SLWR

I am taking a trip this Sept to Yellowstone and will need to rent a car. Through Orbitz this place called ACE Rent a Car came up and their rates where a lot less than National who I normally would use.

Has anyone rented from this place before and how'd it go?

I searched the site and the last relevant post was from 2001 and there were mixed reviews, but none from the SLC location.

Thanks for the help!

Dave

SLWR

bump!

DebitNM

Are you looking for a cheap rental? I would be concerned taking a non-national car rental out to "wilderness" areas. IF you should have a car problem, will that agency come out, 24/7 to help you? This may be a case where bigger [company] is better - car maintenance, selection, breakdown assistance, availability of another vehicle.

I would think that you could bid on priceline for a reasonably priced car from a bigger car rental company.

Have you looked at biddingfortravel.com for assistance. It is very good to get an idea what car rental bids are in SLC.

Just my 2 cents...
Deb

DebitNM

Are you looking for a 4wd vehicle for off roading or just a car to drive around in?

Deb

SLWR

DebitNM- Thanks for the input. I'm just looking for a mid-sized car. I don't expect to leave the payment, other than pulling off the road to stare at the animals with the other city folk.

I have considered the price-break maybe not being worth the comfort of a national chain. I guess I was willing to take that chance if I could get a few people to tell me that the place was great and they had good cars, etc. But I may be changing over to someone else since I haven't had one person that can tell me they've used them.

I'm looking through the site you posted now...trying to find my way around, but thanks for the lead.

Floridafran

We rented a 4WD Jeep from Rugged Rental in May of 2006. Our route that trip took from SLC to Moab (Arches) to Monument Valley via the Moki Dugway/Muley Twist then on to the Grand Canyon. From the GC we backtracked to Page to hike The Wave then drove to Bryce Canyon via the Cottonwood Canyon Road. We looped through Capital Reef on our way back to SLC. Both the Moki Dugway and Cottonwood Canyon were unpaved, gravel - at times quite washboardy - roads.

I'm telling you all of this so you'll know what sort of trip we took it on compared to what you have planned.

Our vehicle never gave us a problem. But... as Deb pointed out, how long would it have taken for Rugged to get another car to us if there had been a problem? Fortunately, we didn't have to find out.

One reason their prices are lower is that their vehicles aren't as new as the national brands. Ours had a few scratches and somebody had let their skis drip all over the rear seat so it had a fair size stain on it. How it looked didn't bother us. They claim they keep them well-maintained mechanically. Overall, it was a good experience. But we were prepared - with phone #s for the national companies - so we could walk away if the car they offered us didn't look like it was going to get us through.

Don't know if this helps you or not. And that was 3 years ago, things could have changed since then. You have to do what you feel comfortable with.

But one thing is certain. Yellowstone is amazing. Have a great trip.

Fran

DebitNM

Fran,
Have you seen the 4wd they rent in St John, USVI?? They look like they have been to the ends of the earth and back.

Any 4wd vehicle that doesn't have some "imperfections" on the body i.e. scratches, dings, etc is a woose car! You should see what our Rover looks like! We go off road [love Moke Dugway and looking at Gooseneck] and it looks like it. The first time branches scratched the sides as we went through some narrow pass, I cringed -- no more.

I looked at biddingfortravel and they only have 2 bids posted for SLC that were accepted, $18 and $20 for full sized cars from Avis.

I would check out what priceline is quoting for your dates and then start bidding at about 1/2 rate. Since you have a lot of time, you can rebid 24 hours later and up your price $1 until you get to a point where you get to where the fees/total cost is more than what you would pay thru national car rental place's website quote. Does that make sense?

Out of curiosity, what price did Rugged quote you?
Deb

SLWR

Rugged quoted me $192.81 for a midsized car for an 8 day rental. That includes 1800 miles.

I may try to give Priceline a try and see what I can round up. I've been working on getting a hotel room in Asheville, NC for a couple weeks now, waiting for them to accept my bid. So I guess trying for a cheap car can't hurt.

FloridaFran_ thanks for the input. I'm honestly not sure if that helps me or not, but I'm thankful that at least one person has used them.

Off to biddingfortravel.com to do some homework!

SLWR

btw~ I tend to use National when I have a choice (and the $$$) just because they have been really good to me over the years. Their price was around $260 for the same rental.

Photodog

Just a short story about renting from a "national brand". Rented a car for 2 weeks from Thrifty in Missoula, Mt some years ago. When I picked up the car it had steel belts showing through on 2 tires. They said it was the only car they had available and was due to go to auction. Take it or leave it was told. Since had no other choice I took it. Got to Glacier National Park and the tire blew. Called their 800 number. Told them what had happened and I needed another tire since I was only 2 days into the trip. Was told they could only send someone out to change to the spare but could not bring me another tire, had to call the firm where I rented from. Had to drive into Canada, buy the tire then had problems collecting from the rental agency. So much for renting from a major firm.