Micah3

I don't know if this is a terrific price but thought I'd mention that I just got a convertible through Priceline for $22/day (Feb. 8th to March 2nd)

Andrew

Whether it's a good deal depends on what your next best rental option was without Priceline. What was the best price you could get elsewhere?

That's what, 22 days? $484 for the whole rental (plus tax and fees) doesn't sound like a screaming deal, to be honest (though I don't know the going rate for convertibles in Hawaii), since many rental companies will charge a lower rate for longer periods. And at least in Oahu (where did you actually rent it?) I know it's possible to find great deals on rental cars.

And with Priceline, you are locked in: non-refundable, no changes. If you arrive at the rental place and they are out of convertibles til the evening, what are you going to do? If you book on your own (usually without being obligated) you can always go to another place if the first agency is out of cars.

I've definitely rented cars with Priceline before and it can be a great deal - I know I've tried to find a better price elsewhere and then bid a lot less with Priceline, but that's the only way I'd do it. I've got to save a good amount of money to make it worthwhile. If you saved a lot compared to other options, then yes, it IS a good deal.

Micah3

I just put my price out there because two yrs ago I got a fabulous price for a convertible due to a fodors forum comment. So I have used Priceline before, and am happy with $22 per day as the lowest I could get anywhere else was $30 per day ... so the purpose wasn't so much my deal but to mention it to others in case they want to try! Thanks though!

mouseRD

The best price we got for a convertible in Maui 11 days Nov 09, without bidding on Priceline, was $30/day through Hotwire (not bidding). We did luck out w/ a free upgrade to a convertible on Oahu since what we reserved was unavailable, so that ended up being a great deal!

newport30

The OPs quote for a convertible for $22 per day sounds like an excellent deal.

We are looking for a 2 week rental on Maui in March.

I have never used Priceline. I will give it a try...any tips woth sharing on how it works best?

Andrew

First find the best rate you can on a car on your own - including taxes. Naturally, you don't want to bid that same price, because with Priceline's "Name Your Own Price" service, once they accept your price you are LOCKED into it - the reservation is pre-paid and non-changeable. This is different than most rental car reservations where you can reserve a car at a set price without any obligation.

Next, figure out the minimum amount of money you HAVE to save to make the restrictions of Priceline worthwhile. I would probably not use Priceline to save say $20 for the entire price of my rental - for me it would have to be at least $50 saved to make it worthwhile. Anyway, the amount you must save will help you set the upper limit to how much you will bid.

Then you want to bid somewhat lower (depending on how much time you have) than your upper limit. Say you figure out that you can get a car for $30/night for two weeks on your own, and with taxes and fees the total $600. Go to Priceline's "Name Your Own Price" and enter low numbers like $15 to $20 in and see what the total price is (Priceline tells you this before you bid - and it includes an extra Priceline service fee). Maybe bidding $18 gives you a total rental fee of $400 for two weeks. Bid there, if rejected, bid again the next day a little higher - til you get to your upper limit or til your bid is accepted. (Priceline won't let you make the exact same bid for the exact same dates without waiting 24 hours, unless you change something.)

It might also help to check Hotwire.com for the same dates. Hotwire is similar to Priceline, except that they give you the price and you take it or leave it. If Hotwire has a car for $22/day, then certainly you would bid considerably LESS on Priceline, since otherwise you might as well accept Hotwire's price (they have the same restrictions: pre-paid, non-refundable, non-changeable car reservation.)

See also www.betterbidding.com for past rental car wins from other Priceline and Hotwire users.

newport30

Andrew,
That is outstanding information! Thanks

BarryK

Once in a while I can get a better deal on Priceline, but not often. I use rentalcars.com and check every day for several days just before the trip and usually wind up with a better price. It's easy enough to cancel a previous reservation.

For example, I have an economy rental in San Diego in a couple of weeks for $9.79/day (so far) + taxes for a 4 day rental.

Andrew

Yeah, sometimes Priceline gives you great rental car deals, sometimes not. When I went to Oahu in 2006, I struck out with Priceline and got my best deal with either Thrifty or Dollar (forget which now). Priceline is always worth considering, though.

sylvia3

Priceline cars are best gotten a couple of days before you go; be sure to have your back-up rental from a different site, and go in low for a higher-grade car than you want, so that you can rebid and change car types. For example, I bid $8 for a mid-size at KOA, and after several rejections and steps, ended up with what I wanted, a compact for $11.
(And don't forget to cancel the other reservation.)

wbpiii

I have discovered after more than a few years of traveling to the islands that if you monitor different sites, it broadens your chances of success.

The three rentals sites that I use is Costco, Priceline and Hotwire. In eight years, I have found big deals for cars on them all. Costco will give rates for alamo, budget, hertz, and avis.

I agree with the above posters that you must first get the going rate. I start checking five months before my trip. I do this by checking the website of your favorite rental provider such as alamo and maybe Kayak. I then check Costco, Priceline and Hotwire. By reviewing those sites in the following days you get an excellent idea of the general low price. Say the costco, hotwire price for a midsize is $23-27. Then I go to priceline and start bidding 1/2 that.

Next I continue to monitor, during the next months, for sales at either costco or hotwire. Once you know the parameters of the price, you are able to judge what is a "great" deal.

So for this trip, I started looking for a midsize for my eight-day May rental. The best rate was Budget from Costco for $234 for eight days. Alamo usually the cheapest was about $20 plus more and for a compact. Hotwire generally was about $10.00 more that Budget/Costco. At priceline I was bidding about $13 at day pre-tax but it kept telling me to go higer say $24. No reason to go higher on Priceline so far out. The closer to the date of your trip the more likely to get a discounted price.

Finally, during hunting trip on Hotwire I found a sale where all cars between compact and luxury were $13.95 a night for a total including taxes of $166.00 for eight days. So I rented a full size vehicle. My experience told me that I would never see a car rental especially a full-size one for lower than that. So, I pulled the trigger.

If I had not seen the sale I would have continued looking until early february and then reserved through costco usually alamo. I would continue searching all three sites for a sale. If I found a much lower rate, I would have cancelled. I have cancelled at costco and rebooked with them at a much lower rate. You can't do that with Priceline or Hotwire, so you must be confident in the rate.

Having said this, I treat getting hawaiian bargains as a hobby, i.e. it's fun. From a professional POV, it would be a must more profitable use of your time to spend it making money at your job and just pay the top dollar.

Enjoy.