My top five worst rental car experiences:
#1 America
#2 And no one
#3 else even
#4 comes
#5 close.
I see one poster had an adequate experience with Americar, and I never mean my single opinion to be almighty. But I'm the cheapest SOB that ever spent money in Orlando. I like to walk into PI and drop a couple hundred on food and drinks. For that reason, I skimp on hotel and rental car, which I consider utilitarian. But with Americar, I pushed the envelope past breaking point.
It's tough to encompass the experience in a short paragraph, I'll keep this as tight as possible. The line was long and angry even in late September, because almost everyone was going to their car, then coming back in to complain about its condition. I rent literally dozens of cars per year, so I'm used to the insurance pitch. But this was the worst I'd seen. They asked me what my deductible was ($500) then put a hold for that amount on my CC. Note that we went last September when Isidor was threatening the East Coast. I made it clear to the lady I wanted no part of their insurance, then went out the car.
By the time I got back, the lady had convinced DW that Isidor had taken a turn towards Central Florida and was destined to hit Orlando. Upon finding out we were staying at the Best Western Lake Buena Vista, the woman told DW the trees in DTD would make the car a sitting duck for flying branches and our insurance wouldn't cover it (several lies in one statement). And she told her that if something did happen, we'd be liable for repairs, plus list rental cost ($79 per day on a sub-compact) while it was waiting to be repaired, and it could take them up to a month just to get it in the garage. In short, she scared the crap out of my wife and I had to deal with the fallout for the next hour.
Also, and these are smaller points: We rent the cheapest piece of garbage possible because the only thing we want a car for is hotel to airport transportation and our yearly trip to Citywalk. They said when I rented it we'd get a Geo Metro or equivalent. This was fine for me. Give me something small and worthless so no one steals it on my watch. But what they gave me was a Suzuki Swift, which I've since heard referred to as an electric roller skate. Granted, my expectation should be low for a Geo Metro or equivalent, but this was a three-cylinder, which I didn't even know existed. And even though it was an economy car, according to our charts, it got about fifteen miles to the gallon and had a massive pull to the left (no doubt these two things were related).
Finally, when I refused to buy the tank of gas, they informed me the car they gave me was filled 2/3rds full, but I shouldn't worry because all I had to do was bring it back 2/3rds full. Again, small point. Filling it full instead of 2/3rds full probably cost me two or three bucks. But it's the principle: how the heck do you get a small car like that exactly 2/3rds full?
Anyway, maybe it's an isolated incident, but that's the worst rental car experience I've ever had and I feel the need to point the experience out to anyone who ask "what do you think of Americar?" A side note, I THINK Americar and Payless are basically the same company in Orlando. They share a building. The contract I signed was an Americar/Payless contract, and the keychain had Americar on one side, Payless on the other.
Good luck however you take it. But from one cheapskate, rental car is one place I'll not try to save bucks anymore. There are too many decent choices at the airport to take a chance on another experience like that.
Pat
