How reliable are the rental cars?

[DisneyDreamer1974]

I am renting a car for the very first time in my life in a little over two weeks. I have a full size booked, so I have an idea of what I might get. What I am worried about is do they give out vehicles that have extremely high mileage on them? Or ones that may or may not make it to Disney? What about being smoked in? I hope we get a very reliable car. I would hate to get one that would break down on us half way there.

 

[PSUGuy]

Many of my rentals have had fewer than 5,000 miles on them and I believe most agencies unload their cars by around 30,000 miles or less. Never had a problem with a rental using Alamo, Dollar, Hertz, National and Enterprise, Alamo and Dollar most often.

Bill From PA

 

[wdwjeffc37]

Rental fleets from the major renters in the US are some of best maintained vehicles on the road. If you rent from one of the majors you should have no problems. All of the vehicles will be one year old or less. The majors have a reputation to uphold and competition is fierce. They can't afford to deliver a bad product. However, you are renting a vehicle and even new ones can break. Unlikely though. They will make it right if you do have problems but it can be a hassle. I wouldn't worry about it and have a great trip.

 

[ImDMous]

All the rentals I've ever had were pretty new and in very good condition. I don't know why anyone would rent out a sketchy car, they would have to figure out how to bring you a new one wherever you were if something happened to it.

 

[DebbieB]

I've rented cars many times from National or Avis, both work and pleasure. I've never had one in bad shape. I once got a car with 5 miles on it. The most miles I've had is in the 30,000-35,000 range. When I do National Emerald Aisle, I look for one with low miles, just love a car with new car smell!

Always be sure to do a walk-around before you leave. Check for dings, major scratches, etc. I once had a tail light broken that I didn't see in the garage. National took care of it.

 

[gmeh1]

I am renting a car for the very first time in my life in a little over two weeks. I have a full size booked, so I have an idea of what I might get. What I am worried about is do they give out vehicles that have extremely high mileage on them? Or ones that may or may not make it to Disney? What about being smoked in? I hope we get a very reliable car. I would hate to get one that would break down on us half way there.

Most of the rental companies maintain a smoke free fleet. That is not to say people don't break the rules, but, for the most part, you won't encounter that deadly second hand smoke smell.

 

[winterwhite]

I have rented at least 1 car per week on business travel for the past 2 years and have only had one issue, and it was not mechanical (car was not properly cleaned before re-renting).

I would expect it would be highly unlikely that you have a mechanical issue but if you did, you would call the national number and they would perform a swap out. You'd get a working car ASAP. I would not be concerned.

 

[njmom47]

We rented a car (Dec 12) and it was basically brand new. Dh says he remembers it having 11,000 miles on it. It did not smell like smoke. I was so excited having not had a brand new car in years, it was great to drive one!

 

[Donna M]

Be attentive at the desk when you're filling out the paper work. I had one person say, "So, you'll only want the basic coverage then?" It was just sort of snuck in there; I'm glad I caught it.

In most cases, you should deny their insurance, assuming you have your own car insurance.

Plan to return the car with a full tank of gas; you don't want to drive in on fumes.

Check with your insurance and credit card companies to see if they will cover you for "lose of use"

I've never had any trouble with cars in Orlando.

Keep checking the rates now. You're at the point where they may drop some. Book the new one and cancel the old one, assuming you didn't prepay.

 

[mickeynut1]

I am renting a car for the very first time in my life in a little over two weeks. I have a full size booked, so I have an idea of what I might get. What I am worried about is do they give out vehicles that have extremely high mileage on them? Or ones that may or may not make it to Disney? What about being smoked in? I hope we get a very reliable car. I would hate to get one that would break down on us half way there.

As others have said, the cars are new, maybe a year or two old at the most. We have come across a few cars with a smoke smell, but the majority of them are fine. I wouldn't worry about getting a car that wasn't reliable.