When you move to New York City, as I did six years ago, people tell you about the high price of real estate, parking and martinis. No one ever mentions rental cars.
How expensive is it?
Traffic on Eighth Avenue in Manhattan. (Hiroko Masuike for The New York Times)In the past, I’ve thrown down more than $100 a day for a Chevy Aveo (or similar). I’ve investigated renting at Newark Airport ( Image Rent A Car Newark Airport NJ ), which is more than 50 percent cheaper. With train fare, it’s a tossup, but that’s before you factor in the extra time. And all of that depends on availability in the first place.
Forget about impromptu beach trips or last-minute jaunts up the Hudson Valley. For most summer weekends, you have to book at least a week in advance. For holidays, you’ll have to do much better than that.Just yesterday I checked out Avis (my agency of choice; I have a Wizard number and everything) to rent a car for the weekend of June 1 to 3. For an intermediate car (Pontiac G6 or similar), the fee was $272.97. Add the Loss Damage Waiver at $9/day and taxes, and the bill came to $336.48, more than airfare to Los Angeles.
What about the “week rental” strategy? For the same car from June 1 to 6, the bill came to $419.13. I checked Orbitz.com, and the best deal was with Budget at $321.67. Ouch.I understand that real estate prices factor into the elevated rates in New York City — and I’m mainly talking about Manhattan — but I’ve rented a convertible in Miami for under three bills.
John Barrow, an Avis spokesman, explained that in addition to real estate costs, “fees and licenses, the price of labor — everything you think about Midtown that’s expensive. It’s difficult to expand the garages. We can either optimize our space or find a new space. It’s the typical dynamics of running a business in Midtown Manhattan. I wouldn’t say that it’s unique to the rental car industry.”
He said that Avis was constantly adjusting the supply within the city, bringing in cars from J.F.K. and LaGuardia airports. “We leverage our fleet across the area,” he said. “It’s a constant process of making sure that your supply is being moved around to support demand.”
Christy Conrad, assistant vice president of public relations at Enterprise, said that supply has a direct impact on the price. “In general, cars are dropped off in Manhattan on Sunday,” she said. “So for Mondays, Tuesday and Wednesday, the deals are in Manhattan. On other days, it’s the reverse. In the areas surrounding Manhattan, we’ll run 50 percent off deals Friday through Monday.”
Ms. Conrad and Mr. Barrow said it’s better to book far in advance. I told him that I’ve done that, only to see the price come down as I approached my rental date. “It can depend on what your channel is,” he said, referring to the various travel Web sites. “Generally speaking, we’re adjusting to a competitive landscape. If a competitor has changed its price, then we adjust.”
One thing Avis hasn’t adjusted to is Zipcar, which seems to be doing pretty well with its hourly rental scheme. Avis doesn’t plan to launch hourly rentals soon, but others have. Hertz began hourly rentals in April. And Ms. Conrad told me that Enterprise is extending hourly rentals to every branch in Manhattan this weekend. For me, it might be too little too late.
Christy Conrad, assistant vice president of public relations at Enterprise, said that supply has a direct impact on the price. “In general, cars are dropped off in Manhattan on Sunday,” she said. “So for Mondays, Tuesday and Wednesday, the deals are in Manhattan. On other days, it’s the reverse. In the areas surrounding Manhattan, we’ll run 50 percent off deals Friday through Monday.”
Ms. Conrad and Mr. Barrow said it’s better to book far in advance. I told him that I’ve done that, only to see the price come down as I approached my rental date. “It can depend on what your channel is,” he said, referring to the various travel Web sites. “Generally speaking, we’re adjusting to a competitive landscape. If a competitor has changed its price, then we adjust.”
One thing Avis hasn’t adjusted to is Zipcar, which seems to be doing pretty well with its hourly rental scheme. Avis doesn’t plan to launch hourly rentals soon, but others have. Hertz began hourly rentals in April. And Ms. Conrad told me that Enterprise is extending hourly rentals to every branch in Manhattan this weekend. For me, it might be too little too late.
My Zipcar membership card arrived in the mail today. Daily rental prices seem to be similar to the big guys, but I feel like I’m getting more for my money: free gas, free insurance, cooler cars (including Mini Coopers, BMWs and Scions) a clever irreverential tone in all of its literature that makes me feel like it’s run by people who play Guitar Hero all day. Rentals Cars in New York and New Jersey come equipped with EZPass transponders; most even have XM Satellite Radio. The Zipcar Web site is even — gasp — Flash-enabled.
So that’s my summer. I’m going to see if Zipcar has really stumbled onto a shiny new model for an old business or if it’s all smoke and mirrors. Or maybe I’m just asking too much out of a rental car company in Manhattan.
Other ideas for economy car rentals in NYC
1. Image Rent A Car 1-888-718-0001
2. NYC Car Rentals 1-800-894-6102
3. Cheap Van Rentals 1-516-227-2270
4. New York Rent A Car 1-718-771-6666
5. New York Car Rental 1-212-929-4936
7. JFK Airport Car Rentals 1-718-995-3723
