Renting Car in Bangor (Portland, Brewer: rental car, rentals, how much)

[svband76]

Seems car rental prices at Bangor Int'l Airport in the last couple years have been through the roof. Any hints or ideas on rental an automobile for a reasonable price? I have the need for one for a couple weeks at a time, a few times a year for the time being. Thank you in advance.

[Submariner]

We have rented vehicles from the Toyota dealership in Brewer before [DownEast Toyota]. We were pleased by the prices and the process. I would imagine that they would be willing to pick you up at the airport if you asked.

[mainegrl2011]

I saw a recent news program about the increase in car rental rates stating that many rental agencies sold much of their inventory in 2020 because of the pandemic. Car rentals at airports are typically higher than locations away from the airport property due to fees charged by the airport. Some would call it a convenience fee. If you are a member of AAA, try renting a car through their website for a potential discount. Going through the AAA website has worked for me in the past. Enterprise used to pick people up. Maybe they still offer that service. Enterprise hasn't been open for late night rentals just an fyi. Update: I just looked online and see that Enterprise has both an airport location and a Hammond Street location with the same Hammond Street address. Places that are tourist areas often see higher rates during the tourist season. There is a high demand for rental cars at the Bangor International Airport. It pays to shop around, make some phone calls, look at car dealership websites online to see which ones offer vehicle rentals. You could take a taxi to an away from the airport vehicle rental location or if you want to go 21st Century, get an Uber.

[BobTex]

Granted I haven't been to Bangor in 2 years but we did go at least yearly for the previous 5 years and always used Enterprise at the airport. My reservations were made at least 2 months in advance (usually 4 months) and the further out I made reservations the better the prices. Reservations made in the early spring were the best. All our rentals were were for 2 weeks and we always crossed over into Canada, which was never an issue. We've rented mid-size passenger vehicles to mid-size SUV's. If our flight arrived in late the desk guy stayed while early drop-offs were just a key drop.

My experiences were great at the airport every time and prices were reasonable. Reserving on-line helps see those prices. I will say that Bangor was always higher than the national advertised prices and summertime prices were quite a bit higher.

I haven't looked at pricing lately as Canada is shut down to most US visitors for the most part so no need to shop.

[nm9stheham]

Yes, rental car prices are up all over. I also have to wonder if one factor is Hertz going through bankruptcy taking away some the competitiveness in the market. AAA may help and Costco Travel has been giving me some of the best prices recently.


Prices can go up or down with time.... seems to depend on the expected demand for a range of dates at any given time. (Touristy locales out West seems to go down once you get close to the rental date.)

[svband76]

Thanks for the good ideas. I've made some phone calls already.

[nm9stheham]

FWIW... I have been planning a trip to Denver or Salt Lake City for a few weeks... and saw last night that Budget's rates for a week long car rental out of Denver International in the 1st full week of May away just dropped significantly in the last day or so. I've done this before... waited until the last 2 weeks before a trip and found some significant drops in rates... like 50% or more.

(This has been for trips to the northern Rockies outside of the main tourist season so IDK how much that applies all over the US and to what parts of the year. AFAIK, the rates might go up the later you wait for a place like Portland in summer demand times.)

[svband76]

Originally Posted by nm9stheham

FWIW... I have been planning a trip to Denver or Salt Lake City for a few weeks... and saw last night that Budget's rates for a week long car rental out of Denver International in the 1st full week of May away just dropped significantly in the last day or so. I've done this before... waited until the last 2 weeks before a trip and found some significant drops in rates... like 50% or more.

(This has been for trips to the northern Rockies outside of the main tourist season so IDK how much that applies all over the US and to what parts of the year. AFAIK, the rates might go up the later you wait for a place like Portland in summer demand times.)

Thank you I'll check this out. I appreciate it.

[CARas2020]

When we have rented a car we used Budget and they were reasonable and had good customer service. It was always away from the airport.

[nm9stheham]

The crazy part was that if I extended the rental to 8 days instead of 7, then Budget's rates jumped way back high LOL, and Enterprise was much cheaper (via Costco) for the 8 days. I imagine there are some sort of automated programs that the car companies use, that adjusts their prices based on how many projected rentals they have so many weeks ahead.



I typically do not make a commitment until with 1-2 weeks before travel, and rarely if ever pre-pay, and will keep checking off and on for better deals. I've walked in to an airport rental car area before and instead of "Pssst.... hey buddy, wanna buy a watch?", it has been "Pssst, hey buddy... wanna rent a car....we have lower rates dan does udder guise." LOL. That has been for business travel, and might not be the case in a busy tourist season and area, so take that approach only with some presspective on what is going on at that airport at the time.