Need more info from you to be of help. Where are you planning to drive once you leave DFW? Are you planning a one-way rental or will you be returning to DFW? Are you willing to take alternate transportation to car rental site to pick up your vehicle? Also, how long will you be renting the car? If only for a short period, the transportation costs to get you to/from DFW Airport might off-set and rental cost savings?

For what it is worth, it's usually less expensive to rent a car from a location not near the airport. Have you check rental rates from your preferred car rental company when picking up from rental locations in Fort Worth, Dallas, Arlington, Hurst, Euless, Bedford, Grapevine or any of the other town and suburbs around the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex???

Thanks for your thoughtful reply.

We will be in TX and LA for about three weeks beginning just after Thanksgiving.

We plan to spend a night or two in the Dallas/Forth Worth area at the beginning and ending of our trip.

I can save $250-$300 by booking a car outside the airport. Would it be better to start our trip in Dallas or in Fort Worth? What are good neighborhoods to stay in those cities?

HTTY

If you're only going to be in TX and LA, whats the problem with the Enterprise location that restricts you to TX, LA and OK?

There are Hertz and Avis local services south of the airport in Arlington, as well as several Enterprise services. The last are generally at auto body repair locations like Service King.

Because of construction on the North side of the airport, the local car rental companies in that direction, such as in Grapevine, are far less accessible. A cab to these locations will be in the $40-$50 range.

The downside of using these locations is the limited service hours the provide. Basically they are 9-6 operations, six days a week. OTOH, Hertz and Avis allow you to return to the airport with no additional charges.

If you're only going to be in TX and LA, whats the problem with the Enterprise...

While we're in NO we may want to drive east along the Gulf Coast and I don't want to squelch this impulse if it overtakes us.

Thanks, Jeff801, for the details about off-airport options. Our flight is scheduled to arrive at 2:30 p.m. on 11/23--the Friday after Thanksgiving. We will spend the first two nights in Dallas. Would it be better to pick up the car in Grand Prairie/North Arlington or in downtown Dallas near where we will be staying? We are used to big city driving.

HTTY

Driving in downtown Dallas is not markedly different from other big cities, but neither is the parking any cheaper. The difference in cab fare from DFW to Grand Prairie or Arlington, compared to that to downtown Dallas would be eaten up by the parking fees. (I can't speak to cab fare within the city, I have never used any.) My guess would be that you would be better off picking up the car in the city on the day after you arrive. If your plane is on time, and you check bags, you are unlikely to get to your destination earlier than 4:30-5:00. If you select a nearby place for dinner, you won't need a car until the following morning at the earliest.

BTW, at least for a few more years, there is no convenient mass transit from DFW to Dallas. Your alternatives are a taxi or a shuttle.