Even though I have traveled a lot, I have had few experiences with car rentals. Typically when I travel it seems that I am using public transportation. For a recent trip to Walt Disney World with my wife, we were committed to using the public transportation provided by the City of Kissimmee and Walt Disney World itself. (Disney World’s public transportation system is the third-largest in all of Florida, by the way.) The hotel we booked had a LYNX stop directly in front of the property. It seemed affordable and easy to navigate. We decided to spend the little bit extra money, though, on a car rental for a couple of reasons. First, the LYNX only runs until around 11:00pm. We knew we would be having fun in the Disney theme parks after that and would be forced to take cabs back to the hotel. A cab each time would be about $28 - $30. Second, our return flight to Indianapolis was scheduled for a 5:30-ish takeoff. The LYNX system was not going to get us to the airport at the appropriate time. A return taxi to MCO from the ‘Maingate’ Kissimmee area costs slight above $60. That’s a big chunk of money. Doing the math, it seemed to me that by renting a car we would spend between $35 and $40 more for the car in total than we would trying to use the LYNX system and cabs. Forty bucks equals convenience, comfort and autonomy. Worth it.
A quick aside, when you are pricing a car rental versus public transportation, keep in mind all the costs associated with renting a car. How many miles are you going to drive? What is the MPG of the car you’ll be renting? What’s the market price of fuel? Are you going to be parking anywhere where a cost to park will be involved? The cost of the rental per day is only the beginning. Parking at Disney World is $14 per day. It can add up.
I began searching for cars in the usual places. I decided my ‘ceiling’ was going to be about $15 per day plus taxes and fees. Most of the rates I had noticed on the internet were around $19, so I assumed I could score a car at $15 somewhere. I learned I was wrong. I spent about a week searching and bidding to no avail. I even increased my ceiling to $17, but again, I was unsuccessful. I finally conceded that I wasn’t going to get the deal I wanted. I visited Expedia and lo and behold they had a ‘Special’ car rate at $15.01 per day. That was a penny above my original ceiling, but I still felt comfortable with it.
The Special Expedia rate was a promotional offer with which I was not familiar. Like I said, I don’t rent cars that often. The downside of the Special rate (but not a surprise), is that the provider and car itself are a mystery until you agree to the deal. It was only my wife and I, with a rollaboard each, so we could have rented a British MG and there would have been more than enough room for all we had. The Special was promised as a car that would seat 4-5 adults and hold four pieces of luggage. We bit.
Thrifty was the provider. I assume that Expedia is basically charging a smaller rate than Priceline to run a $15 car rental on their site in what is essentially the same style of product offering as Priceline/Hotwire (hidden prodcut; low price).
When my wife and I arrived at MCO we still were not sure vehicle we would be driving. I was hoping for something small because my financial calculations accounted for a vehicle with a high MPG. I asked at the car rental counter what type of vehicle we would be receiving. The counter worker wasn’t sure what was available in the Special area. We walked to the parking garage and were directed down a long line of cars where at the end the Special cars were parked. When we got there we saw a whole bunch of Crown Vics. Which is a fun car for those under Medicare Part D, but the ages of my wife and I collectively wouldn’t qualify us for being of a mind to want to drive a boat around Disney World. Alas, though, hidden between several cars too long for a typical parking space was one Chevy Cobalt! It was black which is always fun in the Florida sun. Still, better than driving around a grandkids-mobile.
The car didn’t seem to score all the high on the MPG mark to me. We used more fuel than I calculated without driving any more miles than I calculated. This also was a bummer because the car wasn’t prepped with a full tank of gas (something noticed after we drove the car away). And I had to air up one of the tires as it was going flat. The car was also a little stinky, but I think that was just from roasting in the sun.
Overall, the car rental experience from Thrifty via Expedia’s Special rate was positive. And I learned that if Priceline and Hotwire are not showing you what you need for a car rental, keep in mind the Expedia might.
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