Alamo Prepaid Gas- Do the Math Before You Buy -Recent (May 2012) experience

[OrangeCountyCommuter]

Return the car full. Prepay Is only a good deal if you coast in on fumes

 

[mikehn]

I never take the prepaid gas option. But one time, I really got burned. On one trip I was really late for my return flight home and instead of fooling with refilling the tank, I returned the car with a half empty tank. Ouch, that cost me dearly.

 

[Chaufeurse]

Return the car full. Prepay Is only a good deal if you coast in on fumes

Can't - again, the only option they allow is take the motor with a tank of fuel and be charged upon return - can't even bring it back full - nice huh! We've always had the 'because your booking was made in Europe' reason thrown at us. As we will have the hire for 8 weeks prepay is the best option in our opinion as the price of the petrol is the same as the high street pump.

I am now in firm discussions with Alamo about this, who claim that whilst prepay is an option they are not on site - does that give carte blanche to make the rules up in each individual depot then. Based on prepay being an option, for European bookings, at MCO I see no reason why RSW is not following the same 'rule'.

 

[dioxide45]

Can't - again, the only option they allow is take the motor with a tank of fuel and be charged upon return - can't even bring it back full - nice huh! We've always had the 'because your booking was made in Europe' reason thrown at us. As we will have the hire for 8 weeks prepay is the best option in our opinion as the price of the petrol is the same as the high street pump.

I am now in firm discussions with Alamo about this, who claim that whilst prepay is an option they are not on site - does that give carte blanche to make the rules up in each individual depot then. Based on prepay being an option, for European bookings, at MCO I see no reason why RSW is not following the same 'rule'.

But what are you charged upon return? To just fill the tank? If you return it full, there won't be any room for gas to be put in the tank so your extra cost should be $0.

 

[Lewisc]

Can't - again, the only option they allow is take the motor with a tank of fuel and be charged upon return - can't even bring it back full - nice huh! We've always had the 'because your booking was made in Europe' reason thrown at us. As we will have the hire for 8 weeks prepay is the best option in our opinion as the price of the petrol is the same as the high street pump.

I am now in firm discussions with Alamo about this, who claim that whilst prepay is an option they are not on site - does that give carte blanche to make the rules up in each individual depot then. Based on prepay being an option, for European bookings, at MCO I see no reason why RSW is not following the same 'rule'.

You need to post on the UK board. There are ways to book a car with the gas and required insurance included.

 

[thumbalyna]

Right now prepay was the best option. It was 3.49 a gallon i haven't seen it under 3.55 since I've been here

 

[Lewisc]

Right now prepay was the best option. It was 3.49 a gallon i haven't seen it under 3.55 since I've been here

NO NO NO. Obviously you didn't read the entire thread.

The 3.55 price on the pump is the price you pay. The 3.49 prepay price charged by Alamo is subject to over 17% of taxes and fees. In other words the real prepay price is over $4 /gallon.

That ignores the fact that a car will have at least 2 gallons of gas when the low fuel light comes on. Prepay means you're paying for the gas you don't use. Not many people are going to plan their fuel so they run out of gas while on line to return their vehicle.

YOU'RE GUARANTEED TO LOSE MONEY WITH THE PREPAY PLAN. THE ONLY QUESTION IS HOW MUCH.

 

[thumbalyna]

I took the prepaid option and i will coast in. It came to an extra 50 for gas which would be close to the cost if i bought it myself

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

NO NO NO. Obviously you didn't read the entire thread.

The 3.55 price on the pump is the price you pay. The 3.49 prepay price charged by Alamo is subject to over 17% of taxes and fees. In other words the real prepay price is over $4 /gallon.

That ignores the fact that a car will have at least 2 gallons of gas when the low fuel light comes on. Prepay means you're paying for the gas you don't use. Not many people are going to plan their fuel so they run out of gas while on line to return their vehicle.

YOU'RE GUARANTEED TO LOSE MONEY WITH THE PREPAY PLAN. THE ONLY QUESTION IS HOW MUCH.

Give up. Some people just don't get it. Rental car companies must love them!

 

[Lewisc]

I took the prepaid option and i will coast in. It came to an extra 50 for gas which would be close to the cost if i bought it myself

The $50 charge for gas is subject to taxes, add an extra $8.50.

Not an issue if you want to pay an extra $10-$20 for the convenience.

PP is right. Rental agencies love customers like you.

 

[thumbalyna]

Im looking at my contract it was 177 before adding the gas option and with adding it the total was 230. Like i said i would have paid that to fuel up on my own

 

[dioxide45]

I took the prepaid option and i will coast in. It came to an extra 50 for gas which would be close to the cost if i bought it myself

You say you will coast in, but you can't really guaranty that. What if you have 2 gallons left, what about half a tank? Are you going to just drive around in circles to burn that gas so you coast in? If you do, then that is more of a waste than driving in with half a tank.

If you take the gamble to coast in, you could run out of gas 1 mile from the airport. A tow will cost you a lot more than you think you are saving with the prepay option.

 

[dioxide45]

Im looking at my contract it was 177 before adding the gas option and with adding it the total was 230. Like i said i would have paid that to fuel up on my own

To fill a 14 gallon tank at $3.49 it would cost about $50. So lets assume you have a 14 gallon tank in that car. When you fill it up, it may only actually need 13 gallons. If that is the case, you still paid for 14 gallons with the prepay option, but only really needed 13 gallons. You actually paid $3.846 per gallon. Okay if you like the convenience, not great if you are trying to minimize the price of fuel. If you pull in before the low fuel light is lit, you are paying at least $4.16 a gallon since that indicator won't come on until it gets down to about 2 gallons left in the tank.

 

[thumbalyna]

I used it more as a convenience. The people i am traveling with are a major pain in the butt. Its just going to make it easier to drop off the vehicle (considering now i have to change my payment method). I was just saying it wasn't really that much more a gallon out on 535 gas ranged from 3.49 to one station charging 4.79 ( i thought it was a typo but the sign said 4.79 on both sides)

 

[dioxide45]

I used it more as a convenience. The people i am traveling with are a major pain in the butt. Its just going to make it easier to drop off the vehicle (considering now i have to change my payment method). I was just saying it wasn't really that much more a gallon out on 535 gas ranged from 3.49 to one station charging 4.79 ( i thought it was a typo but the sign said 4.79 on both sides)

535 is notorious for very high fuel prices. There is also a Shell station on Vineland road near the outlet stores that has extremely high prices. This could be the station you saw. These prices are not the norm around the Orlando area. The 535 area and a couple stations close to the airport have prices in this range. Most everywhere else has what one would consider "normal" fuel prices.