Cost of gas refill at Alamo - PSA

[hsmamato2]

...unplanned. Just an FYI for those who do it.... (this wasn't Orlando,it was Salt Lake City) I guess I didn't do enough research, but thought I'd share my caution here to help anyone else out (I guess I'm a dummy sometimes) We were in unfamiliar territory, and had to drop off a car rental (Alamo) b/c we got lost we were running late to the airport....and you guessed it- we didn't pay ahead for gas refill(we should have) and just asked them to fill it when we returned it......urgh. Oh well, lesson learned. I think we paid 92.00 in gas and fees to get it filled upon return. (it should have cost around 38-40) So my takeaway from this is,either familiarize ourselves with gas options before we even leave home, or prepay for the gas if we are in a totally unfamiliar place.(and lost,and late to airport lol)

 

[wilkeliza]

...unplanned. Just an FYI for those who do it.... (this wasn't Orlando,it was Salt Lake City) I guess I didn't do enough research, but thought I'd share my caution here to help anyone else out (I guess I'm a dummy sometimes) We were in unfamiliar territory, and had to drop off a car rental (Alamo) b/c we got lost we were running late to the airport....and you guessed it- we didn't pay ahead for gas refill(we should have) and just asked them to fill it when we returned it......urgh. Oh well, lesson learned. I think we paid 92.00 in gas and fees to get it filled upon return. (it should have cost around 38-40) So my takeaway from this is,either familiarize ourselves with gas options before we even leave home, or prepay for the gas if we are in a totally unfamiliar place.(and lost,and late to airport lol)

Just an add on to this for Orlando. We always pre-pay there. The gas stations closest to the airport scalp their gas for something ridiculous like 4 to 5 a gallon.

 

[OrangeCountyCommuter]

Just an add on to this for Orlando. We always pre-pay there. The gas stations closest to the airport scalp their gas for something ridiculous like 4 to 5 a gallon.

Not sure where you are filling up but I am looking at a receipt from WaWa (about a block past the scalpers) $1.98 a gallon and I used 2.5 gallons. I generally fill up at the 7-11 just off the toll road before the airport. Not as good as Wawa but not close to $4.

Based on that the prepay is probably even a bigger ripoff.

 

[wilkeliza]

Not sure where you are filling up but I am looking at a receipt from WaWa (about a block past the scalpers) $1.98 a gallon and I used 2.5 gallons. I generally fill up at the 7-11 just off the toll road before the airport. Not as good as Wawa but not close to $4.

Based on that the prepay is probably even a bigger ripoff.

When I tried to fill up at by WaWa they told us it was "too far" so we had to pay for the refill at the airport. Probably just got a crabby rental employee is all.

For prepay we always check online for the average cost in the area. It is usually about .10 more a gallon and saves us time so we are willing to do it.

 

[Jestocost]

Used properly, pre-pay isn't a rip-off. You pay a relatively reasonable rate per gallon but the catch is that you are buying an entire tank of gas at that price. So the trick is to return the car as close to empty as possible. If you're not going to use close to a full tank of gas then the pre-pay option doesn't make sense.

 

[seashoreCM]

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[seashoreCM]

Did you get a receipt from the Wawa station? AFAIK a Wawa station on 436 (Semoran) north of the airport is not too far although a WaWa station on International Drive in the Sea World to Universal area is too far. Write to the rental agency after you get home enclosing a copy of the gas receipt.

If you fill up the night before then you only have to pay for a small amount of gas from the rental agency to top off with. The rental agency's own price for gas is (should be) printed right on your rental contract. All rental agencies charge much more than the average street price for gas when you don't buy a tankful up front and don't bring it back full.

Selling you a full tankful of gas up front is a profit maker for the rental agency and just because of that it is not a bargain for the renter. It can be a convenience if you are running late. Note that it is not possible to bring the car back with fewer than three gallons remaining in the tank without getting anxious about possibly running ot of gas before you make it back. This is true no matter how far you drive and how many times you bought gas in between. You decide how close to cut that.

 

[wilkeliza]

Did you get a receipt from the Wawa station? AFAIK a Wawa station on 436 (Semoran) north of the airport is not too far although a WaWa station on International Drive in the Sea World to Universal area is too far. Write to the rental agency after you get home enclosing a copy of the gas receipt.

If you fill up the night before then you only have to pay for a small amount of gas from the rental agency to top off with. The rental agency's own price for gas is (should be) printed right on your rental contract. All rental agencies charge much more than the average street price for gas when you don't buy a tankful up front and don't bring it back full.

Selling you a full tankful of gas up front is a profit maker for the rental agency and just because of that it is not a bargain for the renter. It can be a convenience if you are running late. Note that it is not possible to bring the car back with fewer than three gallons remaining in the tank without getting anxious about possibly running ot of gas before you make it back. This is true no matter how far you drive and how many times you bought gas in between. You decide how close to cut that.

My experience was at least 2 years ago. I remember the WaWa was relatively new. No use writing them now about it. Same for the fact I just ate the cost of the fee when a toll booth was being renovated so no one was working it but it was taking easy pass and license plates. I should have fought the fee but instead I paid the 20-30 bucks extra for it.

 

[Sandi]

Not sure where you are filling up but I am looking at a receipt from WaWa (about a block past the scalpers) $1.98 a gallon and I used 2.5 gallons. I generally fill up at the 7-11 just off the toll road before the airport. Not as good as Wawa but not close to $4.

Based on that the prepay is probably even a bigger ripoff.

That stupid 7-11 had no gas when we tried to fill up there on returning the car last month. There were no close alternatives and we were pretty close to full, so I just returned the car. I didn't feel ripped off by Alamo.

 

[sharona]

Just wanted to share the very nice experience that I had with Alamo recently. I returned my rental in Tampa and didn't have a chance to stop for gas. It was only down 1/4 tank. I asked the return attendant how much I would be charged. He scanned the gas gage and it was about $25. He then very generously gave me a credit for that amount.

 

[bumbershoot]

Just an add on to this for Orlando. We always pre-pay there. The gas stations closest to the airport scalp their gas for something ridiculous like 4 to 5 a gallon.

Only two of them have the outrageous prices. The rest are in line with the general area.

If you prepay, you're paying for an entire tankful. That requires too much pre planning for me.

 

[Candlelady]

I fill up at the station across from the Boardwalk (can't remember the name) then to MCO to return the car. Been doing this for at least 10 years. Never had a problem.

 

[OrangeCountyCommuter]

I used to do the prepay. I discovered that on my weekly drive to Birmingham and back to Atlanta I was able to time it so I returned the car with the low fuel warning light on every time

Otherwise if you do the math it's hard to justify the deal. Because when was the last time you actually put 16 gallons in a 16 gallon tank?

 

[hsmamato2]

wow,sounds like different places have latitude..... my dropoff in SLC was a real suckerpunch! (stupid tax for the week)

 

[MrBean]

Always fill up on property either at the MK Hess (now Speedway) or near the Boardwalk. Alamo at MCO has never asked for a gas receipt. They look at the gas gauge and mileage and that's about it, very easy return process.

 

[PrincesCJM]

I fill up at the station across from the Boardwalk (can't remember the name) then to MCO to return the car. Been doing this for at least 10 years. Never had a problem.

I've had a similar experience. When I've stayed at Pop, I swing down to the 417 to fill up before heading to the airport. Never had a problem. Gas gauge is on F so they don't question it.

 

[hollypoast]

...unplanned. Just an FYI for those who do it.... (this wasn't Orlando,it was Salt Lake City) I guess I didn't do enough research, but thought I'd share my caution here to help anyone else out (I guess I'm a dummy sometimes) We were in unfamiliar territory, and had to drop off a car rental (Alamo) b/c we got lost we were running late to the airport....and you guessed it- we didn't pay ahead for gas refill(we should have) and just asked them to fill it when we returned it......urgh. Oh well, lesson learned. I think we paid 92.00 in gas and fees to get it filled upon return. (it should have cost around 38-40) So my takeaway from this is,either familiarize ourselves with gas options before we even leave home, or prepay for the gas if we are in a totally unfamiliar place.(and lost,and late to airport lol)

This has happened to us before (different city) and I asked if there was anything they could do to help us with the expense. (explained we got lost and didn't have time to turnaround for gas) They cut the cost in half. Still much more than we would have paid but well worth asking. You should call the car rental company now and explain what happened. The worse they can say is no. I find that if I'm nice/polite about it I often get something. Most people have been in the spot and are empathetic.

 

[goobylal]

I always fill up at the Hess across from DTD and make it to MCO still on "F."

 

[migel]

On one occasion I filled up near Disney, dropped off at MCO. The gauge showed barely a touch under FULL. About a month later I noted an additional charge to my credit card of $70 USD. I called and was told it was gas expense to fill the tank. They could not have fit more than one gallon in. After a lengthy explanation they quashed the added expense. To this day I always forget to keep my receipt when I fill up, but I do take a quick cell phone pic of the full gas gauge when I drop off. No problems since.