LAX Los Angeles Midsize Avis

[alins]

Hello,

I'm new here so any help will be much appreciated.

I would like to rent a car at LAX, for Dec. 12-18. Using HOTWIRE I get a rate of about $138 for a mid-size which I think is

pretty good.

My first question is, can I do any better (and rent from a major rental company, not Fox or Deluxe or others)?

My second question is, do HOTWIRE and PRICELINE use only major rental companies such as Hertz, Budget, Enterprise, ...? At LAX we have Fox, Deluxe, and others, but I haven't read good reviews of them.

Thanks very much!

Paul

[Colfax]

Welcome to BetterBidding, alins.

My second question is, do HOTWIRE and PRICELINE use only major rental companies such as Hertz, Budget, Enterprise, ...? At LAX we have Fox, Deluxe, and others, but I haven't read good reviews of them.

Priceline only books the following companies for "Name Your Own Price" car rentals:

Avis, Hertz, Alamo, National, Budget.

Hotwire books those five companies plus Enterprise.

My first question is, can I do any better (and rent from a major rental company, not Fox or Deluxe or others)?

Usually but not always, Priceline will beat Hotwire on car rentals, and beat conventional rates. You'll need to check rates from the major companies yourself, so you'll know what rate your trying to beat on Priceline or Hotwire. What is Hotwire's daily rate (not the $138 total price) for the car you want? Based on that we can suggest a Priceline bid.

[alins]

Thanks very much for the information!

Hotwire's daily rate for a mid-size or compact is $14.95. I don't need a mid-size and will be happy with a compact.

Will a $13.00 bid for mid-size or $12.00 for compact on priceline be too low? Can I do $12.00 for mid-size?

Paul

[Colfax]

Before you do any bidding have you checked conventional rates for your dates? What's the lowest conventional rate you find from an acceptable company? You can survey rates on Orbitz or Expedia or use BetterBidding's Car Rental Checker. Also check some of the rental company's own websites for "Last Minute Specials" that might not appear on booking sites like Orbitz.

If you find conventional rates are all more than Hotwire's $14.95 rate then I suggest bidding $11 on Priceline---first for a midsize, then for a compact. If $11 is rejected then wait 24 hours and try $12. Priceline will usually beat Hotwire. If you're willling to spend several days on this you could start even lower, maybe at $9, and work up in $1 increments per day.

Good luck and please let us know how it goes.

Please start your bids at this PRICELINE link.

[alins]

Thank you. Conventional rates on Orbitz, Expedia, etc, are higher. The strategy you suggest is very good and I will follow it. Once again my sincere thanks!

Paul

[alins]

Well, I bid $12 for a mid-size via the PRICELINE link above just now and got it:

Priceline

7-days: Dec 12 - Dec 18

mid-size car

Avis

$12 a day for $127.25 total

I guess I could have done better by $1 a day and will try to do so next time around, but for now I'm happy.

Thank you!

Paul

[thereuare]

Congratulations on your win!

Glad to see you're happy with the results.

Thank you for sharing your purchase with the board and using our PRICELINE link to begin your bidding.

Enjoy your stay.