Introduction
I had written about Autoslash in the past, and I know some people have said to be careful since they may be using ‘questionable’ promo codes to find you the cheapest rate, but I haven’t had a problem with them so far. I think car rentals is one of the few blogged about topics – probably because there are no car rental credit cards. Or maybe it’s just not exciting to talk about how you paid for a compact car but got an SUV car for the same price. Or maybe it’s like flying domestic coach – people just don’t care and want the cheapest price.
Anyway, I needed to make a 5 day car rental in Maui this summer. Here’s what I found:
Carrentals.com
The first place I go to when searching for rental cars is carrentals.com (that’s because I used to not have a Costco membership.) You can imagine my sticker shock when I saw $278!!! I would never prepay for a car rental, so the cheapest non-prepaid rate was $287. OUCH!
Hotwire.com
I next looked on hotwire.com, but really, it could have been any OTA – Expedia, Travelocity, Kayak, etc. Their cheapest price was $292. Oh man…
Costco Travel
Due to that Living Social deal earlier this year, I was able to get my first ever Costco membership. I figured I’d put it to good use and found these rates. Notice the cheapest rate is the compact car from Avis. Costco actually recommended I pay $277 for the Intermediate. Made sense to me. However, I actually reserved the $292 economy car instead. The reason for that is I wanted Autoslash to search for the cheapest entry level car.
In my head, I imagined Autoslash finding a $200 economy car rate and a $225 intermediate car rate. Now some people would pick the $225 intermediate car, but I would pick the $200 economy car. So if I had reserved the $277 intermediate car, I would have gotten a $225 quote back and never have even known that there was a $200 economy car option. I had considered booking both cars, but did not do so. Anyway, like I said, I booked the $276 compact car.
Autoslash to the rescue
As soon as I got the Avis confirmation number, I fed it into Autoslash. Within 10 minutes, I got an email from Autoslash that found me a rate of $184, a savings of $92. At first, I was excited and happy. And then I was a bit upset that I couldn’t book that $184 price initially from any of the sites I searched.
Once I clicked through on Autoslash, I found out that Autoslash actually booked me on the weekly rate instead of my 5 daily rates. That’s how it was possible to find such a huge savings. Genius! I didn’t even think about that. Even as I type this, I went back to Costco travel and chose a 7 day rental and it quoted me a price of $292. I didn’t bother to look on other sites to see if I could find the weekly rate of $184. But that’s the point of Autoslash. I don’t have to think about all this. They are doing it for me!
UPDATE – while writing up this post, I decided to book the intermediate car for $276 on Costco just to see what rate Autoslash could find. After 10 minutes, Autoslash did find a cheaper rate of $200 through Avis. I have to think whether I want to pay $15 for an intermediate car. Hmmmmm… would you guys book it?
I thought rental car agencies charge you fees for returning early or are you saying weekly rate you can return anytime in five to seven day windowsill?
No, I made a rsvp for 5 days, and apparently with Avis, weekly rentals apply to 5-7 day rentals, so that’s why it worked. If I reserved it for 7 days with the weekly rate and returned it in 5 days, they may charge you extra for returning early.
I’ve tried Autoslash but for the times I rented a car I still ended up going through Costco. But it can be a bit of a hassle because you have to keep checking prices every week or every day as you get closer to the date to ensure the best price…a service Autoslash would do for you already.
My trip to LA last month, I must’ve rebooked 5 times as I went from about $180 for four days to $85 when I checked within 48 hours of my rental date.
I’ll give Autoslash another chance.
Yeah I don’t see why you wouldn’t try them again.
Would suggest you watch out if this isn’t a prepaid rate – many car rental companies will adjust your rate if you return a rental car EARLIER than the weekly rate. This has happened to me before. It makes no sense, but is, I believe, technically in the T&C. I’ve returned a rental early with a prepaid rate with no issues (because technically they aren’t supposed to readjust your rate since it’s already prepaid).
http://money.usnews.com/money/blogs/my-money/2013/06/21/5-lesser-known-facts-about-renting-a-car (also consider the early return penalty that some companies charge)
Michele, I think because I am clearly booking a 5 day rental on a weekly rate, I’m good on the return. I think the issue arises if I booked a 7 day rental but returned it early on 5 days, I could see how they could charge me more. And someone mentioned that some car companies allow a 5 day rental in their ‘weekly rate.’
Also, this isn’t a prepaid rate. I don’t think Autoslash returns prepaid rates.
I always get offered a free upgrade, so I wouldn’t pay for it. If they dont offer it, ask and they usually accomodate. And you should have Avis status already, so it’s pretty much guaranteed. Save your $15.
Good call. I remember I got upgraded on my last Avis rental too. Thanks for reminding me.
I have used AutoSlash 5-6 times over the last couple of years, and at least 4 of those times it saved me money. It’s a really amazing tool and can NEVER hurt to try using it.
For a $15 difference, why not get the bigger car. I would. Then, if you have any upgrades you can apply, you’ll get an even bigger/larger car so it just gets better. Of course, if you are just one person and you don’t need a bigger car, then you can save money by having a smaller, more fuel efficient car.
Enjoy Hawaii – Aloha!
Yeah I think we’re fine with the smaller car. Oddly, I kind of like the smaller car due to a) gas efficiency and b) parking is easier. There’s a good chance I’ll be upgraded for free so I’ll just save the $15.
smaller cars are much better for Hawaii parking and gas prices…you should continue checking Costco and carrental rates… I have rebooked 2 or 3 times before my trip as the price falls, saving up to $90 from original booking.
Best Maui rental ever was an island car company that rented BMW, Mercedes, ect. Got a convertible CL500 small, peppy, Mercedes for $300 a week…our luggage wouldn’t fit it in so they drove us and our luggage in a van and followed with the car….liked it so much rented it again a year later.
one other option is airline points, if you have a surplus, you can book cars, but be aware sometimes the points only cover base charges and taxes and fees can be added..I had to call the actual office in Maui to get the out of pocket cost verified.
You’re saying you found a better price than Autoslah after the fact or did you manually rebook using OTA’s?
Autoslash really does save you. I booked an intermediate on PL for $676 for 12 days in NYC, and by the time I picked up the car from Dollar after tracking and booking with Autoslash, it was $303. And you can still use your status with the rental car companies as it is booked with them directly as you can add your loyalty number to the reservation.
You know, the odd thing was when I added my Avis # to the Autoslash quote, it was actually higher. Autoslash then gave me the option to book it w/o my Avis # to get the lower price.
Do you know if autoslash recommends the really budget rental companies like e-z, advantage, payless, fox, etc? I’ve read very poor reviews about these agencies and never use them regardless of how low their rates are.
In my experiences so far, they only stick to the big companies. If they pick the small ones, you have the option to NOT go with the new rate that they find. You have to proactively click on the new rate in their email to lock it in UNLESS it’s from the same rental agency.
I was able to test them with a couple of rentals I had for next month (Oahu and Maui) and they came back within a couple of hours with lower rates! They did offer rates with those budget companies I mentioned but I was happy to see rates for the big companies also, and was able to choose one of those. Thanks so much for this post! Wish I’d known about autoslash before. Will be telling everyone I know now.
Awesome Sherri. I’m happy for you.
I would have never thought a weekly fare would be less than 5 days. I’ll have to incorporate that into my searches in the future. I like National’s Emerald Aisle and am willing to pay a little extra for that, but I think I’ll start sending my reservations to Autoslash and see what it comes back with.
Definitely book the Intermediate. Even better, try to find some Avis upgrade coupon codes (I usually search Mousesavers.com) and get a free upgrade at that great price.
I’m fine with the compact, although the last time I was in HNL, Avis upgraded me for free, so I’ll just risk it.