Car rental ... I think I got rooked

[KerriMc]

Well ... after reading all of these posts about your car rentals I am so embarassed to admit how much we paid for our mini van through Alamo. We had it reserved through our travel agent and it was to be around 500.00 US. When we went to get our van the lady asked if we wanted all of the insurance, which we assumed (wrongly done I suppose) was the basic stuff you need, but was apparently APP (this premium plan that was an add'l 255) she gave us and it came to 799.00 US. (She threw in the carseat for free ... whoop di do). I know we should have asked, but DH was adament about insurance(and of course thinking he knew it all) but of course I read it later and APP is something about 100,000 for the first person and 10,000 for each there after that dies ... something like that. So now I feel stupid. We were tired, she didn't offer any explanation, we were right at the front of a line of about 100 or more that wasn't moving and felt like we just had to get it and do it. What exactly do we need for insurance when we are there? We are from Ontario and I don't know if our own car insurance covers anything there. I do not think i needed that APP, which I had to research what that meant. I guess you learn from your mistakes. Next time I am booking myself and am going to ask more questions. Do they get commission on suckers buying this stuff??? I feel so silly.
I do have to admit I did LOVE the van. It was a Grand Caravan ... and now I WANT one for us too (we drive a Protege). That part was great ... the price sucked. I don't know if I'd use them again.
Anyway ... thanks for letting me help some other sucker from making the same dumb mistake we did!!

Thanks ...
Kerri

 

[FoodLover]

If that was for a one-week (or so) rental, then yes, I think you got rooked.

Happens to the best of us... about all you can do is learn from it for next time!

To answer your question -- YES, the counter agents DO make commission on every "extra" they sell you (like insurance). I just read an article about that the other day.

The only way you can know for sure whether your own insurance will cover your next car rental is to call your insurance company and ask about it. Be sure to tell them the type of vehicle you'll be renting and the location. Some policies won't cover all vehicle types and there may be an issue because you are renting in a different country.

Hope you get a much better deal next time!

Mary
MouseSavers.com

 

[Aimeedyan]

You can call your own insurance company and find out about rental car coverage. Most companies have something you can add on if you want to your own policy for that week that will be ALOT cheaper than what the car rental place offers.

We have USAA insurance, and a USAA credit card, and if we charge our rental on our USAA card, we automatically get rental car insurance coverage. So we're doing that for protection adn paying it off once the bill comes in.

I looked around ALOT before booking our cars. I couldn't believe the diff in price between an airport rental location adn regular location! CRAZY! And then the fees they tack on! I found Avis had the best rate this time around, but also got a USAA rate... so it was lower. Since we're going to be driving to another city to pick someone up, I also priced all the cities in between and picked the cheapest location to rent from =)

I think you probably got rooked this time around, but it happens to ALL of us and we learn from it =) Don't beat yourself up on it!!

I hope we get a Caravan, too. They seem nice =)

 

[bballmom56]

We rented a car in Miami last year to go to Key West. I think it was Alamo. It had been reserved thru our travel agent. DH was in charge of the arrangements for the trip. We got to the counter, and the guy says "oh, you'll really want a convertible". I really didn't care, but he kept pushing, so I finally said "fine". Not having dealt with rental cars before, I didn't realize it was going to be a LOT more money. He seemed to leave out that little tidbit. And DH wasn't paying attention to the paperwork he signed. Two lessons learned: I'll take care of trip arrangements from now on and I'll become as informed as I can about all the aspects of it. This board is a great resource for all this information.

By the way, we have a 1999 Dodge Caravan - base model (I have to manually lock each door ) and I absolutely love it. The only thing I would add next time is tinted glass for the big side windows and tailgate - the sun gets pretty hot . Oh, and I guess I would go for automatic door locks! I have almost 90,000 miles on it and have never had a mechanical problem.

 

[inkkognito]

It is very easy to get roped into extras, especially if you're not familiar with car rentals. We travel to Orlando an average of twice a month, so I know all the tricks. But they still try...there is one woman at Alamo (maybe the same one you dealt with) who loves to say, "Do you want to premium coverage or just the standard?" to trick people into thinking that it has to be one or the other. She certainly doesn't tell you that you can refuse it. I've had agents at other companies insist on going through their spiel even though I told them point blank to save their breath because I'm not interested. And those stories are mild compared to some of the doozies I've read here.
But at least there is some good to come out of this...you will definitely know what to be on the lookout for next time!
Barb
Visit the Platinum Castaway Club at: www.castawayclub.com

 

[ncbyrne]

Some credit cards also provide insurance protection, so be sure to check out that option. DH also go roped into paying extra charges on our last rental. I had made the reservations, noting no insurance on the internet form, but they got to him at the counter. He knows better now.

 

[time101]

I believe MOST credit cards (especially gold and platinum cards) offer the coverage on a rental car. The agents love to make you feel as if you're the only person they've dealt with all year that's actually refused coverage. I've also had them use the "Standard or premium coverage" gimmick.

 

[MissSwish]

Well I got ripped off last year, but it was only for about $20-$30 dollars.

We arrived at Alamo with my on-line reservation in hand. The agent took it and proceeded to type away on her terminal, she handed me the paperwork on which I reviewed everything but the price! Duh! We were so eager to be on our way that I didn't notice that she completely blew off my online reservation and wrote her own at the slightly higher price.

That WON"T be happening this year.

 

[mrsboz]

We've also been suckered into the insurance and last year the lady kept trying to make us get a jeep instead of a minivan. She insisted that they were the same size. My sister has one - they are much smaller. She kept saying that we would have to wait a very long time for our van to be ready - insisting - nasty. I just kept politely insisting that we would wait. Wonder of wonders - 10 mintues later they had a van appear. She was going to charge us the same price for a smaller vehicle too - she acted like she was doing us a favor.



I Like my countdown time::::::

 

[PattiPB]

The car rental counter is one place I have learned the hard way to take my time and proofread everything! They can be total snakes!!!

Don't feel bad---it happens to all of us in one way or another!

BTW---one of the things I've learned is NOBODY---auto ins. or cc---covers a car rental for greater than 15 days. We learned this (in advance that goodness) and had to make two separate ressies summer of 2001 in Orlando.

Patti

 

[Lewisc]

Originally posted by PattiPB
The car rental counter is one place I have learned the hard way to take my time and proofread everything! They can be total snakes!!!

Don't feel bad---it happens to all of us in one way or another!

BTW---one of the things I've learned is NOBODY---auto ins. or cc---covers a car rental for greater than 15 days. We learned this (in advance that goodness) and had to make two separate ressies summer of 2001 in Orlando.

Patti

American Express goes to 30 days.

 

[KerriMc]

I feel much better after reading about everyone elses' experiences. I wish I had known all of this ahead of time. I too had a sheet with a confirmation number, price, etc ... I gave her that and never saw it again. She was a very friendly woman and seemed quite nice. We were joking because we had met a man on the elevator just before that who said to say 'hi' to them at Alamo because he used to work there. He told us to tell them to give us the best deal they could .... well .... that didn't happen ... but she did throw in the carseat!! Well BIG DEAL ... the insurance cost way more than that damn carseat!!!

Anyway ... I have learned ... I am going to write a letter although I know it will not accomplish anything. At least I will feel better about the darn thing. All she had said to us was "Do you want the insurance for collision and all of that?" ... so we assumed that meant the regular stuff that everyone needed. Duh!!

Not again !!

Kerri

 

[kilee]

MCO Alamo is notorious for these things. Our last trip I lectured DH through that 30 minute line-- NO INSURANCE (as I checked our policies and we were covered). I waited back, figuring DH could handle this, he was a big boy. He walks over and the total was almost $200.00 more than the quote. He says he told them firmly no insurance. Alas--they said okay-- intial here and here. Of course he was in a hurry and didn't read it. On top of that the base rate was higher. I was fuming. I grabbed him, all the luggage and stomped back up to that counter. The VERY RUDE MAN, insisted DH wanted the insurance. DH said he told them at least 3 times NO INSURANCE!!! In the end, after about 15 minutes of arguing, I demaned a manager. The worker went into a "back room" to get one. After another 15 minutes waiting-- he came out and said he would adjust everything. He probably went back there to have lunch. By this time the line has grown to 100 people and I am getting plenty of looks that could kill. We have rented from Alamo probably 50 times all over the country. Never a problem anywhere but ORlando!!!!!!!!! They seem to try to play by their own rules there!!