Want to save money on that Florida trip? There’s a semi-secret way to do it if you’re willing to add a little drive time. Here’s how to take advantage of the seasonal flow of Florida’s rental car fleet to snag a one way deal!
Why Do One Way Car Rentals Cost so Much?
If you’ve ever looked up the cost of a one way car rental you may remember being shell-shocked. Sometimes the prices quoted make it feel like you’re putting a down payment on the car, not just using it for the week, blowing a big hole in your vacation budget. Drop fees can be high, especially if you’re taking a vehicle from a high demand location to one where demand isn’t as high. These fees factor in lost income from the car, wear and mileage on the car and the need to get the car back to its home fleet.
The best way to avoid those high one way car rental costs? Time your trip with a car rental company’s drive out or drive in program.
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Florida’s rental cars are constantly in flux as vacationers and retirees leave and enter the state with cars from different fleets. During spring break and the summer, demand goes through the roof for rental cars. When demand’s low, rental car companies need to move their fleet to other locations. How do companies manage that flow? By using super low one way rental car deals to get cars into and out of Florida. Here’s how to find one of these money saving car rental deals!
TravelingMom Tip: With rental car booking at an all-time high as travel starts to come back to life, we aren’t seeing as many deals for spring. However, we do believe that in the fall when many kids return to school face to face, we’ll see fall deals.
Best Times for One-Way Car Rental Deals
In the spring and fall one-way car rental deals can be found with much friendlier price tags. You’ll pick the car up in one spot and drop it off at a different location, hence the drive out and drive in program names. Most of the time these drop sites need to be in two different states. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean they need to be far from each other.
One year I picked up a car in Orlando. We spent time on the beach after a Disney trip and then I returned the car to Atlanta. We were flying home from there. It only added a couple hours of driving and got us to a major airport with cheap flights. The cost savings though? HUGE!
Bigger families can benefit the most from these sales. As a mother of 4, our family needs a larger SUV or minivan when we travel to fit all 6 of us. When these sales come up, most companies will set all car tiers at the same price.
With these deals being seasonal, you’ll find that in the spring (think April and May after most spring breaks have ended) deals can be found going from Florida back to the north and Texas. In the fall those deals flip-flop and you’ll do better booking a car out of state to drive into Florida. Choosing to drive and fly in the same trip with a one way car rental deal will provide savings that you can use towards other parts of your trip.
How to Book One Way Car Rental Deals
The easiest way is to book on a site like Expedia. Since it covers most major car rental companies, you can compare and book in one place with less research. When you book through Expedia, make sure you’re a part of their free rewards program. You’ll save money and earn points.
When you look on Expedia be sure to enter the city you’re looking at as a whole. Prices can vary wildly between airport and city locations. Be sure to check several drop off points as well. For instance, there was a $400 price difference when I looked between dropping a car off in Houston vs. College Station, Texas.
Learn about more car rental secrets and tips on this post.
TravelingMom Tip: NEVER NEVER wait for the deal. Car rentals are a hot commodity right now. Always book a refundable, cancellation-eligible car as soon as you need it. It protects your vacation plans until you can find a better deal. You don’t want to wait and wind up with no car or a car that costs hundreds more.
What You Need to Know about One-Way Car Rentals
Here’s the deal. We all know that the pandemic has impacted the travel industry. As a whole flight prices are down and rental car prices are up. Availability is low on some rental car lots as more people than ever are choosing to drive themselves around at their destination rather than use public transport. The deals in 2021 may not be as amazing as in prior years. You might not find a $5 a day car. It might be a $30/day car. But that’s still $60/day below all the other prices. As the travel industry recovers, we are sure to see more one way car deals return.
When you’re looking for deals be aware of the following:
- Historically, these car rental deals run in mid-September until shortly before Christmas for drive in deals. Drive out deals happen in the spring traditionally in April and May.
- Play around with dates and the length of the rental. Sometimes hanging onto the car for a few extra days can make a large difference in the final cost of the rental.
- Only some Florida airports qualify for these special rates. Being flexible with your drop off/pick up sites will help you snag a better deal.
How to Find the Lowest One Way Car Rental Price the Rest of the Year
We know that these specials exist at certain times of the year. Those who can travel during those times definitely benefit. But what if you’re not traveling in the off-season? Well, there are a few things to keep in mind.
- If you’re military or former military, you are eligible for a USAA account. I’ve frequently turned to Hertz using the USAA code 77694 for one way rentals where I’m trying to get from point A to point B.
- Use Expedia to gather a lot of prices in one place. Then click the I button next to taxes and fees to see if you’re being charged a one way drop rate. If there isn’t one, book a car to save it. Go back in and check closer to your trip dates to see if the price has fallen. Also, use Autoslash to let you know automatically if the price goes down.
- Car rentals are really a YMMV(your mileage may vary) deal. It’s always best to check a few times and try different options to see what the best deal for your situation is. The price quote one day could be hundreds off from one or two days later. Whenever possible book refundable, cancellation-eligible rentals, so you can snatch any specials that come up.
Need road trip inspiration for your one-way drive? Here are our favorite Southeast, Texas, Midwest and Northeast road trip routes!
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One-way car rental is actually a pretty good deal! We do this all the time!
Are you still able to find these deals in 2021? I am looking to find deals on driving cars from NY to FL or vice versa
Wow! Thanks for this! $5 a day would be a complete steal. Going to use this to try and get a great deal now!
Looking for a one way car rental from near Newark -central nj to Ft Myers- Naples November 29-Dec3- for one week or more
We have been doing the one way rental into Florida the last 3 years. We drive from Philadelphia to Orlando on Black Friday to meet our family for our annual Disney trip. We usually stop in Augusta overnight and continue on the next day. The family is excited GOING down so the ride isn’t bad. Plus, we would need to rent a car when we arrive anyway. The rates are extremely low and we usually keep the car for a minimum of 10 days and find great rates on southwest to return home(bags fly free and we need a lot of luggage for the trip). I would hate to drive home because we hate to leave as is, but the quick return trip home is a blessing
Definitely true!
I have rented on Carla Car Rental app and got a great one-way deal. $19 for a Chevrolet Tahoe! rentcarla.com
Last year I rented a car from Enterprise in The Villages, Fl for $10.00 a day for 11 days that I returned to Buffalo, N.Y. Called them a week ago, and they are currently not offering the cheaper rate. Is it too early, and is there other rental companies I could call needing cars to go up north? I am looking to do the same trip as last year, picking up a car in either The Villages, or Orlando Florida on May 3, 2019, and turning it in Buffalo, N.Y.D
I took a minivan from ONT to MCO for two weeks and it totaled out at $238 with Alamo (January 2019). I was moving a lot of stuff from my old house (just sold) to my new one in Florida. It was cheaper than a moving company and a lot more fun – especially when I discovered that the back seats in the Grand Caravan collapsed and gave me great baggage room! 🙂
Plus the 25 cents off a gallon at Chevron & Shell from http://wwwFreeGasApp.club didn’t hurt either 🙂
We stumbled across this deal by accident a few years ago. We had planned to fly one way from Maine to the Sarasota area and rent a car for the ride home, expecting it to cost a virtual arm and a leg, but we wanted the half-road trip experience. When we walked into the rental place, the guy told us the compact car we wanted was $5/day for up to 10 days. When we inquired a little further about upgrading the car, he offered us a deal too sweet to pass up. My wife, our 12 year old son, and I drove from Florida to Maine in a sweet Mustang convertible for $6/day!
We’re planning a similar trip for this April and trying to figure out if what we experienced was a fluke, I stumbled across your blog. Thanks for confirming this for us!
Trying to drive from Ohio to Florida for Thanksgiving week. Please help!
Would like more instructions on how to find flight north from orlando, fl and car rental back to orlando. I have looked on line and not found deal yet for this Sept. or Oct. 2018.
Any suggestions?
Hi Jan,
Car companies tend to announce the program about 60 days before it starts. It is entirely dependent on their inventory needs. Just keep an eye out and you’ll see the deals.
Hi, im first time here, and cant belive in my eyes what i read..this is sooo cool, if its working!
Im thinking to do a road trip from south fl to all the way too the nigara fall. Im looking to get a car from south fl and drive all the way on the east side to niagara falls, stop at a few places, i have a 13 and an 11 years old daughter….
where can i get the car, and im returning back to the same place.
Thank you
I’ve driven from Brandon, FL, picking up at an Enterprise non-airport location, and drove to Sierra Vista, AZ, dropping off at a non-airport location, three of the last five years. I always departed FL in May, opting for a minivan at $25/day. Driving straight through, it cost less than $100 for the rental.
I saw some online articles from several years ago advertising “Drive out of Arizona” and would love to do that but am not having any luck finding that program this year. I’ll check Expedia and keep my fingers crossed. Thanks for the info
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Did the $5 deal in October last year. We flew from Tampa to Providence, RI on Frontier for $18 a person deal.. then rented the car for 14 days and drove North from Providence to see the Fall Colors of New Hampshire> Maine Coast> New Jersey( to visit family) with Day Trip to NYC>Lunch stop in Philly>CHarleston>Tampa FL. Great Trip and looking for a spring one way North now 🙂
I can’t find info and did this 3 years ago…
I’m a new subscriber and I just wanted to tell you how much I’m enjoying your content and how much I’m learning from you! Thank you so much for sharing all your great ideas. You are giving me hope that my family can learn how to squeeze in as many travel opportunities as we dream about doing (on a “real life” budget).
We did a drive off last Memorial Day from Fort Myers to Los Angeles with Enterprise. 13 days in a Nissan Altima (40 mpg), 3,400 miles and total bill when we dropped it off…$98.47. That is the total including all fees. In fact the fees cost more than the actual rental. Hilarious. The car was spacious and ran well. We had so much fun we are already planning the next trip.
That is AMAZING. TBH, I hadn’t though of going to the West Coast. I’m adding that to my list for a future trip!
I used this deal with AVIS April 2015.$9.99 a day fora nice Altima. Picked Up in Tampa returned in ST/ Louis. The Airport fees brought it to about$20 a day. Put 1600 miles on car and liked the ride so much I bought a new Altima. Iam looking for a similar deal right now.So far have not found any.
I had a similar experience with the Ford Fusion. I’ll definitely consider one on my next car buy- and we’ve bought Hondas for over 20 years.
Have done this a few times, driven down to Florida from NY and flew back.
Will be doing it again this spring from Florida to NY…Can you advise when I should start looking for the deals for spring 2018
Hi Donna, I’d start around the beginning of Feb.
Dia: We have never done the “driveaway” rental but really want to give it a try. Unfortunately our dates are not very flexible. We want to drive from Central Florida to south-central Texas during the last week of this coming March. Do you have any words of advice? How much lead time will we have before we can lock in a car rental? Does the Expedia website have a special area that handles this type of car rental? Any help you can give me will be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
Hi Michelle,
March is probably too early and Texas too far south for a one way rental. They tend to run from April to June and up and down the East Coast.
Other than the $5 rental, I’m a fan of Autoslash. Here’s a post about how to use it: https://saverocity.com/thedealmommy/2015/01/25/autoslash/
Good luck!
Hi Michelle, Based on other readers’ feedback- you might not be entirely out of luck. I’d just keep checking and you might get lucky.
thanks for the tip
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this is fake news
There is no such deal at budget or avis
Hi D.,
Check the myriad of other car rental companies that are still offering this deal. By using Expedia you’ll see who still needs help managing their inventory.
Hello,
I found the deal for this fall going to Florida. My question is that when I am about to confirm it says that the car won’t have insurance and it offers me to pay extra $100 for it, what do you do in this case? Thank you!
Hi Betsi,
I use a credit card that offers rental car insurance such as the American Express Platinum. You can also check with your car insurance company- most cover rental cars as well.
Where did you see the fall rate going to Florida? On what website?
Hi Gail,
I use Expedia as it lists all the car companies. If you aren’t seeing the rate, play with the date and the cities. Each site has slightly different requirements. If you’re looking for a specific company, go to their page and look under “specials”. Good luck!
Just curious, what are the specific days for fall drive in deals?
Hi Duane,
It varies by year, destination, and company due to demand. Looking at my archives the average is October 1 or 15 to Dec 15 to 31.
Dia – one quick question. Would you know WHEN the special fall rates usually come out? We are road trippin’ around December 15th and right now I see no special rates posted on expedia or any other website yet. Thanks!
I started searching today 3/20 and Enterprise is advertising this deal. BUT, they will not take reservations before April 1. Flights are so limited that its hard to gamble and book a flight not knowing if I can get a car.
Hi Cindy,
I just took a look at Enterprise’s website. You can book now, it’s pickup that’s limited to April 1-May 30. It’s only specific locations in FL, so if your first try doesn’t work check the list of available locations. Good luck!
Three years ago, my THEN boyfriend (now husband) and I did an East Coast road trip from Miami (where we are from) all the way to Massachussetts. Major stops included Atlanta, Williamsburg, Philly, Cape Cod and Boston. A trip I will never forget and not to mention the great price we got for the Drive Out of Florida deal!!!
Thanks for sharing! So glad to hear success stories.
5
Ive done this for a few years, fly to Maimi and then drove to Daytona one year, last year we stayed at South beach on a good deal on a timeshare, so combine it with timeshare deals on Tug2.org.
I love timeshare rentals, too! Glad to see this deal in action. Thanks for sharing.
4.5
Thanks for the tips!