Anyone rent through Buy.com or used Payless or Thrifty car rentals.

[merekc]

I'm sorry if this is a topic that has been rehashed many times, but this is my first venture into the Transportation Board (I've never scrolled down far enough).

I have been scouting for better rates for my upcoming Orlando minivan rental. I just checked buy.com and they had great rates for Payless and Thrifty. I could save $50 to $75 per van and we are getting two.

Questions-
1. Has anyone ever used Buy.com? Are they legit?
2. Ever used Payless or Thrifty? Any concerns about them?
3. Would we have to take a shuttle to get our cars from these folks? How difficult/how long does this take.
4. Currently have a reservation with Alamo, is it worth the extra money to stay with Alamo for any reason?

Thanks.

 

[oldkeywestfan]

Have used Thrifty several times with no problem. Did not use the Buy.com though. Thrifty is located off site but has a shuttle. Usually we'll have one person go get the rental while another gets the checked baggage and everything lined up. Alamo is located on site which is convenient. However, for me it is more inconvenient to carry all the luggage across to the parking garage (with Alamo) than to have the rental waiting right outside the door (with Thrifty). Hope this helps!

 

[liamandcaili]

We used Payless once, and will not again. It is a shuttle service, which does not run that frequently, it seems. There were shuttles for every other rental service that came two or three times. We finally asked if we were in the correct spot. We were assured we were. The driver who drove our shuttle was a terrible driver and nearly got into two accidents before even leaving the terminal. When we were waiting to get our vehicle, they discovered that a passenger who got off at the commuter stop before the rental place had left with another family's bag. This caused huge lines for people waiting for their vehicles. The vehicle they initially offered us was not large enough to accomodate our party (even though we had specified the number of travelers when making the reservation) and then they charged us more for the larger vehicle.

We didn't have any problems when we returned, but I would never rent from them again. The last time we rented from Budget. My sister is a preferred customer, and everything was so smooth and easy. They even upgraded our vehicle free of charge.

 

[redmonster]

We just got back Saturday and rented from thrifty. We used code SAMS for sams club and got a full size van for 168.68. We could have gotton a minivan for 135. for the week. The person pickingup the van took a good 2 hours longer than the rest of us taking the magical express. Everyone else checked in, got luggage and went swimming prior to them returning.
We used our visa to rent so that we didn't have to buy the insurance from Thrifty. They harrassed him for over 20 minutes because he waived the insurance. We even had the print out from visa stating to waive the ins. Supposedly had to get a supervisor to override the insurance waiver. We have never had that happen with any other rental company. When we went to pay the rate jumped to 399 instead of the 168. Luckily had the confirmation with us to show them it was wrong. Went to sign the paperwork and they added 83 dollars for some type of coverage, which off course we made them redo. Returning the car went quickly even with the dent we received by a car that lost control on the highway and hit us. I will let everyone know how that saga runs once we know more. Even thou it wasn't our fault I will be curious to see how it works out with the insurance. In the end if its cheap enough we would probably rent from thrifty again-however it would have to be enough to got off site of MCO and wait that long. Goodluck.

 

[Princess1967]

We've used Thrifty for the past three years during trips to Florida. We've had good experiences each time. We even had a minor accident (my sister backed into a support pole in a parking structure). Thrifty worked it out and sent me a bill for the "loss of use". It wasn't unreasonable really. We'll be using them again this year.

 

[mommy*RN]

It looks like Buy.com is part of Travelocity...so it probably is legit. IMHO though you can probably do better searching the sites and using various Contract ID's and coupons versus just booking with them...check www.mousesavers.com for coupon codes and contract ID's you can use for different companies...

HTH!

 

[merekc]

Right now I have two minivans reserved through Alamo via Costco.com. I'm paying around $248 each (includes tax). The prices I saw through buy.com are (includes tax) Payless $187 and Thrifty $194. It sounds like I shouldn't bother with Payless, but I didn't know whether to jump on the Thrifty rate for a minivan. Since this would save us $100 between the two vans.

I've read that rates will start dropping the closer we get to our trip (Sept 30 - Oct. 7). From your experience, do you think that I will see better rates that the $194?

 

[seashoreCM]

I have rented from Thrifty twice and Payless numerous times and haven't run into any problems. One of the following must be true:

1. My luck hasn't run out yet.
2. I have a friendly charm that makes agents not want to stuff insurance down my throat.
3. I seem to have an intimidating demeanor (which I don't know about) that makes agents not want to stuff insurance down my throat.

Disney hints:
http://members.aol.com/ajaynejr/disney.htm

Leaving the Payless complex with your car, turn right instead of left. This skips the first toll plaza on the Beach Line (528; Bee Line) and within a mile you can get on with two quick lefts.

Returning to Payless via I-4 and 528 get off 528 at its exit 9 Tradeport. Cross under, get into middle lane, required right and just under a mile is Payless. (Keep on going and left at the next light (Semoran) takes you to Thrifty/Hertz while right goes into the airport.)

 

[QT Pooh]

Thrifty definitely has a low-price guarantee - so if you're getting a better rate from buy.com, call them beforehand and they'll match the price. If you use the mousesavers.com discounts, I find it hard to believe that buy.com can beat those prices. Going through a third party like buy.com excludes you from earning frequent flyer miles or earning points to use towards your next rental.

If you sign up for Blue Chip (Thrifty's express service, which is free), you can pre-assign your insurance preferences. The several times that we've rented from Thrifty at several different locations, we've never been asked to buy insurance, but we do have to initial the waiver on the rental form. Keep in mind that car rental agencies DO have to inform you about car insurance options to make you understand the liability involved if you choose to waive it. With the Blue Chip, you walk right up to the rental counter and it takes no more than five minutes before you're in your car. We avoid Alamo only because it's the official partner of WDW so it tends to be the busiest with people who've booked a 'package.'

I definitely recommend Thrifty at MCO...just keep in mind that you'll need to take a shuttle to get there.

 

[Evil Queen]

Thrifty definitely has a low-price guarantee - so if you're getting a better rate from buy.com, call them beforehand and they'll match the price. If you use the mousesavers.com discounts, I find it hard to believe that buy.com can beat those prices. Going through a third party like buy.com excludes you from earning frequent flyer miles or earning points to use towards your next rental.

If you sign up for Blue Chip (Thrifty's express service, which is free), you can pre-assign your insurance preferences. The several times that we've rented from Thrifty at several different locations, we've never been asked to buy insurance, but we do have to initial the waiver on the rental form. Keep in mind that car rental agencies DO have to inform you about car insurance options to make you understand the liability involved if you choose to waive it. With the Blue Chip, you walk right up to the rental counter and it takes no more than five minutes before you're in your car. We avoid Alamo only because it's the official partner of WDW so it tends to be the busiest with people who've booked a 'package.'

I definitely recommend Thrifty at MCO...just keep in mind that you'll need to take a shuttle to get there.

We're going with Thrifty for our upcoming trip in a couple of weeks. I've reanted from them once before with no problems.

I signed up with their Blue Chip program, and they have all the info. I won't be getting their insurance either.