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Comments (4)
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Save/ShareHoly moly! Travelers are paying through the nose for car rentals right now.
For a one-week compact rental reserved 7 days in advance, the average rate at major U.S. airports has more than doubled since last year.
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"Rates have been through the roof," says Neil Abrams, whose market research firm Abrams Consulting Group keeps tabs on car rental statistics. "This is not an anomaly. Prices have just kept rising far beyond what we've seen in the past."
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Car rental is so high that I'm doing half of a vacation in Los Angeles without a car. My hotel is located that I can get a couple of days of sightseeing on foot. (The cost of the shuttle is offset by not having to pay for two nights of parking at the hotel.) Then I'm picking up a car at a rental location a few blocks away from the hotel--which means I get to skip the extra tax for renting at the airport. Even with the added fee for a one-way rental (dropping at the airport), I'm saving almost two-thirds of the cost of renting for a week.
Posted By Glenda on October 8, 2009, 3:18 PM
Good thinking, Glenda! I was in L.A. last year without a car. I used Burbank Airport and took the train (cheap) to L.A. Union Station, where there are many transit lines. Getting around town on them is easy and cheaper than driving. Save the car rental for outlying areas. For other info to make your trips go smoothly, put dot com after my name and visit. -- Barbara DesChamps
Posted By Barbara DesChamps on October 8, 2009, 4:18 PM
Avoid Budget Rental! We rented online for $111.00 and when we dropped off the car our slip said $175.00. it seems the person that waited on us was filling in from the Avis booth and had us initial for for insurance for an extra $60.00. Of course it was our fault for just signing where he pointed and they refused to take the charge off after numerous emails. A lesson learned for sure!
Posted By PeggySue Carvalho on October 8, 2009, 10:25 PM
Go to carrentals.com for the best rates. I find I get better rates going through them than if I go direct.
Posted By MarkB on October 9, 2009, 10:38 AM