Best way to rent a car when flying?

Jim_R

Jim_R

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Jim
So the few times I've taken overnight GA trips, I've had the FBO arrange my rental car for me. I knew the price would not be the best, but I figured the convenience might be worth it. And it really is quite nice to have the car pulled up to the plane and all that (when it works that way).

But I don't think it's worth $100 a day.

I recently flew somewhere for a short overnight. Got in around midnight, and left the next day at 3pm. Had the FBO book me a car through Enterprise. I had the car for ~15 hours.

I declined all the optional coverages and fees, and replaced the gas like Enterprise wanted. No dings or accidents. In short, your typical easy rental.

My bill from Enterprise was $157.

I haven't tried calling them yet to see if that's really the right charge, but regardless of how this time turns out, I am no longer really happy with asking the FBO to just "book me a car", and then finding out later what the fee will be. I'm used to getting a decent car for $20-50/day. Not $150/day.

Anyone have suggestions for how to arrange a car for a reasonable rate?
 
Depending on where you are Enterprise will pick you up at the airport and take you to the office. Lots of other rental car places do his also. Second choice is take a cab to the hotel and figure out a rental car in the am.

I never have the FBO make the arrangements for me, just a rip off.

Try to reserve the car through their web site or Travelocity, Price line, ect. Never click the car rental button on Airnav. They will store your IP number and keep the rates high when you use one of the discount places.
 
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That's better than my deal from Enterprise. I reserved a car (thanksgiving in Chicago), was unable to show, and I got sent into collection!

It's actually going to be cheaper from me (hours expended @100) to leave my beaters up there with a solargizer on the glareshield. Sigh. They're just bandits with a failed business model.
 

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I've had FBO get me cars through their service, normally Enterprise. Spent less than $50 each time.

Always ask what the cost of the rental when you ask for a car. Always get the smallest car you need.
 
BillTIZ said:
I've had FBO get me cars through their service, normally Enterprise. Spent less than $50 each time.

Always ask what the cost of the rental when you ask for a car. Always get the smallest car you need.
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Wow. I think the cheapest I've been charged was around $60, and it's usually more like $70-80.

I just talked to Enterprise, and they charged me for 2 days instead of one. They cheerfully agreed to fix it, at least. That takes it back to the ~$80 ballpark that seems typical.

As for asking the cost of the rental, I've given up asking because the answer I always get is, "I don't know."
 
Geico266 said:
Depending on where you are Enterprise will pick you up at the airport and take you to the office. Lots of other rental car places do his also. Second choice is take a cab to the hotel and figure out a rental car in the am.
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Problem is, I work for a living, so I fly during non-business hours. The FBO might be open late, but the rental car office is long since closed by the time I arrive, or else is closed on Sunday, etc.

I'll consider the taxi idea. Unfortunately, lots of my destinations are small towns with no taxi, or again one that doesn't run at midnight when I'm arriving.
 
We always get rental cars through the FBO. It seems like they run between $50-$80/day on average.
 
I always book directly through the rental car company. Air Nav, Sky Vector and many other sources can tell you what is available at specific FBOs. I have never paid above what one would expect.
 
I have noticed that sometimes the passengers will book directly with a rental car company and then have problems with the company figuring out where to deliver it, especially if there are multiple FBOs. I've even seen cars mistakenly delivered to the wrong airport in a city. Therefore, if you are going to rent directly from a rental car company it would probably pay to double-check where it's going to be delivered.
 
For what it is worth, I didn't even know you could book thru an FBO, I always go through the Enterprise web site, the cost per day is usually $30/day, sometimes cheaper, sometimes more. You can get to their website from Airnav or if you are a USAA member from their website, with a discount. I use Enterprise just about every single week either in conjunction with flying or because the weather prevented me from flying. They run a great shop. The kids behind the desk all have college degrees and are very switched on.
 
Everskyward said:
I have noticed that sometimes the passengers will book directly with a rental car company and then have problems with the company figuring out where to deliver it, especially if there are multiple FBOs. I've even seen cars mistakenly delivered to the wrong airport in a city. Therefore, if you are going to rent directly from a rental car company it would probably pay to double-check where it's going to be delivered.
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Excellent point. When we go to Tahoe we always seem to have to make the point we are talking about South Lake Tahoe and not Minden. We had one trip where the car was not at KTVL, but at Minden. We took a cab into town and before we arrived at our hotel I had a phone call from a manager apologizing profusely for the mixup. He confirmed that a note had been attached to our file specifying KTVL, and that it was an employee error. When we returned the car we found we were not charged for two of the seven days of our stay.
 
I always book through the FBOs and have had good luck on the west coast. I don't recall ever paying much more than$50 and usually less.
 
The place I usually go gets a deal through Hertz. 50 a day plus tax so its like 60. It's about 75% of their retail price because the FBO works strictly with them and its consistent year round so in the summer when people are paying 150 a day I'm still paying 60. It depends on the FBO.
 
Not applicable for those of us under 25. Taxi, walking, fold-able bicycle, or friends in the area seems to usually work for me.
 
Mtns2Skies said:
Not applicable for those of us under 25. Taxi, walking, fold-able bicycle, or friends in the area seems to usually work for me.
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Most places will let us take the courtesy car.
 
hankrausch said:
For what it is worth, I didn't even know you could book thru an FBO, I always go through the Enterprise web site, the cost per day is usually $30/day, sometimes cheaper, sometimes more. You can get to their website from Airnav or if you are a USAA member from their website, with a discount. I use Enterprise just about every single week either in conjunction with flying or because the weather prevented me from flying. They run a great shop. The kids behind the desk all have college degrees and are very switched on.
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Does that still work when you land at midnight, or need to return the car when the office is closed? How do they handle those cases?
 
Somewhat related: I've noticed that the cheap-o places like Dollar or Thrifty are actually $40 or $50 more than big name places like Budget and Hertz.
 
Jim_R said:
Does that still work when you land at midnight, or need to return the car when the office is closed? How do they handle those cases?
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I've had them leave the keys under the mat for me. If the airport is busy enough that they don't want to do that there is likely someone there. Ymmv
 
bbchien said:
During nonwinter months, I use this, it does fit in the back of the Seneca, 1010 lbs, I can pick it up.....http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl...QojUefnFpGCyAH76oHYBA&ved=0CEUQ9QEwAA&dur=483
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About the only thing that fits in the back of my Cherokee is this:

220px-Torker_Unicycle.JPG


At least I can ride it.
 
I booked a rental through priceline.com 2 weeks ago when I flew to hilton head island. I paid $45 incl taxes for a full weekend rental of a new impala.

Landed at signature and gave the line guy a tip to drive us around the airport to the car rental desk at the airline terminal. Signature wanted $120 for a rental through enterprise
 
Generally found that "one-size-fits-all" doesn't work for car rental. Sometimes the FBO has a great deal, sometimes it is better to go with Hertz/National/Enterprise. All depends on the situation. Usually a few calls sorts it out easily. Never been stuck without one. Will admit that Enterprise has been the most helpful, though not necessarlily the cheapest.

Gary
 
It seems these days usually people under 25 can rent cars but with a surcharge. That might make the rate unreasonable though.

Another thing I'd love to see would be "Zipcar" style hassle free hourly renting for airports which do not have courtesy cars.
 
I have only rented once, called a small rental company, they had the plane waiting at the airport, keys in the cup holder. Had it a week, went (way) over the mileage, total cost ~$600
 
Enterprise also has a discount for EAA members, but you may have to book through the Enterprise website to get the discount.
 
A couple of times I've been to small towns that just didn't have any rental places available. In those cases, try the car dealers in the area. They'll usually have some cars for those getting repair work done. At 6Y9, the car came from a dealer about 40 miles up the road, and was quite reasonable.
 
DavidWhite said:
Most places will let us take the courtesy car.
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Truth. Though some have clauses that say you have to be over 25. Luckily I usually travel with another person who is 25. At KAPA I got given a range rover. :yikes:
 
In my case, I have a Hertz "Number 1 Gold" Membership with a corporate rate. I've learned the hard way to always book thru the FBO if they will do it. That avoids the many hiccups that have occurred when I've tried to do it directly with Hertz. And using my membership number, I always get the rate (last one was well under $30 a weekend day!)

With no Hertz availability, I've learned that it's usually best to go thru the FBO but not to be shy about,
  1. Telling them what I want to do (hotel overnight or eat or whatever)
  2. What time I plan to arrive and leave
  3. Asking them if they have a car I might use or otherwise what my best option might be
  4. Asking them what the rental car costs will be and letting them know if that works for me
Sometimes cabs work better than a car. Sometimes just being friendly with everyone pays off. On a recent trip, I planned to take a cab for the short run downtown and back. The line guy and I had a nice little chat but I didn't ask him for help. The woman at the front desk called the cab but then the line guy came in, asked where I was going and told the front desk to give me the courtesy car - heck, it was the weekend and it wasn't going to be used. I stuck with the cab since he was on his way but I should have asked the line guy as we were parking.

Most people, most of the time, want to help if you aren't a jerk :D
 
Gary said:
Generally found that "one-size-fits-all" doesn't work for car rental. ... Usually a few calls sorts it out easily. Never been stuck without one.
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Yep. I've also selected which airport to land at based on car rental cost.
One time one place had Enterprise off-site and crazy rates, one had Hertz on-site rented by the FBO and at much more reasonable rates.
 
I've never flown far enough in my nascent flying life to need to rent a car but I looked up enterprise.com and you can get little cars for $9.99 on weekends. There were a couple of options not too far from me to pick up but not all of them had that deal. Also, apparently that site will load a cookie and the next time you go to their site you may not see that offer unless you delete your cookies or use incognito mode. 100 mile/day limit too.

error....I fixed the first sentence that said I've never rented a car.....done that a hundred times....maybe.
 
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Our model seems to worK pretty well. We are an FBO but limit our role to establishing contact between the customer and the rental car company. We have two that are virtually on site in that they deliver a car and leave the keys with us so that the car is available when the customer arrives and they can drop it off here when they leave. If it is after hours, we leave the key in the terminal building and make sure that the customer knows how to get in and where to find the key and the contract. Same thing for leaving outside of normal hours. One company is a national car rental company. The other is a local car dealer. I haven't heard any complaints in over 5 years.
 
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