Need suggestions on rental cars 5 adult + 3 kids

passenger van or mini van rental
Costco travel seems to be the lowest rates that i have recently found.

Quote from jsjunks : Hi, Not sure if this is the right place, but I'm hoping that kind SDers would help out with this! My family is visiting me from Australia later this year and I'm in need of a 8 seater (5 adults + 3 8-10yr old kids). Any suggestion on cars offered by rental companies? We will be carrying 4-5 medium sized suit cases/bags too. I'm not very particular about mileage. Thanks, ~J~

The best rates that I've found are with AARP and Costco coming in a close second. (Though you would need to have a membership with Costco or AARP)

I've had the best luck with budget. But this is not a guarantee. It depends on many factors.


I'm a newbie too..and I've had some good people give me some really good help.


So guess I'll pay it forward.


Give me details-
Where is the car being rented?
Is it being returned to the same place?
Will it be rented at the airport or in town?
On what date are you renting it and at what time?
Till when are you going to need it?

I had a Chevy Tahoe as a rental car for a few weeks. Can seat 8 people comfortably for sure. I can't remember offhand how big the trunk space was, but if its a concern you could always go for a Chevy Suburban. Not too horrible on gas.

not all companies have vehicles that sit 8
you have 2 options

toyota sienna
suburban / yukon xl

since the chevy traverse or tahoe have no trunk space once the back row is up.

Where would you be picking it up from?

OK I was away for a while... thanks for response guys!

I'll be picking it either from around Orlando, FL or this strange place, Little rock, AR. Doesn;t matter if it is an airport or town. I'll need it on first week of Oct and for 10 days (6-Oct to 16-Oct).

Thanks in advance for all the suggestions!!

I admit that the BMW 320 Touring is a fine car, but with kids on board and all the luggage, you couldn't use it to its limits anyway. So I'd really suggest you rent a camping vehicle, which will also give you the opportunity to stay a night spontaneously at a place the kids like.

Quote from jsjunks : Hi, Not sure if this is the right place, but I'm hoping that kind SDers would help out with this! My family is visiting me from Australia later this year and I'm in need of a 8 seater (5 adults + 3 8-10yr old kids). Any suggestion on cars offered by rental companies? We will be carrying 4-5 medium sized suit cases/bags too. I'm not very particular about mileage. Thanks, ~J~

I suggest that you look into renting an actual van, rather than a minivan. You know, those that are used by airport shuttle services?
I rented one of those once, with Avis in MIA. They call it "Passenger Van".

Orlando would almost certainly be much cheaper than Little rock. 8 people + bags calls for a Suburban or a van. We have an Odyssey minivan and it can hold 8 but would be cramped. It depends on how much luggage you have for the rear.
Book somewhere and then also put in requirements into autoslash.com which was discussed on this stie. You can always bail out on autoslash if they don't find somethng cheaper.

Ditto on the passenger van suggested earlier. You'll need the space with 8 passengers and luggage. Orlando (airport code MCO) usually has good availability for these. You may also consider 2 vehicles.

I find that vans are always over priced. I'd just go with 2 standard cars or something, will probably end up being half the price of the van.

Quote from bobu : I find that vans are always over priced. I'd just go with 2 standard cars or something, will probably end up being half the price of the van.

True. And you also have added flexibility if some of the group want to go somewhere else.