Dollar car rental

[Pinnochio]

For all you Dollar folks, I see nothing but pay up front prices on their website these days (tho there is an option to pay later at a much higher fare)....are you all seeing the same?

 

[ilikecarrentals]

Yep, Dollar have been pushing pay now rates for sure. It may depend on your specific dates and vehicle type. You may try a third party as I have seen some better pay later rates - https://carrentalsavers.com/ has been good for Dollar prices recently.

 

[Pinnochio]

Yep, Dollar have been pushing pay now rates for sure. It may depend on your specific dates and vehicle type. You may try a third party as I have seen some better pay later rates - https://carrentalsavers.com/ has been good for Dollar prices recently.

I'll try that link....thanx!

 

[wdw&sonny]

10/5/24 Experience not good.
I have used Dollar for years with good luck. I had reserved on-line and paid up front. I had checked in on line. I am a Rewards Member.
After getting baggage we went to garage kiosk, 5 adults, one in wheel chair w/ our bags. No staff at kiosk. Sign saying to return to terminal. Long, Long, Long line in terminal. Only 2-3 staff working counter taking forever. After over an hour wait we got our turn. Staff was friendly, strong accented, fast talker. Took my name, found my reservation, confirmed I had rented a full-size. Asked me a few quick questions, including if I wanted "premium, deluxe or basic". I waived a hand and said just the basic car. (I had been upgraded to premium in the past and it was a loud Dodge Hemi). I couldn't see his screen. After toooo long a process for having already checked in on line, he printed the receipt. Instead of ~$250 for the week, the total was $570!!! He had added insurance and tolls. By the time I noticed I had walked away. I walked back but he was with a new customer so I stood behind them so he'd notice me. He told me I'd have to back up and wait my turn. Then, he challenged me saying I had told him to add the 'basic' package. Another rep had to help him adjust the charges. They still were not what I originally had paid. Upon returning home, I had to go through the on-line inquiry form since they don't have a Customer Service Phone number allowing you to talk to a live person. What out for these situations at Dollar.

 

[_19disnA]

I don't see any advantage to using a 3rd party for car rentals. You will run into all sorts of issues when things go wrong and each company will say it was the fault of the other so you go around in circles trying to resolve your issue. Every rental company has a website where you can easily make your own reservation. No idea why some are opposed to pre-paying. I make the reservation when I know I plan to travel and always pre-pay so my rental is all set and don't have to wait in long lines at the counter. Many companies have the option to go directly to your car which can be a big time-saver at busier locations.

 

[wdw&sonny]

I don't see any advantage to using a 3rd party for car rentals. You will run into all sorts of issues when things go wrong and each company will say it was the fault of the other so you go around in circles trying to resolve your issue. Every rental company has a website where you can easily make your own reservation. No idea why some are opposed to pre-paying. I make the reservation when I know I plan to travel and always pre-pay so my rental is all set and don't have to wait in long lines at the counter. Many companies have the option to go directly to your car which can be a big time-saver at busier locations.

Wasn't sure if this comment was in response to my situation, but wanted to add...since I am still seething over this stressful situation...and need to vent further...before moving on...
I did make my reservation through Dollar.com and I did pre-pay, and I am a member of the Rewards, where in the past, I could just go to the kiosk and sometimes, my name is on the board and I go directly to the car. I even did the on-line check in this time which required me to take a picture of front and back of DL and upload it in addition to declining insurance, car seats, tolls, pre-paid fuel, etc.

That's why I was so frustrated when I had to return to the terminal and wait in an hour long line. When finally getting my turn, the friendly rep said "I found your reservation", I assumed (I know, stupid me), he would honor the reservation I made-including the choices I made. He did not. I also didn't mention that he first said he had a full-size in "the other terminal". He said we would have to walk over to it..."it's just a short walk, across the airport and out into the other garage". I explained that my travel party and the bags were already in the garage and one of our guests was in a wheel chair. "Oh! wait I found a car here", he now said.

There was lot going on in the short window of time including him asking all the redundant questions about insurance, tolls etc. I told him I already did all this on line and why did they have to waste our time (gesturing to the crowd in line) asking these same questions again. A second rep said "Sir, you have to let us do our job".

Once I walked away and saw I was charged $570 and that he had added insurance and pre-paid tolls at #13.99 per day, I was a bit angry. While the second rep was adjusting my bill by removing the insurance and tolls, he then walked over and said "the tolls are all electronic, you'll be fined and then we add another fee, and if you have an accident your insurance company will increase your rates for like 5 years". It was just flat out unprofessional and inappropriate.

We truncated our vacation d/t Hurricane Milton and returned the car early and flew home before MCO closed. That's when I found the $770 pending transaction to Dollar on my CC statement. I also think it's worth mentioning that the $163.97 payment I made when I reserved the car (weeks ago) was to Hertz (the parent company). I then took a closer look at my receipt and realized that even after removing the insurance and tolls, they had charged me $419.87. My original reservation and confirmation email was for $257.81 total with $93.84 due at pick up . Yeah, I know, buyer beware. My fault for not catching what was going on, but again a hectic day of travel, frustration before this and I missed it. I am now left trying to reach a live person who can help, waiting on a response from my submitted form through Dollar's website.

 

[OlliePop27]

Wasn't sure if this comment was in response to my situation, but wanted to add...since I am still seething over this stressful situation...and need to vent further...before moving on...
I did make my reservation through Dollar.com and I did pre-pay, and I am a member of the Rewards, where in the past, I could just go to the kiosk and sometimes, my name is on the board and I go directly to the car. I even did the on-line check in this time which required me to take a picture of front and back of DL and upload it in addition to declining insurance, car seats, tolls, pre-paid fuel, etc.

That's why I was so frustrated when I had to return to the terminal and wait in an hour long line. When finally getting my turn, the friendly rep said "I found your reservation", I assumed (I know, stupid me), he would honor the reservation I made-including the choices I made. He did not. I also didn't mention that he first said he had a full-size in "the other terminal". He said we would have to walk over to it..."it's just a short walk, across the airport and out into the other garage". I explained that my travel party and the bags were already in the garage and one of our guests was in a wheel chair. "Oh! wait I found a car here", he now said.

There was lot going on in the short window of time including him asking all the redundant questions about insurance, tolls etc. I told him I already did all this on line and why did they have to waste our time (gesturing to the crowd in line) asking these same questions again. A second rep said "Sir, you have to let us do our job".

Once I walked away and saw I was charged $570 and that he had added insurance and pre-paid tolls at #13.99 per day, I was a bit angry. While the second rep was adjusting my bill by removing the insurance and tolls, he then walked over and said "the tolls are all electronic, you'll be fined and then we add another fee, and if you have an accident your insurance company will increase your rates for like 5 years". It was just flat out unprofessional and inappropriate.

We truncated our vacation d/t Hurricane Milton and returned the car early and flew home before MCO closed. That's when I found the $770 pending transaction to Dollar on my CC statement. I also think it's worth mentioning that the $163.97 payment I made when I reserved the car (weeks ago) was to Hertz (the parent company). I then took a closer look at my receipt and realized that even after removing the insurance and tolls, they had charged me $419.87. My original reservation and confirmation email was for $257.81 total with $93.84 due at pick up . Yeah, I know, buyer beware. My fault for not catching what was going on, but again a hectic day of travel, frustration before this and I missed it. I am now left trying to reach a live person who can help, waiting on a response from my submitted form through Dollar's website.

I'm sorry about this horrible experience. Thanks for sharing. This sounds particularly heinous.

I used to use Dollar most of the time, now I rarely do. The experience is comparable or better elsewhere. I just make sure to sign up for the loyalty program at wherever I'm renting and try booking direct. In theory, this should lead to skip the line. It sounds like it wouldn't have helped you here, as you did everything right and they still made it very tough on you! Frustrating.

I've recently done Alamo, National, Enterprise, Budget. All were positive experiences.

I hope my luck continues.

 

[leebee]

Wasn't sure if this comment was in response to my situation, but wanted to add...since I am still seething over this stressful situation...and need to vent further...before moving on...
I did make my reservation through Dollar.com and I did pre-pay, and I am a member of the Rewards, where in the past, I could just go to the kiosk and sometimes, my name is on the board and I go directly to the car. I even did the on-line check in this time which required me to take a picture of front and back of DL and upload it in addition to declining insurance, car seats, tolls, pre-paid fuel, etc.

That's why I was so frustrated when I had to return to the terminal and wait in an hour long line. When finally getting my turn, the friendly rep said "I found your reservation", I assumed (I know, stupid me), he would honor the reservation I made-including the choices I made. He did not. I also didn't mention that he first said he had a full-size in "the other terminal". He said we would have to walk over to it..."it's just a short walk, across the airport and out into the other garage". I explained that my travel party and the bags were already in the garage and one of our guests was in a wheel chair. "Oh! wait I found a car here", he now said.

There was lot going on in the short window of time including him asking all the redundant questions about insurance, tolls etc. I told him I already did all this on line and why did they have to waste our time (gesturing to the crowd in line) asking these same questions again. A second rep said "Sir, you have to let us do our job".

Once I walked away and saw I was charged $570 and that he had added insurance and pre-paid tolls at #13.99 per day, I was a bit angry. While the second rep was adjusting my bill by removing the insurance and tolls, he then walked over and said "the tolls are all electronic, you'll be fined and then we add another fee, and if you have an accident your insurance company will increase your rates for like 5 years". It was just flat out unprofessional and inappropriate.

We truncated our vacation d/t Hurricane Milton and returned the car early and flew home before MCO closed. That's when I found the $770 pending transaction to Dollar on my CC statement. I also think it's worth mentioning that the $163.97 payment I made when I reserved the car (weeks ago) was to Hertz (the parent company). I then took a closer look at my receipt and realized that even after removing the insurance and tolls, they had charged me $419.87. My original reservation and confirmation email was for $257.81 total with $93.84 due at pick up . Yeah, I know, buyer beware. My fault for not catching what was going on, but again a hectic day of travel, frustration before this and I missed it. I am now left trying to reach a live person who can help, waiting on a response from my submitted form through Dollar's website.

I'm sorry about all this. I, too, have had horrendous experiences with Dollar, to the point where I won't book with them any more. I am not sure if it's the company or exclusively the MCO franchise, but their agents are full of "bait and switch" tactics. Once I had one tell me that I had to purchase their insurance coverage unless I had two million dollars of coverage on my policy and that no insurance company provides that much coverage for consumers. All a lie, but what do you do at 10pm, after waiting in line for an hour, with a tired family and no vehicle if you don't take the one you reserved? It's not just me... I have seen/overheard this happening at the Dollar counter too many times at MCO. In my case, the parent company refunded my money (after several go-rounds, including a statement from the FL Attorney General's website about FL regulations regarding car rental), but carrentalsavers.com said if Dollar didn't refund me, THEY would!

RULE OF THUMB? Don't book with Dollar. It's not worth the hassle.