Outings, Services   Ditmas Park/ Midwood/ Flatbush, Downtown, Park Slope/ Prospect Heights
Car rentals: who’s the cheapest?
by Daniel Myers | 5.19.09 | 13 Comments

picture-11If you’re still trying to figure out your plans, here’s a quick run-down of Brooklyn car rentals, from most to least expensive. All rates quoted are for Friday-to-Monday rental of compact cars, and the guys from the sketchier-sounding companies assured us that none were more than six to seven years old. Unless indicated, there’s no mileage limit. And be nice to the person at the counter—last time we rented a car, we got upgraded to a Ford Mustang simply for acting halfway decent.

$345 (180-mile limit) Zip Car (plus a $50 annual fee and $15 application fee). 866-494-7227

$345 Enterprise, 330 Adams St. (at Johnson St), 453 3rd Ave (between 8th and 9th streets), 718- 369-5100

$339 Speedy Car Rental, 800 Union St (between Sixth and Seventh avenues), 718-783-0800

$285 Image Rent-a-Car, 391 Empire Blvd (between Nostrand and New York avenues), 718-995-3723

$273 Avis, 211 Atlantic Ave (at Court St),  718-522-7407

$209.95 (500-mile limit) Empire Rent-a-Car - 835 Pennsylvania Ave (between Linden Boulevard and Stanley), 718-539-0323‎

$200 Star Car Rental, 449 Broadway (at Hewes Street), 718-302-5602‎

$160 (150-mile-a-day limit) Yitz, 705 McDonald Ave (between Ditmas and Cortelyou), 718- 633-2500

$150 (150-mile-a-day limit) Express Car Rental, 496 7th Ave (between Windsor and Prospect), 475 Dahill Rd (btw 39th and 40th), 718-369-6465

$120 (150-mile-a-day limit) Econo Car Rental- 5010 12th Ave (at New Utrecht Avenue), 718-851-2000

$120 (150 mile-a-day limit) Elite Car and Truck Rental, 1041 Coney Island Ave (at Foster Avenue) , 718-859-8111‎


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  • brokelandlocked

    great photo! Where’s the horse?

  • brokelandlocked

    Zipcar is that expensive??? They annoy me anyway

  • marykate

    guess that settles it, no zipcar membership for me

  • Karpinsky

    I’m going to Yitz–on name alone

  • marok

    Zipcar price is misleading. Unlike the others, it includes unlimited gas and insurance.

  • BigBob

    PLEASE be careful when using smaller companies. I’ve had TERRIBLE experiences with some of the outfits on coney island avenue (made up car damage, extra charges, tickets charged to me for 2 months AFTER the rental) Not saying this applies to any of these places, but remember that there isn’t a national office to complain to

  • http://flickr.com/photos/urbanlatinfemale Lex

    http://www.imagerentacar.com,/

    That link is entered with a comma at the end!

    I’m glad you guys did all this leg work! After using a local rental in LA, I would go ahead and use one in NY. I think the only advantage – sort of – for Zip Car is that you don’t have to fill up the tank upon arrival. But the cost of said tank is probably less than the difference b.w the other rentals.

  • Liza

    Taking the LIRR out onto LI (think Hicksville) or the MetroNorth upstate/to CT can save you a ton of money if you are headed out of town anyway. A $10 roundtrip ticket to those places can save $100+ for a weekend rental just because they’re not as busy. And companies like Enterprise will gladly pick you up at the station.

  • AlP

    The best car rental deal I’ve found is Budget at 130 Franklin Avenue, Garden City, L.I. $158.54 for M – F and $209.94 for 7 days. It’s worth the extra cost and time of a round trip on the LIRR to the Country Life Press stop ($16.16 round trip peak web ticket, less off-peak)They’re a 10 min. walk from the station.

  • bk

    the zipcar thing is totally misleading–it comes with free gas and insurance which means you save a lot.

  • Nancy

    Zipcar is great for short trips, not staying overnights. Ours is $11 an hour.

  • Gil Cygler

    There is another company, actually the largest NY based company not listed which has offices throughout Brooklyn and fair prices – Allcar Rent A Car; they also accept cash and debit cards as deposits which many of the larger companies do not accept.

    They also have hourly programs without membership fees, cancellation fees or minimum fees.

    You can check them out at Allcarrentacar.com

  • Sara

    I actually use Allcar at the Marriott and they cap the hourly rates at $39 for the day mid week – why rent Zipcar at $13 an hour – after a few hours you pay more than you would for a daily rate at Allcar