What's the cheapest (cost effective) rental car company?

[AlGore-08.com]

Hi Lounge Lizards one and all! :hi:

I'm traveling on business in a couple weeks and I need to get a rental car at my destination. What's the cheapest - - and by that I mean most cost effective - - rental company? Obviously I won't know exactly how much gasoline I will use during the trip, but I do want to know exactly how much I'm going to pay for mileage, and what the other fees are up front?

And I don't care if the car is small or ugly - - I'm looking for cheap!

Thanks for your help!

[Shoeempress]

1. I find enterprise to be inexpensive, but are rarely at the Airport.

Surf the web and compare, the various companies may have specials.

[GOPisEvil]

2. Alamo offers free mileage.

I've had good luck with them in the past. National has been pretty good for me too.

[Skink]

3. You're guarenteed to spend 3 times as much on gas.

But stay away from Enterprise. Unless 500 dollar a week rentals are your thing.

[democracyindanger]

4. If you have Amex

see if they have any deals. And be sure to fill the tank up just before you drop it off.

[jedr]

5. I use National (Alamo) but;

go to expedia or travelosity etc. will let you compare.

[trotsky]

6. Thrifty.

Consistently the best pricing in the various cities I have visited.

[Der Blaue Engel]

7. I use Priceline and bid ridiculously low

on the really nice cars, raising my bid a bit each time I'm declined and lowering the class of the car until I get to economy class...works every time. (And it almost always turns out to be Alamo.)

[gmoney]

8. I did pretty well on Priceline

Rented a car in Tampa for a week for about $140 from Avis. Let them refill the tank (their formerly outrageous gas rates now seem quite reasonable -- $2.25 a gallon) and it was very smooth. The car even had XM built in so I could listen to Air America. The only downside was that I left my Afghan Whigs CD in the CD player, so if you end up with that same car, mail the disc back to me please.

I guess if possible, minimize the number of days, because they go by 24-hour periods, so look at turning it in a couple hours early, or even shaving off days you won't be using it. (I could probably have gotten away with a 3-day rental, but it was a pretty good deal at the weekly rate.)

Also, check your credit card statement stuffers or google "rental car discount codes" and some of the coupons can actually save you a pretty good amount of money.

When I say I rented on Priceline, I did go with a published rate, not that "make an offer" thing, but who knows? Maybe if you find a published rate, knock off 20% and make an offer, you might get lucky.

Also, check with your insurance company to be sure you're covered in a rental, so you can confidently turn down their supplemental insurance. Also, check with your credit card company because they may include supplemental insurance as a perk if you have a "Gold or Platinum" card.

[Midlodemocrat]

9. Check out expedia.com

they will give you a good idea of the costs of each car company.

Also, sometimes the airlines have coupons.

[Jeff In Milwaukee]

10. I've used Alamo in the past...

faily cheap and unlimited mileage.