Car Rentals - is it better to wait until the last moment?
 

I booked a car on Priceline and just got an email that car rentals for the same period are almost $100 cheaper on Hotwire. I am traveling in just a bit over a week, so I didn't want to wait until the last moment as prices have gone up in the past years for the Fourth of July weekend. In your experience, is it best to wait until the last moment to reserve a car?

I don't know how it works with Priceline, but when I've reserved with a rental company I have been able to cancel without penalty, so If a better price comes up, you cancel and re-book.

Carrentals.com best values for me best to book in advance

Enterprise alamo.com sales sometimes rarely

On busy holiday weekends, it's not usually better to wait until the last minute. Yes, you can sometimes get a deal if you wait, but if demand is high, it's more likely you'll pay through the nose. It's almost always better to use an opaque or bidding site and pay for a non-refundable reservation in advance, even if that's only a few hours down the line.

If you booked a Priceline Name-Your-Own-Price deal, then it's a done deal. No refund, no cancellation. If a regular deal, Priceline doesn't offer any better prices than anyone else. The Hotwire deal you've heard about is likely an opaque rental (you won't know the name of the company until you press "charge my credit card" and then it's non-cancellable and nonrefundable.

Yes, I am locked into the Priceline Name-Your-Own price deal. It seems that I have outbid myself.

Always try to book your car rentals at least 7-14 days out for the best price.I will check discount or group website bookings but I ALWAYS go to the actual car company(so you know exactly what you are getting) I want to use to book directly as you usually don't give a credit card and can cancel without a penalty.You usually can get some type of discount from whether you have an AAA card or Cosco or AARP,etc.
A few years back a top exec of a major rental car company was on a radio show and said that if you compare 21-14-7 days out and then walkup prices you would be amazed!

I think it would be best to really book ahead. Sometimes prices go up high when it's near to the date of travel. Plus, when you get them ahead, there are better chances you'll get the better cars. Because maybe if you book late, all you get are the "leftovers".