Best Orlando Rental Cars

[Patpat15]

What is the best rental car company from the orlando airport?

 

[nygrl]

hi again .. we used alamo/national on our last trip we liked them because they are right in the airport. some of the other places you need to take a bus to.we used enterprise once nad it was such a pain having to travel 20 min to get a car

 

[yogibigdog]

I try to stay away from Dollar. Had a bad experience with them last June in Orlando. We had reserved a Mini-van (6 of us) When we arrived they told us they were out of cars and would have to wait 1 to 2 hours. There was a large group of people waiting. The man in front us was waiting for a compact. We called Dollar fastbreak number to complain. Meanwhile this man was giving a Mini-van. What sense did that make! After talking to the manager we a mini-van miraculously appeared. This delayed us about 45 mins. Some people where still waiting when we left. After a long plane trip with two small children the last thing I want to do his hang around the airport for 2 hours. While we were trying to work things out with Dollar I check with all the other rental car companies. They wanted an outrageous amount since we did not have a reservation with their company. I would like to hear about some good companies too.

 

[WillCAD]

National is generally thought of as the best on-airport company, but they are often the most expensive (not always, but often).

Alamo is excellent and has cheaper rates than National. They are also now owned by National, so I think their service has actually improved recently.

I've rented from Dollar in the past and gotten great service and a good car. Yogi's bad experience may be an isolated incident.

I've never rented from Avis, Budget, or L&M.

If you're willing to take a short shuttle-bus ride, I can recommend Thrifty. They are off-airport but very, very close, have good cars and great service, and they are FAR cheaper than any of the on-airport places, especially if you have coupons or discount codes.

 

[powellrj]

We have done most of them and we prefer National.

 

[vavalynn2]

We have rented from Alamo and National. Liked them both- found the cars clean and ready to go (although one time they had not midsize, so we were upgraded to a full ) and returning them is easy enough. And of course we enjoy having them right there in the airport.

On our next trip we are flying into Sanford for the first time. We got a great rate on transmeridian and will be renting with Avis. I guess it is there at the airport, has anyone rented from them before at Sanford?

Thanks.

 

[Disneyjosh229]

We allways use either Alamo/National or Avis

 

[psupple]

Our fav is Budget, they always seem to have the best deals for when we travel. And they are in the airport. Use their FastBreak service and you can go directly to the garage to get your car... no waiting in line.

 

[dznymom1]

I have used most of them at one time or another and have had mostly good experiences. I find the service at Alamo to consistently be the worst. For me, convenience and time are almost as important as price, and I am fed up with long lines. I just used Budget Fastbreak for the first time, and I was in my minivan and out of the airport in no time. The line at the counter was quite long, so I was very happy to bypass it. I will definitely use them again.

 

[jstehman]

Try E-Z Rental! It's off-site but reliable and sooooooo cheap. I'm paying $198 for 10 days from 3/24 to 4/2 for a full size. They are a national outfit... check their web site.

 

[renda460]

I have also had a bad experience with Dollar. When I picked up my car, they wanted to charge me a different rate than on my reservation. I had a printout of my confirmation, but the employee did not want to give me the correct rate. For some reason he had something different in his system. After a half hour at the counter, he finally gave me a discount off the rate he had. The price was close to my confirmation, but still over by several dollars. We agreed to it just to get out of there.

We also had an issue with them over the type of minivan we rented. When I made the reservation, the employee told me that half of their minivans had built in carseats and half didnt. We figured we wouldnt bring any and take our chances. If they had none with built ins, we would rent them. When we got to the counter, the man told us that the only minivans that contain built in carseats were the Grand Caravans and they were an extra $50 for the week. I am not sure if that was correct or not, but we ended up paying the extra. Had I known that when I made the reservation, we probably would have just brought the seats.

I will never use Dollar again.

Last trip we rented from Budget and had a great experience. The experience was so much better than Dollar, I will definitely pay more if I have to in order to use Budget in the future.

 

[cranbiz]

I have used both Dollar and National at MCO. Both have been very good to deal with, but I belong to both's frequent renters club and have never waited in line.

One time I arrived late at MCO and National had nothing available on Emerald Isle (and not much else in the garage at all), but a lot attendent just said, "Pick what you want from anything left in the garage" . I thought that that was just great customer service and I got a full size pickup for the cost of an intermediate (which was good as I needed the truck to get materials for the house and would have rented Home Depot's truck to get this stuff to the house).

I have never had a problem with Dollar, if they did not have an intermediate available, they just upgraded me for the same price with no waiting.

TIP: Sign up for everyone's renters clubs. They are free and will let you bypass the normal line. National's is free if you use the mousesavers information. It will also avoid them hounding you on the insurances and some of them will let your spouse drive without the additional fee.

 

[Mady/Sophiemom]

We usually do not rent a car in Orlando. However this trip, due to the low National rates, we have changed our minds. We have a rate of $118.86, for 8 days.

I also signed up for the Emerald Club, thru the www.mousesavers.com which saved me the $50 fee to join, used the priceless contract # 6600330, and the coupon #10009123, from the entertainment book.

National seems to get fairly consistant reviews on these boards.

 

[atigeg]

We have used all of the on-sites except Dollar, and we have used Hertz and Thirfy too (both off-site but with great, prompt shuttle service). Here is my take on the on-sites:
Alamo: tends to have the longest lines and the highest pressure to buy the insurance, even to the point of trying to trick you into taking it. But every now and then, their line is non-existent, and you can pick your own car.
National: Same as Alamo carwise, since they share vehicles, but shorter line and no insurance pressure. But even when the inside line is shorter, remember that you will have to wait in a second line inside the garage with all the Alamo people.
Budget: Cars tend to be higher mileage, but no problems with them nor insurance pressure.
L & M: Brand new cars, no insurance pressure.
Avis: Never vehicles, no insurance pressure.

Barb

 

[dogdoc]

I'll always use National. I have Emerald Isle membership, and you never wait in line and never have to even talk to someone - just get off plane, get luggage (not anymore with new disney service), get in car with keys already inside, drive out. Takes only a few minutes to install our own car seat - always bring it, cleaner and comfier, and safer.

It's all about the emerald isle membership that makes it the best, and being at the airport - any other way is a waist of time and hassle that isn't worth the extra savings for us.

 

[maja36]

Back 1 month ago from trip to the world and booked through L&M who have on-site airport rentals. Absolutely no problem. Absolutely the cheapest. Plus, second driver was free... normally the charge is $7 per day for this. Maybe it requires it to be a married spouse, however, still a great deal. And absolutely no problem with insurance, in fact, the agent told me to bring a copy of my insurance policy because maybe some of the insurances were already covered. Very helpful. Line up on a sunday afternoon was super long every other car rental, but L&M 1 person in front of us... in and out with two little ones... won't do another agency again.