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CoachClass

Posts: 28
From:
Registered: Jul 2001
posted 08-30-2001 08:05 PM
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Need to rent a car for about a week from one of the NYC airports - JFK, EWR or LGA. My choice of location to fly into.
Any quick suggestions which location will run cheapest in September? Maybe taxes in EWR are higher or lower than the NY state ones etc?

Any suggestions which rental company seems to offer best deals in that region? Car will be dropped off at point it is collected at.
Thanks in advance for the fast advice!


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clacko

Posts: 533
From: dallas texas usa
Registered: Apr 2001
posted 08-30-2001 09:56 PM
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daughters living in manhattan have gone to ewr to rent cars for economy.
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chemist661

Posts: 170
From: Quartz Hill,CA ; US Gold,UA Premier Exec., Hilton Gold
Registered: May 2001
posted 08-30-2001 09:57 PM
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I checked orbitz.com for a Sept.15-Sept 22 set of dates.(just picked random dates) JFK & LGA was about $275/week for a mid size car. EWR came in about $150 & for a full size, it was about $175.(Economy/compact was as low as $125). Maybe one can do even better with coupons/promos, etc. I would go with EWR.
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Ken hAAmer

Posts: 1428
From: Vancouver, BC, Canada
Registered: Mar 2000
posted 08-31-2001 12:11 AM
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My personal experience has been that EWR is always much cheaper, sometimes less than � the price of the other 2 airports.
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cordelli

Posts: 1079
From: Norwalk, CT, USA
Registered: Feb 2000
posted 08-31-2001 07:11 AM
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Don't forget to give Priceline a shot for Newark or even White Plains. It's worth a shot and sometimes can save some (lots) of money. I usually start at 60 to 75% of what the available rates are and keep changing car size or whatever if it's denied.
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ontheroad

Posts: 713
From: My mother and father
Registered: Feb 99
posted 08-31-2001 07:17 AM
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EWR is less expensive, because of several NY State Laws regarding liability. For example: If someone rents a car in NY, drives drunk, and causes damage, the rental car company is considered liable.
If you check with rental companies directly, be sure to specify that you are arriving on a flight. Most of the on-airport companies charge more for local rentals.

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He who dies with the most miles ... is dead.

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rfrost

Posts: 393
From: new york, ny, usa
Registered: Feb 2000
posted 08-31-2001 08:09 AM
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EWR is also cheaper because Alamo went in a few years ago and rates dropped.
P.S. Gas is also cheaper in NJ.
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doctorphil

Posts: 40
From: Newark, NJ, USA
Registered: Mar 2000
posted 08-31-2001 08:18 AM
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The car rental rates in New Jersey are always lower: New York State requires the rental car companies to have only a $100 deductable in case of an auto accident. To compensate for the low deductable renters pay much higher rates!
[This message has been edited by doctorphil (edited 08-31-2001).]

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worldbanker

Posts: 588
From: Arlington, VA/Madrid, Spain- AA PLT, US Gold, AF Rouge, CO Gold, DL GM, Hyatt Diamond, HHonors Gold, SPG Gold
Registered: Sep 2000
posted 08-31-2001 08:20 AM
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Budget and National among others have offered discount rates for one way rentals from EWR-Manhattan. You may wish to inquire about this. Got a rate once of $21.99 and got to leave the car 2 blocks from Times Square- talk about convenient!
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"Fly me to the moon and let me earn alot of miles."

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rfrost

Posts: 393
From: new york, ny, usa
Registered: Feb 2000
posted 08-31-2001 08:34 AM
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EWR is also cheaper because Alamo went in a few years ago and rates dropped as a result.
P.S. Gas is also cheaper in NJ.
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clublounger

Posts: 167
From: Honolulu, HI, USA, Starwood Platinum
Registered: Oct 2000
posted 08-31-2001 11:06 AM
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Several years ago I rented from Newark. I only remember that they added on to the total a "shuttle bus fee", which was something like 10% of the rental cost. Just for having taken the car rental shuttle from the terminal to the rental location.
Can someone tell me if this charge is still applicable?

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Lavarock7

Posts: 40
From: Marietta, Ga, USA, DL SM
Registered: Oct 2000
posted 08-31-2001 04:49 PM
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For cheap rates, try http://edit.travel.yahoo.com/config/...form=YahooCars
Also check for add-on costs by going to the "car rental policy" link on the right side of the price, to get the total price.




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jenniann

I have always gone to EWR to rent (I live in Manhattan). Usually through Dollar, although Alamo sometimes has deals, but they are offsite, Dollar you can get to easily by the airport monorail. For a while I could never get a deal through priceline, but lately I have had a couple of successes through priceline for EWR, and I've seen some other people get great deals through priceline for LGA and JFK (in the $25 -$30 per day range for compact, which is great compared to regular rates.)

Gregg

Another factor to take into consideration is that rental companies don't usually allow you to take a rental car out of state without disclosing it. If you're going to be using the car in NY as well you may want to ask them if there are any additional fees for taking the vehicle into NY.

CrazyOne

I got $30/day for "compact" from LGA recently on Priceline, at last minute, for a Friday and Saturday, at a time when probably everyone wanted to get out of NY for the weekend because it was HOT. The going rates from regular booking engines were something like $70/day. The rental was from Hertz, and they gave me a Mustang. Hehe.

jenniann

I've never been asked where I'm driving the car when I rent from EWR so I checked the policies on travelocity. The major agencies don't seem to have any geographic restrictions other than you can't take the car into Mexico, and at least Avis wants to know in advance if you plan to drive into Canada. Payless Car Rental however does have additional charges for taking the car out of state.

CoachClass

Thanks for all the input here to my question folks! Might take a run up to Canada - so I should disclose this it seems?

Rental will be in a months time, for a week.
Any clues on how to engineer the best rate - whether via coupons or priceline, or yahoo etc? All I want is a small car, not seeking size upgrade etc.

CrazyOne

Yeah, definitely let them know if you intend to cross the border. Most rentals are good for neighboring states or a group of states at least. Sometimes it's the whole continental US and maybe Canada too. Canada is probably not a problem, but it is something you want to be sure of. The last thing you need is to be in a wreck up there or break down up there and find out that you broke the terms of the contract by taking it over the border.

For a whole week, often there's a weekly rate that makes a heckuva lot more sense than the daily rates. But I've heard of cars going for under 20 bucks a day on Priceline. This may not be likely in NYC area, but it does happen. Check the normal avenues first, you know, Travelocity, etc. Just get the feel for what the regular rates are. Sometimes the individual company sites will have web specials. While it can be tedious to check several sites, you don't have to track down every last tiny rental company unless you're really desperate. Hertz, Avis, National, Dollar ought to give you enough chances in most cases. I've seen specials on Dollar's site and personally gotten a good weekend special on Hertz's site. Might as well check Hotwire, see what it gives you. Then armed with your info you can bid for Priceline. The biddingfortravel.com forums have useful historical bidding info and tips for making winning bids without overpaying (right Jenniann? )

If Newark works for you, hey, looks like it'll be cheaper. When I rented in NY a few weeks ago, I was going to Vermont, a sort of vacation from my vacation in sweltering NYC. Also had an appointment up there that afternoon. The last thing I wanted was to have to drive the extra way from EWR. But your circumstances might be different. Plus, I was only doing two days. Over a whole week, a small price difference will add up to much more.

jenniann

I wanted to share info that someone recently posted on the biddingfortravel board. I just used this info to book a week midsize rental in LAX for under $70 (including taxes) at Alamo (hopefully getting triple miles in the process!). The linked post includes a coupon code that will give you another $15/off the discount rates. Out of curiousity I priced a week compact rental at Alamo in EWR. It came to around $135/week including taxes - I think that's an excellent deal for NYC.

http://pub4.ezboard.com/fpricelinean...icID=103.topic

CoachClass

Neat tip jenniann!

Used your Alamo link and it quoted a 9am Monday collection at EWR with Friday afternoon drop off (5 days?) at get this:

Compact 2 door or 4 door $139.14

Mid side 2 or 4 door $120.79

Full size 4 door $135.99

How on earth is a midsize cheaper than a compact??!! At first glance that looks to be a fine price, for EWR airport collection and drop off. I read somewhere of a charge for the shuttle bus to get to lot as I recall? Does anyone know for sure?

Wonder if Alamo will need to sight the $15 NW voucher coupon I punched in the code for as suggested on your link? (I sure a s heck do not have a voucher!)

jenniann

Yeah, a midsize was cheaper than a compact at LAX as well. Don't know why, unless people tend to go for compact or standard, and the midsizes just don't sell as well.

I made mine a "QuickRent" booking so theoretically I just have to swipe my credit card through a kiosk and get a piece of paper with the car location. Don't need to see an agent at all. I was wondering too if an actual coupon would be needed, that's why I decided to go QuickRent (and skip the line anyway.)

I've booked through Alamo in Newark and I really don't recall if they added a charge for the shuttle. It might have been in the fine print small charges that are added, but I'm not sure.

CoachClass

Anyone know whether rental prices have changed much in NY area since the horrible incident? Not sure whether to book now if demand is soft, or wait a while?