Many people choose a rental car as their preferred transportation when visiting Anaheim, California. This page has information on how to rent a car in Anaheim.

Anaheim, California is known as the home of Disneyland, Adventure City, the Garden Walk and the Anaheim Ballet. Knowing how to rent a car in Anaheim can be useful if you plan on visiting any of these attractions. On this page you will find information on what to look for and what to avoid when searching for a rental car in Anaheim. http://www.rentalcarmomma.com/cities/anaheim.htm

Don't get fooled into paying for extras. Things like child safety seats, roof racks, ski racks and GPS devices can all be rented at the car rental facility for a daily charge. This can get quite expensive so consider bringing your own. Fees and charges like these that people are not aware of can make your car rental quite expensive.

There are many promotions and competitive rates for car rentals from the large car rental companies like Hertz, Budget, Enterprise, Alamo and Avis. They all want you to pick them as your rental company. By offering special deals like free upgrades, extra free rental days and various discounts on rates, they hope to convince you to choose them. With all the different offers out there, and all the hidden fees to be cautious about, it can get quite confusing when looking for a rental car. You can use this page to educate yourself on what to look out for when renting a car. The Mahalo page 'how to get a cheap car rental' might also be useful to you. http://www.rentalcarmomma.com/ http://www.edmunds.com/reviews/list/top10/116640/article.html http://www.mahalo.com/how-to-get-a-cheap-car-rental

RESEARCH: Whether you call in your car rental reservation or reserve your car in person, you might want to do some research first. Reserving a car online is another option that might be beneficial. Many car rental companies have special offers and discounts that are only available online. Do some research on the Internet and compare the rates of different car rental companies. You can also see what kinds of vehicles they have available for rent. If you are seeking an exotic, luxury vehicle, try finding a website like exoticcarrental.com that specializes in those types of vehicles. The major car rental companies often have cars that range from standard and compact cars to pick-up trucks and minivans. Reserving a car online has many benefits. For instance, you will not be bound by any hours of operation. The Internet is available to you 24/7 so you can do your research at your own leisure. Car rental facilities have opening and closing hours and on weekends they might even close sooner. Aside from this, you will not be pressured into renting a certain car by a sales representative as you possibly might have, if you went to the rental facility in person. http://www.exoticcarrental.com/ http://www.enterprise.com/car_rental/showVehicles.do

INSURANCE: A common mistake with car rentals is the insurance. The insurance offered by car rental companies covers you in the case of accidents and it covers the car rental company's loss. Often people don't know that they are already covered for car rentals by their own insurance company and they end up double insured. Contact your insurance agent and check if you are covered. You will be able to save some money this way. http://www.edmunds.com/reviews/list/top10/116640/article.html

BOOKING YOUR RENTAL CAR: Another way to save money is by booking your rental car early. Car rental rates depend on how many cars are in the lot of the car rental facility at the time of your reservation. The earlier you book, the better rate you will get. If you know a week or more ahead of time that you will be visiting Anaheim, try to reserve your car right away. http://www.edmunds.com/reviews/list/top10/116640/article.html

PACKAGE DEALS: If you require a hotel stay during your visit to Anaheim, California, you might want to look into a package deal. Package deals are promotions where you book your rental car together with a hotel stay for a more favorable price. You can find these offers on travel websites like orbitz.com and expedia.com. If your trip to Anaheim is a last minute thing, try looking for last minute rental car rates. You can find these on the travel websites also, just as you would with last minute flights. http://www.expedia.com/daily/cars/default.asp?rfrr=-361 http://www.orbitz.com/App/SubmitQuickSearch?z=b9c4&r=1t

AGE PENALTIES: If you are renting a car and you are younger than 25 years old, there may be an extra fee. If you are under 21 years of age, this fee might be even higher. Government and military personnel are the only once that might be able to avoid this fee. If you want to avoid getting charge a fee regardless of your age, try searching for independent smaller companies. They are more flexible and make their own in-house rules. http://www.carrentalexpress.com/tips/age_restrictions.html

PICK UP LOCATIONS: Try picking up your rental car from a car rental facility away from the airport. This might me more inconvenient, but will save you some money since airport facilities charge taxes and fees.

PREPAYING GAS: Prepaying for gas is often more expensive than filling the car up yourself before returning it to the lot. Sure, it might be more inconvenient to look for a gas station, but car rental companies charge a lot for gas. Even more than you would pay at the pump. Also, if you don't use up all the gas in the rental car, you will have still prepaid for a full tank of gas. http://www.independenttraveler.com/resources/article.cfm?AID=29&category=2

EARLY AND LATE RETURN CHARGES: Returning the rental car too early or too late might result in extra charges. For returning a car early you can be charge anywhere from $10 -$15 per day. On top of this your rental rate might also get adjusted for the worse. If you drop off the car at a different location than where you picked it up, you will also get charged an extra fee. Make sure to ask about this, if this is what you plan on doing. http://www.independenttraveler.com/resources/article.cfm?AID=29&category=2&page=2

When reserving a rental car for your Anaheim visit, try going online and look for special promotional offers and discounts. Websites like rentalcarmomma.com and retailmenot.com have many coupons that can save you some money. The coupons are either, printable, codes or clickable links. Expired coupons are not accepted, so make sure to check the validity of the coupons before reserving your car. Some coupons are only valid for the rental of certain cars and others are only valid when you rent for a certain number of days. Other restrictions and exclusions might also apply. You can find them by reading the fine print on the coupons. http://www.rentalcarmomma.com/cities/anaheim.htm http://www.retailmenot.com/coupons/carrentals

EMAIL UPDATES: Stay up to date of current promotional offers, discounts and coupons by registering your email on the website of the car rental companies of your choice. Once you do this you will start receiving emails with special deals. http://www.enterprise.com/car_rental/intresImage.do?imageId=28443.4&key=996.en.US.......&page=HOM12

BECOME A MEMBER: The large car rental companies often have car rental clubs. Becoming a member of such a club can cost a yearly fee, but there are also free memberships you can enjoy. Benefits of joining car rental clubs include faster service and discounts on various rates. Besides this you will also avoid long lines at airports by using the special members' only line at airports. https://www.enterprise.com/car_rental/enterprisePlusPickYourPath.do