Most people think that rental car pricing follows some predictable model whereby
the longer you rent, the more you pay. For example, logic dictates that if you rent
a car for 28 days, it should be a bit more expensive than renting a car for 26 days
right? Hmm, we'll maybe; sometimes; with some companies.
Welcome to the wacky world of rental car pricing. Whether due to some grand conspiracy
dating back to the days of JFK and Oswald, or just some weird computer glitch that
the rental companies themselves don't fully understand, there is some really strange
stuff going on here. In this first article in a series, we're going to explore one
such example which may surprise you.
At AutoSlash, we're not above getting our hands dirty to get the best deals for
our customers. While researching a rental on the longer side with Enterprise in
Bangor, ME for a customer, we can across an interesting phenomenon. We'll call it
the 26-day threshold. It seems that when renting with Enterprise, there's
a point at which you will pay more (sometimes much more) for a rental under 26 days
than you will for one longer than 26 days. Take a look at the breakdown below to
illustrate the point:
Pick-up
Date
|
Drop-Off
Date
|
Price
|
Duration
|
|
|
7/6
|
7/21
|
$944
|
15 days
|
|
7/6
|
7/22
|
$1,030
|
16 days
|
|
7/6
|
7/23
|
$1,115
|
17 days
|
|
7/6
|
7/24
|
$1,201
|
18 days
|
|
7/6
|
7/26
|
$1,286
|
20 days
|
|
7/6
|
7/27
|
$1,288
|
21 days
|
|
7/6
|
7/28
|
$1,373
|
22 days
|
|
7/6
|
7/29
|
$1,459
|
23 days
|
|
7/6
|
7/30
|
$1,545
|
24 days
|
|
7/6
|
7/31
|
$1,630
|
25 days
|
|
7/6
|
8/2
|
$1,715
|
26 days
|
|
7/6
|
8/3
|
$848
|
27 days
|
|
7/6
|
8/4
|
$850
|
28 days
|
|
7/6
|
9/4
|
$1,704
|
60 days
|
*Notes: Pricing based on an economy car. Enterprise in BGR is closed on Sundays.
If it's not immediately apparent from the chart, there is some really funky stuff
going on there. As you can see, as you increase the number of rental days, the price
of the rental increases. That's what we'd expect to happen. This "normal" behavior
continues for the next couple of weeks or so. But something really weird happens
when we get to the 27th day... Unbelievably, the price drops from $1,715 for a 26-day
rental to $848 for a 27-day rental. Hey--wait a second! What gives here?!? You mean
to tell me that if I keep the car just one day longer, I will save $867? How is
that even possible?!?
Well my friends, it is quite possible and it happens to folks every day. A unsuspecting
person who needs a rental for 26-days today is going to make a reservation in Bangor,
or Ft. Lauderdale or somewhere else (yes, this phenomenon happens in many locations--but
not all), and they're going to overpay by a ridiculous amount. If only they knew
that if they extended their rental by just one day, they might save enough to go
on their next vacation!
Taking the analysis one step further, it turns out that you can rent that compact
car in Bangor for up to 60 days before approaching the price of the 26 day
rental. Let me repeat that for those of you not paying attention... It is basically
the same price to rent a compact in Bangor for 60 days as it is to rent the same
car 26 days! Don't believe us, go and try plugging in the numbers yourself at Enterprise.com.
These are the sorts of things that we at AutoSlash spend our time obsessing over.
Our customers will never pay hundreds more than they need to on their rental, because
we sweat the details. We know the in's and out's of how the car rental company systems
work, and we work them to your advantage, so you don't wind up paying
more than you need to.