Rental car price

[gregk24]

We are renting a midsize SUV (Nissan Rogue or similar) for Christmas vacation this year for a duration of 9 days. The price with our insurance discount is exactly $700. This was with Enterprise and they came in a few hundred less than competitors. Does this seem like a reasonable price?

My only concern is we are renting at our local Enterprise, it is a smaller location and is notorious for having very little inventory. I hope they end up having the correct vehicle in stock the day of.

I'm also interested in what vehicle you may have received in the "mid size suv" class when renting. Thanks.

 

[RooflessVW]

Take your Jetta in for some ridiculously petty warranty work like an intermittent rattle or a transmission delay that only happens under very specific circumstances...

...and request a Tiguan service loaner.

 

[JavierH19]

Yeah that happened to us but in reverse when vacationing in Mexico. Was gonna rent a chevy cavalier (kinda like a chevy cruze) but ended up getting a passat for the same price so it was great since they accidentally rented out my reservation to someone else once i showed up and asked them for it.

 

[gregk24]

Take your Jetta in for some ridiculously petty warranty work like an intermittent rattle or a transmission delay that only happens under very specific circumstances...

...and request a Tiguan service loaner.

I like how you think! Would love to save $700! I'd never do that of course, but I'll say our VW dealer has always been stingy with loaners. I've only successfully received 2 loaners out of all the dealer visits we have been to over the years.

 

[gregk24]

Yeah that happened to us but in reverse when vacationing in Mexico. Was gonna rent a chevy cavalier (kinda like a chevy cruze) but ended up getting a passat for the same price so it was great since they accidentally rented out my reservation to someone else once i showed up and asked them for it.

I wouldn't be upset if we got bumped up to a minivan. Years ago my parents rented from this location also for a Christmas vacation. They reserved a full sized sedan if I remember correctly, and ended up in a Ram pickup because that's all the location had left!

 

[RooflessVW]

I like how you think! Would love to save $700! I'd never do that of course, but I'll say our VW dealer has always been stingy with loaners. I've only successfully received 2 loaners out of all the dealer visits we have been to over the years.

I think they put me in a loaner because if they don't nobody gets any work done.

Easier to have me gone than poking around the back shooting the ****

 

[JHZR2]

Sounds high. I’m sure Covid is the excuse for higher rates like it is for everything else.

I’d look at alternate sizes and locations.

Don’t forget that certain locations taxes and fees can add like 50%+

 

[gregk24]

Sounds high. I’m sure Covid is the excuse for higher rates like it is for everything else.

I’d look at alternate sizes and locations.

Don’t forget that certain locations taxes and fees can add like 50%+

I checked all the other available options, Enterprise was the least expensive. I have used our local airport location with good success in the past, but they were much more this time.

 

[joegreen]

We are renting a midsize SUV (Nissan Rogue or similar) for Christmas vacation this year for a duration of 9 days. The price with our insurance discount is exactly $700. This was with Enterprise and they came in a few hundred less than competitors. Does this seem like a reasonable price?

My only concern is we are renting at our local Enterprise, it is a smaller location and is notorious for having very little inventory. I hope they end up having the correct vehicle in stock the day of.

I'm also interested in what vehicle you may have received in the "mid size suv" class when renting. Thanks.

Ex enterprise employee here. That sounds like a good price. Anything under $100 a day would be good. I can tell you with covid and the shortage of vehicles it has caused the rental prices to go up. Not sure what other vehicle you would get. It depends on the location. We seem to like to carry car brands that have dealerships nearby to the renting branch so the vehicles can be easily serviced under warranty. Other than a rogue something like a jeep cherokee, vw product, Hyundai tucson etc. If they dont have your car size when you arrive they will upgrade you for free to the next largest car class.

 

[Oillover]

It's Christmas, what'd you expect?
Every year it's high...long before covid existed.
The high prices from last spring/summer have already died down.
Sure, they'll claim there's a shortage of vehicles, but they miraculously seem to always have more than enough on hand.

In terms of what to expect, my local office has Durango's with hemi's, a few CX-5's, maybe a few Tiguan's and a peppering of other random offerings.

 

[Oillover]

I wouldn't be upset if we got bumped up to a minivan. Years ago my parents rented from this location also for a Christmas vacation. They reserved a full sized sedan if I remember correctly, and ended up in a Ram pickup because that's all the location had left!

Be VERY careful when accepting a pickup instead of a car/van.
Your CC insurances might not cover damages, like the lady in the link below discovered

https://globalnews.ca/news/8086067/car-rental-insurance-policy-warning/

 

[Kuato]

Check out Turo.com

 

[dishdude]

You have to go to the airport if you want to get a decent selection of vehicles. I'd recommend National, and if you can sign up for the Emerald Club you can pick your own car...otherwise the folks working the counter are pretty good about giving you a few options.

 

[pbm]

Rental cars, like just about everything else, are in short supply.
Rental car prices, like just about everything else, are skyrocketing.
But don't get annoyed....Jeff Bezos (WAPO) tells us to "lower our expectations".

Eventually the high cost of fuel, rental cars etc....will hurt the tourism industry and probably everything else.

 

[SwampSurvivor]

Under $100 a day would have been good pricing 2 years ago , now it's excellent pricing! Unlimited mileage?

 

[ARCOgraphite]

Wow that is costly. Did Agencies sell off a high % of their inventory in 2020?
Any reason not to take the VW or Honda?
Ages ago used to rent MGM or Buick LeSabre for long trips as we had buzz bombs in the day.
But that was when it was under 30 dollars a day for a week+
Do you need snow capability? It is true the VW wont go in the snow, I know.

UPDATE: I just did a quick search on ORBITZ near me ( NH-MHT) for a week rental from Nov 13th. NO cars available.
Just for exercise I will look at Avis, they are #2 so they try harder.

 

[E365]

$78/day for an SUV is more than reasonable.

On a related note, I tried to rent a car in Anchorage on 19 July 2021. $477/day for an Economy car from Hertz. Can get one for $32 today.

 

[MNgopher]

You are renting a car in Florida over Christmas vacation. Demand is high in that season. Supply and demand = cost.

As to the the companies are using the recent pandemic for an excuse reasoning, the industry went through a long period of seriously diminished demand, and was sitting on a ton of cars that weren't making money. As a whole, the companies sold off roughly 1/3rd of their fleet to reduce costs.

Fast forward, and travel demand has surged. Rental car companies are now looking for new cars. Anyone gone new car shopping lately? How's the supply on dealer lots? Rental car companies face the same issues in obtaining new cars too (even though they are a huge customer).

Rental car companies also did not benefit from targeted bailout money like the money that went to the airlines in the CARES act.

For time of year and given circumstances, to be expected. If it were me, I'd drive whatever I have in my fleet and call it a day.

 

[ARCOgraphite]

I just was able to reserve a Ford EDGE or similar thru AVIS for $480 including all fees for 10 days

Location MHT in New Hampshire

That seems reasonable

Luxury Large SUV were in the 700 - 800 dollar range

 

[swampdodo]

I never understood the 'classification size' of vehicle by some of the rental companies...they always seem to be off from the industry standard.

Last I check, the Nissan Rogue competed with the likes of Rav4 and CRV which are classified as compact cross overs....although they have gotten slightly bigger over the years. Midsize would be something like the Murano, Passport, Sorento or Edge.