Easiest car rental company to use...

[bellebud]

We're going to be needing to rent a car several times a year from MCO. Last month was a total nightmare from Hertz, and I'll never rent from them again.

Doesn't have to be the cheapest, just want the most convenient in MCO, like an iPhone app that lets me check in and just go get my car or something. No lines. Anyone use something like that?

 

[RedAngie]

We've had good service from Budget at MCO. If you join their free Fast Break program, you don't even have to check in with an app. Just walk to the garage attached to the airport, go to the kiosk and learn which car has been assigned to you and its stall number. Get in, drive to the exit gate, show the employee your driver's license, and you're on your way.

 

[bcla]

It's going to require some sort of membership, like Hertz #1 Club and use of an automated kiosk. They don't list Orlando though.

 

[Pixiedustaway]

Enterprise. Easy to use. And big box company I'd stick with

 

[Rockette]

Enterprise because I get a crazy discount because of the corporate gig I have. I get 25 ± 5% off with them.

 

[CynBeth]

We love Alamo and are very familiar with them at MCO. If you sign up to be an Alamo insider for free you get discounted rates and no charge for a second driver. You can pay online and just print out documents from the kiosk near the counter at the airport with the credit card you used and driver's license. Then you take a short walk over to the garage and pick whatever car you want from the section that has what you paid for such as midsize, compact etc. On our last trip I kept checking online and the price went down so I called and they changed my reservation with the lower price.

 

[georgina]

We use Alamo the most too, because we can check in online ahead of time and just go pick a car from our category, skipping the counter altogether (no need to stop at a kiosk). Many rental companies have this service however. Alamo is often the cheapest when I book through Costco.

I have rebooked my upcoming rental in California 6 times in the past 3 weeks because the price keeps dropping (online, no need to call)

 

[bcla]

We love Alamo. If you sign up to be an Alamo insider for free you get discounted rates and no charge for a second driver. You can pay online and just print out documents from the kiosk near the counter at the airport with the credit card you used and driver's license. Then you go to the garage and pick whatever car you want from the section that has what you paid for such as midsize, compact etc. On our last trip I kept checking online and the price went down so I called and they changed my reservation with the lower price.

Most car rentals aren't secured with a credit card, so you can walk away from a reservation without any penalty. Doesn't work for a prepaid rate though.

I haven't rented from Alamo in a while, but I remember a ridiculous rate in Honolulu - might have been $11/day in 2008. The only way to pick up a car was to complete the paperwork and then select a car from a particular class with the keys in the ignition. Then they you'd drive the car to the inspection area and they'd complete the paperwork. I chose to deal with a human agent, but I think anyone could have used the automated kiosk.

I know Hertz was mentioned as unacceptable, but I've had to deal with them on business - either an overnight trip so I didn't have to use my own car or at an airport. In Phoenix they had a bunch of kiosks connected to a remote agent. I didn't want to use it, but there was only one on-site agent and whoever was dealing with her was taking forever. I have no idea where they were, but it wasn't a customer service center in India (although some of the agents might have been originally from India). What was really weird is that they used some sort of blue screen and placed a desert background with saguaros since we were in Arizona. It was kind of bizarre. It looked like this:

 

[bellebud]

OP here. We tried to use the Hertz kiosk next to their counter last month, and that was the problem. After at least 30 minutes going through things with the person on the kiosk screen, he says "oh, our kiosks don't read NYS drivers licenses. you have to use the counter or wait for a customer service person to come over to help you. there should be one around there". Of course, there were no people to help. And the line was now very long for the counter service. We waited another 30 minutes for a person to come over and read the kiosk screen guy our drivers licenses numbers. Never again Hertz, and I'm hesitant to use any kiosk. I'm assuming (could be wrong) they're all similar.

 

[bcla]

OP here. We tried to use the Hertz kiosk next to their counter last month, and that was the problem. After at least 30 minutes going through things with the person on the kiosk screen, he says "oh, our kiosks don't read NYS drivers licenses. you have to use the counter or wait for a customer service person to come over to help you. there should be one around there". Of course, there were no people to help. And the line was now very long for the counter service. We waited another 30 minutes for a person to come over and read the kiosk screen guy our drivers licenses numbers. Never again Hertz, and I'm hesitant to use any kiosk. I'm assuming (could be wrong) they're all similar.

Your basic issue is that no matter what they're going to want to have a look at your driver license. Maybe some will wait until the final paperwork is completed. Here's how the Alamo kiosk works. I don't think English is their first language, but it looks like a US location:

It looks like it goes over everything including toll services, insurance, child seats, etc. It looks like the machine can scan a driver license, but I didn't see it in this video.

 

[bellebud]

Your basic issue is that no matter what they're going to want to have a look at your driver license. Maybe some will wait until the final paperwork is completed. Here's how the Alamo kiosk works. I don't think English is their first language, but it looks like a US location:

It looks like it goes over everything including toll services, insurance, child seats, etc. It looks like the machine can scan a driver license, but I didn't see it in this video.

yup, and that was the issue with the Hertz kiosk. He said NYS licenses don't scan. A sign indicating that would have been nice, we would have just waited on the counter service line then. So if I have to use a kiosk, that won't help me.

 

[bcla]

yup, and that was the issue with the Hertz kiosk. He said NYS licenses don't scan. A sign indicating that would have been nice, we would have just waited on the counter service line then. So if I have to use a kiosk, that won't help me.

You might be better off with a rental agency that doesn't use an electronic system. I've had good experiences with Dollar. They're not the fanciest, but I don't think they use any kind of kiosk and a human agent will be right there. They also have a preferred renter program with express lines. I don't think it costs anything, but you'll need to provide your driver license in advance.

 

[amberpi]

I really like National and their Emerald Club. I've never picked up a rental in Orlando, but I have returned when I've been in say Tampa for work at the Swolphin. National is super easy to work with anywhere I've ever been.

 

[Marchand63]

We do either National or Alamo - same parent company. Never had any trouble and most times we got upgrades for free. We usually go to the counter to add one of us as an extra driver.

 

[CynBeth]

If I remember correctly I think at the Alamo kiosk you could type in the license # or do something else if there was an issue with the scan. The first time we ever used them we had to go to the counter I forget why and the lined moved pretty quickly.

 

[Klayfish]

You're going to get a wide variety of answers, and the reality is they're all correct. Your experience is going to be so dependent on a lot of factors. Busy day? Busy time of year? Did you just get off a plane with 20 other people who happened to coincidentally have a reservation with Enterprise, or are you the only one? They all have "clubs" or "preferred" groups, which are free to join. I've used pretty much all of the different rental agencies and have had both good and frustrating experiences with them all. Enterprise is the one I try to avoid most in an airport setting, because they usually have the longest lines, but their customer service is great. We've also had great experiences with the small companies such as E-Z Rent A Car or ACE. I can't recall if it was EZ or ACE, but last time we flew into MCO (2012?) we had a reservation for Enterprise. I made it with them because I have very high level connections there, so I got a minivan for $25/day. The line was ridiculously long, as in weaving through turnstyles long. The bellhop helping with our luggage ran over to E-Z and came back 2 minutes later and motioned us to follow him. There was zero line, the rep was waiting for us to get there. They matched Enterprises' rate and within 5 minutes, we were on our way to a waiting minivan. A nice tip for the bellhop and we were out the door. Saved us at least 45 minutes of waiting at the airport. The van was perfectly nice, and we were quite happy.

 

[Dan Murphy]

National/Alamo

 

[bcla]

You're going to get a wide variety of answers, and the reality is they're all correct. Your experience is going to be so dependent on a lot of factors. Busy day? Busy time of year? Did you just get off a plane with 20 other people who happened to coincidentally have a reservation with Enterprise, or are you the only one? They all have "clubs" or "preferred" groups, which are free to join. I've used pretty much all of the different rental agencies and have had both good and frustrating experiences with them all. Enterprise is the one I try to avoid most in an airport setting, because they usually have the longest lines, but their customer service is great. We've also had great experiences with the small companies such as E-Z Rent A Car or ACE. I can't recall if it was EZ or ACE, but last time we flew into MCO (2012?) we had a reservation for Enterprise. I made it with them because I have very high level connections there, so I got a minivan for $25/day. The line was ridiculously long, as in weaving through turnstyles long. The bellhop helping with our luggage ran over to E-Z and came back 2 minutes later and motioned us to follow him. There was zero line, the rep was waiting for us to get there. They matched Enterprises' rate and within 5 minutes, we were on our way to a waiting minivan. A nice tip for the bellhop and we were out the door. Saved us at least 45 minutes of waiting at the airport. The van was perfectly nice, and we were quite happy.

It really depends on the location, but the companies like Fox, Advantage, E-Z, etc have a certain reputation. They have limited locations relative to the big players, often have off-site locations (even when there's a consolidated off-site rental center which makes it off-off-site), and have a certain reputation for finding ways to charge extra.

Yeah you get angry about long lines, but there are just so many variables that you're right that's it's unfair to take one experience as indicative of a systemic failure. They're running on pretty tight margins, so having extra staff on hand for every eventuality is going to be a money loser. I remember arriving in Vegas waiting for my family to arrive on a well delayed flight. I was supposed to pick up the car before midnight, but I chose a slightly different option because Enterprise closed from midnight to 6 AM (now apparently 1:30 to 6), but Dollar was 24 hours. When I finally met up with them and headed for the rental car center, it was maybe 5 AM and there was no line. However, the agent said that if I showed up on time the line would have been well over an hour. I might have been in trouble had a reserved with Enterprise.

 

[DebbieB]

I like National, I belong to Emerald Club and almost always get an upgrade to full size. National rates have been high lately, I used Alamo last year. I booked a compact and luckily when I got there they didn't have any! So the manager said take a full size!

 

[bellebud]

It really depends on the location, but the companies like Fox, Advantage, E-Z, etc have a certain reputation. They have limited locations relative to the big players, often have off-site locations (even when there's a consolidated off-site rental center which makes it off-off-site), and have a certain reputation for finding ways to charge extra.

Yeah you get angry about long lines, but there are just so many variables that you're right that's it's unfair to take one experience as indicative of a systemic failure. They're running on pretty tight margins, so having extra staff on hand for every eventuality is going to be a money loser. I remember arriving in Vegas waiting for my family to arrive on a well delayed flight. I was supposed to pick up the car before midnight, but I chose a slightly different option because Enterprise closed from midnight to 6 AM (now apparently 1:30 to 6), but Dollar was 24 hours. When I finally met up with them and headed for the rental car center, it was maybe 5 AM and there was no line. However, the agent said that if I showed up on time the line would have been well over an hour. I might have been in trouble had a reserved with Enterprise.

that's why I'm asking about the companies where you can skip the line (by being a part of their club, whatever). Since we'll be renting frequently, I'm hoping for the easiest way to do it, not the cheapest or free upgrades, etc. I will pay a little extra for my time and convenience.