Best time to book a car

[Guffyboy]

I am flying into Sanford mid August 2017 and am looking to book an intermediate / mid-size SUV for 2 weeks.

Reading these forums, Alamo seem to be a popular choice. Looking at the Alamo website (through Brits), the prices seem to ramp up from £305 before the 1st July to about £640 after so am wondering whether to book through Virgin now where the prices are about £400 or wait and see if the price drops.

Is this normal as it is holiday time or am i just being too eager to book something for a year away and should wait a bit?

Any advice would be appreciated

[prugone]

We're flying out 11 Aug 2017 to 1 Sept. Have been waiting for rental companies to quote on these dates but meanwhile I've been keeping track on rates from a couple of sites able to quote for our dates (Virgin Holidays, usrentacar and uscarhire). For a large SUV (Tahoe) they have been coming out fairly consistently at around £900 - £1,000 odd. July has seen a slight increase in the rates. Tried Alamo and Alamo Brits, entering three weeks from 4 August 2017, for a comparison and both were coming out at over £2,000! Just booked with uscarhire for £1,038 (Alamo, Gold cover... tank of fuel and up to 4 drivers). May be right, may be wrong, time will tell but as I've only paid a £25 deposit if the rates do drop like a stone I won't lose much if I cancel.

[ROBBOTOO]

If you're happy with a price, as long as it has the full insurance needed, covers all drivers you need and free cancellation then book. If prices then come down cancel and book elsewhere. If prices go up you're quids in. But don't book anywhere where you can't cancel for free.

[smithlane]

I've already booked our car hire for August 2017 through Discount Florida Car Hire. No deposit needed and was happy with the price for a Tahoe or similar but if the price lowers from other companies when dates are released then I'll just cancel and re book

[mseagle]

We have tended to find the prices rise not drop over time. Book it early when you see a fair price.

[Guffyboy]

An update to my original post, it seems that Alamo Brits prices have now dropped for the latter half of August 17. I have just managed to hire a standard SUV for 2 weeks from 19/8 for £318 (intermediate SUV was £307) - this is now cheaper than Virgin Holidays. It seems the magic cut off date is the 15/8. Hope this helps anyone yet to book for August next year

[PedroP]

Just booked through virgin - not often they are the cheapest! Three weeks (end July to mid August) for an SUV (Santa Fe or similar) for £683. Even cheaper than florida discount car hire.

[DIBBadmin]

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