Renting a Car Inexpensively
Archived Q&A and Reviews
Questions
Finding a car to drive one way across the US
April 2012
My family and I need to find a car when we are in BOSTON in May that we can drive to OAKLAND. Car rental places tack on a huge ''one-way'' fee! Does anyone have any suggestions? Responsible driver
You may want to check Craigslist in Boston for anyone who is looking for someone to do just what you want to do. If that's a dead end, then you might be better off just buying a car in Boston for about the same it would cost you if you did the rental car one-way. You can always sell the car once you arrive at your destination. Good luck! Oakland Mom
Look up car companies that drive people's cars across the country. When I had mine driven from Boston to Berkeley they had a college kid do it and it was reasonably priced. More informally, you could put up a notice on Craigslist or a college bulletin board for the city you wish to leave from. cocosar
Inexpensive Car Rental for visiting relatives
July 2001
Hi, I need to rent a car for visiting relatives. I was wondering if anyone out there can recommend an affordable rent-a-car outfit, or would be interested in renting their own car. The dates are July 22-29 (not necessarily all days) and then again in August. We intend on doing small trips, probably 500 miles in all. Thanks a lot! Alon
We just made a trip to LA and we rented a car from the Pay Less car rental. The price was unbelievably cheap! we paid $14 a day. their office is close to the airport, a bit far, but they have great deals!!! Log on to travelocity.com and make a search there. Good luck! Alex
I got a very cheap rental via Priceline. Disadvantage is that I had to pick it up in SF. Advantage:$30 a day for something that usually is $60. Myriam
If you are interested in a used rental car - Try Rent-A-Relic in Oakland - near MacArthur BART. They have a small and helpful staff with good reliable used cars. Their prices are reasonable and typically give 100 free miles a day. The number is 510-601-6560 Mindy
I have just rented a mini-van so we can tour around some visiting relatives from Budget at 600 Gilman. Their weekend rate was 1/2 everyone else's. We are getting 300 free miles, and then I believe it was 18 cents per mile thereafter. I haven't actually rented the van yet so I can't say I've had a good or bad experience, but their rates were certainly competitive Amy
Caroline R
To the person looking for a car rental. We too found the prices very high when arriving in Berkeley a few months ago. We used Entreprise because they were around the block from where we lived, but I have since heard of a company called Rent-a-Relic, where you can, well, as you can imagine...The cars are not new, but they're supposed to work properly. I don't have their number but they're in Berkeley or Oakland I think.
Check out the travel section of the Chronicle for companies offering special deals. Also, Dollar Rent A Car has a web site that offers special deals. It is www.dollar.com. We justed to used them to rent a mini-van for $200 a week with unlimited miledge.
Jason