Looking at using Hotwire to secure a car rental at BWI for our Aug. trip to D.C. Have only rented one car in all my travels and have never used Hotwire. Can anyone give me pros or cons of this site. Their rates are much, MUCH less ($100) than any other site I have found and even going directly with the car rental agency. How can that be? Any advice? Thanks!

Tia

I've used Hotwire 4 or 5 times, each time for a BWI rental too. It's not ALWAYS the best rate, but was for the times I've used it. Each time, it's been BUDGET that was the agency. I rent with myself as the only operator. I never got an upgrade, as with "regular" rentals, and while the Hotwire rate was great, the OVERTIME charges if the vehicle wasn't returned on time were HIGH, very high ... I returned on-time, believe me. And one time I found I would only need the car 3.5 days instead of 5 .... too bad; I was charged the full 5 days, no refunds.

The hotwire charge was the ONLY charge made (I always decline the extras), there were no added airport/sales taxes or other surprises. I'll rent from Hotwire whenever I can get a deal.

BTW, even tho HOTWIRE says you must return car to the same airport, the Budget rep told me I could return the car to DCA with no extra charges if I wanted to. You might ask too, if that would be satisfactory.

Finally- do you really need a car for a visit to DC? The first time I visited DC, I paid more to park my car than to rent it. It's easy to get to DC from BWI. Have a great trip!

Be sure to check car rental websites before you lock in with Hotwire. We used it for prices and bid on Priceline, getting the price I requested. After the transaction was done, I went to the Budget website and the car was actually priced about $6.00 lower a day straight from them. Sheesh.....

I checked on a rental at BWI a few days ago and found a price through the Enterprise web-site that was about the same price as those through the travel web-sites. I prefer renting through the agency directly in case I have to cancel.

Also agree with another person who wondered if you really want a rented car in DC. Parking is difficult in the city and expensive at the hotels. We have flown into BWI and taken the Super Shuttle into the city. Just be sure you stay in a hotel near the Metro. It is by far the easiest way to travel in DC. We have always stayed in the Dupont Circle area.

i've used them several times, with mixed results. one time, we neglected to request a carseat for our son (i don't think the option was available on the hotwire website) and Avis flat out refused to accomodate until i made a scene at the rental counter. the next time, we were in FL and it was GREAT. i reserved midsize for well below market rate, and they ran out and gave us a mini-van (that was Budget). You may also want to check out biddingfortravel.com, and go to the car rental section to see what others have gotten at BWI on priceline. I just used this website to get a 4 star hotel in NYC for 93 per night.

For doing research for Car Rentals (or Hotels, Cruises, etc) check out

www.SavingsBarn.com

They have a page on each travel category which gives links to each company's website as well as their "Deals/Specials" page.

It makes the research easy!

Another suggestion: Make sure you're comparing apples to oranges. The added on taxes often amount to a substantial chunk of your total bill, so you need to check that you're comparing the final amounts, and not just a base rental fee from one place against an all-inclusive fee from another. I know that Avis, for example, shows its final figure with all applicable taxes. I think PL says you bid is before taxes. So you might want to double check how Hotwire works it so you won't be in for an unpleasant surprise.

In addition to savingsbarn.com specials, you might get some tips or info at www.betterbidding.com - they have a section on Hotwire and I think it has advice on rental cars. www.biddingfortravel.com has info on car rentals but if I recall correctly it's focused on Priceline.

I have rented a car once from Hotwire, once through Priceline and on every other occasion, by way of careful research I was able to come up with a better price by going direct. Some people swear by Breezenet as a good proice research reference tool but I was not impressed - Sidestep is a much easier way to check high and low prices at a glance before drilling down to individual rental car websites.