Long Term Car RentalsTimeframes for long term car rentals can vary by company. A long term rental period is one that is usually 4 weeks or more. Some car rental companies have a shorter minimum time to qualify for a monthly rate and some require a longer minimum rental to get a monthly or long term rate on a rental car. Although longer rentals are not the norm, there are some situations where it makes sense. You may have been relocated with your job or are on an extended vacation or a lengthy trip. Long term car rentals can be available to meet those specific needs.
I checked with 8 of the largest car rental company’s websites and have listed below the availability (or not) and information about monthly car rentals for each.
Alamo Car RentalsAccording to their website, Alamo only allows a maximum rental length of 28 days. If you wanted a vehicle for a longer rental, you would be required to reserve the vehicles on separate reservations and return at the end of each 28 day period to close out your contract and start a new contract and a new rental. Avis Long Term Car RentalsAvis allows rentals for a rental period of 60 days or more, to a maximum of 11 months total. This type of rental is available for online booking and you do not have to return the vehicle at the end of each month to renew your contract. All rental agreements (one for each month) are filled out at the beginning of the rental and the charges are automatically billed each month. Avis does have a note that on a monthly car rental, the vehicle must be serviced every 75,000 miles. Pricing A 60 day + rental averages about $25 per month cheaper than if you rented for a one or two month period, but less than 60 days. I also noticed with Avis that there is a savings to rent for 28 - 31 days as opposed to a 27 day rental. When I was checking prices a 27 day base rental rate was almost $100 more than a 28 – 31 day base rental rate. (Keep in mind that you would need to check and figure if the cost of optional coverages and equipment, if taken for the extra 1 to 4 days, would outweigh the savings on the base rate.)
Budget Long Term Car RentalsBudget allows rentals for a rental period of 30 days or more, to a maximum of 11 months total. This type of rental is available for online booking and you do not have to return the vehicle at the end of each month to renew your contract. All rental agreements (one for each month) are filled out at the beginning of the rental and the charges are automatically billed each month. Pricing With Budget the pricing for a 27 -29 day rental was about $25 cheaper than a monthly rate (for 30 -31 days).
Dollar Car RentalsAccording to their website, Dollar only allows a maximum rental length of 28 days. If you wanted a vehicle for a longer, you would be required to reserve the vehicles on separate reservations and return at the end of each 28 day period to close out your contract and start a new contract and a new rental. Enterprise Long Term Car RentalsEnterprise offers rental rates for a rental of 30 + days to a maximum of 11 months. Rentals of this length are not available to price or book online. You must call a special number which is provided on their website.
Hertz Long Term Car RentalsHertz offers rentals for a rental of 28 + days. These rentals are available to book online, but I was not able to find any information about specific terms and conditions and/or restrictions on the Hertz website. Pricing The base rate for a 28 – 31 day rental is the same. It is considered a monthly rate. With Hertz I did notice that the price for a 27 day rental was about $445 more expensive that the rate for a month!!! (I don't know if that was a unique situation based on the city and dates that I used, but I thought it was worth mentioning!)
National Long Term RentalsNational offers rentals for a rental of 28 + days. These rentals are available to book online, but I was not able to find any information about specific terms and conditions and/or restrictions on the National website. Pricing For National the base price of a 27 – 28 day rental was the same. A monthly base rate (for a rental of 29 – 31 days) was about $60 higher.
Thrifty Car RentalsAccording to their website, Thrifty only allows a maximum rental length of 28 days. If you wanted a longer rental, you would be required to reserve the vehicles on separate reservations and return at the end of each 28 day period to close out your contract and start a new contract and a new rental. As with any car rental, the renter and all additional drivers must meet all drivers’ license, age and credit card requirements.
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