Las Vegas - Better than $152 for 8 day compact car rental?

Via Southwest's rental partner Budget, I got an "8 day" compact for ~$152 incl. taxes. Pick-up Friday night. Drop off a week later Sat morning. Can I do better or is that a great deal? This is for mid-May.

How would I find a better deal? Read somewhere about a recent Alamo promo of $68 for a weekly rental. Couldn't find anything like that for my dates. If I find $100 rather than $152, that's worthwhile. Even $125 if it takes only a few minutes. But $152 seems pretty good-~$19 day and that's including taxes!

What about Priceline? Big fan of Priceline for hotels in big cities where I really don't care about a specific hotel and just want to stay in a certain part of town. So I don't much care which car rental vendor I get. But I've been told here that Fox is a pain because their pick-up is a bit of a haul from the airport. So maybe that's a factor to consider--aren't they the main bid-taker for Priceline car rentals in Vegas?

May be able to save by dropping off the car a few days early. Checking out of the Sig on 5/19. Then staying at Main Street Station my last night (5/20). Would be nice to have my own car to drive me and my wife back to the airport (9:30am flight, so want to be there at least 1.5 hrs early). Any good taxi or bus options for getting from Downtown to the airport?

As far as dropping the car back if I do it while staying at the Sig, I've read that the Sig is the closest, or one of the closest, hotels to the airport. So that taxi fare shouldn't be high. Anyone know what it would likely be? And would I need to tell the driver "no tunnel"?

What about Priceline? Big fan of Priceline for hotels in big cities where I really don't care about a specific hotel and just want to stay in a certain part of town. So I don't much care which car rental vendor I get. But I've been told here that Fox is a pain because their pick-up is a bit of a haul from the airport. So maybe that's a factor to consider--aren't they the main bid-taker for Priceline car rentals in Vegas?

I used priceline and got budget. You can always try them and just shoot low, like $100.

As far as dropping the car back if I do it while staying at the Sig, I've read that the Sig is the closest, or one of the closest, hotels to the airport. So that taxi fare shouldn't be high. Anyone know what it would likely be? And would I need to tell the driver "no tunnel"?

yes, MGM is really close. You shouldn't need to say no tunnel, because any driver doing that is a blatant cheat, but to be sure, if you don't want to say "no tunnel", you can instead say "MGM Grand via Swenson and Tropicana".

Oh, another thought on that. Consider getting a cab at the rental car center instead of going back to the airport. It's a little farther, but you would avoid the cab line at the airport itself.

My brother pricelined a full sized car in vegas for $10 a day for 9 days. They gave him budget. As well Priceline has a sale on name your own price cars today $5/day off whatever price you win.

$152 for 9 days is a heckuva price!

Congrats

It's as good a rate from a major RAC as you're going to get. You should be able to upgrade at the counter to a fullsize or SUV for not more than $8-$10 a day if you feel like it.

P.S. RAC Center to MGM Grand is about 20 minutes by city bus, search Google Maps

Thanks everyone.

My brother pricelined a full sized car in vegas for $10 a day for 9 days. They gave him budget. As well Priceline has a sale on name your own price cars today $5/day off whatever price you win.

Thanks Polar Man. Where's the best place to find out about Priceline car rental sales? The Priceline web site itself? Or is there a forum or blog I should watch for broader codes / sales on rental cars?

Since I know what dates I need the car, Priceline seems like a good bet. Decided I do want the car for the entire duration of my trip--may want to take more nature / hiking side trips if I tire of Vegas itself. It's a nice "escape hatch" since I've never been to Vegas and don't know what to expect.

I realize driving on the Strip itself isn't advisable.

Is there a link to the website. Need 3 day rental in june, pick up ewr and return bwi. what is the price that one should pay??

Alamo seems to be the cheapest.

I use http://www.carrentalsavers.com/alamo.html for the coupon codes with a costco corporate id so I can get the free driver.

For what it's worth, Priceline doesn't use Fox.

You will get a car from Alamo, Avis, Budget, Hertz, or National. All of which are in the Consolidated Rental Facility.

Check Alamo with Contract ID 7015820 and Coupon Code AD4027JDO. Both of these require a valid Insiders membership (free) on the website.

Different dates from you, but I have a one-week Economy rental down to $55.00 using the above.

Brent

I decided to stick with Budget. It came down to around $10 a day including all taxes. And my auto insurance with AllState covers the insurance.

My question is this: I've noticed nearly every time I rent a car, they ask if I want to add a second authorized driver--with an additional fee attached to it of course.

What business is it of theirs? Am I legally obligated to tell them and/or pay them their 'additional driver' fee? Allstate says my wife is absolutely covered since we're both 'primary drivers' on the same policy.

On the other hand, if my wife got into an accident, I wouldn't want to be in hot water over this.

What are the facts?

Well, here's what Budget's web site says:

http://www.budget.com/budgetWeb/html/en/customer/commonquestions/#Can%20someone%20else%20drive%20a%20car%20that%20I %20rent?

Looks like they'd want to charge $10/day in Nevada, up to $50 max for one rental period. But not for a spouse. So that's good.

By the way, any driving advice on getting out of the Budget lot and on the HWY toward St. George, UT? Also, any advice on returning the car? I ask in case there's anything confusing. Never been to LAS.

"Do you charge extra for an additional driver?
Answer: Sometimes. Although additional driver rules at licensee-owned locations and locations outside of the U.S may vary, except for California, Nevada and New York, the fee for each additional driver is $13 per day with a maximum charge of $65 per rental. There is no additional driver fee in California. In Nevada the fee is $10 per day with a maximum charge of $50 per rental. In New York the fee is $3 per day. The following are exempt from the fee but must meet all other driver requirements: the renter's employer or fellow employee when on company business and renting under a corporate account; the renter's spouse or domestic partner; the companion driver of a renter with a disability who has completed the non-licensed renter form; for insurance replacement rentals, company employees or family members who are designated on the insurance policy. "

By the way, any driving advice on getting out of the Budget lot and on the HWY toward St. George, UT? Also, any advice on returning the car? I ask in case there's anything confusing. Never been to LAS.

It's pretty easy. Budget is in the consolidated rental car building at 7135 Gilespie. You take a left (north) out of that, go through the intersection with crockett, cross I-215, then take a left on Hidden Well (this is all of a block or two out of the rental car center). Go down that a couple blocks. After you cross Las Vegas Blvd, the road will split into entrances for I-215 west and I-15 N, take I-15 N (pretty sure that's on the right). Once you're on I-15 N, take that all the way to Utah.