Do you really prefer one car rental company to another?

[pumpkinboy]

... or should price be the primary determinant since they are all pretty much the same?

Here's my quandry: I have Alamo reservations for our November and January trips already at rates I am happy with. I can get rates nearly as good with Dollar in Nov and National in Jan. When I look in the Unofficial Guide to WDW (our favorite guidebook by far!), Alamo's reader ratings (and I contribute to those) are below Dollar's, National's and most others on most counts.

Here are the ratings from the 2005 UGWDW:
Item________Alamo____Dollar____Nat'l
Pickup Effic.____67______81______89
Cond'n of Car___78______90______93
Cleanliness_____85______87______92
Return Effic.____74______90______93
(sorry if it all doesn't line up well. BTW, "Effic" stands for efficiency)

I also read that Alamo in not "In Terminal". Does that mean that ther is no Alamo desk at MCO (I thought I remembered seeing one), or simply that a shuttle takes you to your car from the terminal after you've been to the desk? And are Dollar and National really that much better than Alamo at MCO? (after all Alamo and National are sister companies)

So here are the Differentials:
November: Dollar is about $10 more expensive (4%) than Alamo, and Alamo is throwing in a free extra driver (which DW doesn't much care about)
January: National is $3 (1.3%) more expensive than Alamo, and Alamo is giving us double Disney Visa rewards points (ooh and extra $2 in rewards later! But really, I would prefer to rent on my Amex card, bcs I know what is covered).

Can any of you give me advice on this, clarify misconceptions, answer some of these questions? Is it worth it to pay a few more $$$ to get better and closer service?

Thx in advance.

 

[safetymom]

Alamo is in the terminal at MCO since they merged with National.

I have rented from Alamo, National, Hertz at MCO and wouldn't rent from Alamo or National again. Hertz is my favorite, never had any problems like I did with Alamo and National.

I chuckle when people insist on in terminal rentals. I can be on the bus and driving away much qucker than I did when I rented from National or Alamo.

I am glad that not everyone knows that off site rentals can be fast too.

I wouldn't go back to using them unless there was a very large discount.

BTW, Hertz also offers programs that allow you to bypass the counter and walk right to your car. I haven't seen a Hertz desk in years.

 

[beattyfamily]

Yes, I do prefer one car rental company to all others...National.

I love being an Emerald Club member and avoiding the counter and the discounts I can get.

I've got no complaints.

I'm also a creature of habbit and like to stick to a good thing. That's just how I am.

 

[pumpkinboy]

If it were just DW and me, I would have no compunction going out of terminal to rent a car. Our complication is that DS is wheelchair bound, and doesn't transport well on conventional shuttles and such. When renting from Alamo in West Palm (PBI) we rented in terminal and they brought the car around for us.

So do Alamo and National now share a desk at MCO? And again, is there really that much of a qualitative difference to justify the price differentials I have in my original post?

Thx

 

[beattyfamily]

Originally posted by pumpkinboy
If it were just DW and me, I would have no compunction going out of terminal to rent a car. Our complication is that DS is wheelchair bound, and doesn't transport well on conventional shuttles and such. When renting from Alamo in West Palm (PBI) we rented in terminal and they brought the car around for us.

So do Alamo and National now share a desk at MCO? And again, is there really that much of a qualitative difference to justify the price differentials I have in my original post?

Thx

Both National and Alamo have their own counter next to each other with their own employees working them. If one side is much busier than the other, I believe they help each other out.

I prefer National to Alamo for avoiding the counter. That's it in a nutshell.

 

[n2mm]

I also only choose National and Dollar. I love going right to my car with National, but when it comes down to the almighty dollar, then I choose the best price. Dollar is beating National by $70 on my upcoming trip, so will have to go with Dollar on my next trip. Going to the counter seems worth it for that amount of money. I've never had any major problem with either.

 

[Sammy]

Originally posted by beattyfamily
Yes, I do prefer one car rental company to all others...National.

I love being an Emerald Club member and avoiding the counter and the discounts I can get.

I've got no complaints.

I'm also a creature of habbit and like to stick to a good thing. That's just how I am.

I'm a National girl myself....especially since joining Emerald Aisle and being able to just walk past the counter right into the parking garage. I would say the timeframe from departing the plane to driving out of the parking garage has never been more than 25-30 minutes....and that includes getting the luggage. I've also been very happy with the discount codes I've been able to get with National. Two weeks ago, we rented Intermediate level for 4 days....$73 total with all fees/taxes. Once we arrived at the garage, we selected a Full-size from the Emerald Aisle. Not bad in my book.

 

[DebbieB]

For personal travel, I've always used National and have been happy with them, especially Emerald Aisle. I love being able to pick your car, most of the time I had a good selection.

For business travel, we have to use Avis or Hertz. I used Avis last year at MCO and it was OK. They don't let you pick your car and I got a white Malibu .

 

[ncbyrne]

From now on I will only use an onsite agency at any airport, including MCO. Once, with two kids, stollers and a ton of luggage on that shuttle bus was enough! Of the ones onsite, price is the determining factor. I am a Fastlane (Dollar) and Emeral Club (National) member and prefer either of these because they're usually the quickest. Alamo is now the "official" car rental agency for WDW, and they have moved onsite at MCO. If they had the best price I would use them.

 

[sgtdisney]

I prefer National as well. I love their Emerald Aisle and Reserve service where I can go right to where the cars are, pick the one that I chose from my catagory and drive on out. I can't really comment on Alamo. I had a couple of truly awful experiences with them a number of years back and I refused to rent from them for years. Now that they have merged operations with National I have heard better things about them, but I still have yet to rent with them.

I have also used Dollar a lot the past and have had good experiences with them but National has always been competitive in price for the last 3 or 4 years in my experience.

I really prefer the onsite agencies in Orlando. It is so easy to just walk across the street and pick up the car. If the price is pretty close 10 or 20.00 I personally would probably go with National. If the price difference was greater than that with Dollar then they would win out. Good luck in your decision.

 

[mom23guys2]

How about Budget. Right now they seem to be significantly less than any of the others? Are they in the terminal. We've always rented with National but Buget is over $100 cheaper.

 

[CarolA]

I am pretty loyal to Hertz, but will use National. I used Alamo once (not in Florida) and they will NEVER get me back in thier line again! (I do realize that Alamo and National are now owned by the same people, but so far I have had fine treatment at National). I find it amazing that one person said Alamo bought the car around. My experience was that they could care less about the customers!

As SafetyMom says the Hertz bus at Orlando is great. My brother used one of the "local" brands one time..... Over an hour for the bus and then there was the rental itself. It sounded really bad!

I like Dollar, but they make me feel like a criminal when I return the car. They walk VERY slowly around it two times to be sure I did not do anything! Just frustrates me.

Budget is in the terminal.

 

[magsmom]

I have tried:
Hertz
Avis
Alamo (2x)

And in 2 weeks I will try National.

Hertz was very good, and DH likes Alamo because he can choose his car. I am making the assumption that we will like National ,too ... The only company out of the above list that I would NOT recommend was Avis. The car that we got was an Impala that we just did not like.

 

[cruise-o-matic]

We've got a ressie on Dollar and I just added mt FastLane Id to it yesterday. This will be my 1st time renting from Dollar, so I hope it goes well. Thought about Thrifty foir $12 less, but I wanted to try Dollar b/c they're onsite.

We rented Hertz last time. Pickup and drop off/return to airport are great. Didn't like waiting in line for the car though. I checked the ratesthis time too but they are much higher than the others.

 

[safetymom]

If you join the #1 Gold at Hertz you don't have to wait in line. Gold allows you to bypass the counter. There are offers for free membership to this.

 

[pumpkinboy]

Originally posted by CarolA
...I find it amazing that one person said Alamo bought the car around. My experience was that they could care less about the customers!...

Yep, they brought the car around for us: but then they also saw that we had luggage and a child in a wheelchair, and could not possibly make it on the shuttle. This was at PBI (W.Palm) mind you, and tho the line at the counter was long, it was bearable. And the fellow behind the desk did try to sell me all sorts of stuff that was already covered by my Amex card membership, but he understood when I declined everything, and called in the drop-off to us. Mind you it took a while, but it worked for us.

Given our circumstances (one wheelchair and all), I don't think I'll be going to the Aisle and picking a car. Rather I'll hope the staffers get us a good one. I think I am leaning toward Dollar for November, even tho it's $10 more; the minivan is a Caravan, which is something I am used to anyway. I still have a while to get a better rate for January too.

Anyone have any comments on the Unofficial Guide's car rental company ratings in my original post?

 

[Took]

Have to say, we've had nothing but good luck with Budget, and they have some great specials that seem to beat those of most other on-site companies right now. We're in their FastBreak program, too, which speeds our rental process to near "no wait at all."

took

 

[sgtdisney]

Originally posted by pumpkinboy
Given our circumstances (one wheelchair and all), I don't think I'll be going to the Aisle and picking a car. Rather I'll hope the staffers get us a good one. I think I am leaning toward Dollar for November, even tho it's $10 more; the minivan is a Caravan, which is something I am used to anyway. I still have a while to get a better rate for January too.

Pumpkinboy, here is something to keep in mind. The last time I used Dollar they gave me a Caravan, not a Grand Caravan (the longer wheelbase minivan) I had to have the Grand Caravan since we had a number of people and luggage. They made me pay an upcharge for this. I called Dollar (now granted this was a couple years back) and they did tell me then that the Caravan was the minivan of choice and it was up to the discretion of the renting location if they upcharged you for an extended length minivan or not. I have read here on the DIS that some people have gotten the Grand Caravan for no extra cost while others where made to pay extra for it. Just something to keep in mind when using Dollar for Minivan rentals if the Grand Caravan size is something you need.

 

[robinb]

I also prefer National. I like being able to pick out my own car and then swinging around to pick my family and luggage up.

I have also tried Hertz which was OK as long as you don't have to go to the counter. I rented from Thrifty last time and had no complaints. I saved a boat-load of money .

 

[CRCrazy]

Another National fan here!

I have only rented with National & Dollar at MCO - National many times, and Dollar once. I am an Emerald Club member at National - and I LOVE the freedom of grabbing my bags, and walking out to the garage, and then being able to choose which of the cars available I would like! I have never had a line at the checkout kiosk, and the process is quick and simple - a swipe of the credit card - they give you maps, etc, and directions if you need them - and you are on your way!! I have never had the problem that some have reported with few or no vehicles in the Aisle to choose from.

In Dec, 2002 - I decided to rent an SUV from Dollar - they were having a promotion with Jeep - to rent a Cherokee for half price. I did join the Fastlane - and expected to go through the line fairly quickly. While I did bypass a rather long line (JOIN THE CLUB PEOPLE!) - the clerk at the desk kept me there for almost 25 minutes!!! He basically retyped all my information that he already had in my Fastlane profile, and then tried to hardsell me the insurances I had already declined. Then we had to fill out additional paperwork for an extra driver at $5/day - spouses may drive free for Emerald Club National drivers. Once I finally finished all the paperwork - I had to report to the kiosk in the garage to pick up my keys - at least this went quickly - I got no maps or directions (luckily I know my way around!) - and the attendant didn't give me directions to the vehicle - just handed me the keys with a tag giving the slot number. After wandering the garage for several minutes - I finally found my slot - and there was a Dodge Durango?????? I thought the purpose of this promotion was to test drive the Cherokee, but I wasn't complaining - the Durango was nice!

Anyway - I really like the convenience of the Emerald Aisle. When I'm on vacation - my time is valuable!!!!