Anyone have a good experience with National lately?

[CaliforniaDreaming]

I'm renting with National in a few weeks, and I've been hearing all kinds of bad stories about them (with Emerald Aisle & Emerald Choice). Should I look at another rental company?

Thanks.

 

[DebbieB]

Even though the Emerald Aisle choices were bad when I got there, they had plenty of full size to choose from. Full size is usually the same price as intermediate, so I always reserve full size. I liked the Olds Intrique I picked, checkout and return was quick. It was only $114 with tax for the week with the Disney Club discount and one free day coupon. I didn't want anything bigger than a full size, so I have no complaints.

 

[jtryan]

Just got back from a week in WDW and we used National. Suffice it to say we WON'T do that again. Service was fine but a Chevy Malibu is NOT a full size car. I have rented from Dollar in the past and they consider a Dodge Intrepid a full size car which is a much roomier car. The Malibu is the same size as a Nissan Altima. Just FYI. Oh and about that Emerald Aisle, there were just more Malibus!

roxanne

 

[NancyIL]

We arrived ay MCO on 11/23. There wasn't a lot of selection in the EA, but we chose a Toyota Camry - which was fine. There was no one ahead of us, so we were literally out of the airport and on our way in just minutes.

 

[Kacey]

We picked up a car at MCO on 11/25. Not a big selection on the Emerald Aisle, so since we had a full size reserved (same price as an intermediate-thanks to info on this board), we went to the full size aisle and picked a Buick Regal. It was nice but not as much trunk space as we had hoped. DH always brings his golf clubs. We were spoiled last year because we always were able to pick out an SUV on the aisle, but none were on the aisle this year. Other than that the service was great and pricing was exactly as confirmed on my reservation.

 

[leebee]

Absolutely abysmal, nothing at all on Emerald Aisle, intermediate or full size rows, only 3 cars on economy row. We were 17th in line in the garage (i.e., all Emerald Club members), and it never got shorter. Ended up with economy 'cuz that's what they had. My full post is here somewhere, read it and weep! Have you considered/tried Dollar using fvg code? Good luck!

 

[jtryan]

I also recommend trying the "KISS" code. I was looking for a full size w/Dollar for our February trip to USF/IOA and the KISS code brought down the cost from 203 to about 139. Good luck but I would not use National.

roxanne

 

[beattyfamily]

We came back Sunday.

We picked up a car Nov 29 at 8:00 p.m. Slim pickings, indeed! There were about 3 Full size cars in the EA and 3 in the Full size Asile. They were all white and all Malibu's so we got, you guessed it, a Malibu! It was a tight squeeze for the 4 of us and our luggage and double stroller and coats (from Boston).

Check out and check in were a piece of cake, though. No problems with what we were charged.

 

[Hockey9]

We rented from National using the both DC codes and I signed up online for the Emerald Club which reduced the price even further. We got into MCO at 8pm and the EA showed it. There were only 4 cars left and we got beat out of the best one by a minute or two.. We ended up with a Malibu which was great since there were only 2 of us .. We ended up paying 200 dollars for a 10 day rental. Since we arrived so late there was no line to check out using emerald aisle. The return was not a hassle. The one thing that worried me was making sure that you were on the right side of the airport ('A" or "B") when you approach from the beeline to make checking in to your airline easier. I rented a Full Size BTW.. There were no attendants to be seen at 8pm at night the only person we met was at the checkout booth which was very far from where you pick out the cars, In case Emerald Aisle is empty and you are looking for an upgrade.

Not to rule out Dollar but I seen an earlier post where they were doing that fill up the gas tank within 10 miles of the airport scam.. This happened to us two years ago and a person just posted last month that they also were told to choose between prepaying for a tank or exiting the beeline and filling up with the range to buy your own.
I would choose National again although I would try to arrive earlier in the day when they actually have people there to help you.

 

[robinb]

Other than my usual National complaint that their cars are dirty ... I've had not problems picking up a car. I always get at least a Full Size car and the last time I snagged a Chevy Blazer. You do need to have all of your confirmation, your DC card and your coupon available because the check-out staff is short on patience.

 

[CaliforniaDreaming]

bump... anyone else?

 

[Niagara2]

We all got spoiled for the last few years on EA at MCO. We have been so lucky - new caddies, mini vans, brand bew SUV's etc. until about six months ago - now it seems we get what we book - can't complain as the system is conviienent and works. Very slim pickings lately but they are what we book. Happy to have been so lucky in the past and maybe after the travel industry gets back to normal and National reorganizes as it is in Chapter 11, we will get spoled again. Right now we are getting good deals and what we booked - and we are happy with that!

 

[erikthewise]

We rented National EA 12/9-12/17. We arrived at EA at 1:30 on Sunday afternoon. I was surprised to find that there was no attendant whatsoever. I soon figured out we just take a car and drive it up to the booth. They had plenty of Buick Centuries but virtually nothing else full-size. (Well there was an Impala but it was locked, which explains why it was still there.) So we took a Century. I'd never buy one, but it was adequate for our purposes and given the rate we were paying ($143 total for 8 days) it was a good deal.

Overall I'd have to call it a positive experience. However I think if you're arriving late you should probably select counter service.

 

[jrj249]

We were there 12/7-12-16 had lots of cars around 12-15 had a Monte Carlo,Impalya,but my son wanted a bright red Grand Prix Wide trax car was awesome no probs either way 5 thumbs up from us

 

[Humphrey Bear]

We were there on Dec. 11. Even though we rented from Dollar, i went to National to see what selection they had. They had 12 cars on the aisle. One Grand Prix, one Mitsubishi Galant, and ten Chevy Cavalier four doors. There was nothing one any of the other aisle except the minivan aisle. the garage was pretty empty. Was happy that I rented from Dollar as they had plenty of cars.

 

[chris1gill]

We recently rented with National... We arrived 11/30 @ 11pm - sure enough, the only cars on the aisle were Mitsubishi Lancer's!! That's an economy car!! No way could our stuff fit in the thing. There wasn't an employee ANYWHERE, no where at all!!! My husband took one of the mini-vans around to the check out booth & asked her what the heck he was supposed to do!! The minivan was NOT in EA by the way, but he chose any vehicle they had to drive over there LOL... They told him to go back and pick our an SUV, so we picked the one they had - a chevy blazer... it worked out okay, but by the time we left, there were easily another dozen people, also picking out whatever premium cars they could find... there were no full size cars at all... Actually, there weren't many cars at all... I'm sure that anyone that came in at midnight found nothing to be had....

We did have a backup reservation through Dollar for a full size vehicle, but it would have been a bit more... I wouldn't use EA unless you had a backup plan....

 

[DMRick]

I wouldn't use EA unless you had a backup plan....
******************
Nothing in the full size aisle either? I wonder if more people are showing up than they are predicting. Someone mentioned the car rental people are good at predicitng no shows..but National doesn't seem to be. We leave Jan 3, and we were very lucky last time (we get in early). We had choice of anything they had..SUV's, vans, and the convertable we drove off with.