National - Best selection in Washington, IAD or DCA?

I flew in to Reagan and found only a handful of cars in the Emerald aisle. Now, it was a late on a Tuesday night, so maybe there are more cars at other times, but I'm wondering if Dulles may not be the more preferable choice. It's farther from my DC destination, but it may be worth the additional driving time if I can get a car that makes me smile. Is it worth flying to Dulles instead of Reagan?

I haven't been to IAD, but in general, the selection at DCA leaves much to be desired. But I guess that's the cost of having a Metro accessible location.

I have rented extensively over the past couple of years at both, and if I am looking for the widest selection, I definitely choose IAD. DCA has a much smaller selection generally, and they are much more strict on only picking from the sometimes sparse cars at the EA/ES. At, IAD, there's generally probably 20+ cars in each of EA and ES and you usually can find something to your liking. That being said, there has been a rare time or two when even IAD has had only a handful of choices, but that's few and far between. That being said, DCA is generally much more convenient for almost anything you're doing.

I've also found DCA pricing generally fairly competitive now. It used to be that IAD prices could be SUPER low, but that is generally not the case anymore.

Ditto on dcchi's remark about DCA's pricing. Lately their daily weekend rates are around $20 for FS and $21-24 for Premium.

Is IAD still considered a better selection over DCA? I read in other threads as well that DCA on Thursday nights are pretty stocked so would it make no difference between IAD/DCA for EA?

Also, has anyone ever returned a car picked up at IAD to DCA?

Is IAD still considered a better selection over DCA? I read in other threads as well that DCA on Thursday nights are pretty stocked so would it make no difference between IAD/DCA for EA?

Also, has anyone ever returned a car picked up at IAD to DCA?

At DCA, anytime before 8am you can generally get a good car. M-W mornings after 9 or 10 am will most likely be picked clean from business travelers; you might have some luck around 1-2pm when they "refresh" the lots for the afternoon.

Thursday/Sunday mornings are the best days for car selection. Friday/Saturday mornings are decent too, if no major conventions in town.

Don't expect anything good any day of the week past 5pm.