Cash is king and when you are searching for the cheapest car rental, keeping most of your cash in your pocket is forefront on your mind. Car rental agencies are fighting tooth and nail for your business. And not just your current business, but they want to entice you to look to them for future rentals as well. By spending a few minutes comparing the prices between different car rental companies, you’ll come across a price you can live with. There’s no need to put all your eggs in one basket, so listen closely to how to snag a bargain car rental.

A smart option is to use “name your own price” websites like Priceline and Hotwire. They do the work for you. With the site Priceline you’ll have a couple of options for finding the cheapest car rental rate. The first choice is to enter they size of the vehicle you want and where you will be picking the car up from. The site will match your needs with
available offers. Option number two is to tell the system what you’d like to pay for your rental car. In essence you make an offer and wait to see if it is accepted.

Hotwire is just as simple and easy to use. It allows you a certain level of flexibility. You’ll get several options all ranging in price, terms and conditions. The thing with Hotwire is that you won’t know the name of the car rental agency you’ll be renting from until after you’ve paid for it. Make no mistake about it, getting the cheapest car rental rate
is about taking the road less traveled, so give these two options a try to see which one gives you the most bang for you buck.

The city Orlando, Florida, is one of the United States’ foremost tourist destinations with attractions ranging from the Walt Disney World Resort to SeaWorld to the Universal Orlando Resort as well as various smaller tourist attractions. There is quite literally, something for everyone.

Boasting a major public commercial service airport in the form of Orlando International Airport, the city sees an average of 52 million tourists a year! This means two things: one, there are plenty of car rental services available for the visiting tourist, with a range of competing prices; two, those services are likely to be booked up well in advance of your scheduled visit.

With the sheer volume of tourists coming into the city at any given time, the likelihood of a rental car being available for anything other than an exorbitant price is slim to none. Therefore, it is best to follow several basic guidelines for getting the best price and service out of your Orlando car rental.

First, familiarize yourself with what’s to be had, service-wise, from the various car rental services such as Thrifty, Alamo, and Budget. Compare their prices for individual services…what types of cars are available for rent? How much does it cost to rent for a day? A week? Can you pick the car up at the airport? How far are they booked in advance?

This last bit is especially important. Bear in mind that car rental services, like airlines, usually book well in advance and it’s first come, first serve. The longer you wait, the closer it gets to the time of your visit, the higher the price will be and the lower the chance that a car will be available at all!

Next, take a look for any deals or special offers.  Some car rental services offer package deals for a certain rental duration (rent for three days, get a fourth free) or for a destination (stay in the Disney hotel, get half-off your rental price). These offers are often seasonal, so you may need to time your trip accordingly to take advantage of them.

If deals aren’t your thing, a simple price comparison is just as effective. Most car rental services offer competitive prices, so finding one to suit your budget won’t be difficult. Be careful, however, as the cheaper services often are the first to become completely booked, especially during the traditional tourist season (June to August) or the holidays.

Once you’ve settled on a service, make sure you book your reservation well before your planned trip. This will give you plenty of time to deal with any upsets which occur—remember Murphy’s Law (especially relevant in regards to vacations): “anything that can go wrong, will go wrong.”  It’s best to deal with any potential problems before you’re stuck at the airport without a car.

Also, be sure to regularly check on your reservation, especially immediately prior to your trip. Last minute checks can stave off disaster for all concerned. Following these simple guidelines will ensure that you get the most out of your car rental service and that you fully enjoy your Orlando vacation!