Car Hire

[LisaAJ]

Hi guys, I've tried searching the threads for this info but so many come up and so far reading hundreds of them has not yielded what I am after!!

I'm just wondering what are the best companies to book car hire through for us Aussie's. I'm particularly concerned with the insurances. I want to make sure we are properly covered but don't want to get hit with lots of charges when we get there. I'm a pay upfront kinda girl

My hubby is also quite nervous about driving. Is it easy to get used to the whole driving on the other side of the road thing?? We are mainly looking at bring as we want to go to Kennedy SC and Legoland (among other places) and figure the transfer costs for those would just about cover the car hire!!

Any ideas??
TIA

 

[kylieh]

Both times previously we've been with Hertz, can prepay from Australia and includes mandatory insurances that the credit card doesn't cover. Each state of the USA has different regulations, so it would be worth reading the PDS as well of who ever you go with. For our upcoming trip they were cheaper than Avis, but I've seen others with it being the other way around.

As a side note, I remember reading that in Florida they were looking at enforcing international driver's licenses for everyone, but not in other states. Check that out before you go just in case you need it!

 

[AussieNSW]

We have used US car hire which included all insurances. We were very happy with their service. Just a quick note they have a few toll roads in Florida we paid in cash each time but the amounts needed to be correct for example $1.25 or $0.75. You will need to check this out just in case it has changed since October last year to electronic only.

 

[marvel]

have used carhire3000 for last 4 trips both east and west coast, never had a problem and always way cheaper than any others we priced. they hire only from three big companies and all the insurance is included.

i have priced all the others and could never get them close to these guys.

you pay for a tank of gas when you get there and then can leave the car empty when you return which is great as you dont have the hassle of finding a gas station.

i find driving very easy and we enjoy stopping whenever we want. i think hubby will be fine.

 

[baf65]

the cheapest I have found this year is using the Alamo brits link via alamo uk...ive emailed them and its fine to use aussie drivers licence and aussie credit card to pay
you have to put brits in the link to get the further discount, all fees and additional drivers included

www.alamo.co.uk/brits

 

[MsMinne]

I just booked alamo yesterday. The price was pretty good compared to some of the other companies used dynamic pricing. In one case it was $1K more!

Shop around if you can.
Alamo is at downtown Disney and that's our last stop with our car before checking into the DHL so it quite convenient.

 

[aussiedad]

The big advantage in using companies like carhire3000 and UScarhire is the insurance. Excess is usually $3000 or so and about $20/$25 a day to reduce. It adds up pretty quicklty. The companies mentioned usually include all insurance
The down side is it can be difficult to get the location you want. If you are renting and returning to the airport this wont be a problem but I have found it challenging trying to use these sites to rent a car to get us from Disney to a cruise or vice versa.

If you only want a car for your day trips you could consider renting and returning to one of the locations near disney. A number of the rental comapnies have desks at the Downtown disney hotels /swan/dolphin hotels.
late last year we rented a car to get from Disney to our cruise. I think it was Budget at Doubletree Hotel. . I just caugt the bus to Downtown Disney and walked diagonally across the road to get the car.
Lots ofinfo here.

http://www.mousesavers.com/transportation-for-disney-vacations/rental-car-discounts/

 

[Sugarglider]

I did a post here last year on how the car hire works in USA. I, like Marvel, and a couple of others have used Traveljigsaw - which is also Car Hire 3000 - and owned by Priceline (well - they were when i last checked!). they have all the insurance included and very good prices.

through traveljigsaw I always take an alamo car (by choosing the right pick up address) and have found them to be reliable and great quality cars. the last two trips they have upgraded me!
Car hire prices get better the closer to your rental date - so my experience is to not be in a rush for this - keep an eye on it, ALWAYS book in advance, online.

A chap on the transport board 2 years ago did research and proved that the best prices are about fortnight before you want to travel - I have no idea how that would work - but he tracked everyone's bookings and prices and proved his idea!

and the thing mentioned by Kyhlieh re: international drivers licenses was that Florida State Government repealed the legislation that was requiring them (and they were not enforcing it anyway) so no international drivers license is required.

 

[LisaAJ]

Thanks everyone, that is exactly the information I was after!!

We want to pick up from MCO and drop off at Cape Canaveral pre cruise so I will have to check those different options to see if we can do that. We want to spend some time at Kennedy SC before the cruise (being that they are in the same place!) so it wouldn't be overly convenient to drop off the car before that.

Off to research, thanks again!!

 

[LisaAJ]

Just one more question!! How many of you think its worth having a car at Universal and at a WDW on site property??
We are having 5 days on International Drive (maybe elsewhere now we will have a car) with car, then 3 days Universal (car/no car?) then straight to 8/9 days at Pop Century (car/no car?) then to Cape Canaveral for a night to see KSC (car) and then DCL cruise (leave car at port) and drive back to airport.
I am wondering if its worth hiring a car the whole time or whether I hire one just for the first and last part of the trip. The difference in cost is about $400-$500 so a lot to consider. I'm sure it's personal choice but would like other's thoughts

Thanks!

 

[marvel]

with carhire3000 and i assume others, i kept checking and put a hold on a car which cost $20 or so, then checked every so often and emailed asking them to adjust the price if i found their website deal to be cheaper. I ended up getting it for $100 or so cheaper by the end.

 

[LisaAJ]

Do you think we need a car for WDW and Universal though?

 

[Sugarglider]

well - you don't NEED a car for those sites. But it depends on your travel preferences and distances.

At Universal everything is within walking distance - the two parks are right next door to each other, and if you stay at a Universal hotel, you can easily walk everywhere. So that is OK until you decide you want to shopping or to another attraction.

For WDW think of this place as being the same size as suburban Canberra! It is it's own county. They have a very good bus and boat system transporting everyone around. so you don't NEED a car. Many people LOVE the free transport.

I just take a car for the entire stay period. I am a bit lazy and mostly dislike all the waiting and slowness of buses. I just wanna get in my car and go direct to where ever I am going. And even though I stay at WDW I want to go off shopping and to other other attractions. You NEED a car the moment you want to leave the property.

I've not stayed there, people report POP has a great bus service. However, just because it is located out and away is enough for ME to want a car - cause remember - I am a bit lazy and i think I am on holidays - I want to do my own thing.

think about the time you will spend collecting and dropping off the cars, and compare to your budget.

 

[AussieNSW]

We were in Orlando twice. The first time we did not have a car but stayed at Grand Floridian and caught the bus to our Disney Cruise. This was fine as it was only for 3 nights. After the cruise we flew to another state for an NFL game and drove back down to Orlando for another 5 days and stayed of property but had a car. I preferred having a car it gave us the freedom to go shopping in the evenings as the malls open alot later than in Sydney and to eat out at places after we had been at a park. It gave us the opportunity to explore.

 

[WAMUMOF4]

We have stayed both ways with a car for the whole trip and just getting a car for the days we needed. We are quite surprised that we preferred only having a car on the days we needed it, it was actually nice not to have to drive back to the hotel at the end of the day after being in the parks, we drove to Universal for our 2 days there and stayed at WDW it was easier than packing up and moving and we had FD anyway. It was much easier getting the ME to the airport than driving and returning rental cars.

 

[ssour]

Both times previously we've been with Hertz, can prepay from Australia and includes mandatory insurances that the credit card doesn't cover. Each state of the USA has different regulations, so it would be worth reading the PDS as well of who ever you go with. For our upcoming trip they were cheaper than Avis, but I've seen others with it being the other way around.

As a side note, I remember reading that in Florida they were looking at enforcing international driver's licenses for everyone, but not in other states. Check that out before you go just in case you need it!

They repealed the law requiring international drivers licenses after the huge uproar from Canadian and UK tourists, so not needed anymore.

 

[LisaAJ]

Thanks everyone!! Much to think about!! I've been to WDW before but it was about 15 years ago. I stayed off site and used the hotel shuttle to get to Disney. I remember being annoyed at the buses being so slow so I'm sure I'll feel that way again!!
Even if we get a car I suppose we could use the buses if we didn't feel like driving. Decisions!!!

 

[ssour]

Thanks everyone!! Much to think about!! I've been to WDW before but it was about 15 years ago. I stayed off site and used the hotel shuttle to get to Disney. I remember being annoyed at the buses being so slow so I'm sure I'll feel that way again!!
Even if we get a car I suppose we could use the buses if we didn't feel like driving. Decisions!!!

I have been with and without a car and prefer no car at Walt Disney World (although my last trip at the BoardWalk had me second-guessing this decision). Since Pop relies on solely buses, they should be consistent and regular. You can always hire from Alamo at the Disney Car Care Center or Budget at the Doubletree near Downtown if you want one for a few days, this is normally cheaper than renting from the airport. I would price the difference, with the weekly vs. daily rates, it might work out not a great deal more to keep it the whole time, especially since it would mean no one-way rentals.