Save On Rental Cars Using This Genius Online Tool

For many vacations, rental cars are a necessity — sometimes quite a pricey necessity. And while you'll likely save money by renting one rather than using ride-share apps to get everywhere, it's still usually a big chunk of change you're dropping (not to mention, a hefty percentage of your vacation budget). Luckily, there are sites out there that help you find the best deals on rental cars so you can get where you need to go and still have some fun money to spend once you get there.

AutoSlash is one of those sites. It's a car rental pricing search engine that explores quotes and applies discount codes without you putting in much work. Its results aim to showcase the best deals on car rentals from both popular and lesser-known rental agencies. According to its website, it's constantly crawling the web and looking for these codes and coupons to apply to your rental (more on this later) in an effort to save you money. If you're comfortable handing a bit of the research work off to the service, it could be a good tool to add to your savvy traveler toolkit. 

If you choose to try AutoSlash, you'll begin by answering a few questions to generate a quote. From there, the tool works by searching the company's database for discount codes and coupons that suit your specific needs. While that's not an unusual service, the company tries to distinguish itself from competitors by continuing the price-monitoring process after you've booked a rental. AutoSlash claims that if it is able to find a better deal after you commit to your reservation, it'll notify you so you can cancel your existing arrangement and rebook at the lower rate using the new discount it found for you.

The company also attempts to set itself apart from other price-comparison sites by factoring in memberships and associations with major organizations that could possibly score you a better discount, including USAA, AAA, and Costco, among others. In addition, the platform also factors in things like renter programs and frequent flyer programs when searching for discounts, assuming you provide that information. Overall, AutoSlash claims that its users save about 30% more than its competitors — bear in mind, though, that this is self-reported data, so you'll want to do your own research, as with all purchases. 

While using AutoSlash is simple and the company claims to be effective, reviews about the platform are mixed, with some users saying they scored large discounts and others alleging that the company didn't quite live up to its promises. For example, when asked whether booking with AutoSlash is "legit," one Redditor responded, "Yes. I have used them multiple times without any issues." Another commenter in the same Reddit thread shared a similar sentiment, stating, "I used them once, pre-covid. Everything went fine. I saved some money and I would use them again."

Not every review is so positive, however. For example, customer reviews published on SiteJabber are, at the time of writing, split nearly down the middle, with 20 users giving AutoSlash five stars and 17 users giving the online tool only one star. Of the one-star reviews, there are multiple complaints that claim the experience was spoiled by hidden fees; there are also multiple claims that AutoSlash had promised refunds but later denied them or simply failed to give them.

Some of the negative reviews may boil down to misunderstandings, however, including ones related to the timeframe in which users are eligible to get a refund on a rental. Ultimately, it's up to you to test out the site to determine whether it is able to offer the discounts you're looking for. Whatever you do, before paying for a rental car, remember to wait a little bit just in case a new and better deal pops up.