Which company for best rates for car rental?
 

I need a SUV for 5 people in Georgia for 5 days. I've shopped prices and seem to find the best rates with Enterprise. I've used them before and they seem to be the lowest again. I find best rates by going directly through the companies sites.

I thought National was the best but with added fees, I'm back to Enterprise. ANyone have a company that they prefer with consistantly low rates?

Thank you.
Kristine

We have had good service from Enterprise, but I have most often found it through bidding on Priceline. I usually price a car on Expedia or such, then look at Hotwire where you will find all the added charges (although the other sites give that now) and then bid on Priceline. I don't think there is a nickel's worth of difference in the various rental companies. Enterprise WILL pick you up--I know it first hand. Rent away from the airport if possible because of added fees.
For 5 people you need a full size SUV, of course--not a Jeep for example.
Why a SUV, and not a mini-van. Are you going 4 wheeling?

No, just saw a $366 w/fees for standard suv and $417 for mini vans.

Although we've never rented an SUV, we've had good luck using Priceline for cars.

Enterprises standard SUV is a Jeep Cherokee or similar.

Car rental prices seems to have gone through the roof; perhaps in certain locations more than others. I don't think you can make generalizations as to which company is consistently lower, I think it needs to be reviewed on a trip by trip basis.

Book a car on a rental car website and if you think it is really expensive, then keep looking for a lower rate. www.kayak.com and www.carrentals.com are good comparison sites. Look for discount codes too. Do you have AAA or an Entertainment Book?

Another thing you should do is register and become a member of some rental car companies. As a starter, you should sign up on Enterprise, since you found a good rate with them. They often send out special rates to their registered members--and there are other perks. We got a great rate last summer at the last minute in Denver--and car rental rates are very high there.

We also have used Priceline and Hotwire but you pay upfront and there is a "no cancellation policy"

I agree with DebitNM -- car rental prices vary all the. In order to be sure of getting the best rate it really is necessary to compare mulitiple companies for every rental scenario. Start with a booking engine, like Travelocity, Hotwire, Priceline, etc and find the lowest company from their comparison and then also check with that specific company website to see if you can get the price lower.

Try checking for discount codes. There are hundreds of professional associations and membership programs that offer car rental discount codes to their members.

One other thing, once you book - keep checking back as often times the prices drop and you can cancel old reservation and rebook at lower rate.

Thank you. I did compare company sites. I also tried mom's AARP, mom's AAA amd husband's NRA cards for discounts. They all offered 5% discounts so I ended up with Enterprise with all taxes $358 for standard SUV for 6 days.

Thanks for the idea of checking back for new discounts.