Alamo--Is it really that bad?

[hellow]

Hi,

We found a good deal using our Disney visa to rent a car through Alamo. But, I have heard some bad things about Alamo recently. Has anyone had any recent experiences (good/bad) that they can share about Alamo? Other than the potential for long lines during peak times (we fly in at 9 PM), are there other problems to worry about?

Thanks,

Helen

 

[Eeyore1954]

My company's experience with Alamo was so bad that we dumped them as a preferred provider (or any provider for that matter) and now use another rental car company exclusively. My personal experience with them has been both good and bad. I've snagged a couple of free upgrades and sometimes get lower rates (out of Chicago) than anyone else. On the down side -- their service can be slower than molasses (both at pick-up and drop-off), once I had a car completely break down on me mid-rental, and they tend to be quite pushy with their insurance and add-on sales pitches.

 

[Jynohn]

We just rented through them in January, and other than a very long line at check-in (45 minutes), we had a very good experience. We didn't get a hard-sell on the insurance, there were plenty of cars to choose from, the car we got was in good condition, and the return was quick and easy.

Best of all, we were actually charged a lower price than we were quoted when we reserved on-line. No complaints on that one!

 

[inkkognito]

My experience has been mixed, but the good has outweighed the bad. We get them quite often via Priceline, and most of the time the line isn't too bad or, if it is, they have enough personnel to move it pretty quickly. But not too long ago we arrived just before midnight and found an almost full queue. Three people were working, but two left at the stroke of midnight, leaving one person to wait on everyone. We waited almost an hour, and the agent used the old, "Do you want full coverage or just the basic?" to try to trick us into taking the insurance. On our next trip, the same woman was working. The line wasn't long, but she tried the same insurance trick.
On the plus side, out of all the times we've rented, the long waits are the exception rather than the rule, and not all the agents are like that with the insurance. We've also been upgraded many times. If the price is right, I would go with Alamo. Next time the line is long, I'm going to try the B side.
Barb
Visit the Platinum Castaway Club at: www.castawayclub.com

 

[disney4me4ever]

I have a ressie w/National EA and Alamo ($25 less) and have been trying to decide if EA service & car selection was worth the price over Alamo. I think this thread just changed my mind & I will cancel the Alamo ressie. I do not want to start my vacation on a bad note! Not worth $25 to me.

Thanks,
Nancy

 

[off2disney]

I rented a car for 6 nights thru Alamo Dec 15 thru 21 and have absolutely no complaints about service or price. Of course, I understand that timing is critical, and it was mid-afternoon, I was the second person in line and in less than 10 minutes I was on my way to my car. No hard sell on insurance, the price was within pennies of my online quote, the car was still wet from being washed and I was on my way. Check in was a breeze (I curb checked my luggaaage, drove around to drop off the car and was again on my way very promptly. Again, I think the timing of my trip played a big part, too, since that week must have been the slowest week to visit Disney. But I would rent from them again.

 

[hellow]

Thanks everyone for the thoughtful responses so far. I have previously used Budget, and had a few unmaintained vehicles (no headlights on one car, and bad tire on the other--but this was in the Washington DC area not Orlando) Alamo had a great deal, but I want to make sure I don't go from bad to worse in my car rental company choice

 

[jcanary]

was great for us this past July. Yes the line was long but you choose your car from the line of vans or cars that you have rented. In other words, it was the same as emerald reserve. we rented a van and a convertible. We were told go to the rows and pick out what we wanted. Needless to say the convertible which was a surprise for the 16 year old girls we brought along, had a ball running between all of the cars to decide which one. It was great. And then we got an 8 passenger van which was great too. I will put up with waiting in line to get the type of cars we got. Plus the return was really great.

 

[nuthut]

Alamo is so bad that you multiply every bad response by ten and that's how bad they are. 2 hour waits? Poor workers with lousy attitudes. Shoudy cars, poor location, lousy customer service reps, a couple of ladies (Used very Loosely) at the counter with crappy atitudes. You name it and Alamo is it. The worst of the worst. Alamo is out of business with in two years......

 

[DebbieB]

Poor location? They merged with National and are now onsite at MCO. They are also sharing cars with National.

 

[atigeg]

I had heard bad things about their cars, but I've never gotten a really bad one. A couple times they've had some dings, but mostly they are in good shape and they even upgraded us from a compact to a Vibe once (there were no compacts or economies so the garage attendant pointed us to it). I don't know how the cars were before they moved onsite, but if they used to be bad, maybe the merger with National helped matters.
Barb
Visit the Platinum Castaway Club at: www.castawayclub.com

 

[Beast fan]

DW and I have rented cars (thru Alamo) at Savannah (SAV) and West Palm Beach (PBI) airports. Other than the fact that the lines held some unprepared or unfinanced customers (NO MONEY) ahead of me, we haven't had a problem.
In fact, I'm using Alamo after flying into Phoenix (PHX) Airport in March.

Dave

 

[Little Starfish]

We have booked car hire with them, we were hoping the process would be much quicker now that they are on site. We have often used them when it was off site and found them to be good. We should be landing mid afternoon so it sounds like we could face some long queues this year

 

[DVC-Don]

We have used Alamo 3 times. This includes 3 broken down cars on just one trip! We tried them again last February after they moved onsite, but the return was very slow and the fellow who checked us in was a jerk.

 

[GAIL HAYDEN]

Originally posted by nuthut
Alamo is so bad that you multiply every bad response by ten and that's how bad they are. 2 hour waits? Poor workers with lousy attitudes. Shoudy cars, poor location, lousy customer service reps, a couple of ladies (Used very Loosely) at the counter with crappy atitudes. You name it and Alamo is it. The worst of the worst. Alamo is out of business with in two years......

They now share space and cars with National at MCO, they are no longer offsite and their employees are very nice.
I doubt they would be the official car of WDW if what you say is true.
I doubt they will be out of business anytime soon.

 

[mom_rules]

I also am renting from Alamo-10 days over Easter-they were $250 + less than the closest competitor. Does joining quicksilver help any?

 

[GAIL HAYDEN]

Originally posted by mom_rules
I also am renting from Alamo-10 days over Easter-they were $250 + less than the closest competitor. Does joining quicksilver help any?

Not really, it would have helped a lot if they had the kiosk at MCO, but they don't. They do have a special line, but, I am not sure it really moves any faster than the regular line.
In the grand scheme of all the lines you will be waiting in on your vacation, this is not something to get nuts about. Your wait in security on the way home will make Alamo pale by comparison.