One option is to try and rent a car through a local car dealer. But what if you tried all of the above and you’re still stuck with no car? Some car dealers rent vehicles to the general public. So far, we’ve walked through some of the easy solutions.
#ZIPCAR PHOENIX HOW TO#
Related: How to never pay full price for a rental car Try a local car dealership Assuming the transportation from the airport to the off-airport location doesn’t set you back too much, you’ll likely save some money this way. If you are having trouble finding affordable or available cars at the airport location, check other nearby locations in that town.Īlthough these storefronts often have more limited hours, they also often have lower fees. While airport locations are popular and convenient, they may sell out of cars faster than off-airport locations. Get off the plane, take a quick shuttle and - voila - you’re at the rental counter. Check for off-airport locations (Photo by Barry Barnes/Shutterstock)īooking a rental car for pick-up at an airport location is usually the easiest solution. While rental car elite status doesn’t guarantee you a car if vehicle inventory is depleted at the time of your scheduled pick-up, but it can help - especially if the cars that are available are the ones set aside in a preferred area for elite members. There also are certain credit cards that confer automatic elite status with rental car programs. (Screenshot from AutoSlash) Use your car rental membership statusĮven before the current car rental shortage, one of the perks of being part of a car rental membership program is saving time by avoiding the pick-up line at some of the more popular rental locations.Įven better, you don’t need to have elite status to be able to skip the rental car counter and select among the available cars in your eligible aisle with certain programs, including Alamo Insiders and Budget Fastbreak. It also is a good idea to call the rental car company before you arrive and double-check on the status of your reservation.
You can also lock in your rate before it rises - and you can often rebook without penalty if rates drop.įamiliarize yourself with AutoSlash, which allows you to track and monitor your reservation for a price drop and will automatically rebook you at the lower rate. Having an advance reservation will almost certainly increase your likelihood of driving away with a car compared to walk-up customers. Book earlyįirst of all, book your car rental as far in advance as possible. Their challenges were exacerbated by a global supply chain shortage of key car parts, including microchips, that slowed new car production overall.Īs rental car companies work to address their inventory issues, here are some things you can do to increase the odds you’ll have something to drive the next time you need to rent a car. When travel abruptly halted at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, many rental car companies were forced to sell large portions of their fleets and stop ordering vehicles when demand dropped as much as 90% in the earliest days of the pandemic.Īs travel slowly began rebounding, rental car companies struggled to keep up with the pace. To start, let’s back up a bit and remind ourselves how we got to this point.
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