Priceline no bargain for full-size/long rental from LAX

[northTraveler]

I am an avid Priceline user and have used that service mainly for hotels and have always been pleased with the savings. I also know that there are some users who find bargains with cars too as posted on these forums. But my most recent experience is a reminder that Priceline isn't always a great deal.

I need to rent a full size car at LAX from July 18 to Aug 8 and have secure reservations elsewhere that amount to $27 a day without tax and fees and $36 all included. I have tried for two months to get a better deal on Priceline, bidding daily the past two weeks and a couple of times a week before that. At other airports I've seen full-size cars go for $13 or $14 day plus taxes/fess, so I started at the range, inching up my bids slowly, bidding in the $19-$23 range for a while, then increasing that up to $26 today, which you can see, is just fractionally less than what I already have reserved from two other major renters who don't rent through Priceline. All bids, including the last one at $26, have been rejected, and I only have tomorrow morning to bid once more.

I realize, of course, that prices are a product of supply and demand, and while demand for full-size cars appears low elsewhere, perhaps it's high relative to supply at LAX. Or maybe trying to secure a longer rental (23 days) is unlikely to net you any real savings - I did see someone rent at LAX a full-size a week earlier at $21 but for a week-long rental.

The lowest regular price on Priceline for full-size is from Alamo at $292 a week -- take 40% off and that works out to $25/day.

I hope you all have better success than I have.

[northTraveler]

Just an update. Tried again today and went up to $27, and was again rejected. At $28 my bid would cost more than the other cars I reserved. One (or two) last tries tomorrow morning.

[thereuare]

Welcome to BetterBidding!

Thanks for the post and update. Glad to see you reserved a back-up as it looks like rates have probably risen since you have done so.

PRICELINE (and HOTWIRE and the other opaque suppliers) usually work best during times of low demand... when demand, and rates, are high, there is little reason for hotels, car rental companies, airlines, etc. to offer deep discounts if they think they have a good chance at selling all/most of their inventory on their own.

Good luck on your last chance tomorrow and let us know how it goes.

Please use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases.

Have a great trip.

[northTraveler]

Bid $27 on full size and was rejected again and offered a rental for $41. No thanks. I'll go with Dollar or Thrifty with whom I have reservations.

[thereuare]

Sorry to see the PRICELINE bidding didn't work out for this one, but thanks for the data points and closing this thread, and nice that you booked a back-up when rates were lower.

Have a great trip.