An Alamo car rental is a smart way to get a car for short term use such as a vacation or driving around during a business trip. Renting a car for a long driving trip is also wise as it saves wear and tear on your own car. In some cases, such as during special rental programs for one way travel, a car rental can be had for only $1 per day. That’s a fantastic deal.

Alamo started way back in 1974 in Florida. Their primary business was for vacation rentals, as no other companies were serving that niche at the time. With so many vacationers coming to Florida for the sun and for Disney, it was a natural fit. Alamo pioneered some of the more common car rental concepts of today. One of these was unlimited mileage rental. Families on vacation don’t want to track miles or to pay extra when they go over a certain amount. Alamo was one of the first rental car companies to recognize this and come up with a solution.

Alamo was also one of the first to rent cars from a large plaza facility. Other car rental companies at the time ? 1974, remember ? mostly worked with corporate repeat clients. Although they had a lot of business, much of it was conducted over the phone, long before the traveler showed up to pick up the vehicle. But vacationers often showed up on the spot and in large numbers all at the same time. Alamo came up with the speedy, high volume car rental facility today seen at airports. This allowed them to process a lot of people and put them behind the wheel of their fun car.

Amongst other common car rental features Alamo pioneered are rental insurance and online car rentals. Alamo was the first rental company to provide low cost coverage for their cars, so people wouldn’t have to worry about accidents. And in 1995 Alamo provided the first opportunity renters had ever seen to book their rental on the Internet. That was a big deal at the time.

Those firsts really don’t matter to people looking to rent a car. Most major auto rental companies provide the same services. It comes down to quality vehicles at affordable prices. Alamo certainly has both. An economy car from Alamo can cost less than $20 per rental day. That’s competitive with other companies. Alamo has some of the best partnerships in the business so a savvy traveler can also earn airline miles and free hotel stays, as well as a lot of other perks by using an Alamo car rental.

Go back, way back, to 1974 when Alamo looked at the rental business to realize vacationers had few options. What a difference a few decades makes in the car rental world.

Smart shoppers use coupons. Coupons can help people save a lot of money in the course of every day shopping. It’s no different in the car rental business where car rental coupons and online discount codes help people rent cars in some cases for a ridiculously low cost.

Coupons are a marketing tool. They serve as advertising, often appearing in newspapers or home delivered coupon circulars. They make people aware of a brand and because of an offered discount encourage people to try the brand. It’s common knowledge that a big part of the battle is getting people to try something. Particularly if it’s quality, they’ll keep using it. Coupons, including rental coupons help attract new customers and keep existing customers coming back for more. In the rental car business where one offer and company looks a lot like the next, that’s important.

Many coupons do nothing more than offer a customer the normal price, compared to the penalized higher price for people who don’t use the coupon. In fact, that’s the way a smart consumer looks at coupons. Given there are coupons out there for the same products every day, that coupon discounted price is the price. Only foolish and lazy people would ignore coupons, paying more for these goods.

For car rentals there are plenty of sites that help people find the best deals, coupons and discount codes. Rentalcarmomma (http://www.rentalcarmomma.com) is just one of them. A quick search on Google or Yahoo will find more. Many of these coupons or discount codes depend on other items, such as using a particular credit card when paying or a particular online service when booking. It’s smart to perform a search of these deals, but then to compare the total price amongst many merchants. For example if there is a coupon for booking car rental on Travelocity, check other sites like Cheaptickets that may offer the same coupons, or list car rentals that are cheaper than the Travelocity listings plus coupons. Remember that coupons are often used to encourage people to select something they wouldn’t otherwise purchase. Think about why people look to other products before choosing one just because there’s a coupon.

Most rental car companies have deals that don’t depend on coupons. These can be deals such as $1 a day rental for one way travel to Florida during the fall, to special discounts for government employees and members of the military. Some rental companies have even been known to offer free rental cars to veterans or to people in special circumstances.

Car rental coupons should definitely be taken into consideration when looking for a rental vehicle. Be careful, be smart, compare, and then get every penny you can taken off the price via a coupon.

In 1947 24 independent rental car agents got together to form National car rental company. It began with 60 locations around the United States. That was considered pretty big by the standards of the time. But in the next 60 years National grew to the point that today it has over 2000 locations all over the world. That means whenever and wherever someone needs to rent a car, they can turn to National.

Renting a car is a necessity for many business travelers. When they get off the plane to work for a time in a new city or even country, it’s nice to have independent transportation without having to rely on others or on public transportation. That’s particularly true when travel has to be at night. People don’t want to ride a train or bus then.

National, like many other large rental car companies, has some incredible rates on rental cars. It’s possible to have a car for about $20 a day. During some special promotions it’s even lower. Try $1 a day for one way travel to certain cities at certain times of the year.

In addition to the specials many other car rental services offer, National offers last minute deals. It considers itself the last minute car rental specialist, and takes action to make that come true. People don’t always have notice for a trip that requires a rental car. It might be a funeral, or just a sick family member, or a last minute business trip to handle a problem client or situation. Whatever the issue National works hard to provide the best rates and service in that situation. Try some of these. A last minute rental of a full size car for only $170 a week, or an economy car for $19 a day. Those types of rates are a relief to people who have to make last minute plans.

Something not many people know is that National and Alamo rental car companies are owned by the same corporation. Since August of 2007 Enterprise owns both through an umbrella corporation. The reason the brands remain separate is that each has an associated niche. Whereas Enterprise is associated more with business rentals and corporate fleets, and Alamo has a reputation as a vacation car rental company, National maintains the image of the place to go for last second rentals.

That doesn’t mean someone can’t go to any of these companies for any reason. Compare prices of all the companies through a service like Expedia. Look around foar specials and coupon codes. And if they’re the best car rental deal, then by all means choose National car rental.

Many people rent cars for vacations, business trips, temporary replacement for a car in the shop, or even for use a few days a week when public transportation is otherwise used. There are many car rental companies from which to choose. Budget is one that spends a lot of money on advertising. So many people consider a Budget car rental. The name also helps create the connection between renting from that company and the lowest price. It’s not true, but it’s a good marketing technique.

Budget doesn’t only rent cars. It also rents trucks used by people for moving, hauling materials and gear for business, and a variety of other purposes. Budget trucks are known for their comfort and style. In fact luxuries like automatic transmission, air conditioning, power brakes and power steering helped set them apart from other truck rentals. Compare those features to a traditional trucks with a stiff manual transmission, a loud bumpy ride, and brakes and steering that practically take a superhero to manage. Budget trucks also have something many vans don’t have. That’s a full interior space not interrupted by a big bulging wheel well. That adds to the storage in the truck and makes it easier to maneuver items through the interior. Like many truck rental companies Budget sells the trucks after they’ve been in service for a time. That leads to another great feature of Budget trucks. They’re generally newer trucks in excellent working condition. Nobody wants a break down on moving day.

In some parts of the country, such as New York City, people find it inconvenient to own a car. High parking prices, congested streets, and the availability of rapid transit add up in a decision to go car-less. But even these people sometimes need a car. It might be to run errands when carrying packages wouldn’t be practical on a bus or train. It could also be they just want a drive. In any case, a rental car is the solution. Budget has cars that rent for about $160 a week, a real bargain. Even the cost of a rental car every weekend of the year, about $70 each weekend from Budget, would be cheaper than the cost of owning a car. With the price of parking, maintenance, insurance and registration, it ends up cheaper to rent on occasion.

Little did Henry Ford realize when he designed his first car that businesses would exist to rent cars for people. What would he say if he could see Budget car rental in action?

Car rental companies have some interesting names. Names like Budget and Dollar give renters the impression of low cost, a great deal, while names like Enterprise engender smart business. But no name is better than that of Thrifty car rental. Thrifty, as a word, is the ultimate in wise money decisions. So when people are looking for cars to rent, there’s no better decision than to save money, spend it wisely and only when necessary. In other words, to be thrifty.

Thrifty began in the car rental business way back in 1958. It offered stock in the 1980’s before being purchased by Chrysler in 1989. It was later combined with Dollar, another car rental company. Thrifty operates today as one of the largest car rental companies and one of the best known brand names in the world. The majority of its fleet is, as expected, Chrysler cars including both Dodge and Jeep.

Thrifty operates some other car related businesses. As many other rental companies, Thrifty sells its rental cars after their time of service as rentals is complete. The first impression of such cars is they would be in bad shape, long abused by people who only drive them for a short time. While some cars are abused, the majority of the vehicles from a rental fleet like Thrifty’s are well cared for. They receive all the scheduled maintenance, unlike many used cars at dealerships that come from private customers who are lax on such care. Furthermore, penalties for damage encourage rental car drivers to take extra special care of the car while in their charge. Thus, cars sold by rental companies tend to be in better overall condition than used cars from private owners.

Another business Thrifty operates is long term airport parking. Travelers who drive to the airport often need a safe place to keep their car while they’re out of town. Long term parking offers this facility at a reasonable price. Thrifty operates these facilities at airports all around the world.

Back to the history of Thrifty, there are some pretty interesting aspects. Thrifty originally rented Volkswagen Beetles at a time when they weren’t too common in the United States. The rental cost for a Beetle was $6. In the wild and wacky 60’s Thrifty took advantage of the general playboy mentality with Miss Thrifty. This was a lady, usually young and pretty, who would drive customers to Thrifty’s off airport facilities. Perhaps most interesting of all was Miss Thrifty wore Scottish plaid.

Thrifty car rental is a serious subject. But as with many companies it has its quirky side too. Maybe wear a little plaid next time you rent from Thrifty. Maybe they’ll offer a rental discount.

Many people don’t have cars. It’s true, even in America there are still people who don’t have them. There are also people who have a car but travel to different cities where they’ll need a car. Whether it’s for a trip near home over the weekend, running errands that can’t be done via public transportation, or getting around while 1000 miles away from home, that’s where rental cars come into the picture. And one of the companies people choose most often is Enterprise. That’s because Enterprise car rentals are not overly pricey, they’re generally in good shape, and Enterprise will even pick up the renter from home, from the office, or from the airport.

Enterprise can be found in every major city, as well as in not so major cities and towns. They offer a variety of cars from sub compact all the way up to SUVs. In some locations there are even convertible sports cars available. Hey, if traveling away from home and in a sunny location, why not add some enjoyment to the trip? The prices are great too. A weekly rental for under $300 can be a great deal. Do the math on this one. A person can commute to work every day via public transportation. Save the errands such as trips to the store for weekends when cars can be rented for under $20 a day. For about $60 a week all the car needs are fulfilled. That’s under $3500 a year which is far less than most car owners spend on the car purchase, insurance, maintenance, storage, cleaning, registration and other expenses associated with a car.

Enterprise also offers fleet management services to small businesses. This includes any business that provides cars to employees such as sales businesses, or businesses with multiple locations where traveling supervisors or managers make visits. Managing all the details of a fleet of cars isn’t easy. The cars much be purchased, maintained, and all the legalities such as insurance and registration apply to fleet cars too. When a car becomes too worn for use it must be replaced. Businesses want to spend time on their core functions rather than on cars. That’s where Enterprise steps into the picture.

For people who want to own cars, Enterprise sells their cars used after they’ve served their time in a fleet or a rental role. One top feature of Enterprise used cars is they are well maintained. That goes counter to the impression of a car always driven by non-owners who really don’t care about it. Car renters do care about the cars because companies like Enterprise charge penalties for damage and misuse. And consider too that fleet or rental cars are maintained according to the book. Many private owners don’t do that, and those are the used cars that end up at most dealerships.

Who knew Enterprise car rentals could have so many different roles and uses?

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