Car rentals, and car seat rentals, in Berkeley?

Try out BabyQuip! They have delivery and you can pick out exactly what you what!

I have used Turo for an affordable rental with car seats in the past. I haven’t used it in the Bay Area (since I live here) but I’m sure there are plenty of options. It is also much more convenient to pick-up/drop-off than other rental car companies in my experience.

I have only ever had success getting simple backless booster seats from car rental agencies (FWIW, your daughter is correct about using high-backed boosters). If your daughter and her family are flying, they can check their own booster seats for free, which is what we've always done. They should check on Craigslist to see if anyone is selling used booster seat travel bags, or they could buy them for $20 a pop. A bonus of using a travel bag for your booster seat is you can sneak a few extra clothes inside it and save room in your carry-on or other checked bags. Hope you have a lovely visit with them!

Wirecutter highback booster recommendations include something similar to this $62 prime day deal https://www.amazon.com/Graco-Affix-Highback-Booster-Atomic/dp/B00AHVR7ZI. Otherwise, there are good options that retail for $60/each, which is less than what rentals go for ($8-15 daily) depending on the length of the trip. For rentals, check out https://www.babyquip.com

Turo! You can filter by cars that have car seats. 

Hi, I've use babyquip to rent pack and play / toys package while traveling. You're essentially renting from someone local. Another option is to borrow from / ask on your local Buy Nothing group, it's on Facebook and there's local groups! :)

Hi, check out Mommy‘s Trading Post in Alameda. They rent out car seats and high-back booster seats for $10 per day. 

Hello, 

Try BabyQuip.com. It's rental company for baby gear only, so no car. Enter your zip code and they'll connect you with people in the area offering rentals. They mostly provide baby gear such as strollers, car seats, high chairs, etc. 

Good luck. 

For the boosters, I’d just buy them locally if they don’t want to bring their own seats and no one has one to offer. You can get inexpensive high back boosters at Target and I can’t imagine you could rent one for less than that. Preorder for store pickup when they arrive, and if you find a free one before then, you can easily return it.

 For car rentals, they’ll get the best price booking in advance at the airport, but if they want to use a local company, there’s also Rent a Relic in Oakland. If they will only need a car occasionally, Gig can also be a good option.

We've been happy renting cars from Rent-A-Relic (on Telegraph at Hwy 24 in Oakland). The cars are mostly Toyota Corollas (basic 4-door automatic). Good prices, nice people.

I don't have a good answer about car rentals as have only rented from the airport. I've heard other people use Turo rental car (sort of like airbnb for rental cars)--you can definitely save some money, but I've also had friends with some really bad experiences (like, car reeked of cigarette smoke). So I'm not sure it's worth the cost savings if kids are involved. As for renting a car seat, I personally have had two very bad experiences renting car seats and I don't think it's a safe option--you may not get what they say you're getting, or it may be damaged, or expired. Can your daughter just bring her car seats from home? I know it's a pain to schelp on the plane, but that's what I've done ever since those bad experiences, and it works fine. Airlines will check car seats for free (I use a padded storage bag to protect from damage) but I also usually just bring it on the plane and install it on the kid's seat and they sit in it for the flight. If their current car seats are too heavy or bulky to take on the plane, there are affordable ones they can buy that are good for travel and still safe. I use the Cosco Scenera for travel but it's not a booster seat--NYT Wirecutter has an article on best travel car seats that could probably give guidance on the best booster travel seats. 

Consider joining your local Buy Nothing group. Booster seats for visiting family is just the sort of thing members in my group step up to pass along or lend. As for a rental car, I’ve recently gotten decent rates for local weekly rentals ($200/wk) with Hertz. Do a search on Orbitz for best rates.

Is there some reason they can't bring their own from home?  I think that would be the best bet, since they will know it's one they are already familiar with. I believe every U.S. airline will check them for free if the child is flying.  

If they don't want to do that for some reason, and expect to be visiting a few times in the future before the kids no longer need car seats, maybe you could purchase some for use here - though that would mean you'd have to meet them at the car rental place to give them the car seats, and return with them, too. Alternatively, if you'd all fit in one car, you could just pick them all up at the airport and they could pick up their rental car closer to you. 

I have received car seats for guests by posting on Nextdoor. Many grandparents have them and because they can’t be donated folks have them sitting around. A buy nothing group might be a source too. Car rental companies charge a crazy amount for extras like car seats/boosters.  Costco travel is good for rental cars. 

Renting from the airport is generally more expensive because of facility charges. I typically do the analysis of (uber to hotel + local rental car + uber to airport) vs (airport rental car) vs (uber to hotel + one way local rental car with drop off at the airport). Depending on the company you go with, one way local rental car with drop off at the airport may not incur extra charges. I sometimes add parking cost / flexibility to the variable when deciding where to pick up the car from.

If you want a cheap rental car, you probably have to use a corporate code. Some employers have negotiated reduced rates for their employees and they typically allow them to use those corporate codes for leisure rentals. Check with your employer HR or intranet for rental car discounts. The caveat is that business insurance won't cover the damages on a leisure rental unless it explicitly states so. Also note that some rental companies are beginning to crack down on the use of corporate codes so have a back up rental ready in case you cannot prove eligibility. My corporate code generally tends to beat airline or college alumni or costco or profession group or the AAA discount.

If possible, try to fly with your own car seats. Airlines typically do not charge extra to check them in. Same with strollers. If flying with a car seat, try to use one of those car seat carriers that is like a back pack. The painful part about flying with a car seat is getting the car seats + luggages + kids from your car to the check in agent. I have checked out car seat rental services like babyquip and babiesgetaway but after factoring in logistics, the cost / benefit analysis was never worth it to me. If I am going to pay more than $50 for a car seat, I usually just bring my own.

Another cost pressure to renting cars is the collision (loss) damage waiver (CDW or LDW) and liability coverage. It can double the price of your rental car. If your credit card is not a Visa Infinite or World Elite Mastercard, you probably do not have primary insurance coverage via your card. I don't know how it works for Amex. Some folks are comfortable with secondary coverage and others just waive the coverage.

Most car rental agencies have boosters available to rent. You’ll have to check websites to see which types are available and the cost. It might pencil out to just buy booster seats from Target or Amazon; they run $50-100 for the ones with backs. If you belong to your local Buy Nothing Facebook group, you might be able to borrow one. 

Try Rent-a-Relic

Very cool place...

(510) 601-6560