Dollar Car Rental at MCO

[prairiesarah]

I always see people talking about National, Budget, and Alamo, but have not seen much at all about Dollar Rental at MCO. Wondering if anyone rents from there and their experience. I have found a great deal on their site for my dates for December and booked it, but wanted to make sure they were decent to deal with, decent cars etc. I am planning to rent a mid-size SUV.

 

[barbliny]

I have rented from Dollar at both MCO and Tampa, with no problems. We primarily rent through Dollar at most airports, since they often seem to have the lowest rates. We have never had a problem with the quality of their cars. When we rented in Charleston last year we were upgraded for free from a full-size to a mid-size SUV - I think it was a Dodge Journey. In my experience the lines at Dollar are also much shorter than Alamo and some other companies at the Orlando airport.

As always, if you are offered a larger car at the rental counter for an additional charge - refuse it, and continue to refuse it. You will sometimes get that car anyway for no upcharge, since they often have an overstock of that car and understock of the car you rented.

 

[bcuinohio]

I rented from them last year. I had no problems. I signed up for Dollar Express so I did not have to deal with the people at the desk.

 

[Jajone]

We always rent from Dollar as well with no problems.

 

[rwdavis2]

It is our usual car rental in Orlando with exceptions at times. But never a problem. Just make sure you inspect the car and point out and photograph any and all damage before you go.

 

[Disneyfanatic108]

We have had mostly good experiences with Dollar except for one time. They did not have any cars and they said pick one with an open trunk. a total of 2 vehicles and both were junk. The one we picked ended up with horrible gas mileage and the passenger window did not work. ended up changing it out at the hotel by Downtown Disney. Very dissapointed.

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

We used Dollar for the first time in May (we are fans of Alamo so they are normally our first choice, but Dollar's rates were much better so we gave them a try).

We had a very good experience. Quick vehicle pick-up, and the ability to go straight to the garage by signing up for Dollar Express.

No surprise charges at drop off or after we got home.

We found their cars (particularly the exteriors) to look more worn than Alamo's fleet but otherwise, we had no complaints at all and would use them again.

 

[Teacup53]

I've used Dollar a couple of times at MCO and have good luck - I would sign up for Dollar Express because then you can go to the garage and it saves a lot of time. The only draw back is that they choose your car but if you really don't like it they would swap it out if they have another available. Also, usually if you choose standard for Alamo or another company you end up with a full size but with Dollar you will probably get a standard.

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

I've used Dollar a couple of times at MCO and have good luck - I would sign up for Dollar Express because then you can go to the garage and it saves a lot of time. The only draw back is that they choose your car but if you really don't like it they would swap it out if they have another available. Also, usually if you choose standard for Alamo or another company you end up with a full size but with Dollar you will probably get a standard.

That was not our experience in May. While we expected to have an assigned vehicle (based on threads here on the Dis), when we arrived a the garage, our name on the board said "See Agent". We walked up to the kiosk in the garage, gave them our name, and we were directed to "pick any car we wanted in the full size aisle". There were about 10 different vehicles that we could have selected.

 

[prairiesarah]

Thanks so much for the replies. I feel better about trying out Dollar. I booked a rental for our 10 days over Christmas for a decent rate. I am still going to watch for something less expensive, but am glad to at least have something booked at a rate I am willing to pay!