Florida Road Trip for $1 a Day

The way the car rental market is right now, you're lucky to get a rate lower than $50 a day. Companies like Avis, Budget, Alamo, and Thrifty are squeezing their customers but good. However, if you're super-flexible and want to take a road trip, there are deals to be had. If you've ever wanted to go to Disney World or Key West or Miami, and you happen to be close to the Houston, Boston, or Providence airports, and (the kicker) you have the time to make a southern/eastern road trip between now and November 15, this is the deal for you. Should you fit into all those rigid requirements of geography, inclination, and time off, you can drive for just a dollar a day (plus taxes, gas, lodging, hookers, etc.) from Texas or New England down to Florida.

The deal is so sweet because the Thrifty Florida dealerships need inventory, and instead of hiring drivers or stacking cars on big trucks and hauling them down themselves, they want you to do the dirty work. The pick-ups and drop-offs are all airport-bound, so you’ll have to work that into your itinerary. You can’t have the car for more than seven days (so no cross-country addition to the trip, unless you want to drive straight on through), but a seven-day trip from Boston to Miami wouldn’t be so bad. Check back in the spring for more deals when the cars migrate back north.