BUF July 22-26, 2009

[beemoo]

Hi,

My family of five (3 carseats) will travel to Buffalo July 22-26 . We need a Premium, Luxury, or Minivan. The best rates found with the betterbidding cartool are $74(premium), $79(lux), & $84(m-van). I'm not sure where to begin bidding on PRICELINE. Any suggestions? TIA!

[thereuare]

Welcome to BetterBidding!

How much of a discount vs. conventional rates would you need to lock-in a non-refundable rental? Will you be traveling with car seats or do you intend to obtain them thru the rental company?

Please use these PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links to begin your travel purchases.

[beemoo]

We will have the car seats with us. As for the discount, I can get a "premium" car through our insurance company for about $63/ day, so I wouldn't pay more than that.

Do you have any strategy tips? I have one other experience with PL car rentals before I found your site. I thought my bid was "aggressive" at 50% off the rates published by the car rental agencies, but PL accepted my first bid. I now feel I could have been more aggressive, and I don't want to make the same mistake twice.

Thank you for any advice you can give. I've read MANY of the other posts about car rentals, but I just need advice for a starting place, as the rates seem higher for these dates/ location than many of the others I've read.

[thereuare]

One more quick question... will you be staying near the airport at all, or once you arrive you'll be driving a "good distance" away from this location?

Would you drive an SUV?

Please use these PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links to begin your travel purchases.

[beemoo]

The farthest we will stay is Niagara Falls (about 30 min), but we will be driving around a lot. And yes, I think we should fit in an SUV.

[thereuare]

If it saved money would you consider renting a car for one day, returning it to the airport, then renting a new vehicle for the balance of your stay?

Renting from noon 7/23-7/26 gives you a weekend rate which HOTWIRE is offering an SUV for $45/nite or $166 all-in for the 3 days... then you'll need to 'fill-in' the extra day. Would this be worthwhile, or too much trouble with three kids and carseats?

Please use these PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links to begin your travel purchases.

[beemoo]

Wow! I never would have thought to do that. While I would certainly do anything for a bargain, my hubby will not. He'd rather pay retail than move car-seats! (Yikes! He has other redeeming qualities.)

So, might it be possible that I could get an SUV on PL for a little less than $45? I am going to try some lower bids now, since I have time. I'll use your PRICELINE links and I'll post if I have any luck.

[thereuare]

There's no harm in trying, but you can't really base your rate on the $45/day since that is not applicable to your rental period... only a subset of your dates.

But give it a shot and let us know how it goes.

Thanks for using our PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links.

Good luck.

[beemoo]

Just an update - we ended up renting a 15 passenger van with my brother directly through a rental company. Thank you for all of your help and I will certainly click through your links in the future!