Hertz - 4 day rental in DTW:which would you go for?

I have an upcoming trip in April (8-12) to DTW. I'll be traveling with a sizeable amount of luggage, but just two people. So, i am trying to price out something with a large trunk or boot space. We'll be covering DTW and some of the parts of the Upper Peninsula (Mackinac Island etc.)

I have been pricing G (Grand Marquis), F (Lincoln TC), Ford Explorer and Minivans.

There seem to be very few coupons with validity through end of April that will drive down price.
1. cheapest is the grand marq with AAA CDP. Price 132.18
2. there's very little diff between the Lincoln TC (235.14) and the Minivan (234.11). Again with the AAA CDP is the lowest.
3. The Explorer (194.81) with the AAA CDP and PC 952081 (can't recall where I found this).

Also, if I use PC 961030 (150 bonus ze1 points), the TC, Explorer and Minivan price the same with the AAA CDP. The Grand marq jumps to 195.89 (from 132.18).

It seems a no brainer to go with AAA CDP and PC 961030.

Questions:
1. Which would you go for among the four choices - Minivan, TC, Grand Marq and Explorer w.r.t boot/trunk space?
2. Among the four, do the Grand Marq, Explorer and Minivan come with Sirius? I know the TC is likely to have it. Any experience in the DTW area?
3. How do I request Sirius?
4. Any PCs that can cut price further?

One thing you may want to keep in mind is beginning/mid-April is still winter/spring in Michigan. Snow and ice, while not the norm, are also not unheard of at that time of year - more so where you're heading (to the U.P.). For that reason, I would book the Explorer. The rear seats will fold down and give you plenty of room for your luggage.

Trunk space is very good in both the Grand Marq and the Town Car. The minivan and Explorer will have much more storage space overall with only two people in the vehicle. Unless you have an absurdly huge amount of luggage, any of these cars will work as far as space goes. I've gone on a golf trip - 4 guys, 4 sets of clubs, 4 other bags - with a Grand Marquis. That was a bit of a squeeze but it was doable.

Your AAA CDP with the Grand Marquis is a pretty good one for starters. I would probably hang on to the $132 rental and keep checking back. Chances are good that you will find good, new CDP/PC's between now and then to replace the ones you now see with a 3/31 exp. date.

A couple of other options...

- Look for a 1- or 2-car-class upgrade code. Price a full-size with it. Mix in your AAA or airline CDP's as necessary...see what works with what. Usually upgrade codes are valid to the point that the max confirmed upgrade is a Premium, so you can't lock in an SUV/Minivan with them. In practice: I've gotten a few SUV's with an F booking and an upgrade.

- Price a weekend rental - April 8-11 using any of your strategies or mine. Look at the weekend rate and the extra day rate. Sometimes the extra day rate is brutal - but sometimes it isn't. This strategy has worked well for me on Tuesday drops on several occasions where the system won't price 3 weekend days and 1 weekday automatically.

- Not sure if you are considering other agencies or Priceline to save a few bucks so I won't get into that in detail, but I'll just say that sometimes Hertz is way out of line from the rest of the market for specialty cars. If you decide that an SUV or Luxury car is important and you want the lowest rate, you might find it somewhere other than Hertz.

Avis will let you one-way a car from DTW to almost anywhere in Lower Michigan--even Traverse City-- at a local rate without drop charge of $24 per weekend day or $138.59 per week for a Premium = Buick LeSabre with XM Radio, but you must add a day to get the Weekly rate. Or how about a Chevy Blazer @$241.19 a week?

The 2003 Grand Marquis' had Stability Control in addition to traction control. I was in Annapolis, MD. with snow and ice all over the place and even with that tank, it handled fine with no issues. Don't know if the 2004's and 2005's do, but it stands to reason they wouldn't take it off.

I just received a Buick LeSabre Limited (Specialty Premium) and it had XM (which I happen to prefer to Sirius) as well as getting 30mpg on the highway over 600 miles. ^

You can get $25 off on a three-day weekend rental with PC 963373. This is good for Premiums on up. PC 959976 will get you a free weekend day and works up to Premium.

For two people, a GM will be plenty of space. The boot is huge on these. My friend likes to believe she is travelling on the White Star line and brings the suitcase equivalent of a steamer trunk with her, and it fits in the boot fine. :D

- Price a weekend rental - April 8-11 using any of your strategies or mine. Look at the weekend rate and the extra day rate. Sometimes the extra day rate is brutal - but sometimes it isn't. This strategy has worked well for me on Tuesday drops on several occasions where the system won't price 3 weekend days and 1 weekday automatically.

Indeed. This is the case. The extra day (Tuesday 4/12) is the one that is driving up total price. I need it till 8/12 about Noon and that extra day alone is almost half the cost of the earlier 3 days together.

e.g.
- on a Towncar/Deville : 3 weekend days is 130.79, the Tue alone is 66.29
- on a Grand Marq : 3 weekend days is 70, the Tue alone 82.79!

Any strategies you use for that extra day?

Indeed. This is the case. The extra day (Tuesday 4/12) is the one that is driving up total price. I need it till 8/12 about Noon and that extra day alone is almost half the cost of the earlier 3 days together.

e.g.
- on a Towncar/Deville : 3 weekend days is 130.79, the Tue alone is 66.29
- on a Grand Marq : 3 weekend days is 70, the Tue alone 82.79!

Any strategies you use for that extra day?

Try a 5-day or even 4.5(Fri. noon--Tue. eve.) if possible for a weekly rate.

You can get $25 off on a three-day weekend rental with PC 963373. This is good for Premiums on up.

SEA_Tigger - where did you find 963373? Do you have a link to the T&C? I wanted to print it off.

This, in combination with my AAA CDP yields good results.

Indeed. This is the case. The extra day (Tuesday 4/12) is the one that is driving up total price. I need it till 8/12 about Noon and that extra day alone is almost half the cost of the earlier 3 days together.

e.g.
- on a Towncar/Deville : 3 weekend days is 130.79, the Tue alone is 66.29
- on a Grand Marq : 3 weekend days is 70, the Tue alone 82.79!

Any strategies you use for that extra day?

Bummer. That is a brutal xday rate.

Did you try anything with a full-size + upgrade? Might net you the Grand Marq at something better than $130...