nfahey

Hi All!

I had read on another board (can't remember which one) that there is a car rental office that is not far from the airport and if you rent from them you can save the outrageous fees at PHX airport by taking a very short cab ride to the rental office. Anybody know which car rental company and what the location name is?

Thanks in advance.

Nancy

justme22

there are several of the national chains- and i can't recall exactly which road off the airport, it's a local surface road (as they call them in the Phoenix area) but if you go to the main sites of the rental companies, use their locator function you can find them combining that with mapquest. i think dollar is one. you can save on that crazy tax at the airport. (14% at least) but you give up flexibility. the off airport offices have limited hours and so you need to make sure you can pick up your car when you get there, as well as drop it off when you go. many of the off site agencies do a 9 to 5 business, sometimes a little later and a little earlier but no 24/7 service.

bob_brown

That is true! Just don't ride up to the door of the rental agency in a taxi. The situation in Albuquerque is similar. I got a ride to a Hertz office well away from the airport and saved about $50.00.

The same is true in Phoenix. Any of the rental agencies charge less off airport. You pay for the convenience, except at Sky Harbor, I found it to be a long ride from the return lot to the terminal.

I think you could take a hotel shuttle bus and then walk to a car rental agency, or call Enterprise from the hotel to come and deliver. If you have a cell phone, it should be easy.

bob_brown

I just looked at Enterprise and priced a weekly rental. If you rent at the airport, a standard sized car will cost you $343.53, There is a facility tax and an airport tax and a couple of others.

If you go off airport, the one I looked at was $280 for the same type of vehicle.
That is a difference of enough to make me think twice.

Once you get away from the airport, the price seems about the same regardless of location. But the airport is like you said: more!

nfahey

Thanks everyone for the quick responses. I am basically stuck taking a taxi to the rental agency b/c we are staying in Sedona so a hotel shuttle is not possible. We land and depart mid morning so rental agency times should not be an issue. I will check out the nationals websites.

Thanks again.

Nancy

bob_brown

Before you rent check the milage caps.
I got to taking a longer look at Enterprise and noticed that there was a surcharge for miles over 1050. That is not what I wanted to see!!

Take a look at Thrifty and compare its rates with the others AT the airport.
Either it beats the Sky Harbor tax, or the full price was not disclosed.

clarkgriswold

Hertz on Indian Springs Road is the one usually mentioned. Hertz.com has specials for AAA members, or use the U.S. Airways discount number which is 157348

holly

I booked with Hertz on Indian Springs Road for an upcoming trip. It turns out that they aren't open when I need to return the car, but it is the same cost to return it to the airport so it doesn't really matter. I guess the steep rental price comes from picking it up at Sky Harbor. I was told that the cab fare is $22. I'll still come out ahead, though, because the savings is over $80. Good luck.

holly

Correction: Phoenix Motor Company is on West Indian School Rd.

nfahey

Thank you to all who replied. I believe I will go with Hertz on Indian School Road and put the $80 toward a great dinner!

Thanks again.

Gekko

Have you tried priceline? I use it almost exclusively for rental cars and have never had a bad experience (and usually pay a fraction of the usual cost -- $15-30 per day).