Car hire

[Fobgirl12]

Hi, can anyone tell me if the location of Orlando Disney car downtown on the holiday autos website is for Disney's car care center?
Also, what extra waiver/options would be good to include?

Thanks!

 

[wayneg]

Yes it is.
Their prices are fully inclusive, no need to add anything, only one I sometimes add is MAX, usually on shorter rentals like last trip it cost £35, similar price to a tank of gas locally.
Use this link for 15% off & instructions how to get cashback ontop. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/othe...e/734198-holidayautos-discount-worldwide.html
If you are not going soon its probably better to wait for a sale, they have them faily often although their last one didn't include USA rentals.

 

[nemmie]

Wayne,
Every time I get a quote it automatically selects total damage Excess wavier. You mention you never add anything but MAX are you still fully covered if you take off TDEW?
Also are these rentals normally with Hertz? Have used Dollar for so many years using someone else is a little daunting.
Many thanks.

 

[wayneg]

Wayne,
Every time I get a quote it automatically selects total damage Excess wavier. You mention you never add anything but MAX are you still fully covered if you take off TDEW?
Also are these rentals normally with Hertz? Have used Dollar for so many years using someone else is a little daunting.
Many thanks.

TDEW needs unticking, its for accidental incidents like losing keys, leaving your lights on overnight etc, they charge about £5/day for this, if really want it buy it at the desk, its $5/day but its something I would never buy, never needed it in 30+ rentals.
All insurances are covered with no boxes ticked, MAX only adds extra drivers & tank of gas, no extra insurance.

They are Alamo cars, I have read 1 post who said they got National(owned byAlamo) but every other has received Alamo.

If you can wait until 19th Dec, possibly a discount for USA being released.

 

[nemmie]

Brilliant, thank Wayne!
Do they have anything like Dollar Express?

 

[wayneg]

Brilliant, thank Wayne!
Do they have anything like Dollar Express?

When you receive your confirmation there is a link to register for their fast track system. I have done it twice, first time in July. You goto the electronic kiosks near the Alamo desk and scan your DL. I tried a couple of times and gave up, mainly because there was no-one at the desk so easily got served.
2nd time last month the line was about 1 hour+ so I really wanted the kiosk to work. Tried to scan the DL again but no luck, it said if your DL has no bar code or mag strip click here, which I tried and it worked. I had to enter all details manually but it worked. Only problem I had was adding 2nd driver, wasn't that bothered as Karen never drives so I didn't add her as it would have meant a long wait at the desk, although others have said they have had success adding at the exit booth.

 

[chmurf]

If the line is short, don't bother with the kiosks, especially with a UK/European License.

There was a 30+ minutes line at the Alamo desk at MCO in october. We saw a guy who was on our plane with a european license, he tried to use the kiosk and gave up after 15 to 20 minutes. He then entered the line that had almost doubled in size in the meantime. He probably spent 1 hour in line plus the 15 to 20 minutes at the kiosk when he could have cleared the line in 30 minutes like we did

the rep at the desk tried to sell me some upgrades though
she tried to convince me that I would feel so miserable in my fullsize (impala for 2 adults and 1 kid ... fairly large car) and I needed to upgrade to a BMW to make my vacations magical.
I declined and she tried to sell me a roadside plus. I declined too. She gave up and printed my rental agreement.

Anyway, there is one simple rule for renting : book from home and consider all upgrades at time of booking. NEVER accept any upgrade at the desk. For example, for the price they will charge you for a 1 class upgrade at the desk, you could have had a 2 classes upgrade at the time of booking on the UK website.

 

[nemmie]

Thanks Wayne for your, as always, excellent advice and tips. Sounds like Dollar still has the edge on the express "ness" and hassle factor. I'm all for saving money and giving it a shot but hubs would rather stick with Dollar. We may however not have a choice as Dollars website is currently having difficulties and is showing location sold out so maybe we will switch out to Alamo this trip.

Thanks Chmurf for the heads up also. If we do end up with Alamo one of us will try the kiosk whilst the other queues. We don't ever upgrade at the desk either unless of course, as with Dollar many times over the years, it's free.

 

[wayneg]

In my experience I would say out of the two Dollar is overall the best for Express & quality of cars but even they are not perfect, you can still get an old banger.
The Alamo choice was not great this past trip, all cars had about 20k on the clock but saying that we had no problems with the car we got.
Hertz tend to have a better fleet but you usually pay a higher price (unles sthey have a good deal on) Budget I have never had a good rental with, 4 poor cars. incl one that should have been scrapped.

 

[nemmie]

We've always stuck with Dollar because even when we've had problems over the years, they have always sorted it out with relative ease and an upgrade for the inconvenience. We've had allsorts from a simple warning light to a infestation of ants, that was fun lol.

Dollar's website is currently showing EVERY location in Florida as sold out for our dates so clearly there is a problem somewhere. The customer service man I just spoke to was less than helpful so I'll wait maybe until Wed and then I feel I better book something seeing as we leave next week.

 

[nemmie]

Wayne, After doing a search here on CarHire3000 I read on some threads that you were going to book them a while back. Everything ok with them?
I called their call center and they can get me a car with Dollar for the same price as what I am looking at with Alamo via HolidayAutos but having never used them before thought I would ask you.

 

[wayneg]

If I remember rightly I booked elsewhere in the end, I don't remember ever booking with them.
What are your dates, size car & price? I will see if I can find anything better.

 

[nemmie]

Ah ok no worries then. That's ok, thanks for offering to look for me but I think I'll do the Carhire3000 one. I've pretty much checked every company that offer Dollar out there lol. Thanks for all your help Wayne.

 

[nemmie]

Just wanted to pop back and say thank you for the tips and advice. We decided to go with Alamo direct using the Brits code and got a fabulous deal including additional drivers. About £150 cheaper than all the Dollar quotes I had. Will attempt the kiosk if the line is busy and send Hubby to the queue just in case I cannot get it to work for us. Registered immiediately for the ''Save time'' thingy and added myself as an additional driver. Thanks again

 

[NatalieMT]

I am reading this thread with a very confused look on my face ha ha! I need to book a car, 19th April to 1st May 2013 to seat 5 people, have never hired a car before in the US. What is the best way to go about doing this? Have one driver under 25 but has international permit, one driver over 25 with UK permit.

 

[chmurf]

I am reading this thread with a very confused look on my face ha ha! I need to book a car, 19th April to 1st May 2013 to seat 5 people, have never hired a car before in the US. What is the best way to go about doing this? Have one driver under 25 but has international permit, one driver over 25 with UK permit.

International license is not valid without the national license. I assume you mean the driver has both.

The second driver without international license should apply for one.

Florida is one of the very few states where they (are supposed to) require both national (foreign) and international license.
There might be some leeway for UK citizens since your license is already written in english, but some visitoirs (non english licenses) have been known to get arrested for lack of a valid driver's license when they only had their national (european) license.

Better safe than sorry.

Driver 24 and under will (might) be hit with a huge surcharge. If the driver is 25 at the time of rental, then you're golden.

what you need to do is go to a rental agency's website (get a quote on alamo.co.uk for example)
currentely you have a "free extra driver" deal http://www.alamo.co.uk/Hotdeals/740/UK/aluk_usca_freeadditionaldriver

choose "airport" and select "orlando international airport" if you wish to pick up the car there.
enter your rental dates, make sure you leave enough time for returning the car, (or you'll get charged if you're late) so basically choose a time 1 or 2 hours before your plane takes off.
click on next

choose your car
with 5 people I would not select anything smaller than a fullsize or intermediate SUV

on the next page ignore the "gold "thingy, you already have the additional driver with the deal (if you followed the link above)

if the driver is not 25 yet, tick the young driver box
include all options you wish

enter details

validate and pay (will be charged straight away for the full amount) You need a major credit/debit card (mastercard or visa for example)

once your booking has been confirmed, you'll be able to use the save time function on the website using your confirmation number

when you get to MCO, proceed to the Alamo kiosk or counter with a printout of your reservation (should be a barcode on it)
once you're done, proceed to the parking lot on the other side of the road, just outside of the terminal, and pick the car you like from your car class lot.

stop at the exit gate, show your receipt/rental agreement, the rep will scan the car's barcode, and you'll be on your way on florida highways.

The procedure is roughly the same with other rental agencies

 

[wayneg]

International DL is not required:

Question
Do we require an international driving permit or will our UK or European driving license be sufficient?
Answer
You do not require an International Driving Permit/Licence, your driving licence from your Country of origin is sufficient.
If you hold the UK new style driving licence then you must take both parts with you accompanied by your Evoucher and credit card for security.

As for the driver under 25, do they really want/need to drive, it could double your rental cost, most companies add $25-$30/day on extra for young drivers. Another option would be Car on The Drive, more expensive upfront but include extras, including any drive age 21 or over http://www.caronthedrive.com/

 

[chmurf]

International DL is not required:

Rental agencies will not require the IDP

In most of the USA, it is not required either.
Florida is an exception. Most police officers and state troopers will accept national licenses, but you'll find the odd local sheriff who goes by the book and who will require the IDP

from london embassy dot gov (note the "IDP is generally not required"

http://london.usembassy.gov/rctour.html

International Driving Permits are generally not required in the U.S.A but it is helpful to carry one. If they are taken, they are only valid in conjunction with a full national driving license. They should not be accepted on their own. It is recommended that drivers who possess a full national license that is in script other than Roman, i.e. Cyrillic or Arabic, should also obtain an International Driving Permit (IDP).

here's a link from the French Consulate in Miami (french only, sorry) where it is clearly stated that some french citizens were charged with "driving without a license" when they could not produce an IDP on top of their national license
http://www.consulfrance-miami.org/spip.php?article3184

the fact that UK licenses are written in english probably helps

In the end it all depends on the cop checking your documents

 

[wayneg]

In all the years I have been reading forums I have never seen anyone say an IDP is required or even possibly required.
You learn something every day.

RAC says:
USA

An International Driving Permit is not a legal requirement but is recommended.

Is it they recommend because they are selling them

If its not a legal requirement I will carry on as before.

 

[chmurf]

Is it they recommend because they are selling them

I wouldn't know, we get them free of charge here.