Budget

[bostonlass]

I have changed my rental car from Avis to Budget and have 2 questions if anyone can help

1) Although I select drop-off at Cape Canaveral the ressies show that I"m dropping off at Cocoa Beach (which totally sends me back to when I used to watch "I Dream of Jeanie"). Are the two the same?

2) I rented an SUV but it says it's a Ford Explorer "or similar". A friend just told me that she rented an SUV last month (don't know with whom) and ended up getting a station wagon because it was "similar" and apparently the qualification of being similar was that it holds the same amount of people and luggage. Has this happened to anyone else?

Thanks so much!

 

[sartini-co]

The Budget rental office in Cape Canaveral has a Budget location code of CC5. Check whether this is identified in your reservations. Its address is:

8401 ASTRONAUT BLVD.
CAPE CANAVERAL, FL

 

[CAMICKEY]

I would not consider a station wagon to be the same class of vehicle as and SUV - How ridiculous of the car rental agency IMHO. - Mike

 

[bostonlass]

It says 8401 Astronaut Blvd. but it says Cocoa Beach instead of Cape Canaveral. I guess its the same thing.

 

[gottaluvdis]

I also rented an SUV through Budget for the end of April. I rented from Orlando because we'll have the car for a week total (our cruise is 3 days). When I reserved the car, it said "Ford Escape or similar" - the Escape is smaller than the Explorer but still an SUV nonetheless. I would expect a 4-wheel drive vehicle, not a station wagon. I may very well call Budget to confirm exactly what I'm getting. I'll specifically ask about the station wagon situation and will let you know what they say. Thanks for the heads-up!

 

[mississaugamom]

We just rented from Budget March 6 for one week following our cruise on the Magic and also reserved "Ford Explorer or similar". We rented this specifically for the larger trunk space so we would NOT have considered a station wagon to be the same as an SUV.

When we arrived at Budget's office (the shuttle from the ship was really quick) there was a shiny blue DELUXE Ford Explorer waiting for us. (The deluxe was the optional third row seating, allowing for seven passengers.) This seat folded down to allow us to get all the luggage in. We were thrilled with the vehicle, service and the price from Budget that day.

We were able to return the car to MCO at no additional charge. Hope you have the same good experience we did!

 

[FLGalInTN]

I'm a Cocoa Beach native now living in more northern climes. Cocoa Beach is just south of Cape Canaveral, but that address is in Cape Canaveral (Astronaut Blvd/528A). I think Budget is just past the entrance to the port on SR 528 (unless they've moved it since I moved to TN).

P.S. I used to watch I Dream of Jeannie as a kid and always laughed when some of the outside shots showed mountains in the background. The highest elevations around Cocoa Beach are the causeways.

 

[bostonlass]

I was in love with Major Nelson!!!

 

[CAMICKEY]

I was in love with Jeannie. Showing our ages!!! - Mike

 

[DrCavin]

Basically the "or similar" line is a CYA, Cover Your A*** for the rental agency. If they are scheduled to have a SUV come back at 8:00 AM & it is not there what are they going to do? So they will try to put you into the next higher category of vehicle if available and not charge you anymore.

We had this happen once & they tried to put us into a 12 passenger van. Wife would not accept it, too big for her to drive, probably would have cost us a small fortune in additional gas!!! We were going out-of-state for a week. So after about 10 minutes of saying that is not going to work, the manager said well so & so is late picking up his vehicle, its yours now.

So I would not worry about it & just enjoy!!

OH and do they still make station wagons, let alone rent them???

 

[Dave_from_Marietta]

Originally posted by DrCavin

Do they still make station wagons, let alone rent them???

Ford makes a Taurus station wagon.<p align=center><img src="http://www.fordvehicles.com/images/ataglance/TRS04SLW_vagpgimage.jpg"></p>

 

[DrCavin]

Dave
Oh yeah, I forgot about that one!! I just looked on Budgets web-site & they don't specifically offer a station-wagon, but that catch all "or similar" may get you one *hehehe

 

[inkkognito]

The Budget office is conveniently located on A1A, not too far from the Radisson, and there is a gas station just before it so you can fill the tank.
I definitely would NOT be happy if they tried to pass off a station as an SUV! We've only rented from them once, and we had rented a compact. They upgraded us to a Ford Taurus...not sure what class that was, but it had a huge trunk.
Barb
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