Bingo!...I usually check one of the two bidding sites & calculate if adding a rental car or taxi would make sense or If I should just go with Hotwire or a standard booking.

Last year 90% of my hotel stays and about 50% of my car rentals were via Priceline and Hotwire. In all but one instance, the price including fees and taxes was at least 20% less than the lowest comparable rate I could find,, sometimes more. In one instance due to my own mistake I paid more than it was worth.

So far this year I seem to be batting around the same averages. Definitely not the bargains that were around earlier in the decade (In 2002 got an incredible boutique in NYC for $43 per night), but still worth more to me than playing the hotel points & status game.