles, 1972 Vega (great, if rusty, car), 1972 Celica, 1986.5 Supra