Car rental YVR
 

I've been searching the Interweb looking for a 'reasonable' deal on a rental car for two weeks end July/early August.

We're looking to pick up car in Vancouver somewhere (not the airport) and drop off at YVR.

Budget, Avis and all the usual suspects are looking for at least $1400 once CDW and taxes are included.

Any recommendations on other firms that might be a little bit cheaper?

ExXB,

A warning.

Last year, I arrived at Calgary late at night, took the shuttle bus to my pre-booked hotel and the next morning I went to pick up my pre-booked rental car at a non-airport location.

This is where I discovered the scam. I was required to sign a declaration that I had arrived more than 24 hours previously, otherwise I would have had to pay the inflated airport rental rates!

Also, you may want to say you are dropping off at the same location and then just drop it off at YVR.

Finally, the CDW is a rip-off. Check your personal insurance and/or your credit cards, which may give you rental car insurance. I've saved thousands of dollars over the years, by declining the CDW.

Seriously, check travel sights like Hotwire.com. Never go to the rental company. Travel sights are way better. I had a Golf in Vegas for 14$ a day!
WD

Priceline.com…best rates going…always use em…enjoy the stay!

CYVR
 

I'm picking up a mid-size at YVR next week from Thrifty (booked thru Expedia) for $ 400/week - no CDW. But I booked it a couple of weeks ago.

Contact your auto insurer. Coverage for borrowed or rented cars is REALLY cheap. Certain credit cards cover you automatically as well
WD

Never take the CDW.
Never.

Most CC and your own auto policy can cover that.

I had a car in YVR last month for 215.00 a week all in

Have noticed that many destinations have local outfits called ABC or XYZ Car Rentals.

When I looked into it, most of these outfits are actually owned by the majors, but take on their cars once they get to 10,000-15,000 miles or so and rent at around half the regular rate. In all other respects, such as insurance, you are still dealing with the majors.

The other thing, is most cars already have multiple blemishes and minor dings, so they are much less anal about 'damage' charges. Just had a mid-size in FL for 2 weeks and thought $193 all-in for 750 miles was not bad.

Check first though... :ok:

Follow all of the foregoing advice, airport car rental companies will rip you off, and YVR is bad in my recollection.

Get at good map, and GPS (buy if needed, renting theirs is equal rip off). I found navigation around Vancouver, particularly leaving toward the east, challenging.

I absolutely agree. I've been lost many times, trying to get to Highway 1 from downtown.

I've always felt that cities should bring in traffic engineers from other places to review their traffic signs.

The worst ever in my experience, is Auckland. I get lost every time I drive there. The last time even with a GPS!

India 42, I beg to differ, by far the worst town for driving in the Western World is Ottawa, don't even think of trying it in a snow storm, Winter seems to come as a total surprise to the population of our capitol city, should you be unlucky enough to get hit by a car with diplomatic plates, good luck trying to collect from them if they are from certain embassies! Along with these problems, the signage is a joke, this reflects the civil service population who abound in the town , that is totally useless in the most part.

Sorry to suggest the obvious, but does your airline or union have any deals you can use? I just rented a car in YYZ for ten days. The pilot association's deal was less than half what Avis wanted and included insurance.

Rented a car from Hertz at CYVR once because I needed to drop it off in Edmonton and nobody else could do that. I don't remember exactly what I paid but I'm as cheap as the next pilot and it didn't give me a heart attack or anything. Sometimes you just gotta bite the bullet and pay though, eh?

try hertz.com.au & if u r an NRMA/RACV/RACQ member you get 10-15% off.


Use club code 310


& no dodgy extras like insurance which can cost more than the car.

There a bunch of rental shops on No. 3 rd in Richmond. The SkyTrain goes down this street. Simply pre arrange your booking out of one of these offices and just hop on the train for 15 minutes (quick transfer at Bridgeport station).

We regularly rent in YVR and always use rentalcars.com, always good on price and brilliant on service if any problems. If comparing prices watch out for the extras like local taxes and insurance, with rentalcars.com the price you get is the price you pay.

Not sure about YVR, but I always use Alamo at LAX and their service is always excellent. It's incredibly efficient - assuming you've already booked online you walk into the lot, pick a car, show the security guard your drivers license and rental agreement, and drive away. Coming back you just drive in, give them the keys and get on the shuttle for your flight. I've never been dinged with any dubious charges afterwards. Price is always incredibly cheap, and if you are a COPA or AOPA member you'll get a discount. And as others have said, don't bother with CDW as long as you have it on your credit card or auto insurance.