Reduced Fleets: Rental Cars vs. Airplanes

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I find bidding on Priceline works well. A lot of the taxes go down if you can get a much lower price. Don't bid too soon since it's not cancelable. Looking each week and rebooking helps.

by CEN on Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Even before the fleet reductions, PHX has been ridiculously high for years. Maybe hotel shuttles will work, many of my airline mileage programs show 15-20% discounts on the majors (Budget, Alamo, etc.), Entertainment book has online options, as well, if you have one of their books. If you're close enough, I agree taxi might be a viable option. Otherwise, I always check offsite, and sometimes get lucky.

by acproductions on Wednesday, July 21, 2010

It seems that autoslash dot com is the same website I have been using forever under the name of carrentalsavers dot com. Is there a difference?

by Barbara on Wednesday, July 21, 2010

You could try various discount programs. Sams Club, Cosco, AAA, AARP, any credit card, or banking program, even companies you may be associated with. Also, perhaps renting off site and taking a bus from your hotel.

by ndtjddowney on Wednesday, July 21, 2010

As it turns out, though was has been said about taxes, etc was all true, there was a simpler answer - the NASCAR race in Phoenix that weekend.

by FleecedInPhoenix on Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Thanks to all for the explanations and tips for getting around the high prices at the Phoenix Airport.

by FleecedinPhoenix on Saturday, November 07, 2009

Yes, rates at the airport are higher & taxes are higher. If you're willing to go thru the trouble, you can rent from Enterprise at one of their locations within walking distance of the light rail. You can take the free shuttle bus from the airport to the light rail stop. Then take the light rail (Fare: $1.75) to the car rental stop. And you have to do this in reverse on the return. But the savings can be around 50%. Just try the Enterprise website for an airport rate & the rate at their 140 W. Camelback location for the same days & car.

by SteveMaricopa on Friday, November 06, 2009

Above i mentioned the combined parking/rental car garages and how they've increased the cost. I travel to PHX at least four times a year, All for family, no expense acct. I take a taxi(or friend /family) to rental car locations outside the airport and return to the airport and i save a huge bundle. Remember I'm not on an expense acct. and I usually rent One week rentals. If your arriving for several days, then it doesn't pay to outside. For tourist the savings is HUGE !

by sbord1 on Friday, November 06, 2009

I would highly recommend looking at mousesavers.com for car rental info. The site actually specializes in Disney vacation deal information, but have found their car rental section to be quite helpful in procuring a great deal. (Not only that, but via their site, I became a member of the National Emerald Isle club free of charge, as well as the Dollar Fast Lane, and while not directly as a result of their site, the Hertz Gold Club).

by zodiac711 on Friday, November 06, 2009

I just returned from Phoenix. Taxes are about 40% but I used Hotwire for my rental. They actually emailed me about a week after my rental with a much cheaper rate than I had booked (33% less) so I canceled the first reservation and made the new one at a lower rate. By the way, all rentals are off-lot since they built a new complex you need to take a bus to.

by mtulipan on Thursday, November 05, 2009

I'm glad someone finally pointed out the PHX taxes. If you find a way to an off-airport rental office, you'll find rates far less.

by geshoo on Thursday, November 05, 2009

Hi, have you checked to see if there is a major convention in Phoenix at the same time as your trip? I've found that a major convention can up all kinds of prices including hotels and rental cars.

by kileysmom on Thursday, November 05, 2009

PHX has taxes, lots of taxes ! 1st they have taxes to cover that new football stadium and baseball stadium ! PHX itself doesn't have as many hotel rooms to tax unlike other cities, New York and Chicago. Many travelors stay in neighboring communities. 2nd You are paying for that multi use parking / rental car structure. And most likely the many projects at the airport. If you'll notice, many airports are building these combined rental / parking garages. they're centralizing all of their rental car operators and you the customer paying for this cost. Look at other cities that have built these new rental car garages and you'll see they have higher rates then they had in the past(Las Vegas). Tampa may be the exception.

by sbord1 on Thursday, November 05, 2009

I have seen the price for a weekly rental drop by over $100 online from the time I first book it to when we actually leave. I just book the cheaper rate and cancel the first reservation. I check fairly often, and, as mentioned above, just before we are leaving home.

by NolaMargot on Thursday, November 05, 2009

I authored the original question to AFWD. To be more clear, I should have asked, "Why is it so much more expensive to rent in PHX than most other places?" For instance, I checked this morning on Hotwire and out of 8 busy airports, Phoenix was anywhere from 33% to 300% more expensive than locations such as Chicago, New York, LA, and DFW. So I still haven't received the answer I'm looking for, but I realize that AFWD specializes in airfares, not rental cars.

by FleecedinPhoenix on Thursday, November 05, 2009

Maybe five years (correct that) ago the Goverment removed major tax breaks in short term depreciation . Back then the major Rental companies were owned outright or tightly linked to Auto Mfgrs, ie: Hertz-Ford; Avis-GM; Thrifty-Chrysler. The Mfrs could self huge numbers to their rental partner and with fast depreciation these could be sold on-max two years old with low miles at a good profit.
The tax change ended the sort of Gov't supported industry. Cars had to be held longer and with low turnover the mfrs had to produce fewer cars...note this had been a boost to US Mfrs, not import types. So with less tax break the costs to rent went up, US Mfrs suffered far fewer sales and the great deals of 'lightly used rentals' vaporized. One Tax change... .
One could ask what good came out of it and WHY the former depreciation laws were not reinstated , they could be and the effect presumable positive across the board for all involved !

by Skipper on Thursday, November 05, 2009

Phoenix and Arizona levied taxes that are (or at least were) much higher than other cities. Here's an article, it's from 2006 but from your post I would assume the issue is the same today.
http://la.indymedia.org/news/2006/11/188489.php

by tjstyphon on Thursday, November 05, 2009

As the above poster mentioned, the cost can be different for the same cars from the same rental agency all over the place. One place I've found consistently good deals is at Priceline, if I am booking JUST a car through them. They actually have excellent deals on hotels and flights, but if getting miles/points is an issue for you, you probably will NOT get them through Priceline, as they buy the rooms and the seats at bulk and you are literally buying them from Priceline, not the airline or hotel.

by mickisue on Thursday, November 05, 2009

I rent cars for between 150 and 180 days a year. One trick I've found is to book online long ahead of time, but then check every week or so to see if the price has been adjusted. Often it drops about a week beforehand, as the company's national reservation computer takes into account a wide range of factors and seeks to provide incentive to rent. The online price is ALWAYS lower than "walk up" or phoning the local branch. A competitor's inability to move cars can bring you a real bargain ($12 a day plus fees and taxes) even if your company is having to borrow cars from other branches to meet demand.

To be fair to the rental companies, the restriction in fleet size is not completely their decision. The major auto makers have restricted the number of vehicles they make available at discount to rental companies. I commented to my regular manager about the rise in average mileage on the rental vehicles and learned that that it has been a real problem for them, with people complaining about paying so much for a car with as much as 60,000 kilometres on it.

by Great Lakes Lover on Thursday, November 05, 2009

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