# SLC, Utah Car Rental



## sabatoa (Jan 18, 2011)

On our previous trips west (AB and MT) we've gotten away with a mid-size for car rentals, but today on Brighton's resort I noticed that they said something about the canyon being 4x4 or chain-wheeled only.

I'm staying in Midvale and am planning two days at Brighton and two days at Snowbasin. Am I hosed if I stick with the mid-size car? Wife already booked the reservation, so I'm not sure how hard it will be to upgrade at the time.


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## mojo maestro (Jan 6, 2009)

Check out UDOT website for clarification on requirements........maybe rent or buy a set of chains, cables............can't imagine the rental company not letting you upgrade.......


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## chomps1211 (Mar 30, 2011)

Dude... check this site. Fill out for a quote & they will send you an email with a bunch of discounted prices. 

https://www.autoslash.com

Also... if you can avoid renting at the airport you can probably save yourself a bunch of $$$!


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## sabatoa (Jan 18, 2011)

mojo maestro said:


> Check out UDOT website for clarification on requirements........maybe rent or buy a set of chains, cables............can't imagine the rental company not letting you upgrade.......


Good call, thanks. I see the requirements now. 

Thanks again!


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## Parkerross (Nov 9, 2012)

we've been getting heavier wet snow lately so roads are slicker than the light champagne powder. I'd go FWD or AWD


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## sabatoa (Jan 18, 2011)

chomps1211 said:


> Dude... check this site. Fill out for a quote & they will send you an email with a bunch of discounted prices.
> 
> https://www.autoslash.com
> 
> Also... if you can avoid renting at the airport you can probably save yourself a bunch of $$$!


Lori booked this thing forever ago as part of the airfare. I tried the site but they didn't have anything available. I'll double check with her on what she's paying and see if it's worth switching.


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## stryk3z (Jan 22, 2015)

i rented a car at slc then called for an upgrade. They quoted a hilarious amount (extra 300/day wtf?) so i didnt do it. When i got to the actual rental place i asked about the upgrade it was only 50$ to go to full size SUV which is not bad at all.


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## stryk3z (Jan 22, 2015)

also the convenience of renting at the airport is hella worth it...u literally walk across the street to departure/arrivals


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## sabatoa (Jan 18, 2011)

That bullshit quote doesn't sound exciting. I gotta look into this.


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## stryk3z (Jan 22, 2015)

When i say 50$ i meant 50$/day to upgrade to full size SUV (this thing is friggin huge, put the back seats down and it fits 165 cm board bag and STILL seats 5 people in the middle/front). So yea I would definitely check with them when you arrive. There are couple roads to the resorts that require 4x4 or chains but they don't always check i think. I don't know how much snow would be needed before they do but when I was there 2 weeks ago, it snowed 18 inches at the peak of snowbird but roads only had like 3-5 inches. Very wierd the differences are so big


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## Kenai (Dec 15, 2013)

Last time I was there the mid-size we got was a Subaru Legacy (put the seat down to fit gear fine). I could have driven through a blizzard in that thing. Might be worth checking first what you are likely to get because SLC had the most common sense when it came to car rentals - they understood everyone was heading into the mountains.


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## chomps1211 (Mar 30, 2011)

stryk3z said:


> also the convenience of renting at the airport is hella worth it...u literally walk across the street to departure/arrivals


I saved over $400 by taking a $32 shuttle from the airport in Redmond OR to my hotel and renting my veh in town. Same size suv. Same company, same # days. $430 difference in price. That paid for my hotel in bend. 

The difference was mainly taxes, fees & bullshit service charges the airport rental tacked on that they don't in town. OR has no sales tax,.. but an airport rental had a 15% tax added. In town,...? $2.50!!!! :blink:

NOTHING'S that convenient to be worth $400!!!


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## stryk3z (Jan 22, 2015)

Gotta agree that some of the taxes or whatever they add on top is whack. I never had a car rental go over 400$ so for me the difference of 20-100 bux vs hours of time/convenience was a no brainer. Also if you have an Amex card book with that (saves 10% by knocking off one of the fees, dont remember which cus theres a huge list lol).


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## Maierapril (Oct 25, 2011)

Why not just take the bus?


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## Trabi75 (Dec 12, 2014)

Maierapril said:


> Why not just take the bus?


Second. Just take the bus unless you really have to drive. There should be a park and ride at the bottom of big cottonwood. Check out the uta website (or maybe Brighton website too )for more info

Sent from my SGH-M919 using Tapatalk


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## 70'sskater (Mar 20, 2014)

Trabi75 said:


> Second. Just take the bus unless you really have to drive. There should be a park and ride at the bottom of big cottonwood. Check out the uta website (or maybe Brighton website too )for more info
> 
> Sent from my SGH-M919 using Tapatalk


Yes the bus is much cheaper if you are heading to Brighton take route 972, get on at 6200 S and Wasatch Blvd. It stops again at the base of the canyon but it might be pretty full by then.
http://www.rideuta.com/-/media/Files/Route-Maps/Dec-2016/Route972Map_Dec2016.ashx


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## sabatoa (Jan 18, 2011)

Bus is a cool idea for next time. We're new to the area so we'll prolly end up exploring Park City and other areas on that side of the mountains after riding but before heading back, so we'd want the freedom to explore.

Thanks though!


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## snowman2045 (Feb 4, 2017)

The UDOT does a great job of clearing and sanding canyon roads to all resorts, like previous post stated, look at their site, I believe they have webcams at multiple positions of all roads leading to resorts. The crap shot is, if there is a big dump and at what elevation, if it gets cold w/a big storm, you may not be able to even enter the first gate in a car w/o chains. Now at this time of year it's starting to warm up alittle in the city and it may snow 5-10" in LCC or BCC, but the canyon rd is clear as a whistle, or just slushy. I have never used the Uta bus, but worse case scenario, you go early and get a spot in the lot. Snowbasin is about an hour, hour 15 min. from Sandy(sslc) and the facilities are top notch, shouldn't be crowded during the wk, unless it's a powday. Brighton is definitely the boarder haven, lots of trees, rustic , it will fill up fast on a powday. Worse case scenario, if I only have a car, I get up early and ck the websites(udot, resorts) for gate closures and park at the bottom of canyon shuttle lot and ride the bus up with a bkpk or your boot bag and rip it up!!! Ditto, mi hills are screwed this spring.


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## sabatoa (Jan 18, 2011)

snowman2045 said:


> The UDOT does a great job of clearing and sanding canyon roads to all resorts, like previous post stated, look at their site, I believe they have webcams at multiple positions of all roads leading to resorts. The crap shot is, if there is a big dump and at what elevation, if it gets cold w/a big storm, you may not be able to even enter the first gate in a car w/o chains. Now at this time of year it's starting to warm up alittle in the city and it may snow 5-10" in LCC or BCC, but the canyon rd is clear as a whistle, or just slushy. I have never used the Uta bus, but worse case scenario, you go early and get a spot in the lot. Snowbasin is about an hour, hour 15 min. from Sandy(sslc) and the facilities are top notch, shouldn't be crowded during the wk, unless it's a powday. Brighton is definitely the boarder haven, lots of trees, rustic , it will fill up fast on a powday. Worse case scenario, if I only have a car, I get up early and ck the websites(udot, resorts) for gate closures and park at the bottom of canyon shuttle lot and ride the bus up with a bkpk or your boot bag and rip it up!!! Ditto, mi hills are screwed this spring.


Do you mind sharing the site you use to look at gates? I'm not sure if I mentioned it but Snowbasin and Brighton are actually the two places I'm going to ride. 

Thanks for all this info, I really appreciate it.


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## snowman2045 (Feb 4, 2017)

On the Udot site, under, helpful links, I believe it is called Roadway Weather Info Sys.(RWIS). It should show all cameras on roads and you can select which one, to view. I looked at weather reports for next wk and looks like some snow on Mon/Tues. and than, sunny to partly sunny rest of the wk., you should be fine in a car, but, things do change.


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## sabatoa (Jan 18, 2011)

Thanks, I just wanted to make sure I was looking at the same stuff you were when you were there.

Stoked to get some real snow. Like you said, the midwest has been rough this winter unless you're willing to drive for it.


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## Trabi75 (Dec 12, 2014)

sabatoa said:


> Thanks, I just wanted to make sure I was looking at the same stuff you were when you were there.
> 
> Stoked to get some real snow. Like you said, the midwest has been rough this winter unless you're willing to drive for it.


What days are you at snowbasin? I am up there today and tomorrow for sure (if I can make it physically lol.been up here since Thursday and my body is getting old) if it is first half of this week, you timed it right. Major dumps. Have fun

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## sabatoa (Jan 18, 2011)

Trabi75 said:


> What days are you at snowbasin? I am up there today and tomorrow for sure (if I can make it physically lol.been up here since Thursday and my body is getting old) if it is first half of this week, you timed it right. Major dumps. Have fun
> 
> Sent from my SGH-M919 using Tapatalk


Brighton tomorrow and Wednesday, then Snowbasin on Thursday and Friday. Stoked!


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## mojo maestro (Jan 6, 2009)

I'll be at Snowbasin on Wednesday................:dance:.............unless it snows significantly more at Pow Mow...........


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## rmc983 (Aug 20, 2016)

Kenai said:


> Last time I was there the mid-size we got was a Subaru Legacy (put the seat down to fit gear fine). I could have driven through a blizzard in that thing. Might be worth checking first what you are likely to get because SLC had the most common sense when it came to car rentals - they understood everyone was heading into the mountains.


Which rental car company did you rent from? Not used to seeing Subarus as rentals


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## Kenai (Dec 15, 2013)

rmc983 said:


> Which rental car company did you rent from? Not used to seeing Subarus as rentals




I usually rent from Enterprise (though I had one bad experience with them in SLC with the type of car they gave me as I had called in advance to make sure they had wagons). Of course, I also usually try to find the cheapest price through the travel sites. I don’t remember that trip specifically if I went through Enterprise or someone else. 


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## ekb18c (Mar 11, 2013)

I booked a car through fox rent a car in SLC. After I booked it, I looked online and saw they got bad reviews everywhere so I called to cancel. Well they charged me 70 bucks even though my reservation isn?t until feb of 2018! Whatever, I booked with hertz and it was only a little bit more expensive but at least there isn?t horror stories about hertz.

I would stay away from Fox rent a car


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