FLL car rental
 

Procrastination is a bad thing.
We're flying into/out of FLL for our daughter's Miami wedding 3/26-3/30. I checked rental cars a while back, but (for some stupid reason I can't remember) didn't book. Now the prices are much higher.
I've been bidding on Priceline, without luck. I checked kayak, orbitz, hotwire, etc without finding anything.
Any other ideas to get a cheaper rental?

I read on this forum a while ago that you can book cars through Costco travel at a very good price. I haven't tried it, but worth a look.

I had read that, too--so I checked, as we're members. Was pricey.
Thanks for the suggestion, anyway.

For the WFD GTG in Vermont, I got my plane ticket and car rental through my Chase card and saved a lot of money.

Don't have a Chase card, unfortunately.

abram, the best rate I found for rental here in Tucson during a very busy time was through AAA.

What is pricey?

We had a compact last week from Budget at RSW/Ft Myers for $352 per including tax and fees through Costco.

I had reserved a car at Budget this morning for two days at Boston Logan, and it was $216 for an economy, again through Costco. Each was $50-60 below Budget list.

The first seemed cheap, the second seems pricey.

If you are remembering Florida rental prices back in the day, I can understand eh you might not be happy.

She is no doubt comparing to when she looked awhile ago.

Grab something. It is Spring Vacation.

What time do you pick up and drop off, do you qualify for "weekend rate" pick up after 12 noon Thurs and return same time Monday?
Alamo mzy offer some last-minute weekend deal so book something now, but check back night before departure.

Try avis.com/sears..............but the "free weekend day"coupon is probably blacked out for march.

Also, unless they've changed the rules with the Avis "pay in Advance" rate you only lose $25 if you cancel, not the whole amount.

Spring break season starts this week, and you won't find any deals in Florida until May. If you can find a $300 weekly rate, you're probably doing well. I'd definitely try Costco but also Hotwire, which can have good rates on non-refundable rentals. But definitely reserve the cheapest car you can find asap to lock in your rates. They are only going to get higher as cars are grabbed up.

Try renting away from the airport - maybe you can get someone to pick you up at the airport and take you to a local rental office.
There is a link at HOtwire to be notified if prices drop. It might happen. Sometimes a larger car might be cheaper than a smaller car at Hotwire and other rental places - it depends upon availability and smaller cards are usually in more demand.
Sign up for all the rental companies loyalty program. It costs nothing and some like Dollar automatically discount.
BJ's and Costco membership can usually get a discount at the rental companies too - but call the rental company directly. Budget gives a free 2nd driver.
Get a reservation. After a week or so, book it again to see if the price dropped. It happens, but you won't get the price drop unless you make a new reservation. YOu could also try walking up to a counter at the airport and seeing if they can beat the reservation you have.
Be fair - cancel any reservation you won't be using.

Hopefully you are not planning to rent a car at FLL on or close to a weekend. We have masses of people sailing in and out of here and a good number will arrive a day or so early and rent a car. It has nothing to do necessarily with Spring Break but the latter would make things even tighter.

As usual, jubilada is right. The rates have increased by about 100% since I checked. Obviously, I should have booked then--darned if I can remember why I didn't.
I'll check Costco and Hotwire again.
Yes, it is over a weekend. 3/36 is a Thursday and 3/30 is a Monday.
There's no one I could ask to pick us up and take us to an off airport car rental location--but I'll look into renting off site and taking a cab.

$327 compact 4 door with Avis is the lowest I see. At the airport, nothing convenient a cab ride away that is much less. The weekly rate is actually a bit less than the 4 day rate, if you can pick up a few hours earlier on Thursday than you return on Monday which stretches it into a "weekly" rate.

Royal Rent A Car is cheaper, $238 if you use the prepay option. This has a $20 cancellation fee or a $50 no-show fee. But it's only $24 more to pay-on-arrival.

I used them @ FLL a few months ago and everything went smoothly as long as you know how to deal with these rental companies. They tend to use phrases like "You probably don't want our full coverage, right? You're good with just the basic?". No, you don't want their basic either if you have your own car insurance. And deny the "roadside service" option which is useless, especially if you already have AAA. And sometimes their gas price looks good, but they don't include the taxes which brings the price up higher than at the pump...so fill the car up yourself before returning.

Anyway, their cars were in good shape and they were right in the airport rental center with the big companies.

Priceline came through!
Got a car for 25% more than I would have originally paid, but 35% less than cars were running now.
Procrastination cost me--but not as much as I had feared.
Thanks to all who made suggestions.

Enjoy the trip, and the wedding, abram

Good news! Enjoy the wedding and another trip! From the mountain tops to the ocean. Sweet! :-)

Just for comparison, I just paid around $200 from TH evening-Monday afternoon last weekend (renting at PBI airport, returning to MIA) with Alamo. Reserved 3 weeks prior to rental - got a 15% discount in some Alamo program.

Interesting that when I returned car they were offering really cheap one-way rentals from south FL to northeast - that obviously would not help you, but might be an interesting vacation option for some.