I've used Hotwire for hotel bookings and been very pleased, but never tried it for car rental. Just wondering what experiences you may of had. Any way to know which companies are represented?

Many times. Never had a problem. Currently, they use Avis, National, Alamo, Budget, Enterprise and Hertz. But that can change over time:

www.hotwire.com/car/index.jsp

Any advise? I mean is there anything to watch out for i.e. when you book a hotel you have ratings and amenities to consider. Any guidelines for cars?

I've used Hotwire for car rentals and have been very very pleased.
I've and good rates and the rental is always with one of the big name rental companies. Just be sure to fill in the class of car you want.
I would not hesitate to go through Hotwire again.

I generally use Hotwire for pricing info. Then I go to Priceline, discount the Hotwire prices by 15-20%, and make my bid. Almost always works first time.

katiekate:

We have used www.hotwire.com for renting a car many times. Like others always placed with a major car rental agency, never any problems. Always a good rate.

Sandy

There are certain places I ALWAYS use hotwire for car rental (Tampa, Boston). The only time I hesitate is when some of the rental offices are at a much greater distance from the airport than others - e.g., Enterprise is often further than other offices, and since hotwire picked up Enterprise, you pick up that risk.

Have used Hotwire several times with good results. Always check directly with a any/all the agencies Hotwire uses. Sometimes the rate is lower than Hotwire's offer, especially if you use a coupon, which you can usually find by googling <coupon code rental car> or <promo code rental car>. I can usually knock off 10% or more by using a coupon from retailmenot.com, but there are many other sites.

I've used Hotwire and P'line the past few trips to Kauai and never had a problem. <knock koa>

I tried to use them last year and ended up with getting a better deal with a Costco discount coupon. I used the price from my first visit to the site to benchmark against a couple other options. When I went back to the site 20 minutes later, the price was significantly higher so I ended up following up on other options.

Whenever I've used Hotwire for a car rental, it's been just after booking a hotel room, when a screen comes up asking if I'd like to add a rental car for a ridiculously low rate (I always shop around before accepting).

Just booked a standard SUV on Hotwire for 4 days in Houston for $147.30 with National. When I priced National directly online I came up with $293.20!!!!!! Now that's a savings!!