Alamo and problems

[MickaMaizie]

I have a reservation through them and I keep hearing on other posts of problems with them. What has gone wrong and should I switch? Thanks

 

[ScotLady]

I have a vacation package with Southwest that included an Alamo rental. After reading all the bad posts about Alamo, I switched to Dollar (the only other company SW offers). Mostly, the posts were about the wait times. The other main complaint seemed to be about Alamo pushing the optional insurances, but I've heard that complaint about several companies.

The other reason I switched to Dollar is because you can sign up for free for their Fastlane program, which gets you in a special line, and speeds up your rental.

 

[dpuck1998]

Originally posted by MickaMaizie
I have a reservation through them and I keep hearing on other posts of problems with them. What has gone wrong and should I switch? Thanks

You should try Thrifty, it's cheaper for you since YOU have to pay for your own vacation!!

 

[Purrrrfecta]

I rented through alamo, and I even used rewards points for some of my rental, and I had no problems at all.

 

[nuthut]

You like to be overcharged, taken to the cleaners, ripped off, and like dealing with people with very bad attitudes. Alamo is terrible. My reservation was for $135 a week and they tried and did screw me and .charged me $440
Thank you Discover card for refunding the $300 overcharge!

 

[pumpkinboy]

Part of the problem with Alamo at MCO, is that they have a marketing deal with Disney: "the Official Car Rental of WDW" or some such. I have gotten pretty decent deals thru our Disney Visa on Alamo, and have used them several times. The problem most folks are having is the lines at MCO at times when a lot of flights are landing. Given the Disney marketing deal, lots of folks headed to WDW are renting from Alamo, perhaps a disproportionate number, so one might expect the lines to be long. So it might just take you a little longer to get on your way if you are renting thru Alamo, and arrive at a busy time. On the other end, we have always found drop-off to be super-efficient, taking less than 5 mins most times.

Ways to avoid the lines might include, renting from another company; or if the line is long on the side of the airport where you arrived, cross MCO and try the Alamo desk on the other side (or if you are a couple with few other responsibilities, have one member go to the other side with the other still in line, then use cell phones to decide which line to be in); or you could plan your flights to arrive at less crowded arrival times; or you could do the divide and conquer thing with maybe the big strong hubby staying to get checked bags and wife heading off to the Alamo counter... There are lots of ways to minimize the wait. I'm sure with some imagination you all can come up with others.

 

[PooohBear]

So if here are so many complaints about Alamo.... who does everyone suggest to rent from !??!?!

 

[pumpkinboy]

Rent from Alamo if they give you the best rate!

All of the car rental companies have these problems, and different ppl encounter them with different companies. For customer ratings of the various service aspects of the various companies, check out The Unofficial Guide to WDW (well worth the price, and very entertaining reading!) in the car rental section.

 

[PooohBear]

thanks pumpkinboy! been looking for a reason to buy that book, now I have one !!!

 

[inkkognito]

We use Priceline and have ended up with Alamo many times. I don't mind them if the price is right, but the two biggest issues that I've personally experienced are:

1) Long lines. But often the line may be horrible on the A side and non existent on B or visa versa. Hubby and I split up so we can bail to the shorter side.

2) Pushiness on the insurance. This doesn't always happen, but there is one counter clerk who likes to pull the "Do you want the deluxe or just the basic coverage?" scam. I am an assertive person who has no problem saying "NO" in a way that makes them back off.

But if the price is right, I have no problems with them. Their cars have been decent and being onsite is always a plus.

Barb

 

[pumpkinboy]

Originally posted by PooohBear
thanks pumpkinboy! been looking for a reason to buy that book, now I have one !!!

And Pooohbear, it is really good this year, with crowd projections for every date thru December 2005. Another great feature this year is the sample room layouts and square footage for Disney resorts. We had been thru the 2004 version pretty thoroughly (same for '03 and '02 editions). Yeah there's some of the same stuff, but there seems to be a lot of new stuff, and all with their same rapier wit.

Enjoy!