Virgin/alamo car sales desk pressure

[tragickingdom]

We're 2 families who are travelling to Orlando in August 10 and have arranged car hire through Virgin/Alamo. We have booked Platinum Package. Can anyone tell me if they will try to sell us any additional insurances etc at Orlando desk and if so, whether we actiually need them??

Have been told to try and prepay one of the tolls.....is this right?

Also notice you can check-in online now, therefore not needing to go to the desk. Anyone done this, and does it work?

Any tips greatly appreciated, as with young children we probably won't be the sharpest coming off of a 9 hour flight!

 

[uva185]

Just so I understand, you made a booking for Alamo through Virgin? Alamo is decent, I believe you can sign up for their rewards program and use a kiosk to check in and get your car or use online check in.

I'm sure someone who rents from Alamo can elaborate.

 

[tragickingdom]

Yes, you are correct. We bokked Alamo through Virgin - not sure if it makes a difference or not.....

 

[kjs1976]

I would definitely try your hardest NOT to go to the Alamo counter to check in and use a kiosk at all cost. Alamo will try to sell you what you don't need and try to screw you over. We have used Alamo 8 times in the past 9 years. When we've gone to the counter we've been pressured to buy things we don't need. W/the kiosk, no problem. We used a code published on Mousesavers last year and were told it when we got to the counter that it was a Latin American code only and we were charged $900 for our reservation for the week instead of $210. We argued and argued with the man and then the manager because we had the code and proof from the website. He said he didn't care what website I got it from, if it wasn't in their Alamo computer, he wouldn 't give it to us. DH should've gone to the kiosk and we could've potentially avoided this, but he didn't, so we got screwed. The manager did knock $140 off of the reservation, so we ended up paying $700 something for it, but that is still 500 more than the original and we needed a car because we stayed off property. There was a couple next to us from England who were having a similar issue...but they had traveled for 10 hrs. and were really jet-lagged and didn't know what to do as it was their first time in the USA.

Be careful w/Alamo...we escaped issues most of the time, but this last one was a doozy and I will never rent from them again!

 

[Luv2Diz]

Alamo at MCO is the worst I have ever experienced for high pressure sales. Everything from telling me that my personal auto insurance was no good in Florida, that I needed to buy hurricane insurance (the hurricane was not even predicted to hit Florida when we were there), and on and on. With each question from the sales agent, my "no" was getting louder and louder to the point that my kids were laughing at me! I still use Alamo because they usually have the best rates but I make sure to go straight to the kiosk.

 

[MAYNARDS99]

All car rental agents, at the counter, will try to sell you insurance, GPS, prepaid fuel, etc. These agents earn commission on these items.

A firm, but polite, NO THANK YOU should be your response. Do not continue to engage the agent in conversation. If they attempt to continue selling the item, respond with NO THANK YOU, and that's all.

As you are from another country check with your car insurance to be sure you will have coverage in the United States. Also check with your credit card company to see if you have any additional insurance coverage.

As far as the highway tolls, they are not very much. To go from the airport to Disneyworld on Florida Highway 528 (Beachline) is 1 dollar and 75 cents, or about 1 pound 14 pence. If you get an Orlando map, or use www.maps.google.com you can plan your route and avoid the tolls. It will be slower, but sometimes that can be nice.

 

[10_Kyle_10]

So do you need to be a member of their rewards program in order to check in via the kiosk?

 

[mmmgood]

When booking Alamo through Virgin you can check in online using Virgin-Check-In or use the kiosk. If you check in online you can just go straight to the lot and pick your vehicle. If you need to add extras such as child seats using the kiosk is really easy, takes about 2 minutes.

http://www.enterpriseholdings.com/press_room/PressReleaseDetail.aspx?ReleaseID=347

Not 100% sure what is included in the Virgin platinum package but most platinum packages carry a level of insurance that I would be comfortable with. I would review and look for CDW, liability and level of excess.

For US and Canadian renters anyone can use the kiosks, no membership is required. Non US renters should check with their rental provider.

 

[leebee]

Two weeks ago we rented from Alamo at CMH (4th of july with the inlaws!). The girl at the desk mentioned all the stuff (gps, pre-buy gas, insurance, etc) but I didn't think it was high-pressure or anything. I said "no" to the first offer of insurance as my insurance covers, then she said yes but that's only for damages, not liability (or some such, don't really remember) and I said my credit card covers the rest and she moved on. I had to initial the rental agreement that i was turning down their offer of insurance, but it was no big deal. REally, wouldn't you rather know up-front that you might not be covered than learn the hard way, after an accident?

One thing that threw me at CMH was there was a scratch/ding/dent agreement in the car. Basically it was a carbon copy form that their tech guys had signed, saying no damage, scratches, scuffs, etc. I was asked to sign this at the kiosk on the way out of the garage. I had checked the car over and signed, but when I got it out into the sunlight I realized there were quite a few paint damage points that I couldn't see in the dark garage. I don't know if they do this at MCO or not, but check the car carefully, especially if you are not in very good lighting. A paint bill from Alamo would NOT be a happy thing to come home to!!

 

[dioxide45]

Two weeks ago we rented from Alamo at CMH (4th of july with the inlaws!). The girl at the desk mentioned all the stuff (gps, pre-buy gas, insurance, etc) but I didn't think it was high-pressure or anything. I said "no" to the first offer of insurance as my insurance covers, then she said yes but that's only for damages, not liability (or some such, don't really remember) and I said my credit card covers the rest and she moved on. I had to initial the rental agreement that i was turning down their offer of insurance, but it was no big deal. REally, wouldn't you rather know up-front that you might not be covered than learn the hard way, after an accident?

One thing that threw me at CMH was there was a scratch/ding/dent agreement in the car. Basically it was a carbon copy form that their tech guys had signed, saying no damage, scratches, scuffs, etc. I was asked to sign this at the kiosk on the way out of the garage. I had checked the car over and signed, but when I got it out into the sunlight I realized there were quite a few paint damage points that I couldn't see in the dark garage. I don't know if they do this at MCO or not, but check the car carefully, especially if you are not in very good lighting. A paint bill from Alamo would NOT be a happy thing to come home to!!

They don't do this in Orlando. We usually walk around and take pictures of major dings and scratches. You notice a lot of marks on the back bumper from people loading and unloading luggage.

 

[1tufgt]

As MAYNARDS99 all rental companies take customers through the same procedures as far as asking about the additional add ons. It's nothing new. If you know how to say no it won't be a issue but the kiosk are the way to go.