car hire ?

[RUSHBURY]

I have always had a prepaid voucher for my car hire, having paid in advance through the likes of Airline Network.

Are there any advantages or disadvantages to booking direct with eg Dollar,Alamo via their websites?

Also are there any advantages or disadvantages to waiting until you arrive at Orlando airport and getting car hire then?

Any advice/suggestions will be much appreciated.

tia

Helen

 

[mike230652]

Helen

We tried every option and permutation known to man to get the best deal for car hire!!

We decided to go with Airline Network for several reasons:

1. They had a really good deal on with Dollar, £310 for two weeks on a 4-door Intermediate, this included Platinum cover ( free tank of petrol + any driver over 25 )

2. You can get straight through to them at Preston with any queries..........and their staff are exceptionally helpful.

3. Alamo were there or thereabouts on price..until we discovered their insurance was absolutely the minimum required by law. To get to the standard offered by Dollar cost another $15.95 per day!!! They also charge in £ and convert when you get there...with the £ being strong against the $ this would have meant paying more than quoted ( they wouldn't allow us to pay immediately ).

Personally I don't think waiting until you get there to book is a good idea. I doubt you'd get a better rate......... more likely the opposite! Plus, do you really want the hassle of arriving, then sorting a car out?

These are only my opinions based on several hours of hunting around.............I have little doubt that someone will tell you they've shaved a couple of quid off the price I got...good luck to them. Im just very pleased to get an acceptable deal off a reputable company.

Good Luck!
mike

 

[RUSHBURY]

Thanks for that Mike

We used Airline Network in Oct and can highly recommend them.

Just noticed your countdown - have a great holiday.

Helen

 

[Hilary]

We tried leaving it until we arrived in Orlando to sort out the car hire once - and only once! We did it this way because we didn't need the car for the whole time we were in Florida, and hoped we'd save some money.

We felt we paid more than if we'd pre-booked from the UK, had a lot of unnecessary hassle, and used up a lot of valuable vacation time along the way. Never again.

 

[amf]

I agree that it would not be a good idea to hire a car on arrival...this will cost you, big time.

We also used Airline Network in September/October. 3 weeks hire of a 7 seater minivan with Platinum upgrade £572 I didn't even need to leave a CC imprint I've noticed that their prices for next year are up a bit and they're using Speciality Auto Hire, which is off airport