Through the years of renting cars in Florida, I’ve been all over the Internet. My expeditions have yielded dozens of cars from websites and rental companies, with varying degrees of success.
The cost of a rental car can be a major expense, especially in Miami, where locals add on a brace of taxes and fees that seem to nearly double the original cost. Rent a car in Miami and you know you have contributed to the local economy.
Finding the best deal is getting easier, because of up-to-date Internet
search engines that seek the lowest rates. Sometimes, prices vary
substantially.
Be aware: When you use a search engine, sometimes you won’t know what car company you rented from until after you book. And, you may end up taking an extra mini-bus ride from the airport to some off-site rental company you’ve never heard of.
Book now, pay now for best price
In the search engine process, there are two ways to book a rental car.
Typically, most booking choices allow you to make a reservation that you pay for later, meaning you may cancel or modify the booking, similar to the process for making a reservation directly from a rental car company – though often at a better rate.
A second way to book, if you are looking for the best price, is the choice of paying for the rental at the time of booking. The potential problem: You will be stuck with the rental charge no matter what changes may occur in your future plans. Even one extra day at the end of your trip can be a major expense.
This second method, the book-and-pay-now plan, is used by Hotwire.com. In search engine searches, Hotwire – in itself a search engine – nearly always has the best price, because the rental car company is getting its money upfront.
For my Florida trip in December (2012), I decided to try a rental car search company best known in the United Kingdom, now offering rentals in the United States. As they say in England, Carrentals.co.uk is a car hire site.
In December, I needed two rentals in Miami, each for less than a week between writing assignments on cruise ships in the Caribbean. I used both rental methods, the book-now-pay-later plan for Dec. 3-7 and the book-now-pay-now plan for Dec. 15-20 when rental car prices were rising toward the holidays.
Heading for Key West
For Dec. 3-7, on a pick up and return to the Miami airport, Carrentals.co.uk found a best rate of $95.79 for the four days. At the time of rental, I would pay $19.13 a day, a total of $76.52, plus taxes and fees. The rental was from a company called 121Carhire.com US Domestic, which rented my car through Fox Rent A Car.
Pick up and drop off took me an extra 15 minutes or so because the Fox rental office is “off property,” which means in Miami that first you ride the tram from the airport terminal to the big rental car center, then you get on a mini-bus for a five-minute ride to the Fox office. The good news: my economy rental was upgraded for free to an intermediate size car, the 2012 Chevrolet Cruze 1LT.
For four days, a 320-mile round trip drive from Miami to Key West, I felt that $95.79 was a good price for a car big enough for four with good enough gas mileage that I filled the tank only once, at my return in Miami.
On the road to Clearwater Beach
For Dec. 15-20, on a pick up and return to Miami airport, Carrentals.co.uk pointed to Hotwire.com as the best price by about $100. I booked it, after I was certain about the day of my arrival and departure in Miami, as the entire rental cost would be on my credit card in seconds.
“Please note,” the website warned, “that all bookings are final and no changes or refunds are allowed.”
After I agreed to the rate of $153.28, at $17.95 per day plus taxes and fees of $63.53 for an intermediate car (a spiffy 2012 Nissan Sentra), I was told the rental was from Alamo, which is located in the Miami airport rental car center, so there would be no extra mini-bus ride. Later, I decided to add a second driver to the contract, which cost me $9.99 a day, which I thought was a bit much, though I was told that charge was typical.
In both instances, the booking process for rentals was smooth. The cars were good. All went well, and the prices seemed about as good as you can get. So, I’d say that my experience with Carrentals.co.uk was a success.
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