Renting a SUV

Enterprise is usually pretty good....OUCH! That was a high estimate.

My hubby spends about $800 a month on rental cars. I manage all the rentals. We use Alamo (usually the best deal and good service). Hertz is good and has good service, however, they are one of the more pricey ones. They do have offsites (away from airports) that might run cheaper.

Check airports....Love Field and DFW......Might be worth your drive to pick it up.
Check specific websites....Alamo often runs deals on their site.
Keep in mind about the gas..if you fill it up before you return or if they do. You can opt at rental for them to do the fill up at a reasonable price.

Some, not all, companies have rules on how far you can drive, Ex: not to be taken out of state. Make sure you get unlimited miles and no extra charge.

Good luck!

1 mom found this helpful

You might want to try Capps Van Rentals - they do the 13 passenger cargo vans, but they also have some other family vehicles in their fleet. I also know that you can find better rates at airport locations amongst the Enterprise, Avis and Hertz type agencies. It sounds like the $500 quote included every kind of supplemental insurance imaginable; that's up to you of course. You can try their websites too for weekend specials.

Try hotwire or Priceline. Lots of times they have great deals! Also get your hands on a passbook, they have tons of coupons in the back for rental cars for special weekend rates. Good Luck!! Have Fun on Vacation!!

I agree with the suggestion to try hotwire. You don't get to choose the company--in fact, you won't even know the company in advance--but I've gotten rates as low as $16/day through them for a full-sized car. You WILL rent through a major company (you can see the list of who they use on their website), you just won't know who until you've paid. You also have to pay in advance, and it's non-refundable, but for a great deal, it can be worth it! GL!

Go to www.southwest.com. Click "Book Travel" and then "Car Rental." You can put in all of the specifications and it will give you a list of all car companies and what their rate would be for the weekend. That way you don't have to check every site individually. Good luck!

we actually just got back from colorado and have 2 boys the exact same age...we rented a minivan...very UNglamorous, but it was really roomy and spacious w/ automatic doors that opened...made getting in and out very easy w/ 2 little ones. we went w/ hertz and i think got 1 week unlimited milage for 320.00???

Also, check to see if it's cheaper to rent it for a whole week. A lot of times, the daily rate is so high that it's a better option to say you want it for a whole week.

I would try priceline or hotwire. I do know from experience with renting several cars this summer, its all about supply and demand as most things are. I know at Enterprise an SUV on a "normal" day when they have lots of supply is $49/day, however as I was standing there with my sister as she was renting a car, the agent was on the phone with someone wanting an SUV for the weekend and it was quoted over $100 a day b/c supply was low. I am renting another car in August and booked on priceline several weeks ago, I payed $15 a day for a midsize car, now on enterprise.com the same car for the same dates is double in price. I guess alot of people are renting cars! Best of luck to you.

I've had good luck with Enterprise, too.

If you get a good customer service rep and tell them you're plans, they'll advise you on the best rate. It's usually better to go with a longer rental period that includes a weekend. You'll want time to pack and drive the vehicle to get familiar with it anyway. When you get back, you'll want to clean it out and not have to rush back to return it to the lot.

Consider the rental as a test drive on your next car and get what you'd like to be driving.

We took a trip in the early 1990's in our new Lincoln Town Car with our pre-teen girls. It was a wonderful trip and no one complained about anyone getting in their space. The ride was divine and so was the sound system and the AC. It was a wonderful touring car. We got it as a "program car" used, so we got a good deal on it. Unfortunately, I lost my job about a year later, so we had to trade in the car.