What car hire company is typically the cheapest in San Diego?

According to our data, users have found the cheapest deals when booking a car hire in San Diego from the following companies over the past two weeks: Dollar (R1 019/day), Thrifty (R1 022/day), and Europcar (R1 241/day).

Which car hire company is considered to be the best in San Diego?

Taking our users’ ratings and reviews into consideration, Advantage (10,0 rating), Silvercar (10,0 rating) and Alamo (8,8 rating) seem to be the best car hire companies in San Diego.

What are petrol prices like in San Diego?

The average price of petrol in San Diego is R19,74/litre over the past month, costing you anywhere between R888 and R1 283 to fill up a car’s fuel tank.

How much does it cost to hire a car in San Diego for a week from Alamo?

Alamo is one of the most popular car hire companies in San Diego, offering car hire for around R14 378 per week on average.

How far in advance should I hire a car in San Diego for the best price?

Booking early can save you upwards of 38% on your car hire. Booking your vehicle at least 7 days in advance can you get you a great below-average price in San Diego.

Can I rent a car for a month in San Diego?

The length of time you can book a car hire for is subject to the inventory of the supplier. When renting a vehicle from San Diego it should be possible to hire a car for a whole month if needed.

How much is a car hire in San Diego for a weekend?

R0 is typically the average cost for a hire car for the weekend in San Diego, though this could vary depending on the time of year. If you’re on a budget when travelling to San Diego, then opt for a Compact hire vehicle - these tend to be the most affordable on weekends. In the month of May, you can expect to find car hire prices on Cheapflights for as low as R0/day.

What car do most people hire in San Diego?

The most popular car chosen by those travelling to San Diego is Mini (Dodge Grand Caravan) based on our Cheapflights data.

Cheap Car Hire in San Diego | Deals From R1 012/Day

What is the cheapest time to rent a car in San Diego?

January

R651

February

R843

March

R1 015

April

R900

May

R862

June

R996

July

R1 053

August

R977

September

R843

October

R919

November

R862

December

R862

Currently, the cheapest month to rent a car in San Diego is January. The most expensive time to rent a car is July. The cheapest prices for each month are shown above, but prices will vary based on availability, how far out you book your rental car, and of course, car type.

Popular car types in San Diego

All deals

There are 61 hire agencies servicing San Diego. These agencies, altogether, have 135 hire locations available. Need an affordable hire? small car is the cheapest car type to hire in San Diego with prices from R1 012 a day in the previous 7-day period. Here are 3 car types you can hire in San Diego:

Economy

R1 012+

View Deal

Compact

R1 019+

View Deal

Intermediate

R1 029+

View Deal

Standard

R1 144+

View Deal

People carrier

R1 747+

View Deal

Full-size SUV

R1 461+

View Deal

Luxury

R1 845+

View Deal

Convertible

R1 349+

View Deal

Compare available car types for rental in San Diego

	Small cars	R852 - R1 695
	All Car Types	R747 - R2 924

To hire a small car in San Diego, the United States, you would pay an average price of R650/day. January is the cheapest month to hire a small car in San Diego, the United States (~R852/day), while the most expensive month to rent that same car type is May (~R1 695/day). In fact, January is about 30% cheaper than prices during the rest of the year to book a small car hire for San Diego. When comparing with other car types available for hire in San Diego, renting a small car saves you 36% in costs. Please note that average prices are based on historical data and can vary depending on how early you book, availability for your travel dates, and vehicle popularity. Here are the best San Diego small car hire prices found by Cheapflights users in the past 7 days:

To hire a medium car in San Diego, the United States, you would pay an average price of R803/day. January is the cheapest month to hire a medium car in San Diego, the United States (~R694/day), while the most expensive month to rent that same car type is November (~R3 744/day). In fact, January is about 14% cheaper than prices during the rest of the year to book a medium car hire for San Diego. When comparing with other car types available for hire in San Diego, renting a medium car saves you 21% in costs. Please note that average prices are based on historical data and can vary depending on how early you book, availability for your travel dates, and vehicle popularity.

To hire a SUV in San Diego, the United States, you would pay an average price of R736/day. January is the cheapest month to hire a SUV in San Diego, the United States (~R694/day), while the most expensive month to rent that same car type is November (~R3 744/day). In fact, January is about 6% cheaper than prices during the rest of the year to book a SUV hire for San Diego. When comparing with other car types available for hire in San Diego, renting a SUV saves you 28% in costs. Please note that average prices are based on historical data and can vary depending on how early you book, availability for your travel dates, and vehicle popularity. Here are the best San Diego SUV hire prices found by Cheapflights users in the past 7 days:

Volkswagen Polo VivoR1 012/day

A/C

Toyota Corolla QuestR1 019/day

A/C

Top rental agencies in San Diego

Choose from the top car hire agencies available in San Diego, including Enterprise Rent-A-Car, Dollar and Budget. Read through reviews, double check the pickup location, and other important information before making your selection.

Enterprise Rent-A-Car

7,8

Good

335 reviews•14 locations

Check prices

Overview

Recent reviews

10,0

Wonderful|Mar 2023

Well managed very efficient pick up and drop off Clean cars. Friendly and professional staff Best rental Company ever

8,0

Very Good|Mar 2023

Staff were very friendly. Easy checkin process. The only downside is that our pickup location did not have child seats so not sure why my reservation went through. We were made to travel to another location to pick up a car seat. Did not like this inconvenience but we had no choice.

10,0

Wonderful|Jan 2021

Great service as always.

Everything was great.

1 out of 112

Enterprise Rent-A-Car Locations in San Diego

Dollar

6,7

Okay

224 reviews•2 locations

Check prices

Overview

Recent reviews

2,0

Poor|Aug 2023

Two hours wait in order to get a car

5,6

Fair|May 2019

Friendly staff and reasonable agreed price.

The additional charges taken from my credit card in excess of 350 dollars for a key that I placed in the overnite key box at the dollar kiosk because there were no dollar employees to check the car in. I was also charged for gas after the vehicle was fueled before its return. Staff called my cell phone over an hour and a half before my departure and I informed them the key was in the secure drop box. I was told I would be called back immediately if it was not there. I did not receive a call regarding the key and 300 dollars was taken from my account for what is showing a lost vehicle key. Unacceptable by any situation.

1 out of 75

Budget

6,6

Okay

181 reviews•11 locations

Check prices

Overview

Recent reviews

10,0

Wonderful|Jul 2023

The staff menber was extremely friendly and spoke to me about making them my number one choice in the future without being pushy. Very positive experience.

10,0

Wonderful|Apr 2023

I liked all, the ease of navigating on website was amazing. Keep it like it is!

2,0

Poor|Apr 2023

My plane was late coming in so I missed my reservation. Budget would not honor my reservation rate the next morning bc they said I was outside my grace period. Very unprofessional. Will not do business with them in the future.

2,0

Poor|May 2022

I have very bad experience & I’m still waiting for my money back, All this company want your money They don’t care customer services

1 out of 61

Budget Locations in San Diego

Avis

6,5

Okay

300 reviews•11 locations

Check prices

Overview

Recent reviews

4,0

Mediocre|Jul 2023

Staff was good but car was dirty

2,0

Poor|Apr 2023

Additional RSN charge sneaked into contract. Not explained or agreed upon.

2,0

Poor|Apr 2023

Perhaps my Owen fault, when I did not bring my credit card from Denmark. Back Home it is Ok to rent with just a debit card. The rent was prepaid and verified.. !! Anyway - my son and I had to go by public transportation instead. After the waiting at Avis San Diego.

2,0

Poor|Apr 2023

I had no idea the locations for pick-up and drop off were not at the arrival and departure airports as requested. Had to get a taxi to take from airport to the p/u location and office was closed for 30 minutes once I arrived, in a pouring down rainstorm. The car was not cleaned and the tools in the cargo area were unsecured adn rolling around on our drive. The drop off location was also offsite and I had to have a friend meet me there and give me a ride to the airport.

10,0

Wonderful|Apr 2023

Easy peasy, great desk staff too!

2,0

Poor|Mar 2023

Worst experience I’ve had renting a car. Lady at desk was rude and wouldn’t help me out.

1 out of 100

Avis Locations in San Diego

Hertz

5,9

Fair

729 reviews•13 locations

Check prices

Overview

Recent reviews

2,0

Poor|Sep 2023

They did not have the reservation at all. Could not find it even when I showed them the email from Kayak and said Kayak often screws up, and charged me full "Walk in pricing".

10,0

Wonderful|Sep 2023

Your customer service person who helped me with correcting my rental was awesome.

10,0

Wonderful|Aug 2023

When we arrived at San Diego Airport, we were told that our reservation was Tijuana not San Diego. I had a print out of my reservation and it showed Pick-up and Return were both San Diego. I ended up paying $90 more than my reserved price. I was not very happy about it.

2,0

Poor|Aug 2023

Pretty bag

2,0

Poor|Jul 2023

Location was not san Diego Airport. I That's what we asked for and the reservation was for Otay. Had to redo everything at .much higher lrice. Will never use kayak again

10,0

Wonderful|Jul 2023

We had an issue with where our original rental was planned and the gentleman at San Diego airport did a great job in fixing our situation

1 out of 243

Hertz Locations in San Diego

Economy Rent a Car

5,8

Fair

123 reviews•2 locations

Check prices

Overview

Recent reviews

2,0

Poor|Feb 2024

Customer experience was unreal. Never have I had a worst experience. Vendor cancelled my rental. Wouldn’t work with me on creating a new contract. Hung up on me after asking for options. Very disappointed in the interaction and experience. If a deal is to good to be true, is it?

2,0

Poor|Jan 2024

They had to send an Uber to pick me up from the airport which was sketchy and a hassle. The driver went to the wrong location and the person on the phone was rude when I called about it. After finally arriving at the rental agency I had to wait over an hour to get the car due to an internet issue

10,0

Wonderful|Oct 2023

The guy who helped me went out if his way to accommodate me. Great service. Very convenient and great price.

2,0

Poor|Mar 2023

Additional costs were not explained and receipt was not relayed to email as promised.

2,0

Poor|Feb 2023

They did not have a car for us. There were unexpected charges that you had to pay in order to consider your vehicle returned, Ling wait at the pickup area and no places to sit. Will never use economy again

1 out of 41

Ace

4,4

Mediocre

156 reviews•3 locations

Check prices

Overview

MEXRENTACAR

3,9

Poor

243 reviews•4 locations

Check prices

Overview

Recent reviews

2,0

Poor|Nov 2022

Car was at Mexican border not in San Diego as advertised

2,0

Poor|Nov 2022

Never got the car ..called back to cancel reservation ..none of the phone numbers worked all said out of service ..unable to complete call ..not a working number ..and some Spanish message …I put in the San Diego airport and your system was sending me to who knows where in San Diego ..wasn’t the airport

2,0

Poor|May 2022

They refused to give me the car because “we don’t do rentals under 24 hours notice”, however it showed up on kayak. They refused to listen to this argument, blaming kayak instead.

2,0

Poor|May 2022

I waited at the airport for an hour. Was late to my appointment.

2,0

Poor|May 2022

I was told they didn’t have a car for me. So was left without wheels that day. NOT GOOD.

2,0

Poor|May 2022

Overcharged a lot. 3x what I agreed to

1 out of 81

Best San Diego car hire deals found

These are the best deals we've found on hire cars in San Diego. Deals are updated frequently so be sure to check back soon for more options.

Volkswagen Polo VivoR1 012/day

A/C

Toyota Corolla QuestR1 019/day

A/C

Suzuki CiazR1 022/day

A/C

Car hire FAQs

What car hire company is typically the cheapest in San Diego?
According to our data, users have found the cheapest deals when booking a car hire in San Diego from the following companies over the past two weeks: Dollar (R1 019/day), Thrifty (R1 022/day), and Europcar (R1 241/day).
Which car hire company is considered to be the best in San Diego?
Taking our users’ ratings and reviews into consideration, Advantage (10,0 rating), Silvercar (10,0 rating) and Alamo (8,8 rating) seem to be the best car hire companies in San Diego.
What are petrol prices like in San Diego?
The average price of petrol in San Diego is R19,74/litre over the past month, costing you anywhere between R888 and R1 283 to fill up a car’s fuel tank.
How much does it cost to hire a car in San Diego for a week from Alamo?
Alamo is one of the most popular car hire companies in San Diego, offering car hire for around R14 378 per week on average.
How far in advance should I hire a car in San Diego for the best price?
Booking early can save you upwards of 38% on your car hire. Booking your vehicle at least 7 days in advance can you get you a great below-average price in San Diego.
Can I rent a car for a month in San Diego?
The length of time you can book a car hire for is subject to the inventory of the supplier. When renting a vehicle from San Diego it should be possible to hire a car for a whole month if needed.
How much is a car hire in San Diego for a weekend?
R0 is typically the average cost for a hire car for the weekend in San Diego, though this could vary depending on the time of year. If you’re on a budget when travelling to San Diego, then opt for a Compact hire vehicle - these tend to be the most affordable on weekends. In the month of May, you can expect to find car hire prices on Cheapflights for as low as R0/day.
What car do most people hire in San Diego?
The most popular car chosen by those travelling to San Diego is Mini (Dodge Grand Caravan) based on our Cheapflights data.