Even in a relatively walkable city like Ann Arbor, there’s still no substitute for having your own transport – and there are several reputable car rental companies to be found here.
A street view in Ann Arbor (Photo: VasenkaPhotography via Flickr / CC BY 2.0)
You can find numerous car rental agencies dotted around the Michigan city, each offering a range of vehicles at different price points. To help find the best deal for your needs, we’ve done some research and picked out what we judge are the best agencies located in the downtown district and at the airport, as well as our preferred RV rental company for those seeking in-car features such as bedding and cooking facilities. Check out our selection below.
Downtown Ann Arbor: Hertz
For downtown rentals in Ann Arbor, our preferred option is Hertz. Although their downtown office is only open for limited hours – with complete closure on weekends – when we looked for week-long rentals we were convinced by their diverse choice of cars, from no-frills models like a Nissan Versa priced at $347 per week, to more high-spec options such as a Toyota Corolla for $361 per week. For something sporty, we also found a Tesla Model 3 costing $359 per week. For returns, there’s an after-hours service so you can drop the keys off in a drop box even if the office is shut.
Ann Arbor Airport: Enterprise
Located 4 miles south of Ann Arbor’s downtown district, Ann Arbor Municipal Airport has a small handful of car rental agencies dotted around it, all within easy reach of the terminal building. Our pick for the best agency based at the airport is Enterprise, owing to the variety of their fleet. Among the best deals we found were a compact Mitsubishi Mirage for $420 per week and a mid-sized Hyundai Elantra for $416 per week. Enterprise’s airport rental desk is open from 8am to 6pm on midweek days and shortened hours on weekends. If you’re returning a car after hours, you can place the keys in a return drop box located in the vestibule of the airport’s front door.
RV Rental: Outdoorsy
Recreational Vehicles (RVs) are popular with travellers in need of a vehicle in which they can also sleep and cook. Outdoorsy is a peer-to-peer marketplace that invites RV owners to advertise and hire out their vehicles for short-term needs. Booking an RV through a company like Outdoorsy tends to be a fair bit cheaper than doing so through a traditional rental agencies. When we searched for RVs in Ann Arbor, we found numerous options. Among them were a Starcraft POP UP Camper for $406 per week that sleeps 6 and offers delivery. For something bigger, there was also a Jayco Jay Flight camper available for $420 per week. While booking through Outdoorsy, you can also attach various insurance protections on to your deal.