Cheap Car Rental Rates -- Save Money on your next Car Rental!

Everyone is looking for cheap car rental rates, rental car discounts and car rental specials. Have you ever said, "oh, just book it... the price is no object!" ... me neither!

In this section I want to provide you with tips that will help you get the cheapest car rental rate possible!

For rental cars, you are charged per day. The car rental company will either charge you for a calendar day or a 24 hour day. There is a difference between the two that will certainly affect your rate.

Calendar day pricing is when you are charged a per day charge for each day, regardless of pick up and drop off time. For example: pick up Feb 5th at 9am and returning Feb 10th at 9am would be charged as a 6 day rental. You could return anytime on the 10th for the same fee.

Using this same example, 24 hour day pricing would only be charged as a 5 day rental. But, if you returned later than 9am on the 10th, you would be charged for the 6 days instead of 5 days. Keep this in mind when setting up your pickup and return time. Keep them the same, for the best rate possible.

Car rental pricing is like airline pricing – if you travel at off-peak times (when there is not a lot of travelling going on)or make a reservation seven or more days in advance, you often can get a cheaper car rental rate. Last minute rentals and travelling at peak times (like holidays) will generally cost you more.

Like airfare pricing – car rental prices change depending on car availability, the popularity of the location and other factors. Car rental companies adjust their pricing on a sometimes minute-by-minute basis to remain competitive with other companies.

Unless there are advertised car rental specials, there generally isn’t one set rate for a particular kind of vehicle, but rather a range of prices depending on the length and dates of your reservation, the type of vehicle you rent and the location you rent from. Even with special offers, the advertised rate usually applies to a limited supply of cars or limited locations.

When you see a great rate for the vehicle you want – RESERVE IT RIGHT AWAY – it may not be available later! Unless the vehicle has cancellation or no show policy, you can cancel at any time, without penalty.

For more information on Cancellations and No Show Policies, click here. To return back to this spot, just click your back browser button.

I suggest that you go to a booking site and check your city, dates, times and vehicle size to find which company has the cheapest rate. If you don't have to give your credit card number, book the car. Then, go to that particular company's website and see if you can get a cheaper rate on the same vehicle using a car rental discount code or a car rental special from the site.

If you find a cheaper rate, book it and then go back and cancel the reservation that you made on the booking site.

Rental car companies rent the largest portion of their car fleet during Monday-through- Friday business travel. Car prices will be higher then. So, generally speaking, the cheap car rental rates on cars are found on weekends when the demand for some types of cars isn’t as high. This works in reverse for the larger vehicles or specialty vehicles. For example, you can usually get rental car discounts on rates, on Minivans, SUV's and convertibles if you are renting Monday through Friday. These types of vehicles get more expensive on the weekends, when they are more in demand.

Check with your rental company to find out what qualifies as a weekend rental. If the rental company starts their weekend rates at noon, you’ll pay a lot more if you want to pick it up at 10am! Most weekend rates end at close of business or midnight on Mondays. Keep in mind that if the Monday is a holiday and you want to keep the vehicle until sometime on Tuesday, you will probably pay substantially more!

Most companies will tell you that the longer you keep your vehicle, the better per day price you’ll get. Keep in mind that the price per day is relative. Take this example:

If you need a car for 4 days and it costs $49 per day, that would be $196 + taxes and fees.

If you rent it for 7 days and it’s only $27.99 per day, that would be only $195.93 + taxes and fees.

Seems like a deal, doesn’t it? It appears that you can a cheap car rental rate for more days. It can seem that way, but be careful and look at your bottom line.

Let’s say that you planned on getting the optional LDW insurance ($25.99 per day) and that you also needed a car seat ($10 per day)

That would put your 4 day rental cost to $339.96 before taxes.

Your 7 day rental cost would be $447.86 before taxes!

At first it seemed like the best rate would be a 7 day rate for almost the same price as 4 days; but, as you can see, this would only be true if you were to take no optional coverages or special equipment.

For more information on Optional Coverages, click here.

For more information on Special Equipment, click here.

Need a cheap car rental rate for a monthly rental? If you need a vehicle for approximately a month, make sure to check the difference between 28 days (4 weeks) and 29-31 days. Sometimes you pay a significant amount more for those extra few days! It can work the opposite too! Sometimes a 27 day rate is higher than a 31 day rate. Check it all out!

For more information on long term rentals, click here.


Alway try to use some form of discount to get a cheap car rental rate. You would be surprised at how many organizations, companies and associations have discounts with many, if not all, rental car companies.

Often rental reservation agents are impowered to give you a generic discount if you have none of your own. Often you must ask! Check to see if there is a "special rate" or any "specials" that they can give you.

If you've got a coupon that works for your rental, use it! Every dollar counts!

More great tips on getting rental car discounts can be found under

Discount Car Rental Tips.


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