Anchorage car rental

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retire14
Posts: 437
Joined: Sun Jan 04, 2015 9:27 am

Anchorage car rental

Post by retire14 »

Trying to look for car rental mid August ( 10 days) in Anchorage. Cheapest is $285/day. Anyone knows how to get a cheaper deal? Costco has no cars available. Our dates are flexible but don’t want to go much beyond the 1st week of Sept.

Edit for additional info: looks like I can get a rental car on 8/9 at the earliest. Is that date too late to go or should I wait until July next year? I am risk adverse and prefer not to go the Turo.com route for Alaska.
Last edited by retire14 on Fri Jun 11, 2021 7:36 pm, edited 1 time in total.
TravelforFun
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Joined: Tue Dec 04, 2012 10:05 pm

Re: Anchorage car rental

Post by TravelforFun »

retire14 wrote: Fri Jun 11, 2021 3:28 pm Trying to look for car rental mid August ( 10 days) in Anchorage. Cheapest is $285/day. Anyone knows how to get a cheaper deal? Costco has no cars available. Our dates are flexible but don’t want to go much beyond the 1st week of Sept.
NPR yesterday reported that there is a severe shortage of rental cars everywhere. Car rental companies reduced their inventory last year by selling their cars because of no demand (pandemic) and now can't keep up with the surge. Some companies are buying used cars to build up their inventory. Anyone who needs a rental car this summer may just have to bite the bullet.

TravelforFun
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Devil's Advocate
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Joined: Thu Feb 16, 2012 4:18 pm

Re: Anchorage car rental

Post by Devil's Advocate »

I put a deposit in for an RV rental for 10 days in July in Anchorage a few months ago. My cost is $249/day.

Honestly if you are going to vacation there a small RV is way more cost effective than a rental car and having to pay for lodging.

DA
runner3081
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Joined: Mon Aug 22, 2016 3:22 pm

Re: Anchorage car rental

Post by runner3081 »

Only cheaper deal is to not rent.

There are no deals to be had.
pl28
Posts: 25
Joined: Wed Nov 27, 2013 11:17 am
Location: Texas

Re: Anchorage car rental

Post by pl28 »

Have you try Turo? I used it before and the process was pretty easy and the rates were pretty competitive.

Good luck
Topic Author
retire14
Posts: 437
Joined: Sun Jan 04, 2015 9:27 am

Re: Anchorage car rental

Post by retire14 »

Devil's Advocate wrote: Fri Jun 11, 2021 3:52 pm I put a deposit in for an RV rental for 10 days in July in Anchorage a few months ago. My cost is $249/day.

Honestly if you are going to vacation there a small RV is way more cost effective than a rental car and having to pay for lodging.

DA
Thank you. I have not thought of this. May I ask if you could share your initerary? We want to drive from Anchorage to Denali then to Seward/ Kensington Fjords/ Homer. Where should I begin to plan for overnight parking if I decide to go this route. And where should I look for RV rental?
not logged in
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Joined: Tue Jan 28, 2014 5:53 am

Re: Anchorage car rental

Post by not logged in »

I’ve used https://www.greatalaskanholidays.com/, which is the largest RV rental company in Alaska, but they appear sold out for dates before August 1 and maybe for the whole summer.
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gwe67
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Re: Anchorage car rental

Post by gwe67 »

I wouldn't dare go all the way to Alaska and be reliant on Turo working out.
VTI 48%, VXUS 12%, BND 40%
jumppilot
Posts: 310
Joined: Tue Jan 11, 2011 11:38 pm

Re: Anchorage car rental

Post by jumppilot »

Excellent video that discusses the shortages we’ve all seen, including the Alaska car rental situation.

https://youtu.be/b1JlYZQG3lI
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Devil's Advocate
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Re: Anchorage car rental

Post by Devil's Advocate »

retire14 wrote: Fri Jun 11, 2021 4:43 pm
Devil's Advocate wrote: Fri Jun 11, 2021 3:52 pm I put a deposit in for an RV rental for 10 days in July in Anchorage a few months ago. My cost is $249/day.

Honestly if you are going to vacation there a small RV is way more cost effective than a rental car and having to pay for lodging.

DA
Thank you. I have not thought of this. May I ask if you could share your initerary? We want to drive from Anchorage to Denali then to Seward/ Kensington Fjords/ Homer. Where should I begin to plan for overnight parking if I decide to go this route. And where should I look for RV rental?
I also use Great Alaskan Holidays.

Overnight parking very easy. Many state parks in AK. You can also boondock nearly anywhere off the road. The RV has an electric generator.

We are going to the Kenai Peninsula.

DA
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