# How far in advance should I rent a car online? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 7, 2014, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-in-advance-should-i-rent-a-car-online/678156 "2014-01-07T19:04:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![That\_Don\_Guy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/that_don_guy/32/538_2.png) [@That\_Don\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/That_Don_Guy)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2014, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-in-advance-should-i-rent-a-car-online/678156/1 "2014-01-07T19:04:47Z")
(Since this can be a matter of opinion, I assume this belongs in IMHO rather than MPSIMS) I am working on my summer travel plans (yes, “already”), and want to rent a car for two days. When I went to various rental car sites and looked up prices for mid-June (I have Alamo, Enterprise, and National in mind, mainly because I can get a $40 discount through Discover Rewards), I got a price of about $150 for the two days. However, for two days (the same days of the week) at the end of January, it was $75, and for the end of February, it was $90. How long should I put off making a rental car reservation? Is there a point where it will start to go back up again because it’s too close to the pickup date? ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2014, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-in-advance-should-i-rent-a-car-online/678156/2 "2014-01-07T19:08:46Z")
Make a reservation now, then keep checking the rates and make a new reservation and cancel the old if they drop. There’s no up front fees in making a reservation, so there’s no downside. Also, check out travel websites (disboards is actually really good for this) for coupon codes from rental car companies - there are all sorts of codes that are basically open to anyone to use. You can save a ton of money with those. ---
**Author:** ![Icarus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icarus/32/72_2.png) [@Icarus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icarus)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2014, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-in-advance-should-i-rent-a-car-online/678156/3 "2014-01-07T20:21:53Z")
> [@muldoonthief](#): > > Make a reservation now, then keep checking the rates and make a new reservation and cancel the old if they drop. There’s no up front fees in making a reservation, so there’s no downside. Agreed. Rental car prices bounce up and down week to week, it really depends on what they expect their volume will be. I have found that for a major market the prices stay relatively the same week to week. Whereas for a mid or smaller market the prices bounce around more - their volumes are more sensitive to such things as big sporting events or conventions or tourist seasons. ---
**Author:** ![Icarus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icarus/32/72_2.png) [@Icarus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icarus)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2014, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-in-advance-should-i-rent-a-car-online/678156/4 "2014-01-07T20:23:45Z")
Also, for most cases there is no downside if you have a reservation and just don’t show up. It’s not like an airline ticket that you pay for in advance, or a hotel that charges you for at least on night if you don’t cancel. ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2014, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-in-advance-should-i-rent-a-car-online/678156/5 "2014-01-07T23:06:22Z")
[Autoslash](http://www.autoslash.com/) claims to automate this for you. They’ll keep looking for better reservations, and automatically update your reservation if they find one. I’ve never used them, but it’s a cool idea. Edit: Hmm. I just tried to use it, and it reported no cars available. So it might not actually be working. ---
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2014, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-in-advance-should-i-rent-a-car-online/678156/6 "2014-01-08T00:09:15Z")
Book early and then keep checking. I usually end up re-booking several times because I keep finding better deals. If you belong to Costco, they usually offer competitive rates. (Go to [Costco.com](http://Costco.com), then Travel). Note that you don’t have to cancel your existing reservation if you find a better deal with the same company. Just follow the link that they give you in the confirmation email to modify the reservation. That way you’ll keep the same reservation number.