Dollar vs. National

[zulaya]

I have an early December trip planned and am going back and forth with Dollar or National. I like the convenience of the EA, but this time I will be renting a mini van as we will have 6 people going so EA isn't going to apply. Now I can still do EC which is just as simple, but my problem with National is their prices. Totally outrageous. I'm sorry; I can't see paying twice as much as Dollar just for the convenience of not going to the counter during a slow time where there probably aren't going to be a lot of people anyway.

I know there are die hard National people on the boards (believe me, most of the time I am one of them), but with the Florida Vacation Giude COde, I can get a Dollar minivan at a base rate that is HALF of what National is charging for the same time period.

I like saving money. But I don't have any experience with Dollar. And I am not interested this very minute in booking, but I have been checking prices. How is the counter service with Dollar? Are you hassled to buy the additional insurance? Do I need to bring an insurance card or show my platinum credit card to keep them off my back? How is the return like?
I am willing to give up National's great way of check in and check out with EA/EC to save $200, but I don't need hassling on vacation.

Thanks for your input.

 

[hercamore]

Hi Z,

I have used Dollar twice and National once. All times have been pleasant experiences.

Yes, bring your insurance card. Both places usually ask to see it at the counter.

My fil goes to Orlando twice a year and is very picky about his cars always goes to Dollar and rents the cheapest once they have.

Once at Dollar I got an extra discount at the counter with the Magicard over and above my code discount. Worth a try.

Go with Dollar and get a nice Dodge/Chrysler minivan.

Return was fast and easy. park the car, clerk has a little hand held computer computing your bill and gives it to you. That's it.

p.s. I was not hassled about extra insurance. Don't pay big bucks with Naitonal to walk to a different part of the parking garage!

Herc

 

[patches-4]

Do you belong to the Disney Club? If so you can save with 2 different coupons from their website for National. I was going to go with Dollar because of the best price until I saw a post about the coupon. Checked out with the 2 and was able to save enought to pay for our Club membership for 2 yrs! Another site with discount codes from one of the other boards it www.mousesavers.com.

 

[MulanMom]

We've rented from both numerous times. To us, they are very much on par with each other. About the only negatives to renting from Dollar, IMHO, is that you can't get a DisneyClub discount with them and they charge extra for a second driver, even if it is your spouse, whereas national and L&M don't. Dollar's minivans are usually Dodge Caravans whereas National's can either be an Astro(which we've never received) or a Montana.

Keep checking the rates, though. One time I ended up going with National 36 hrs. before leaving on a trip. I think they had posted pretty much the same minivan deal as Dollar. The difference, though, was the daily rate...with National's being lower. With a 10 day stay and no extra charge for a spouse driver, it made a difference.

Sharon

 

[n2mm]

We are EA members, but National's prices have been so high lately, no matter what the discount. We also use Dollar when the price is right. We just returned last week and used Dollar this time because we needed a Minivan too! The price was $219 with the FVG code. The best price we could find. Since we've used Dollar before and have never had a problem and everything was perfect! Went to the counter, took about 5 minutes. Went to the Kiosk and picked up our keys (and asked for a non-white van) and was out in 5 more minutes. Return was also perfect. Took about 3 minutes to check us. I like the conveninece of EA on National, but you can't go wrong with Dollar either.

 

[josierac]

This is our first year using National and it has me a little worried. We have always used Dollar and Hertz and have never had a problem with either. We have rented with Dollar at least 10 times in the last few years.

They are a great company and their minivans have always been clean and new.

 

[zulaya]

Thansk for all the replies. I do have Disney Club, but the savings and the coupons, doesn't equal the $200 difference between Dollar and National for my dates. And I really would like the spouse free driving, but I really don't think that's worth $200 - and I didn't even know the spouse could drive free with National. Have rented from them 3X and I have driven the whole time - which please DH as he would rather look out the window than pay attn to the road when we are at WDW

Does anyone know how much they charge for an additional driver? Just curious.

And I will keep checking...I have plenty of time (even though I wish I was going next week)

 

[disnurse]

additional driver is 5$per day, thats alot in a weeks time

 

[skeezixspud]

It will cut the time you spend at the counter. No charge to join, at last I heard.

The one problem I used to have with Dollar is that their clerks are supposed to do a hard-sell. They pushed insurance and high-cost upgrades VERY hard. However, I noticed that Fastlane members never got that spiel, so I signed up. Haven't gotten the hard-sell since then.

 

[Ted and Holly]

Here's another vote for Dollar. We have used them on two seperate trips and never had a complaint!! They were great!

Holly

 

[macs4us]

We just rented a minivan from Dollar for a two week road trip (San Diego to Minneapolis to Kansas City to WDW and back to San Diego), no problems. What I want to know is why do they charge for the spouse in FL? They do not charge in Southern California - in fact, none of the rental companies charge extra for a spouse here. And it is not like Southern California isn't tourist territory

I know that Hertz was going to charge us for a spouse in Kansas City, but since we were AAA members they waived it. You may want to call and see if there is any way to have the charges waived.

Good luck,
Amy