Renting a car in NYC
 

We're staying at the Surrey Suites Hotel (UES) for several days in August before taking daughter to Bard College. We would like to pick up a car as we leave the City but not sure what company is closest and most convenient. I prefer to use Hertz but only find airport listings.

We also will be returning for a final night in the City on a Sunday and would like to stay in the Times Square area for 12 year old brother. Any suggestions on hotels with parking? I would like to drop the car at Kennedy the next day.

Are you looking at the Hertz website? You need to change your choice from aiport location. Unclick the box and click on the link "Need Help Finding Location". If you just enter "New York, NY" the 10 city locations will come up and you can choose the one you want.

I picked up my Hertz car at this location -

Midtown West 55th (between 6th and 7th)
Address: 126 West 55th Street

which was the closest one to the Hilton on 6th (where I was staying).

There are lots of recommendations for hotels in the Times Square area and virtually all of them have a valet parking option. Regular parking will be up to 1/2 the valet price though. There are many parking options in the area.

Thanks, starrs. I'll give Hertz another try.

By the way, I enjoyed your trip report post!

By the way, I just priced cars for July 4th weekend, and it's almost $40 a day cheaper to rent from Hertz in North While Plains (you take Metro North from Grand Central ... a 20-minute trip for about $6 off-peak). The rental car office is across the street from the station. But you will pay a pretty substantial drop-off fee for JFK either way (see my note below). Still, Hertz has many many convenient city locations.

You'll pay at least $30 to park your car overnight near Times Square. If you rent in Manhattan (about $90 per day), it's going to be cheaper and easier to drop the car off in Manhattan, spend the night in the city, and take a taxi to the airport the next day rather than pay to park and then drive because you'll save both the parking cost and the extra day rental fee on the car.

First if you're staying on the upper east side there are Hertz locations both there and on the upper west side. Pick one of those and you're only a few blocks from getting on a parkway (FDR or West Side/Henry Hudson) and head right out of town.

You should drop the car as soon as you return to the city. It makes no sense to keep it overnight and drive out to Kennedy since

The rental and garage will be over $150 - much more than a cab to Kennedy

Driving in midtown and out to JFK can be a bear and you don't want to try - esp not knowing the back routes

It will be much faster not to have to drop the car and then schlep to your terminal with your bags

Doug -

Not sure I agree with your statement "But you will pay a pretty substantial drop-off fee for JFK either way". I do agree that parking a rental car in Manhattan and driving to JFK is probably more expensive and a lot more hassle than ditching the car and taking a cab, but the drop-off fee is not a problem, it's the cost of parking and hassle of driving to JFK. Hertz doesn't charge a drop-off fee between North White Plains and JFK. They don't even charge one between Poughkeepsie and JFK (about 2 hours away), which is why your comment caught my eye.

I went over to the Hertz website just to make sure. To test, I priced a midsize car, pickup at 10am on 8/20 and drop-off at 9am on 8/21. All rates had unlimited miles.
JFK to JFK = $119.49 ($150.50 with tax)
NWP to JFK = $95.99 ($108.59 with tax)
POK to JFK = $60.49 ($68.43 with tax)

BTW, anyone who does rent a car, especially from the big companies like Hertz should make sure they use some kind of a discount number. I pulled the one for American Airlines Advantage (membership is free, like all airline frequent flier programs). Using the AA number, the Hertz prices go down a bit more.
JFK to JFK = $84.00 ($105.81 with tax)
NWP to JFK = $91.19 ($103.16 with tax)
POK to JFK = $57.46 ($65.01 with tax)

For a hotel in Times Square, the Marriott Marquis is right in the center of things, has great views from the rooms and floor to ceiling windows. The Doubletree Guest Suites in Times Square is another good option. If you keep the car, use an iconparking.com garage, it will be cheaper than any hotel parking.

Hertz has a location at 355 east 76 st. if you're looking for convenience from the Surrey. I'd then drop the car near whatever TS hotel you chose. There are locations everywhere.

icon parking also lets you reserve on their website. I had a reservation once, and watched as lots of people were turned away.

We were staying at a Hilton and the cheapest nearby parking was an Icon lot, with a reservation.

Times Square hotel parking will be at least twice as much as the iconparking.com reserved spots. Or was, in my experience.

Sometimes we park downtown at a city owned lot. It is under $20 per day. But then you have to get back and forth with your stuff.

usroadman's research may be spot on, but for the record, many agencies don't charge a drop off fee -- yet if you check the total price to return the car to the pick up point you often find it's a LOT less than returning it to another place (like an airport). Sometimes that's a result of extra fees the airport charges, and sometimes it really is a "one way price" -- which they don't call a drop off fee, but I'm not sure what else you could call that.

Drop off charge of not keeping the car nother day to go to the airport makes no sense:

Renting the car for the day is over $100

Parking is at least $30 overnight - no matter what central garage you use

You will have to pay for the extra gas and tolls to get to the airport

A cab to JFK including tip and toll is about $60 - about $90 less than keeping the car another day. Never mind the angst of driving to JFK in traffic (esp if you don;t know Queens) and it will take much longer to first drop the car then schlep your bags to the terminal than just have the cab drop you.

You might look into the Travel Inn on W.42nd St. Guests there have free parking AND the hotel has a pool which on a hot day is a welcome respite.

Have a great time.

Thanks to everyone for helping us think this out. We will now drop the car on Sunday and take a cab to Kennedy the next day. This makes a lot of sense and will be cheaper.