When you are booking a rental car, it is imperative to be able to find the best rates. You want to feel like you are getting a good deal, so it makes sense to use a good car rental booking site. The best sites on the Internet are going to be able to offer you many different options while also being cost-effective. Thankfully, there are several good car rental booking sites that fit the bill.
We are going to take an in-depth look at the best car rental booking site (top 5). You will be able to really dig into the particulars of each site to see what they can offer you. All of these sites are going to be quite good in their own ways. Which one of them will appeal to you the most may wind up coming down to personal preference.
Simply read on to get all of the important information. This is going to make things a lot easier the next time that you need to book a rental car for a trip. Whether you are a businessman or businesswoman who travels a lot or someone who travels for fun, it makes sense to try to get a good deal. You will be much better prepared to book your next rental car when you know all about the best sites around.
1. [earnist_link ref=”hotwire-car-rental-book-now” id=”12888″]Hotwire[/earnist_link]
[earnist ref=”hotwire-car-rental-book-now” id=”12888″]
Hotwire is going to be an interesting choice for many people. If you’re not too picky about which car rental service you are using, then this might wind up being the best option. This car rental booking site makes use of opaque rates to give their customers access to great deals. What this means is that customers won’t be told what rental company they are renting the car through until after they pay for the car.
This is something that can potentially save you quite a bit of money. The only real downside to it is that this is going to be a nonrefundable charge. If you decide that you do not want to rent the car, then you will be out of luck. As long as you are aware of this ahead of time, it could be a way for you to keep your costs low when renting your next vehicle.
In terms of getting the best possible deal, Hotwire ranks very highly. Due to its use of the opaque rate system, it is consistently able to offer prices that are lower than the competition. It comes with a little bit of risk being that you will not know much about what you’re getting into ahead of time. It’s still a desirable option for those who wish to save and people are generally happy with the service due to being able to rent high-quality cars from good companies.
You should know that this may not be the best site to turn to if you are planning a trip to Europe. You may not be able to find the usual opaque rates when searching for rental cars in European countries. If you’re looking to rent a car elsewhere, then Hotwire is easy to recommend. This is one car rental booking site that you should definitely try out for yourself.
Pros
- One of the best sites for saving money on car rental
- A great option for those seeking opaque rates
Cons
- Opaque rates not found in Europe
- Opaque rates may come with charges that are not refundable
You can also read our full Hotwire review.
2. RentalCars.com
Many people out there are simply trying to get the best possible deal on a rental car. If this sounds like it matches up with what you’re looking for, then you may want to give RentalCars.com a shot. This is a car rental booking site that offers some of the lowest rates possible. Searches on this site seem to consistently find the most affordable car rentals.
Even when the results of the searches on this website were not the lowest, they were very close to it. This means that this is a highly recommended website for anyone who is looking for a great deal. If you want to be able to save a bit of cash on your next car rental, then this car booking site just might be able to help you out. It works very well to find you the best possible options and is very easy to use.
The metasearch system that this site uses works fantastically. It searches far and wide, making it easy to compare different offers. You’ll be able to do all of your research on prices in a matter of minutes, helping you to find a great deal fast. This has become one of the go-to websites for vacationers looking for an affordable rental car.
You will also be interested to hear that there are special deals offered on this site. There are really low prices offered on certain cars. It may not be clear what the car model is when you are booking it, though. Regardless, for those who are flexible when it comes to what type of rental cars will be acceptable, this can be a great way to save some cash.
This site is not as large as many of the others on this list. It still manages to match the larger sites in quality and ability to find you a good deal on a rental car. Whether or not this is the best option is up in the air and the answer can depend on many factors. Just know that this is a solid car rental booking site that has earned its place on this list.
Pros
- Helps users to find great prices on car rentals
- Special deals may allow users to save even more money
Cons
- Not as large as some other car rental booking sites
3. Expedia
Expedia is a big name in the car rental booking world. This is one of the largest websites when it comes to helping people book their travel. This site is used for much more than just booking cars. People use Expedia to find airfare and hotels as well.
You may also know that Expedia owns Travelocity and Orbitz, too. They’re a large site that is able to offer their users a really streamlined experience. They have a visually appealing website and the user interface makes it easy to find what you’re looking for. To add to this, the prices for rental cars are really good.
Expedia is capable of beating or matching the prices of most car rental booking sites. If you use Expedia to book your other travel needs, then using the site to also book your rental cars will be a sensible choice. You can even wind up saving extra money when you book all of your travel needs together. Booking a hotel, airfare, and a rental car through Expedia may help you to get a very affordable bundle price.
Some people may be disappointed by the fact that Expedia does not offer opaque rates. Those will be discussed in more detail later when speaking about some of the other car rental booking sites. This is just a good overall site to make use of. It is not necessarily the one that will give you the best rates, but it can be excellent when you are also booking hotels and airfare through Expedia.
Pros
- Makes it possible to save by bundling airfare, hotels, and car rentals together
- Good for finding low prices
- The site may match the prices of some booking sites
Cons
- Does not offer opaque rates
4. Priceline
Priceline also offers opaque rates, giving their customers access to some of the best prices around. In some cities, Priceline is even able to offer the lowest prices when compared to Hotwire. It depends on the location and results may vary. Even so, this is going to be one of the websites to take a look at when you want to save as much money as possible.
You probably also know that Priceline is a site that is famous for more than just rental cars. This is a site where you can book your hotels and airfare, too. If you are using this site for those purposes, then this is going to be a natural fit for you. You will not need to go to another site just to find a rental car to book.
The rental car portion of Priceline is very similar to Hotwire. If you are a fan of Priceline for their other services, then you may as well stick with them. They offer very similar prices to Hotwire and may even be better than them sometimes. Hotwire is often lower in price by just a little bit, but the convenience of Priceline can’t be denied.
You will want to keep in mind that the similarities to Hotwire extend to not being able to find opaque rates in Europe. This is a bit unfortunate, but it should not hurt your overall opinion of Expedia. This is a car rental booking site that is very user-friendly. It allows you to find great deals and it’s easy to navigate the site, too.
Priceline might even be the best looking site on this entire list. It has a design that is very easy on the eyes and the user interface is so simple to use. It is very intuitive and that does count for something. Consider going with Priceline if you like getting good deals and want a site that is convenient to use.
Pros
- Convenient for booking all of your travel in one place
- Offers low prices
- Opaque rates
- Very good looking site
Cons
- Rates may not be as low as Hotwire in many instances
5. Autorentals.com
If you want to find a great place to begin searching for your next auto rental, then Autorentals.com is definitely going to be a good fit. This site allows you to make use of their fantastic metasearch system. It will display up to 25 different model options while also giving you prices from various sources. This is among the best car rental search options when you want to compare prices.
You will even be able to compare the results and prices being offered by this site with other car rental booking sites. This is a very transparent site and that level of honesty is always appreciated. It makes things a lot simpler for those who are just looking to find the best possible car at the most affordable price. You won’t have any problem using this car rental booking site’s search options.
The prices that are displayed are easy to understand, too. Some car rental booking sites will only display the daily rate and not the total cost of everything. This site shows you both the daily rate and the total cost of the rental that you are looking into. It helps you to prepare for the rental process and you will not be blindsided by any numbers that you didn’t expect.
You’ll love the fact that this website covers pretty much all of the major cities around the world, too. You’ll be able to look into rental options no matter where you’re going on vacation. For many people, this is going to be preferable to some of the other car rental booking sites. It makes a lot of things easier while still giving you access to great prices.
The only potential negative of this site is that you will, sometimes, get results that will not be able to be canceled. Many people don’t like renting cars that are not able to be canceled without some type of cancellation fee. Just be aware that some of these results will be mixed in.
Pros
- Prices displayed will be easy to understand
- Allows you to find good deals
- Covers most of the major cities around the world
Cons
- You may encounter results that will not be able to be canceled
Our Last Thoughts
Now that you have read all about the best car rental booking sites around, you will be ready to book your next rental car. Simply knowing what the best options are is going to make a huge difference. It should be a lot easier to get the type of rental car that you want while also saving some money. Keep all five of these options in mind when you are planning your next trip.
Whichever one you decide to go with should wind up being great. They are all very good for different reasons and some of them excel in particular areas. When making a choice about which one of them to use, you should simply consider what is most important to you. All of the information that you need to know is located above, so make an informed decision before booking your next rental car.
Getting the best deal possible on a high-quality rental car is going to make your vacation time that much better. You will be able to keep more of your hard-earned money in your wallet and you can get a great vehicle. Booking a rental car through one of these sites will be very simple, too. You’ll be able to enjoy a streamlined process that simply works to save you money, so make contact today if you’re ready to book a rental car.
