Everyone is getting a great deal. I have a Costco membership and all I'm seeing are 216.00 for 8 days. Should I wait closer to our departure time?
$216 is not all that bad but I suspect it will get better as you get closer to your departure date.
Generally your best bet is to find the best rate you can right now and book it. Then keep checking back frequently. If/when a better deal comes up, book it then go back and cancel your original.... rinse and repeat...
Prices will go up and down sometimes daily, sometimes several times in the same day.
Don't book a pre-paid rental unless it is an exceptionally great rate as there is a charge to change/cancel a pre-paid reservation ($10-$50)
The following is pretty typical as to what you will see on rental rate ups and downs. We have gone through a similar roller coaster ride every year when booking our trips:
For our upcoming Sept 26-Oct 3 trip, we originally had a midsize booked with Alamo for $251 taxes incl (booked in April) saw some steady downward movement through May and June and cancelled/rebooked a dozen or more times and ended June with a mid size booked with Dollar and AAA code for $179.
July and August saw a huge jump in rates, up over $500 for a full size almost all rental companies for my dates.
Mid August saw huge price drops across all companies.
First came a Standard with Alamo for $159, then a mid size with Budget for $126, now we have a full size booked with Budget for $108 taxes incl (Costco code and $40 coupon).
I'm not even sure if it can get any lower since base rate for my rental is $77.40 - $40 coupon = $37.40 ($5/day ish) + $70.95 taxes and fees. If it gets much lower and I can still use the coupon, they will be giving me the rental for just the price of the fees and taxes.