One thing to check when you rent with Budget (more so than other car rental companies), is the condition of the car. I recently go hit for an additional $30 when I turned a car in, because there was a slight rock chip in the windshield. I didn’t see it at all the entire week, but I bet it was there when I rented the car. Shame on me for not noticing when I first picked up the car. I had no choice, but to pay the $$.

Good Luck

does anyone know of chicago-area dealers who do rent vehicles out free of mileage restrictions?

( if so, please do contact me. my website is memostothefuture.com )

thanks,
chris.

1) Look at your memberships, credit cards, AAA, local associations, banks, frequent flier/renter programs you’d be surprised how many clubs, memberships, etc. have deals with Rental Companies.

2) With some rental car companies, if you sign up for their frequent renter programs, you get 1 free upgrades, a free day, etc.

3) Go to the company websites and look for coupons, special deals, etc. You can get a free upgrade, another $20 off, etc. off of weekly rates.

4) If you have freqent flier miles, you can use those to rent.

* Book via the rental company’s web site or their 800 number. It’s cheaper for them, so the rates are lower than through Orbitz / Expedia / Travelocity.
* Sometimes, rates will be different on one day vs. the next day. Play around before booking, as much as your schedule allows.
* Search the web for coupon codes. They can make a pretty good dent in the total.
* Don’t book a car at a non-airport branch. The rates are higher since the competition is limited. Airport branches are constantly in price wars.
* Not every company will strictly enforce the mileage policy, but some are jerks. Be sure to check if there’s a GPS unit tracking the distance you’ve travelled — again, the web is a good resource.

The car had 4 miles on it when I picked it up. I got an “unlimited miles, 4-day weekend” rental deal. I don’t remember exactly what I paid, but it was reasonable. I drove it from Lexington, KY to Philadelphia and back. When I returned it, it had just over 1300 miles on the odometer. They didn’t even look.

In short, try a dealer.

dollar
charges you insane prices when walking up to the counter, so reserve via the usual suspects online. renting an intermediate car has reliably gotten me upgrades to larger vehicles. being shameless (”I am a journalist.”) helps. last time I rented from them, they still didn’t have mileage limitations on their cars and when I brought the vehicle with around 500 miles/rental day back, they said nothing.

enterprise
yes, they pick you up and yes, they are the nordstrom of car rentals in terms of service. the cars themselves are a completely different story though. I got a ford taurus with itchy cloth seats, hand-crank windows and no keyless entry system. this is what they consider a “full size” car? enterprise also limits you to usually the three surrounding states, adds a mileage limit and requires at least one credit card that is not connected to your checking account (those debit-credit cards won’t get you anywhere here). it is possible at certain locations to get european models, these are however not offered via the website and not guaranteed. getting your hands onto one can be quite a challenge: you have to rely on anecdotal evidence from employees, which can quickly make a passat a jetta and so on.

thrifty
does not accept foreign drivers licenses, so tourists beware. mileage limit, state limit, all the works. also not the greatest prices I have ever seen.

hertz
I mention these guys only because of their prestige collection. getting an A6 for a weekend ran me just shy of $300 including taxes. I thought that wasn’t all that bad. 500 miles per day was acceptable as well.

okay, there are two more reasons I mention them: stories have circulated about them trying to add a refilling onto your bill per default even when the tank is full upon return and the one time I couldn’t find the rental place and returned a vehicle 45 minutes late, they charged me for another day.

avis
rented once from them, a full size yielded me a crown vic, which made every other cop salute me on the highway. the car was okay, though the gas mileage was terrible (think around 19 on the highway, perhaps 10 in the city? it’s a while ago). no problems but no positive surprises either.

The only options I can think of is the train (you could at least bring the dog along), the bus (no dog and Who’s Who in Mental Instability stories afterward) or try Craiglisting for carpooling trips out to KC.