esquire415 Posted October 13, 2007 Report Share Posted October 13, 2007 I would like to rent a car in NYC. I'd like to pick up the car offsite in Manhattan and then return the car to JFK. I believe this is not possible with Hotwire and it will cost more if I do this with Priceline. I got quoted $22.95/day total (JFK) but then Hotwire's prices keep jumping in real time as if it has a mind of its own that if you take too long, the price goes up in $1 increments. You actually get a pop-up that prices has gone up. Has anyone had this experience? Anyway, the cheapest total for 8 days is $227. How should I bid in Priceline? Should I go 20% below the Hotwire price? I do not want to go too low since it may get rejected and I wanted to make the reservation sooner than later (72 hours wait). Thanks. Link to comment
thereuare Posted October 14, 2007 Report Share Posted October 14, 2007 Welcome to BetterBidding!Are you sure the option(s) you're seeing on priceline and HOTWIRE are for one way rentals from Manhattan to JFK? I'm unable to search either site for a one-way rental for this route. Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases Link to comment
esquire415 Posted October 14, 2007 Author Report Share Posted October 14, 2007 Thank you for your reply. Like i said, Hotwire does not offer one-way rentals, if you picked it up in JFK, you have to return it to JFK. I'm not sure if this is true with Priceline. The rate I got with Hotwire is for a pickup and return to JFK. Also, I forgot to mention that the rate quoted was for an economy car. I read that one seldom get an AC and stereo/CD player with an economy is this true? I've never heard of a rental without these items but I certainly hope that they are included in the rate. I'd like to make a bid tonight at about 20% below Hotwire's lowest rate per day. Is this too low or just right? The total for Hotwire with tax and fees is $227 ($22.95/day)The total for Priceline bid with tax and fee is $193 ($18/day)As you can see above, the total rate for Priceline is not actually 20% below Hotwire's rate. It's actually less (15%). Obviously, Priceline has higher fees. Should I go ahead with this? Link to comment
thereuare Posted October 14, 2007 Report Share Posted October 14, 2007 I'm confused... are you willing to do a roundtrip rental from JFK, or do you actually need to pick up this car in Manhattan?Exactly what are your plans in this area, as i may have other suggestion(s) for you depending upon your needs for the car. Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases Link to comment
esquire415 Posted October 14, 2007 Author Report Share Posted October 14, 2007 It would be more convenient to pick up the car in Manhattan since i will be going to Philly once i pick it up and leave the car in JFK for my return flight. However i don't think that's possible with Hotwire or Priceline so I'm willing to do a rt rental from JFK, oh and since i'm staying in Brooklyn anyway. Link to comment
thereuare Posted October 15, 2007 Report Share Posted October 15, 2007 Before bidding...Do you need the car once you're in Philadelphia and how many are you traveling by yourself or with other passenger(s)? Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases Link to comment
esquire415 Posted October 15, 2007 Author Report Share Posted October 15, 2007 I'll just be driving by myself that's why i opted for an economy car and like I said I'm just going to pickup and return the car to JFK. I will be using the car to drive to Philly and parts of NewEngland for 8 days. Link to comment
thereuare Posted October 15, 2007 Report Share Posted October 15, 2007 So you're actually driving from JFK-->Philadelphia-->New England-->JFK? (if so the other sugestion i was going to make won't work)HOTWIRE is showing cheaper rates from EWR, is that an option for you as well? Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases Link to comment
esquire415 Posted October 15, 2007 Author Report Share Posted October 15, 2007 Yup, that is correct. I already have my flights booked to JFK. That's how one should do it anyway before renting a car. So EWR is not an option, even if it's possible to pick up from there, i'm staying in Brooklyn, so it's more convenient to commute going to JFK than to EWR. Anyway, all i ask is if my Priceline bid of 20% below Hotwire's rate good enough or too low...then I can make my bid. BTW, the tax, recovery charges and fees in EWR are higher than JFKs...Go figure.EWR $78.38 tax charges and fees ($19.95/day)JFK $43.71 tax charges and fees ($23.95/day) Link to comment
thereuare Posted October 15, 2007 Report Share Posted October 15, 2007 I would probably start about $17... but if you're in a hurry you can try a few dollars higher.Good Luck. Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases Link to comment
esquire415 Posted October 15, 2007 Author Report Share Posted October 15, 2007 Thanks! Link to comment
esquire415 Posted October 15, 2007 Author Report Share Posted October 15, 2007 BTW, according to this other site (external-link)Be aware that subcompact or "economy" cars seldom come with radios and CD players. If these are features you want, bid on a compact-size car. Usually, you'll find very little difference in price.Anybody had the experience on an economy car only to find out that the car the offered doesn't have a radio/CD player or maybe not even an automatic transmission? I called a few companies and only Budget said that they cannot guarantee a radio/cd player because some cars don't have it some don't. And i bellieve there is no difference in price. Anyway, I guess if I am going to do a multiple bid, I should bid @ $17/day for a compact size car and if that gets rejected I can change the car size down to economy or bring up the price to $18/day for a bigger car. Link to comment
esquire415 Posted October 16, 2007 Author Report Share Posted October 16, 2007 Ok I made the bid. I made different permutations. I wanted to pick up the car at an earlier time but return it 2 hours before my return flight which is 6:40pm. Priceline would actually give you the chance to make another higher bid if the first bid was rejected.1st Scenario: Compact car, 3pm pick up - 4pm return (they indicated this as 9 days although in parentheses it says 8days 1hr)1st Bid: $17 (rejected)2nd Bid: $18 (rejected)So Priceline asked me to make changes, although I made the change on the size of the car, it only lets me choose LGA for my pick-up/return. I wouldn't want to choose anything other than JFK. So I closed everything, brought IE up again and re-entered all my data and info. 2nd Scenario: Economy 3pm pick up - 4pm return (9 days <8 days + 1hr>)1st Bid: $17 (rejected)2nd Bid: $18 (rejected)Ok so I restarted everything again. And redid what I did, re-entering my info and criteria for the rental. First I checked how much would the total cost for an 8 day rental with $17, $18, and $19 bids. They cost $183, $193, and $202 respectively. I thought I should just get over with it and start my bid at $18 and I'm running out of permutations.1st Bid: $18 (ACCEPTED!)Woh! I wasn't expecting that....maybe I should have taken your advice and went for $17 since they would give me one more chance to up my bid. Nevertheless, I'm happy with my purchase since it's only a $10 difference. Link to comment
esquire415 Posted October 16, 2007 Author Report Share Posted October 16, 2007 I forgot to include the scenario for my accepted bid:3rd Scenario: Economy 4:30pm pick up - 4:30pm return (8 days)1st Bid: $18 (ACCEPTED!)Total $193.60 Link to comment
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