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Old Oct 9, 09, 12:20 pm   #1
 
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Talking What is the best way to bid on a car rental only?

I have booked my fares to go to KOA. I have a place to stay. Now I need a car. So far, I have spent $10 I now want a standard size or so car, for as little cost as possible. What is the best way to get this?

I tried priceline today for $12/day. Results were a no-bid. I already know I can book a car for about $438 for my 15 day trip next May 26 - June 9. (14 days 4 hours). I am trying to substantially beat that cost.

Thanks in advance!
Jim
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Old Oct 11, 09, 10:11 am   #2
 
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Too early for car rental

If you are bidding now for a car rental next May, you are entirely too early! You need to wait until after the beginning of the year. Most car rentals are last minute (about 3 weeks before needed); most car rental firms are geared to do business on 3 weeks notice.
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Old Oct 12, 09, 8:28 am   #3
B1
 
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Originally Posted by spitz1 View Post
I have booked my fares to go to KOA. I have a place to stay. Now I need a car. So far, I have spent $10
You should write a book "My Ten Dollar Kona Vacation" now - and use the profit to pay Hotwire whatever they charge for the rental next year.
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Old Oct 12, 09, 7:58 pm   #4
 
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$10??? really??? Wow!
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Old Oct 13, 09, 9:53 am   #5
 
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If you are bidding now for a car rental next May, you are entirely too early! You need to wait until after the beginning of the year. Most car rentals are last minute (about 3 weeks before needed); most car rental firms are geared to do business on 3 weeks notice.

Thanks. I thought it would be like airfare where the earlier the more cheap cars. Is Hotwire better than priceline for car bidding?

Last edited by spitz1; Oct 13, 09 at 10:00 am.
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Old Oct 13, 09, 9:56 am   #6
 
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Originally Posted by B1 View Post
You should write a book "My Ten Dollar Kona Vacation" now - and use the profit to pay Hotwire whatever they charge for the rental next year.

worldperks miles - $10 fuel surcharge FC/BC most the way there.
Staying with my brother - priceless!

Now I just need wheels.
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Old Oct 13, 09, 10:39 am   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JohnWM View Post
If you are bidding now for a car rental next May, you are entirely too early! You need to wait until after the beginning of the year. Most car rentals are last minute (about 3 weeks before needed); most car rental firms are geared to do business on 3 weeks notice.
Agreed. As an industry insider, I can confirm that stuff much beyond that is not really paid attention to (beyond just sort of setting a default rate that "looks good"). In the rental industry, pricing and availability changes is a highly manual process--the rate analysts must manually review the fleet availability reports and decide where they want to price themselves in relation to the competition (some of it can be automated, like relative rate adjustments themselves [i.e. when your competitor drops $5 per day, you drop $5 per day along with them--computers can run those checks automatically], but the actual decisions to be cheaper than or more expensive than a competitor are fully manual.

Rental inventory is just too liquid to fully trust a computer to accurately handle rates and availability.
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Old Oct 21, 09, 10:32 pm   #8
 
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Thanks
I'll wait until next year. Wow. These ads weren't here when I started this thread. And my abs look nothing like those pics.
Quote:
Originally Posted by jackal View Post
Agreed. As an industry insider, I can confirm that stuff much beyond that is not really paid attention to (beyond just sort of setting a default rate that "looks good"). In the rental industry, pricing and availability changes is a highly manual process--the rate analysts must manually review the fleet availability reports and decide where they want to price themselves in relation to the competition (some of it can be automated, like relative rate adjustments themselves [i.e. when your competitor drops $5 per day, you drop $5 per day along with them--computers can run those checks automatically], but the actual decisions to be cheaper than or more expensive than a competitor are fully manual.

Rental inventory is just too liquid to fully trust a computer to accurately handle rates and availability.
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Old Oct 21, 09, 11:21 pm   #9
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Thanks
I'll wait until next year. Wow. These ads weren't here when I started this thread. And my abs look nothing like those pics.
Sign up for FlyerTalk Premium. You won't see any ads. You get a pretty nice magazine, too...
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