Dont rent from Alamo/National!!!!!!!!!!!!

[djarhansen]

WARNING--DONT RENT FROM ALAMO/NATIONAL (OWNED BY SAME COMPANY)ORLANDO!!!! Here is why, short version, I promise. After they gave our car away and we had to wait for over an hour (at 1 a.m. with 3 small children) while they figured out why and found a new car for us, the car we got was fithy!!! However we didn't notice it until the next day b/c it was so late and we were so tired after a long day of travel. I am not talking a little dirty, but fithy! There was even headphones in the back drink holder from the previous renter which means they might not have even cleaned it. Then upon returning it we relized we left our daughters MP3 player in it. We were still in the Orlando airport and I called to see if I could go back and get it. I was told NO, I had to wait until Mon. I hung up and called back hoping to get another person who was a little more friendly. Again, another person told me, I can walk back to the rental desk but they might be too busy to help me, its best to wait till Mon. Well, it wasn't worth walking all the way back through the airport and chance missing our flight to have somebody look me in the face and say, I'm too busy to help you. Against better judgement, we waited until Mon. I called first thing Mon. morning and was told the car had already be rented again and wouldn't be back until the following Fri. so either once again, they didn't clean the car or one of the employees got a new MP3 player! Since then, when I have called the customer service number, I have been yelled at, hung up on (by a employee) and been given the run around. They tell me to call this manager, well when I do, that number has been disconnected. Then they give me another number and that number goes straight to a mailbox that is full and then disconnects the call. As of now, I am waiting for somebody, ANYBODY to call me back. I can't believe how horrible Alamo/National customers service is. I will NEVER rent from them again and strongly advise anybody from doing the same!

 

[GrumpyFamilyof5]

Wow, unbelievable, it amazes me how some people keep their jobs. I don't understand why some people are so rude. I know that we all have bad days, but some are just down right rude!
Have you tried writing to someone online about it, you might get more accomplished that way. You might get someone higher up who will be sympathetic about your situation and may even give you a refund of sorts for your trouble. I mean they did rent out your vehicle and put you in something filthy that should have been clean. I would give it a try! Couldn't hurt!
Good Luck and sorry you had a hard time with them.

 

[Lilo'sMom]

When we booked in Feb 06 for our 12 06 trip, we paid in full - resort, tickets, care and airfare - the whole shebang.
When we arrived in Orlando we were told of a new $11 a day insurance rider that was mandatory, otherwise we would be liable for any lost revenue whould the car be damaged (no matter who was at fault). This was not covered by renter's insurance through them or through any insurance carrier.
We don't have a credit card, just a debit. They said we could either give them $300 cash as collaretal, or they could run through the debit card. We would have the option of paying cash when when we returned the car, and the scan of the debit card would not be an actual charge.
When we returned the car, they told us that the amount due had to be put on the debit card, since that was what was rung up previously. My mother, who was traveling with us for the last leg of our trip, volunteered to put it on her card, but they wouldn't allow that. They said it either had to go on the debit card or be paid in cash. We had spent extra (surprise!) and my mother was willing to float us the balance til we got home.
Not only would they not allow that, they sent me to see a manager, who pointed out to me that my debit card had already been charged days earlier, and that I "had nothing to worry about."
Needless to say, when I got home it took a while to figure out the finances (and to pay a couple of returned check fees), but it was all just a great big hassle at the end of our first trip to Disney as a family, and Alamo is solely to blame.
This is part of the reason that when we go back in August - yes, this August - we are staying at Poly, doing Magical Express and doing the happy dance despite Alamo.

 

[drakethib]

We used them and had great luck. In fact, I rented a eco car and they saw that I had my little one with me and gave me a minivan without charging for the upgrade.

BTW, this was the one at the Swan and Dolphin.

Now Budget rent a car a MCO was horrible. Other say good things about them.

I am sorry that happened to you.

Sometime we all draw the short straw.

 

[Disney8704]

This is why I NEVER do car rentals. If you ask me, its a waste of money to do a car rental when you are going to disney. Why rent a car when you have the ME, the buses, boats and monorail to hop on and all for free? Now if you were to do other things besides disney like universal or sea world, then I can see renting a car cuz doing a taxi would be expensive. But just to go to disney and no where else? Theres no point in it. As for maybe you renting the car cuz your flight got in so late, either get an earlier flight or wait in the airport until the ME buses start running or for that 1 time get a cab. I just dont understand why people rent cars when they go to disney. Just doesnt make any sense to me. Why spend more money then you need to.

 

[kbmoo]

we booked from Alamo about 10 years ago. Our plane was delayed several times and I called alamo twice to keep them up to date with our schedule. When we finally got to Alamo late at night, they said they had given away our car because we were so late. They only had a $250 upgrade. I argued with the guy and he said he could drive us back to athe airport and we could find a different company(That was when Alamo was off site). We finally just took the upgrade(We were very tired from a long day of traveling). The next day I got a call on my cell phone wondering why we hadn't picked up our car yet because they were still holding it. Crazy. In the end we got a price adjustment, but we vowed we would never use them agian. I feel for you! I am so sorry you had such bad luck! But it doesn't surprise me unfortunely.

 

[wayneg]

Here is message I posted few days ago about my first and last experience with Alamo.
http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=17035983&postcount=10

 

[Chuck S]

I've never had a problem with National, and haven't had a problem with Alamo since the merger.

 

[5mins2disney]

Sorry to hear you had such a bad experience. We've had good and bad experiences with all of them (rental car agencies), depends on which city, airport, you're in, how busy they are, and most of all, which low paid worker is there that day, unfortunately, most of them really just don't care all that much (would you though if you were paid min wage?).

I've heard just as many horror stories about Magical Express being not so "magical" though, and people onsite with just as many issues. Travel can be rough, especially with little kids, we had a rough trip over New Years to Colorado to go skiing, the rental car experience there made it just that much worse (1.5 hours at Hertz to get our car which they promised us could accomodate skis...then when we finally get it...it couldn't!). They did make it right, it just took a long, frustratingly long time, and it's a lot harder when you're travelling with little kids!

 

[lovindonald]

Last year I booked with Alamo through Southwest vacations and we very disappointed. We got a small SUV when we should have had a midsize and the car was just crap. The previous year we rented with National and got a brand new Envoy. We loved it. Never again with Alamo, never, never, never. I have had good luck with Budget but have not used them with MCO just in Nashville. Next time I will definitely go back to National. All the money I thought I saved was for a reason. It was no bargain!

 

[Tigger2252]

Wow! I guess I have been really fortunate. We have rented from Alamo for the past 4 years and have never had a problem. The last couple of years we picked the car up at the car center by the Magic Kingdom. I always take a very early morning flight, maybe that's the difference. How unfortunate to have that hassle at the beginning of a long anticipated vacation.

 

[we3disneygo]

we rented Alamo last trip and had to ask where to pick up our suv there was only 1 left, inside the garage you cannot really tell it's dirty inside the car, till you get out in the sunlight, dog hair, the cup holders dirty, broken, we called and got about the same treatment, this is the first time we have had a problem, the 2 employees in the garage could understand each other but not english to well.

 

[lovinpoohbear]

Hmmmmm...glad I'm not the only one who has had a problem with Alamo. Our June "05 trip, Alama told us too that we would have to buy their expensive insurance as well. We declined saying we had full coverage insurance in Connecticut and it covered rental cars as well. According to Alamo, Connecicut car insurance is NOt valid in the state of Florida. We found the staff there very ignorant as well as more than rude. NEVER again.
Hertz Now, that is a company I will do business with again. Clean car and great service!!!!

 

[CarolA]

I attempted to rent from Alamo once years ago in Atlanta. The KEY word is attempted. After an hour in line we then got herded outside where we were told it was a minimum of an hour more wait for a car. I walked and have never looked back. NEVER AGAIN.

I have used National with no problems, but my last rental with them was not a good experience. (Car had mechanical issues and the folks don't seem to have a clue how to deal with that or what the word SORRY is) I am very afraid the Alamo "no service" model is spreading to National.

I have used Dollar at MCO with no issues.

My FAVORITE at MCO is Hertz. Yes there is a bus ride, but the service I get is very good. (It probably helps that I rent a LOT from them, but I also rent a LOT from National and the service there is becoming sub-par!)

 

[jen54321]

We were also given the hard sell to buy Alamo's new insurance. We orginally got a great rate (through hours of work on my part). When we got to the counter, we were told there was a new law in Florida and that we would need to the buy the extra insurance which would have doubled the cost for the rental. I asked for details regarding the new law. When was it put in place, if it was law why was it optional as opposed to them telling us it was mandatory,etc. The person had no answers. We opted not to take it although many people around us did.

I did some investigation on my own afterwards and found out the insurance was to cover the rented vehicle,etc. if the driver of the rented car was at fault for the accident such as drunk driving, etc. Most insurance policies wouldn't cover that anyway. Long story short, know what your own insurance covers and what you need before you rent a car. That way the decisions will be easy to make. Saved us hundreds of dollars.

 

[Sandra22]

We just used National for our car rental in Orlando a few weeks ago.
The price we ended up getting by using codes was great, an SUV for 12 days at $324.
Usually there are a few to choose from, but there was only one, which luckily we were happy with.
But as mentioned you are right in saying you can't tell what the appearance is on the inside until you get out in the daylight. So it wasn't until the next day we got a good view of it's condition. It was filthly! I would guess that this vehicle hadn't been cleaned for some time. It was dissapointing but not enough to ruin our vacation.
Being our third time using National, this is the only thing we have to complain about.

Sandra

 

[bnf2]

This is why I NEVER do car rentals. If you ask me, its a waste of money to do a car rental when you are going to disney. Why rent a car when you have the ME, the buses, boats and monorail to hop on and all for free? Now if you were to do other things besides disney like universal or sea world, then I can see renting a car cuz doing a taxi would be expensive. But just to go to disney and no where else? Theres no point in it. As for maybe you renting the car cuz your flight got in so late, either get an earlier flight or wait in the airport until the ME buses start running or for that 1 time get a cab. I just dont understand why people rent cars when they go to disney. Just doesnt make any sense to me. Why spend more money then you need to.

Well, hmmm... that's fine if you are staying on-site. We are going in December, flying in and staying off-site... we need to rent a car, don't like it, but we need one. And yes, we are going strictly for Disney and nothing else. Not sure what the OP accomodations were for this trip, but his last 4 were off-site according to his signature.

As far as '...get another flight or just wait until ME runs'-, sometimes the flights we get are the only ones we can get with schedules and prices. And if you are not on property there is no ME to wait for. In addition, even if you are staying on-site if you are traveling with small chilrdren I can't see staying until the ME buses start running.

Just my .02

 

[G8RFAN]

The reps need to be careful. Misrepresenting an optional insurance product as a mandatory item is illegal. Clearly fodder for a class action suit if proved as a management policy.

 

[meta]

We rented thru National and couldn't have been happier. The man behind the desk at Orlando airport switched the rental from my name to my husband's (he's an Emerald club Memeber) with no hassle. He even told us the insurance wasn't necessary. He let us pick out the car we wanted within the group and the Toyotta Corolla was spotless. At the airport, you can choose your car and the ones I saw seemed spotless.

 

[kilee]

Alamo almost always get some bad reviews. We've had both good and bad exp. w/ them. However, we do keep going back. We like the fact they are right in the terminal. The rates are almost always the lowest I can find. Then they don't require a credit card if you have R/T airline tickets. We don't have any credit cards, just debit cards, and they are no hassle when it comes to this.

Luckily to date the bad have been minor like long waits and hard sales- which we are persistant to saying no to.