Alamo rental broke down!

[Traveliz]

I can say I learned something new today. It would have never ocurred to me that jumping a rental car would be my fiscal responsibility. I do see how it would be IF it was due to me leaving something on keeping the battery going but if I rent a car I do expect it to work period.

That said, if Alamo did come out, jump it and find it was a computer problem surely they would reverse the jump fee?

And yeah I get this is all probably in the small print and if it happened to me I would deal with it but it is something new I learned today that surprised me.

Liz

 

[bdoyledimou]

Way back in 1998 i picked up a National rental in Toronto for a trip to Corning New York.
It was BRAND NEW 4 KMs on the OD and I had to wait while they stripped the plastic of the seats

I drove all the way to Corning, drove for a week, and then came home and just across the border on my way home on the highway -- the car siezed up in the middle lane -- called them and the had a new car and a tow truck to me in less than 45 minutes.

The tow driver basically said they should never have given me a new car for such a long trip -- as it didnt have time to "break in" before throwing it onto the highway and the constant long drive prolly ruined the engine -- but they were great for me!

 

[gmeh1]

I can say I learned something new today. It would have never ocurred to me that jumping a rental car would be my fiscal responsibility. I do see how it would be IF it was due to me leaving something on keeping the battery going but if I rent a car I do expect it to work period.

That said, if Alamo did come out, jump it and find it was a computer problem surely they would reverse the jump fee?

And yeah I get this is all probably in the small print and if it happened to me I would deal with it but it is something new I learned today that surprised me.

Liz

Liz, I think that if it were something wrong with the car's computer, the charge would have been reversed. We do not try to "rob" our customers. We want you happy. BUT, you have to understand that many customers say they did nothing wrong and expect us to do service for free. <I once left the lights on in my rental and killed the battery, happily Disney Security was able to help out, otherwise, I would have had to shoulder the cost. BTW, I found out that Disney does this stuff totally by accident as we went to the guard shack to call Alamo(this was years ago).> Obviously, this was not the case with the OP. Jumping the rental, unlocking the door if the keys are left in it, charging for the keys if you lose them are all the renter's fiscal responsibility. When you rent something you are responsible for things that happen while you are renting unless it is something outside your control. IE: rent an apartment, leaky pipes, not your responsibility, punch a hole in the wall, that is your responsibility. We do provide roadside assistance protection for a very low daily cost which covers just about everything. Not pushing this, just a FYI.

 

[Traveliz]

Liz, I think that if it were something wrong with the car's computer, the charge would have been reversed. We do not try to "rob" our customers. We want you happy. BUT, you have to understand that many customers say they did nothing wrong and expect us to do service for free. <I once left the lights on in my rental and killed the battery, happily Disney Security was able to help out, otherwise, I would have had to shoulder the cost. BTW, I found out that Disney does this stuff totally by accident as we went to the guard shack to call Alamo(this was years ago).> Obviously, this was not the case with the OP. Jumping the rental, unlocking the door if the keys are left in it, charging for the keys if you lose them are all the renter's fiscal responsibility. When you rent something you are responsible for things that happen while you are renting unless it is something outside your control. IE: rent an apartment, leaky pipes, not your responsibility, punch a hole in the wall, that is your responsibility. We do provide roadside assistance protection for a very low daily cost which covers just about everything. Not pushing this, just a FYI.

Yes I understand while thinking about it - my point was I just had never heard that, it took me by surprise and well yes I do expect a car I use to work. That said I do have a couple of types of roadside assistance at my disposal so I could handle it but what an inconvenience...and fortunately has not happened to me with a rental car yet!

Liz

 

[gmeh1]

Yes I understand while thinking about it - my point was I just had never heard that, it took me by surprise and well yes I do expect a car I use to work. That said I do have a couple of types of roadside assistance at my disposal so I could handle it but what an inconvenience...and fortunately has not happened to me with a rental car yet!

Liz

Of course we expect it will work. But, in the OP's case it was a computer malfunction. Nobody's fault, they malfunction now and then everywhere and on everything. It is an inconvienance and it does not happen very often. Mostly we get things like people leaving their lights on (dead battery), locking their keys in the car (not our fault), losing the keys (not our fault), running out of gas (not our fault) all inconvienances amd should be the responsibility of the renter, not the rental agency.

 

[Traveliz]

Of course we expect it will work. But, in the OP's case it was a computer malfunction. Nobody's fault, they malfunction now and then everywhere and on everything. It is an inconvienance and it does not happen very often. Mostly we get things like people leaving their lights on (dead battery), locking their keys in the car (not our fault), losing the keys (not our fault), running out of gas (not our fault) all inconvienances amd should be the responsibility of the renter, not the rental agency.

Yep makes sense - just never really thought about it....a good day...I learned something.

Liz

 

[dioxide45]

Hi,

Does AAA come out to jump car with a membership card in hand

Nancy in Ct

Yes, AAA will provide their regular service for members. Though it was my understanding that anyone on WDW property was covered by AAA roadside assistance. I could be wrong but I remember reading about that in one of their guidebooks. AAA has an onsite garage and repair facility.

 

[K9pal]

(OP here) When we contacted Alamo, the rep did tell us that the fee would be charged per Alamo policy. She also informed us that we could file a request to have it refunded, but of course that would depend on the circumstances. Like I said, she was sympathetic to our dilemma and she was the one who suggested Disney Security, and placed the call to them for us. I feel that was very helpful.

We have rented many times, and thankfully have never had a problem before. I too have learned something that I should have been aware of before (my fault, not the rental company). We now have roadside assistance through AARP - cheaper than AAA, if anyone is interested and qualified.

 

[gmeh1]

Yep makes sense - just never really thought about it....a good day...I learned something.

Liz

 

[ibob52]

Yes, AAA will provide their regular service for members. Though it was my understanding that anyone on WDW property was covered by AAA roadside assistance. I could be wrong but I remember reading about that in one of their guidebooks. AAA has an onsite garage and repair facility.

There was a sign posted (near the park pedestrian entrance / handicap parking) ... AAA Roadside Assistance is available (Free) for in parking lot problems ... (May 2012)

 

[LSchrow]

our alamo rental was dead when we went to the BW lot one day.
i called the main number, who informed me that we would be charged as it seemed as if the battery was dead (we checked, but nothing had been left on).
thankfully, we had rented from the dolphin alamo (as usual), where we were given a card with their number to "call if we had any problems". they brought us a new car within minutes, no charge (excepting the nice tip, but that was our choice).
we love the dolphin alamo/national staff - imho, dealing with such pleasant and helpful people is worth spending a few dollars more (and no, we are not related, but have written a few letters commending them).

 

[Danibelle]

Of course we expect it will work. But, in the OP's case it was a computer malfunction. Nobody's fault, they malfunction now and then everywhere and on everything. It is an inconvienance and it does not happen very often. Mostly we get things like people leaving their lights on (dead battery), locking their keys in the car (not our fault), losing the keys (not our fault), running out of gas (not our fault) all inconvienances amd should be the responsibility of the renter, not the rental agency.

FYI to renters: It looks like all of the major car rental agencies charge a fee for flat tires, jump starts, etc. unless you pay a daily roadside service fee. GMEH, is this the case with Enterprise?

 

[EMAW_KSU]

Of course we expect it will work. But, in the OP's case it was a computer malfunction. Nobody's fault, they malfunction now and then everywhere and on everything. It is an inconvienance and it does not happen very often. Mostly we get things like people leaving their lights on (dead battery), locking their keys in the car (not our fault), losing the keys (not our fault), running out of gas (not our fault) all inconvienances amd should be the responsibility of the renter, not the rental agency.

I used to work for a company that was a U-Haul dealer and I was the after hours call person. I received a call at 4 AM to go to a neighboring town for a truck that will not start. When I get there the woman that rented is mad about the truck not starting and yelling at me about it. The batteries were dead so I hook up the jumper cables then start to look what was left on. The lights in the box were on. When I told the woman to make sure the lights were off in the future she yelled at me that we should have told her when she rented it that leaving the lights on would run down the battery. I was called out about 4 more times for the same issue on different trucks. This was done at no charge to the renter but I can see why rental companies would want to charge for it.

 

[gmeh1]

FYI to renters: It looks like all of the major car rental agencies charge a fee for flat tires, jump starts, etc. unless you pay a daily roadside service fee. GMEH, is this the case with Enterprise?

Yes, I believe so, but I will check and get back to you.

 

[gmeh1]

I used to work for a company that was a U-Haul dealer and I was the after hours call person. I received a call at 4 AM to go to a neighboring town for a truck that will not start. When I get there the woman that rented is mad about the truck not starting and yelling at me about it. The batteries were dead so I hook up the jumper cables then start to look what was left on. The lights in the box were on. When I told the woman to make sure the lights were off in the future she yelled at me that we should have told her when she rented it that leaving the lights on would run down the battery. I was called out about 4 more times for the same issue on different trucks. This was done at no charge to the renter but I can see why rental companies would want to charge for it.

Just goes to show you, in this case, you can't fix stupid.