car rental fuel policies

[karentan]

we're going to hire a car for 2 days at the start of the vacation so we can get to seaworld and to the malls, and have got a good quote from budget from the doubletree suites at DTD.

can someone confirm that you have to take the car back with a full tank of gas? i was looking at alamo but i was put off by being forced to pay for a full tank of gas then returning it empty. there's no chance of me using anywhere near enough fuel to justify THAT cost!!

also can does anyone know which of the other rental companies have the "return full" policy?

thanks in advance!

 

[Lewisc]

Normally every agency gives you the option of pre-paying for a tank of fuel (generally a bad deal) or letting the customer return the car with a full tank of gas.

I think some agencies have a different policy when non-US citizens rent a car. You might post on the UK board.

 

[seashoreCM]

3. Don't buy the tankful of fuel up front, don't refill it upon return, and pay for the rental agent to refill it for the next customer at roughly twice the price per gallon.

Many years ago, Alamo had a mandatory fuel service charge and the car came with a third to a half tank of gas in it, and there was no additional charge for gas no matter how you returned the car.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

We never prepay for gas. I don't like the feeling that in order to get my $ worth, I'd have to return the car on empty. Even if I could do that, the gas price that they charge to prepay isn't really that good anyway. I'd rather just stop and fill up on my way to returning it. We only pay for what we used.

I think this is industry standards that apply to any rental car co.

 

[Lewisc]

The OP is from the UK. Rental agencies have different policies when they rent to UK citizens. Vacation packages with rental cars which are sold to UK residents generally include CDW and a full tank of gas.

Unfortunately the experience of anyone who's not a UK citizen won't help the OP.

 

[karentan]

i wasnt aware that the rules on fuel would be different to UK visitors, i'll ask this over on the UK board, thanks for the help

 

[seashoreCM]

If you really got a good quote e.g. from Budget from the Doubletree Suites then take it and enjoy the peace of mind of having collision damages covered and enjoy the convenience of not having to scrounge around for a gas station upon return.

On the other hand, U.S. citizens never get a good quote for all those bennies.