Help with long term rental in San Francisco

[ctpy22]

I've moved to San Francisco for a few months to help care for my sister and wanted to rent a car to help her out. I'm felxible on the car size, although something toward a midsize would be better than the smallest options (hatchback would be great but not sure how/if one could bid for something like that). Dates are from now (flexible on start date) to the end of April. Cheapest rate I saw (for smallest car class) through general surfing is about $150 per week. While the rates I've seen with Hotwire aren't too bad - $20 or so per day - they're for rentals at the airport (I want to rent from downtown since I'm in the city already) and also, over the course of a few months, that's just too much money for me. I was wondering if there are cheaper rates to be had by using Priceline and, if so, if anyone had any advice on how to bid for a longer term rental. I'm thinking I may have to limit the rental due to credit card insurance coverage (not sure if Amex covers a rental longer than 30 days or so) so that also might mean rebidding in the future (doing bids for a month or a few weeks at a time). Anyone ever have to do this? Any advice on what I should/could do would be most appreciated. Many thanks.

[yellowdog]

Please follow-up your previous Hotwire Philadelphia thread with whatever you ended up doing for that stay... then bump this thread and we'll have a look at the above.

Yellowdog.

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

[ctpy22]

Thanks yellowdog. I followed up on that thread - sorry about not doing it before, my mistake - and would love any advice you or anyone could provide. Thanks again!

[thereuare]

Both PRICELINE and HOTWIRE will allow you to rent from a Downtown location... have you tried entering "San Francisco (city)" on HOTWIRE and for PRICELINE selecting the "Downtown" option? Unforutnately you won't know where Downtown the rental location will be, but you will save on all the excessive airport taxes that usually come attached with airport rentals.

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

[ctpy22]

Thanks for the tip. Any advice on what's a reasonable bid for a long term rental? Does that make a difference (would they be willing to take a lower bid if the rental period is longer, does it work the other way - higher bid per day needed for longer rental, or does it not make a difference?)

[thereuare]

Usually one week is the 'breakpoint', although some rental agencies may give an additional discount if renting for 28 days or more. However, even just one day of higher than usual rates during the rental period can 'mess up' rates for the entire rental period.

What is the best rate you're able ot get thru conventional booking channels? (try using our Car Rental Checker to assist in your search)

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

[ctpy22]

The best rate I've found is around $19 per day , which with taxes and all comes out to approx. $600 for 28 days. That's for the smallest car class. I probably would need something bigger, which adds another $2-$4 per day. I think that these rates are pretty good for San Francisco but just too much for my budget over three months. I'm not sure how low Priceline might go and my expectations might be unreasonable. I've always been a fan of HOTWIRE and never tried Priceline's name your own price. Would something a lot lower be possible? And would any additional PRICELINE fees just eat up those savings?

[thereuare]

What are the dates you're currently searching for? What is the best rate you're able to find for a car class you're willing to rent?

With what company is the $19/day rate? What is your target budget?

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

[ctpy22]

Since I'm around for a few months I've played around with different dates but have been looking at the first block (first month) from 2/19 through 3/19 (28 days). The best price I've found for a compact so far is $19 per day ($570 per month plus fees/taxes for a total of $628). This was through Budget in downtown San Francisco. My target budget is around $450 (total, including fees/taxes) as above this it starts to become better to use zipcar and an occasional daily/weekend rental. Again not sure if my target is feasible on PRICELINE so haven't tried anything there yet.

Thanks for all the help. I really appreciate it.

[thereuare]

Since you have multiple date options you have a virtually unlimited number of bidding oportunities (changing the pick-up/drop-off days by one day)... why not try a few lowball bids at $10-$14?

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