The Pros And Cons To Rent A Car

We are heading to San Diego next month, and considering flying instead of making the six-hour drive down to Carlsbad. Flying in dirt cheap with plentiful options non-stop from Las Vegas, so it seems like it might be a better option for that long weekend than driving ourselves. We just need to rent a car.

I’m not at all sure, however, that it is either more convenient or cheaper.

Basically…

Pros To Renting A Car

• Flying will take less time to get to/from the destination
• Most car rental places are right at the airport
• You’ll still have independence to go where you want
• Not reliant on public or private transportation
• You can try out a new kind of car for when you are next in the market

Cons to renting a car

• You’re reliant on foot power or public transportation
• You have to ask your hosts for rides everywhere
• You bear the risk if something happens to the car
• There are a lot of extra fees
• The extra time at both ends at the airport to get/return the car
• You probably have to pay for parking at the hotel or around town
• You have to find a filling station near the airport

The Bottom Line: It Depends

I hope you weren’t looking forward to a final and definitive answer to this question, because I don’t have one. 

Sometimes, there isn’t even a neat answer at one location! For example, in Oahu, Hawaii, we do not rent a car for the first few days when we are staying in Waikiki, but then do rent a car for the week we spend at Disney’s Aulani, about thirty miles out of Waikiki. 

So your decision—even our decision for San Diego next month—will be based on a number of factors that you will need to weigh out for every different destination you are traveling to.

Where Are You Going?

We visit Chicago a few times a year to visit Sweet Stevie and his wife. When we stay in the city, we don’t rent a car, because we can walk or mass transit to everything we want to do, and they can pick us up if we are going to their apartment or out of town. It isn’t the most convenient thing for them or us, but with parking $50 a day for a car we would barely use, is just a little too much when tacked onto an already high rental car market. For those trips, we instead utilize mass transit, or Uber/Lyft, when they aren’t going to pick us up right from the hotel. 

However, I would never travel back east to visit people without our own rental car. Renting a car in Philadelphia airport is not extremely expensive, and from there we will be driving up and down the eastern seaboard. There is no way we could do it without a car. Sometimes this decision does add on additional fees—when staying one night in New York City, for example we will have to pay a premium for parking. 

What Are Your Touring Plans?

What you really need to look at when deciding whether or not to rent a car is a realistic itinerary for the trip, and an honest look at where you are going. 

If all you really need is to get from the airport to a location in the city and then back to the airport, there is absolutely no way it is cheaper and more convenient for you to rent a car—just do Uber/Lyft to and from the airport and call it a day.  

But, what if you are planning to visit different parts of the city, maybe head out into the suburbs, and even to another town completely. It’s almost definite that you will need your own transportation for all of that to be done conveniently. It will, quite probably, be less expensive in the long run, as well, to rent a car in that scenario.

How Available Are Cars In The Area?

This kinda, sorta sounds ridiculous, right? What airport would possibly run out of rental cars? Are you kidding, Pat?

Not kidding. Happened to us. Multiple times.

Rental car companies running out of cars has happened to us in two extremely popular places in America: Orlando and Oahu. So, yeah, it happens.

In Orlando, they were pulling cars up as fast as they could from the car wash station, and putting people into them still wet. We were in a very long line waiting for a car, partially because we were waiting for a minivan. Getting a minivan in Orlando can be a bit of a crapshoot, since so many people travel with family, and look for the roomiest option for their rental car. If you do rent a car in Orlando, I recommend you pack your patience, because despite the convenience of having many companies right on the airport site, the service in my decades of experience has been less than stellar. Much less.

It also happened to us in Oahu, Hawaii, by the airport. For this trip, the problem again was waiting for a minivan. However, I had a lot more patience at this location…we were on an ISLAND! None of the car rental locations are on site at the Waikiki airport, so we had to take a shuttle to a very small rental car location. Where we sat. And sat. For several hours until it was our turn to get the next minivan.

Note to self…and you: Can we avoid renting minivans, please?

How About For Part Of The Time?

I mentioned that we are renting a car—yeah, Boo Boo, it’s another minivan—this year in Hawaii for part of our trip. This might be an excellent solution for you to avoid the extra payments for days you won’t need your own transportation. In order to make this work, you need to structure your itinerary around when you will and won’t have a car. For example, on those three Waikiki days, we will be walking or using the bus, and not doing any activities outside of the tourist area. Once we rent the car, we will be heading to the different parts of the island on our own.

This “part time” plan works very well in major cities, where you can easily reserve excursions with private companies that include motorcoach service or even walking tours. Consider some of those in lieu of renting a car, and you might find them reasonably priced and very interesting. 

Getting The Best Deal

You know I’m always…always…looking for a deal, and rental cars is absolutely no different than any other part of my vacation. Here are the steps I take before I push the “reserve” button.

• Their website – I always start on the websites of the individual rental car companies I am comfortable with, and see what types of prices I’m looking at. As usual, I join all of their membership clubs, and hope that will help me get a better price.
• Travel sites – Then, I always use the major travel sites, like travelocity.com, to see what prices I am getting there. Honestly, there is rarely a big difference between the two, and of those choices, I’d stick with the dealer website.
• Specialty sites – You just might be able to find some websites with deals in certain locations, and this could be worth the effort
  • Area specific – Orlando, for example, has several major sites that consolidate all of the offers currently available for you to see, and often include special discount codes of their own. Try mousesavers.com and allears.net if you are traveling to Orlando for business or pleasure.
  • Priceline/Hotwire – Both of these websites offer some good deals, and particularly their bidding section might work out perfectly for you, particularly if you need a rental car within the next week. I have found, however, that their best deals are for non-national, smaller, regional rental car companies that are almost never located at the airport. Be careful with these sites.
• Costcotravel.com – Here we are, at the granddaddy of sites for excellent deals of rental cars. You need to have a Costco account to access these prices, but I’ve saved so much money over the years on rental cars it is ridiculous. I’m talking about saving at least $300 for the week in Hawaii this year. That is more than worth the yearly cost for the membership. Go, join now…I’ll wait.

Comparison With Uber/Lyft

With the prevalence of Uber/Lyft everywhere—we used them extensively in Barcelona and London this past summer—you won’t have any trouble skipping the car for part or all of your trip. While doing this every day might end up costing you much more than the rental car, an occasional trip with Uber or Lyft will be relatively reasonable if it helps you avoid the entire rental car experience. 

Both websites have “fare estimators”, but be careful because neither estimator takes “surge pricing” into consideration. For example, I’ve taken a car from Orlando airport to Disney World tons of times, and the price has varied from $35 to almost $100 due to demand. 

This method of moving around your destination would be the least possible to budget for, but might work out if you need it once or twice.

So…What Are We Doing Next Month?

After all this discussion, Pat, what are you doing next month in San Diego?

I don’t know, honestly. 

Maybe I should make a decision. Any suggestions, friends?

THANK YOU FOR READING THIS FAR!!!

Thank you for reading all about how to rent a car!

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