Is everyone getting screwed by the rental companies this year???
I'm looking at mid May to come to Vegas and they want approx. $450 per week for a compact.
Any suggestions where to get a decent rate???
Is everyone getting screwed by the rental companies this year???
I'm looking at mid May to come to Vegas and they want approx. $450 per week for a compact.
Any suggestions where to get a decent rate???
I've read a bunch about this. During covid when travel was at it's lowest, the rental car companies depleted their flleets by 40%. Now that travel is jumping, they are unable to buy enough new cars due to the auto shortage caused by the lack of ample computer chips.
Rental car prices will likely stay high into Fall. Book the best rate you can find now, and keep checking to see if you find a lower price between now and your departure date.
Good luck.
I suggest simply doing without a car. You can stay on the Strip or downtown and be within easy walking distance, or public transit distance, of many different casinos. Use Bell Transit or any of the other alternatives to get to and from the airport.
Whenever I look at the price of something and it's a ridiculous gouge, I figure out a way to not buy it. For me, that would involve doing either what I suggested above or driving my own car to Vegas, which would be about 900 miles but at least I'd have a car when I got there. Like you, I want to make a Vegas trip in mid-May (after I'm fully vaccinated and before the weather becomes ugly), and if it's for a few days, I may just fly there and do without a car; if it's for a week+, I'll drive there.
I guess I'm just stubborn. Even if $450 would still be a relatively small portion of my vacation expenses, I'm not going to pay some %^&%$#* rental car company three times as much as before. I keep in mind that their costs haven't gone up, so with this new gouge, they're making as much from renting one car as they used to make from renting six of them.
Priced a rental car for TWO days in September when we'll be at Red Rock - $200. I'm crazy but not crazy enough to book that. And it was an economy car, not a Corvette.
I don't wanna sound like a commercial here, but if you use Autoslash, they'll continue to look for a lower price on your rental up until a day or two before your trip. Once when I was renting a car in Florida, the initial price (six months before the trip) was around $400, but Autoslash ended up finding lower prices two or three times and I ended up paying less than $100. You can use the service whether you rent through them or not. Just load your reservation details in at the site and wait for an email from them.
Caveat: I haven't rented a car anywhere for over a year, so current conditions may have changed things. But it takes like five minutes to put your reservation details in, and if you don't want to take the lower price for whatever reason, you can ignore the email and they'll keep looking.
Originally posted by: matt roberts
I don't wanna sound like a commercial here, but if you use Autoslash, they'll continue to look for a lower price on your rental up until a day or two before your trip. Once when I was renting a car in Florida, the initial price (six months before the trip) was around $400, but Autoslash ended up finding lower prices two or three times and I ended up paying less than $100. You can use the service whether you rent through them or not. Just load your reservation details in at the site and wait for an email from them.
Caveat: I haven't rented a car anywhere for over a year, so current conditions may have changed things. But it takes like five minutes to put your reservation details in, and if you don't want to take the lower price for whatever reason, you can ignore the email and they'll keep looking.
Matt...thanks for the Autoslash information. I did not know about this company. I have set my details with them and looking forward to some results.....fingers crossed
Keep safe
Terry
coupons and promo codes are the key...but this year is definitely going to be tough due to the conditions Boilerman mentioned.
I bit the bullet and got an intermediate car in New Mexico for 5 days for $250 including all taxes and fees. I thought that was a ripoff....but now I see the same car going for over $120 more....so I booked it just in time.
When it comes to Vegas this might be the year where I finally opt for a bus pass instead of a rental car. Hopefully the rental companies will get more inventory by year end - but considering the chip shortage right now it looks like auto manufacturing is suffering to make enough cars.
Originally posted by: PJ Stroh
coupons and promo codes are the key...but this year is definitely going to be tough due to the conditions Boilerman mentioned.
I bit the bullet and got an intermediate car in New Mexico for 5 days for $250 including all taxes and fees. I thought that was a ripoff....but now I see the same car going for over $120 more....so I booked it just in time.
When it comes to Vegas this might be the year where I finally opt for a bus pass instead of a rental car. Hopefully the rental companies will get more inventory by year end - but considering the chip shortage right now it looks like auto manufacturing is suffering to make enough cars.
Hey PJ. I'm guessing that you're not a Costco member, but you might consider going to their site and checking out rental car prices (you don't need to be a member to check their prices). If you're renting a couple of times this year, it'll likely save you money even after you pay the $60 membership fee. I just pulled up a random week in May for Vegas and you can get a full size car for $52 total per day . I'm more used to $20-$25 total, but today's a different market.
Matt Roberts.....followed up on your advice and have rented a car via Autoslash.
It is with Thrifty and is 4 days at $280.00
As I am picking it up on a Tuesday at 11:30 am and is for 4 days I am hoping I don't have too long of a wait in any line...
Thanks for the advice
Keep safe
Terry
