I am going to ABQ in Octoboer for the Balloon Fiesta and have all arrangements complete except for car rental. The quotes that I got using Kayak, Travelocity, etc. seemed quite expensive (over $400/wk) which may just be because of the festival.

I searched around on this forum and a couple of others and was able to use the Vacation Outlet to get it down to the ($300/wk) range.

Is this the best I can do? Does anyone have any other tips?

Thanks!

I just tried Hotwire for 10/6 - 10/13. Economy car is $27.95/day. With tax, it's $272.27/wk. Larger cars are only a few bucks extra each day.

Use Priceline and bid even lower.

We rented a midsize in Albuquerque from Alamo for $30/day in January. We weren't staying a week so I don't know what the weekly price was.

I would also check www.carrentals.com. I am signed up to receive e mail specials from the car rental agencies. The Entertainment book coupon has also saved us.

I am using Hotwire and Priceline more and more for car rentals and have been happy. I research the lowest price and then bid lower.

Rent A Wreck
504 Yale Blvd SE
Albuquerque, NM 87106-5112
(505) 232-7552

Close to airport

Hope this helps...
Debi

Don't rent a car at an airport location, they're always more expensive

No matter how many outlets I use to search, I always find Dollar to be the most affordable.

Hotwire is the cheapest I found.
I tried Costco travel services last time I rented a car just to see how that worked. I wanted to talk to an agent and was connected to someone from an Indian call center - when I rejected his first offer, he was willing to lower the price, several times - so you might try that route.

Good point about not using the airport rental. When I tried those dates again, AVIS should have weekly rental for $178 all in for economy car at their city locations (1901 University or 4770 Montgomery).

I look on Orbitz or such for a ball park idea. Then look on Hotwire for an inclusive price that will give you the taxes and other charges. Then bid on Priceline, knowing what the extra charges will be. For the balloon festival it might be very good to get a reservation/PL NOW. That will be a prime time and there may be NO bargains to be had. It will only get more expensive the closer to the time.
As for renting off site, I have never been able to justify the folderol that you have to go through to get that done--a taxi to the site and then back to the airport when you return it.

I always just rent at the airport too, but with a $100 price difference, it may make sense, especially since downtown is only about 6-7 miles from ABQ.

Thanks everyone. I have been trying to stay away from Priceline as my job often forces me to rearrange things (even my vacation - sigh) and I try to keep things that are refundable. But I'll keep looking and I will also try off-airport and see if I can get any additional savings that way.

If you're booking now for October, you'll be getting standard rates, not sale or adjusted rates. Book something if you think they might sellout, but re-check in September for a better deal.

Check some of the airline sites (examples are Frontier, Southwest) - they often have "Deals on Wheels' when they give you special discounts. The deals may change from week to week but frequently are for trips several months in advance.

We are also going same time for Baloon Fest. My best rate so far for a mid size came from Hertz via the AAA site (if an AAA member). I can't tell what the other rates forks are posting mean because they are listed as "daily rates" and taxes are not mentioned. The "weekly rate" I got was $234.89 for MID SIZE. BUT when you had the various state and local and airport taxes (which total 36%!) you get $318.58 for 7 days (an 8th day would be at a much higher daily rate). So my EFFECTIVE rate is $45.51/day.

It might help others if folks quoted their "effective rate" TOTAL COST with all fees divided by # of days. (I'll probably look on Priceline as we get closer but remember they had an ADDTL. service fee and it's NON-cancellable! So if you should have to cancel - no refund and they charge your card when you win.

I'd like to get to one of the smaller local agencies that are reputable just off the airport. But, as I understand it, if you need a shuttle to get there the 9.8% Airport Access tax applies.

Steve in Philly

If you are going for Fiesta, you definitely want to hop onto the best deal you can find asap. The prices will only get more expensive. I generally book in the Spring when I know I'm going. I generally pay in the $25-$35/day rate when I book 6 months in advance.

Best of luck.

It has been a few months since I rented from PL, but don't know the service fee (unless it is like Orbitz's $5). The reason I always check on Hotwire is to find out the additional tax, etc. charges before bidding on PL--they do add those, just like everyone else.
Hotwire breaks these out so you can calculate your PL bid if you want to.