bidding on rental car for Las Vegas

[techman41973]

Hello, I'm new to bidding on rental cars. I'd like to try bidding on a rental car in Las Vegas for a trip in January.

I have some questions and assumptions I'd like some feedback on.

1. From what I understand Priceline is now the only site where you can bid on rental cars.

2. I a member Budget Fastbreak, Hertz Gold Plus Rewards which allows me to skip the rental counter and paperwork.
If I bid on a rental car and get assigned a car from either of these companies, can I still skip the counter and paperwork or
does bidding not allow me to access these conveninces that I get when I make a reservation on their website.

3. I understand that I should first use your price finder http://www.betterbidding.com/cartool/
to find the current market price of the vehicle I want to rent.
How much less than the current market price should I bid ?

4. From what I've read I should focus on bidding on smaller cars since rental car lots have plenty of these models.
Can I successfully bid on a standard or midsize? Or stick with compact, subcompact and intermediate?

5. Is it true that once I win my bid I can't change or cancel the reservation (Piceline)?

6. Is it true that I can only bid once every 24-hours?

7. I only want to bid for a car that I pick up at the airport, not a nearby local branch. Can I limit my bidding to an airport rental center?

8. Any other tips would be greatly appreciated.

[thereuare]

Welcome to BetterBidding!

Please start by reading your messages.

1. From what I understand Priceline is now the only site where you can bid on rental cars.

Yes.

2. I a member Budget Fastbreak, Hertz Gold Plus Rewards which allows me to skip the rental counter and paperwork.

If I bid on a rental car and get assigned a car from either of these companies, can I still skip the counter and paperwork or

does bidding not allow me to access these conveninces that I get when I make a reservation on their website.

Usually you can't skip the counter... but once you win a rental you can call the rental company to see if they can add your loyalty card number to the reservation and/or when you arrive you can first go to the kiosk to see if you're able to pull up your reservation.

3. I understand that I should first use your price finder http://www.betterbidding.com/cartool/

to find the current market price of the vehicle I want to rent.

How much less than the current market price should I bid ?

Let us know the actual dates of your rental and which class(es) of car you'd like to try for and we'll suggest some ballpark numbers.

4. From what I've read I should focus on bidding on smaller cars since rental car lots have plenty of these models.

Can I successfully bid on a standard or midsize? Or stick with compact, subcompact and intermediate?

Deals on standard and midsize vehicles can still be had (but depending upon demand may not be as deeply discounted or as easily available)... it's more of the specialty vehicles like minivans and luxury that make it much more difficult.

6. Is it true that I can only bid once every 24-hours?

Yes, per car class... so you could bid on intermediate, fullsize, economy, compact, etc. all within the same 24 hours, but you can't make two bids on a compact car within the same 24 hour period.

7. I only want to bid for a car that I pick up at the airport, not a nearby local branch. Can I limit my bidding to an airport rental center?

Yes you can restrict to airport locations, but if you're not aware, all airport rentals from Vegas require a shuttle bus to the centralized rental center (all the rental companies are in the same building which require a shuttle)

8. Any other tips would be greatly appreciated.

If you're ready to bid now, let us know the dates, car class, etc. and we'll take it from there. Also, using our Car Rental Rate Checker what is the best rate (both daily rate and all-in rate) you're able to find for your dates?

Thanks for using the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board.