Rental Car companies.. question

[WolfeMacleod]

So with the destruction of the BMW in our recent rear-ending, we're left with renting a vehicle to make the trip to NAMM next month.
Need a larger vehicle of some sort.. like a smallish SUV.. to pack some guitars into, along with three people and a week's worth of clothing for each.

On a smallish budget, what rental car companies should we be looking at? What kind of smallish SUV gets "reasonable" fuel milage. Being that we'll be traveling 1123 miles each way, I don't want a 15mpg pig to drain my bank account.

GF is suggesting Ford Escape from Budget...about $350
Dodge Caravan....Budget...about $410.
Ford Edge.... $482


I think maybe a Saturn Vue would be OK?

So what sort of smallish SUV-like thing should be look at?
Do rental companies do Hybrid SUV's
Whats the deal with mileage charges these days? Last time I rented a car, we were nearly mugged by mileage.

Hotwire, or other travel sites, any good for car rental savings?

[Gogar]

Try to find some coupon codes online and go direct to the companies' website.

There's a lot of Budget coupon codes flying around out there, and you just kind of have to enter them into the box to see if they work or not.

Also make sure to check into the 'contiguous state' rule at each company you're renting from. Some places have a contiguous state rule and they can zing you if they find out you broke the rule.

[onewhippedpuppy]

I use the National Emerald Club. It's free to join, and allows you to choose any vehicle you want at the National Emerald Isle for the same price as a regular midsize car. Most large airports that I've flown into have a large selection of vehicles in the Emerald Isle including SUVs, Mustangs, Camaros, full sized cars, etc. You literally just have a rows of cars/SUVs that you can choose from, all at the same price. Being in Seattle I would bet that you could score a small SUV like an Escape, Equinox, etc if you went to a large location like the airport. All of my rentals from them have been unlimited mileage, straight per day rate.

[JAR0023]

Don't rent from an airport location. The extra fees will up the cost considerably.

J

[Laneco]

Of the three you recommended, the caravan is your best bet. The edge is rockin' but it's the most expensive and has less cargo area than the caravan. The escape is smaller than either of them. Always look for unlimited mileage. I usually rent from Avis for that reason. don't get the GPS, etc - you can buy a Garmin for what they charge.

Also, as advised above, avoid the airport places due to the extra fees. Even if it turns out that a particular company, say AVIS is the cheapest from one place, at another location, Hertz may be the better deal. Example, I nearly always use AVIS but when I'm in Alaska, Hertz is usually cheaper for me.

angela