So, two weeks ago the 350Z broke at the Atlanta Match Tour. Nothing major, but I had to leave it up there and rent a car to drive back to Florida. One way rental from ATL airport to Daytona Beach cost me nearly $200. Flying would have been double, and I'm not crazy enough to take a bus.
So this weekend I'm heading back up there to get the car and maybe run the Atlanta Region autocross at Turner Field (I figure that parking lot owes me one). So I check rental car prices last week, one way from Daytona Airport to Atlanta (I'm actually dropping off in Norcross, which is closer to Balanced Performance, where the car is). Both Dollar and Thrifty had the best deals.
$1
No E36 M3.
With airport fees and taxes it comes to $4.60 total, but that's still pretty fair deal. I almost want to rent a bunch of them and figure out a way to drive them all to Atlanta. Kind of sad that I'll be paying more for beef jerky on the road than my rental car cost.
How the hell does that even happen?
That is amazingly awesome
What a deal. They must need to get cars moved back to Atlanta or something.
Swank Force One wrote:
How the hell does that even happen?
They clearly need more cars in Atlanta than they need in Daytona. When I got my car in Atlanta two weeks ago, I literally got the last car in the Thrifty lot. It was a Mazda5, which was a substantial upgrade from what I reserved, but the price was still steep.
Thrifty and Dollar were both $1 for anything up to a midsize. Budget and Enterprise weren't much worse at $9.95 for anything up to a midsize. Yes, that's 1000% more, but it's still less than the Starbucks bill.
If you guys all want to come to Daytona tomorrow and rent cars for $1 I'll totally race you to Atlanta.
I find it amusing that Dollar and Thrifty will rent you a car for a Dollar which is quite thrifty.
What about mileage charges?
ryanty22 wrote:
What about mileage charges?
Unlimited. I may just drive around mall parking lots for fun.
In that case, buy the "pay for a full tank of gas" option at the rental place, and just drive it around the airport until you coast into the rental return.
They usually have to pay people to haul them out of Fl. I'll bet the price is a lot higher if you bring it back.
This is a common occurrence with all of the companies after spring break. There are killer deals for one way drive outs from FL.
mndsm
MegaDork
5/29/14 10:15 p.m.
Why do I sense some sort of news story opportunity here?
EastCoastMojo wrote:
Sadly nothing is available from Texarkana to Atlanta.
After some searching it looks like the crux of the deals are from Florida, swamp belt states, and the lower Midwest heading to Atlanta or Charlotte. Lots of $1 deals, but not much over $10. Renting in atlanta or charlotte and dropping off anywhere else is almost going to cost you flight money.
So, isn't Atlanta the place with all the killer deals on cars? Screw the fly'n'drive, go with the rent'n'drive.
Duh, JG, while you're in ATL, you gotta go here: http://www.communityqbbq.com
I can see if my brother can meet you there. The brisket is the best. Miata Rob loves that place, too.
EvanR
Dork
5/30/14 2:23 a.m.
Next month, I need a one way from Ft. Lauderdale to Atlanta. All the majors wanted about $300 (for two weeks) PLUS a $300 dropoff charge!
Then I checked out SIXT. They're big in Europe, and trying to break into the US market. Their one-way car was $280. Complete.
EastCoastMojo wrote:
So we need to get one guy with a Bus that's already in Atlanta (to bring us back to Daytona), and A bus-load of guys to rent $1 cars... all for one glorious road race. Make that 2 buses. No, 3.
spin_out wrote:
EastCoastMojo wrote:
So we need to get one guy with a Bus that's already in Atlanta (to bring us back to Daytona), and A bus-load of guys to rent $1 cars... all for one glorious road race. Make that 2 buses. No, 3.
All I need is Sally Field...
So if everyone drives down to Daytona from Atlanta for Spring Break in rental cars and then leaves them there, how do they get home?
In reply to pinchvalve:
People fly into Fl and fly out. They want a rental car why they are there so the companies bulk up. Now that the "off-season" is hitting. There are more cars in FL than needed. The typical method is to load the cars onto car carriers and spread them to other cities (this costs money.)
If you are willing to move the car to a more desirable area for the company then they will make it worth your time.
Happens every year.
The real win is you can do this $1/day type rental for 14 days. So, fly in to Fl from the north, use the car in Fl for a week or more and then drive back out of FL to get home.
Perfect way to score a car for One Lap of America. Turn in with bald tires, burnt brakes and reeking of sweat and fast food.
"Thanks. Best 20 bucks I ever spent"
Seems pretty cheap for the fastest car in the world:
http://youtu.be/NYt9DO5WXr8
