Cheap car rentals in Raleigh
| Mini |
| Economy |
| Compact |
| Intermediate |
| Standard |
| Full-size |
| Luxury |
| Minivan |
| Passenger van |
| SUV |
| Commercial |
| Pickup truck |
Top tips for renting a car in Raleigh
- Need to rent a car for your trip to Raleigh? Visitors with flights landing at Raleigh-Durham International Airport can reach the airport’s hire car center via shuttle buses leaving from Zone 5 outside of Terminal 1 and from Zone 18 outside of Terminal 2.
- Fog is quite common in Raleigh so drivers should be careful, especially in the early morning hours. Drivers not used to fog should remember that, while headlights should be used to illuminate the road, drivers should only use low beams rather than their high beams. The reason for this is that fog actually reflects light, thus, the brighter the light used, the more it reflects. So if you use your high beams, you may actually reduce road visibility rather than improve it.
- Rush hour traffic is no fun no matter what city you are in. However, drivers will be happy to hear that rush hour isn’t too fierce in Raleigh. The morning rush hour tends to pick up around 7:30 a.m. and lasts till 9:00 a.m., while the afternoon and evening rush hour starts around 4:00 p.m. and finishes up around 6:00 p.m. The main areas to avoid during rush hour are the highways leading in and out of the city, in particular I-40.
- In many ways, renting a car is imperative if you plan on getting the most out of your time in Raleigh. Like many cities in the U.S., Raleigh is a car town and many of its attractions are most accessible via personal vehicle. For instance, North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences and North Carolina Museum of Art are just 15 minutes away from each other by car, but are close to 45 minutes away from each other via public transportation.
- Book your rental car in Raleigh at least 1 day before your trip in order to get a below-average price
- Standard rental cars in Raleigh are around 25% cheaper than other car types, on average
FAQs about renting a car in Raleigh
Raleigh car rental reviews and directory
Enterprise Rent-A-Car
8.3
Very good
149 reviewsCleanliness
8.1
Comfort
8.4
Pick-up/Drop-off
8.5
Value for money
8.1
10 locations in Raleigh
Locations in Raleigh
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Reviews
8.0 Very good
May 2021
Cons:
The car smell old10.0 Wonderful
May 2021
Cons:
Everything went well2.0 Poor
Mar 2021
Pros:
Reservation & Confirmation was useless at check-in when I find there is no car available to rent.Cons:
Actually have a car to rent before confirmation of my reservation!5.2 Fair
Oct 2020
Pros:
Drop off was difficult and unclear. There was only a small sign saying that budget was closed and to return car to avis. this should have been told to me at the time of pickup to avoid complications catching my flightCons:
they should have disclosed that they would not be "open" during my return hours and how to return the vehicle to prevent issues when trying to catch my flight after spending 30 minutes driving around the rental area and airport trying to figure it out for myself9.6 Wonderful
Sep 2020
Pros:
The gal that escorted us to our vehicle was excellent. Made a nice upgrade gesture that significantly enhanced our trip.Cons:
I should have been told during my order placement that u were offering a 3rd party insurance company where u would have required me to use my deductible...then “I” would have to get reimbursed from the insurance company. Sneaky!2.0 Poor
Aug 2020
Pros:
Never picked upCons:
Should Have been notified that I needed to use my credit card at least a week before I had to pick up. I won’t be using enterprise ever againHertz
5.9
Fair
178 reviewsBest rated
Cleanliness
6.6
Comfort
6.6
Pick-up/Drop-off
5.8
Value for money
5.9
5 locations in Raleigh
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2.0 Poor
Nov 2022
6.0 Okay
Dec 2022
2.0 Poor
Dec 2021
4.0 Mediocre
May 2021
Pros:
Staff were patient and pleasant.Cons:
The car was absolutely filthy inside and out. Apparently they did not have the staff to clean it. The interior was so bad I cleaned it myself that afternoon - smell, everything was covered in accumulated grime; the steering wheel was actually sticky (cloths used to clean came out black). Rented a premium model and it was at least 3/4 years old with dents and scratches. Also it was the lowest type of model in that category. Overall I was very disappointed with Hertz as it should be a premium rental agency. Will not use again as have had far better experience with ‘lower tier’ rental agencies4.0 Mediocre
May 2021
Pros:
Not enough staff to take care of the amount of customers. Long wait when we already had a reservation. Exterior of the car already had damage and was very dirty.Cons:
Cleanliness of the exterior; not having the urg to take a pic of every little scratch damage on the car.6.0 Okay
May 2021
Pros:
Vehicles were in great condition and staff at final destination finally made our rental satisfactory but getting there with three other rental locations was miserable!Cons:
Went to airport location to rent vehicles (2 mini vans - we had 4 kids under 5 who had just flown for 4 hours) - told our rental was at a different location and would have to go back to airport and take a cab there, even though it was just 5 minutes away. Shuttle driver who was taking us back to airport told us that there had not been taxi’s at Raleigh/Durham airport for about 2 years - we would have take a Lyft. Lyft got there and took us to booked location, only to find it had been closed for over a year...it was a body shop, and the very helpful people there told us this happens all the time and that there were phone numbers listed on their now closed office door and we would have to call one of them. Called first one and they would be there in 30 minutes (30 minutes back to their shop to get cars so another hour out of our day). Called second one - said they were closer but only had one mini van. Third location was very rude, laughed and said they were not interested in helping us and to call the first location. Finally got picked up to get to rental location. Great help there - asked if these Hertz locations were independently owned (franchises) and was told no - Hertz owns them all. Asked if the location we booked through was closed why the airport location couldn’t help us and was told they could have. Great service at this rental location, she deducted our Lyft fee and got us on the road in about an hour. If it weren’t for the rental location we finally ended up at, this would have been a total disaster and Hertz would never receive my business again. KAYAK...you need to remove our initial rental location from your list of rental locations.Budget
5.3
Fair
73 reviewsCleanliness
5.4
Comfort
5.8
Pick-up/Drop-off
5.3
Value for money
5.4
3 locations in Raleigh
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2.0 Poor
Oct 2022
2.0 Poor
Sep 2022
8.0 Very good
May 2021
Pros:
The car was new so that was nice.Cons:
Pickup and drop off in a shopping mall was not ideal. And the car had clearly not been cleaned before we received it.10.0 Wonderful
May 2021
Pros:
Customer service was really friendly2.0 Poor
May 2021
Pros:
Cancellation of rental was very easy and simple. The customer service representative was very nice and helpful and apologized for the situation.Cons:
We scheduled our rental pick-up for 7pm. We didn’t know that the pick-up location closed at 7pm. We were unable to receive our rental. If closing time is at 7pm, then the last rental for the evening needs to be at 6:30pm.2.0 Poor
Mar 2021
Pros:
NothingCons:
They could have left a voicemail saying they didn't have any cars available.Avis
4.0
Mediocre
44 reviewsCleanliness
4.5
Comfort
5.0
Pick-up/Drop-off
3.8
Value for money
4.3
3 locations in Raleigh
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Reviews
2.0 Poor
Oct 2022
2.0 Poor
Jun 2021
Pros:
One manager seemed helpfulCons:
Priceline booked us at an off-site location which was closed when we landed. Avis and Priceline both blamed each other when a $50 no-show fee was assessed and neither would take responsibility for assessing or removing it. Priceline did the same thing on another future rental so we cancelled it. We will no longer use Kayak for rental cars.2.0 Poor
Mar 2021
Cons:
The day before the reservation, I got a call informing me that there were no cars available and they they would be cancelling my reservation. No alternate options were provided.8.0 Very good
Dec 2020
Pros:
Both gals who helped me with pick up and then drop off were super.Cons:
The pick up at the Raleigh NC mall 5 days before Christmas was very chaotic. I couldn't find the car once I had the keys, and the woman working was all alone so couldn't leave the desk inside the mall to help me find it. That was very time consuming and took much longer than it should have. Having dedicated and labeled Avis spots in the mall parking lot are a necessity, especially if Avis isn't going to hire extra help. She had to leave her post and help me find the car. She didn't know where it was either in the chaos of a mall parking lot before Christmas.9.2 Wonderful
Dec 2019
Pros:
Great car selectionCons:
Mall location had a lot of traffic to navigate though. Not sure how this could be improved.6.4 Okay
Jul 2019
Pros:
I like how Avis stretched the definition of a "midsize" booking to include a Nissan Sentra. That's very creative.Cons:
Leave lots of extra time to drop a car at the Wilmington (NC) airport. You have to find a parking space, unload your belongings, walk into the airport, and wait at the rental counter. And all of that counts against your return time. If that makes you "late" to return your car, it's an extra $30-50.Advance Car And Truck Rental
No score available yet
One location in Raleigh
Easirent
No score available yet
One location in Raleigh
Europcar
No score available yet
One location in Raleigh
keddy by Europcar
No score available yet
One location in Raleigh
Sunnycars
No score available yet
One location in Raleigh
444 travelers who rented a car in Raleigh gave the car agency they used an average rating of 6.3
Car rental locations in or near Raleigh
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Most popular car type | Standard |
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When to book a rental car in Raleigh
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