HELP- Never rented a car before...

[Blanche_Neige]

This is our first experience renting a car. Way is there such differences in the prices??
We are 2 adults/3 kids going to US/WDW Feb 28th to March 4th

I haven't found any discount codes I looked on Expedia and it gave me:

Dollar Rent-a-car : mid-size (Dodge Avenger) 131$ Cad

I compared it to Dollar website. The same car with the same date is 490$

Also looked on Priceline where I found a mid size (Toyota Corolla) 160$ from Advantage.

HELP ME!!!
-I assume I do not need insurance since we have it on our credit card. am I right?
-Which one would you recommend or would you recommend somewhere else?
-Do you know where I can get discount codes?
-Where in the airport are they?

Thank you in advance

 

[ncc1701]

-I assume I do not need insurance since we have it on our credit card. am I right?

Check with the CC company to see for certain.Also talk to your auto insurance co.to see if your policy covers you


-Which one wou!ld you recommend or would you recommend somewhere else?

We like Hertz or Avis but they tend to be pricier

-Do you know where I can get discount codes?

Do you belong to CAA ? In the US AAA has discounts. Also check your Airlines website for deals with car rental co.

-Where in the airport are they?

The desk are in the lower level put go to the Airport website to see who is onsite or offsie
Thank you in advance [/QUOTE]

 

[figment_jii]

As the PP indicated, check with your credit card company about the insurance. It used to be pretty standard, but it is not necessarily the case anymore.

I've used Hertz, Alamo, and Avis. All were fine.

With regards to cost, it is pretty variable. Dollar, Enterprise, and Alamo tend to be cheaper than Hertz, Alamo, or National. I've had pretty good luck looking at mousesavers.com for discount information. I've also found pretty good discounts through Visa.

http://www.mousesavers.com/rentalcar.html

 

[Donna M]

If you need to go through any tolls, ask for a receipt. My BIL rented a car from Hertz or Avis that had the automatic toll transponder (that they didn't opt into) and was billed for an unpaid toll. Since he didn't have a receipt, he had to pay quite a bit.

Once you rent a car, keep checking prices since they may come down. You can cancel and then rebook for the lower price.

Check with your own auto insurance to see what they cover.

It will be more convenient to rent from a company that keeps the cars at the terminal since some companies will require you to take a shuttle to their site.

Listen very carefully when the rep is asking you about what you'd like for insurance and how you want to pay for gas. We had someone very casually mention something in a backward kind of way (he was sneaky) but, luckily I caught how he wanted us to sign up for some kind of insurance or something that we didn't need. My DH missed it, and it would have been something we didn't need to get.

 

[Blanche_Neige]

Thanks for all the responses.

We have booked throught expedia, it was 130$ for 5 days Midsize with Dollar which is onsite at the terminal.

I checked with my own insurance and credit card company, I am covered with both of them for car rental, so I will not take the extra insurance.

Thanks for the tip about the tolls. I will keep the receipt for all the tolls and lso ask the question when we get the car.

I will bring my own GPS, save cost and I'm also used to the way he , we named him Shamus , tell us the directions.

can't wait for our new adventure. First trip to Orlando, no Disney but we are planning a little stop at DTD

 

[jlewisinsyr]

Just as a reminder, most credit cards are secondary coverage, so your insurance will pick up the tab first, you'll be responsible for the deductible in most cases and then you can file a claim with your credit card to get the deductible back. Second, most if not all (I cannot think of one off hand) credit cards are only cover damage to the vehicle, they do not do anything with liability/personal injury, etc, that is always handled by your insurance (minus any state requirements).

That said, I never elect the insurance for rental cars, I am more than adequetly covered in personal insurance and coverage provided by my card.