Clousie

We'll be flying into Phoenix in the fall and have heard that car rentals are MUCH higher at the airport. We don't plan to stay in Phoenix, but wonder if there's another way to obtain a car away from the airport that may be less expensive. Any suggestions?

stumpworks73

Test pricing at remote locations on the web sites. The savings must be sufficient to justify taxi rides to and from the agency and airport. Be mindful of operating hours. The on-site services are open nearly 24 hours. Remotes are sometimes 8 to 5 and may not have weekend hours.

You will find some hotels and resorts have rentals. Possible that those hotels might also have airport shuttles.

panecott

I actually did a little research on this prior to my recent trip to AZ. There wasn't a great deal of difference in the prices to justify the inconvenience of having to get between the car rental places and the airport -- at least not for me.

As it turned out, I got a great last minute deal from Hotwire on an SUV rental at the airport, from Alamo, that was less than the economy car I had booked from Budget.

So be sure to check for last minute deals.

Clousie

I was seeing almost a $200 difference on a 2 week rental, which did seem significant to me.

ChiDad

Check out the Toyota dealer 10 minutes south of the airport. They have great rental rates and pick you up at the airport and drop you off. We saved $200 on a weekly rental of a minivan for Spring Break.

panecott

No, it wasn't anywhere near that when I checked. And prices do fluctuate so you should check frequently. As I said, I got a great last minute deal.

Bill_H

Just for grins I went to Priceline and checked rates for Phoenix airport pickup Sept 19-26 (picked at random), lowest rate was $345/week for an economy car.

Then I changed the search to Mesa, Az (a nearby east valley city with an Enterprise car rental ... Enterprise will supposedly pick you up for free) with a 10 mile radius search and the same dates were $164/week at Budget and $166 for Avis, or about $180 savings for a week. Enterprise apparently didn't have anything unreserved that week.

Super Shuttle will ferry you to the car rental places in Mesa for $21.

So there are sometimes big savings if you can rent off-airport (I'd try Glendale and Scottsdale too if doing this for real instead of just playing around). Worth checking out.

slknova

Super Shuttle is a per-person charge which can add up if you are a party of more than one. If you're staying at a hotel with airport shuttle you may find a closer rental pick-up/drop-off location near the hotel. And don't forget - enterprise 'picks you up'. We use them time and time again because we are getting good rates from them.

summerlover333

I'm doing the same research and finding the same cost differences. We were able to connect with the enterprise place near our hotel but would be interested in the toyota suggestion. Can you remember the name of the dealerhsip?

CaribbeanChick

What my husband did last year was rent at the Enterprise close to the PHX airport, and take a cab to it.. it saved a lot, since it was a LOT more expensive to rent at the airport...
Good luck!

joesorce

Try the Hertz on Indian Springs Road. They used to have the best rates and were a quick $15 cab ride from the airport.

Careful with hotwire or priceline this far in advance...plans can change but your reservation is set in stone.

Also, keep checking prices as they do change monthly. We've usually found the best prices booking about 30 days out.

Orlando_Vic

From a previous post of mine in http://tinyurl.com/yh8o4bm:


Orlando_Vic on Jul 14, 09 at 3:39pm

This is the approach we took last year in June and it saved us a lot of $$$.

1.Don't rent at the airport (PHX)!. Choose an off site car rental agency. Enterprise can be very cheap, away from the airport.

2. Search online for an Enterprise coupon code (e.g. "SAFER9"). This is not necessarily the best or cheapest one for you. Do a thorough search and see what else you can find.

3. If you are arriving by air, consider staying the first night at a motel near the airport with a free shuttle.

4. Take the (free) shuttle to the hotel/motel, spend the night there and have Enterprise pick you up there the next morning. They will do this for you free of charge. Of course, your reservation must be with a branch location that is closest to your hotel/motel. This is the Enterprise location we used:
1131 W BROADWAY RD
TEMPE, AZ 85282-1225
Tel.: (480) 829-3970

5. Alternatively, if you don't want to spend the night in a hotel/motel, then take a taxi to the off-site Enterprise branch.

6. At the conclusion of your rental period, repeat the same process without the additional one night's hotel/motel stay. Better yet, you may be able to persuade your Enterprise driver to drop you off at the airport itself. We did! (While off-site car rental branches can't pick up at the airport, they can and do drop off if asked discretely.)

Try this and tell me you can't get the rental price down to about $200/week.

2010 Update
You may need to update your rental car promo codes & discounts: http://www.carrentalsavers.com/


______________________________________________
Vic's travels: http://my.flightmemory.com/vogilvie

missypie

When we went to Phoenix about 5 years ago, there was a big difference between offsite and onsite, so we went with Fox (offsite). Last year there was no difference.