January 2022 Car Rental Thread

[stinkpickle]

Avis rates (thru Costco Travel) have been inching down over last few days. From Miami, at least.

 

[jmasgat]

Avis rates (thru Costco Travel) have been inching down over last few days. From Miami, at least.

Same for Budget (aka Avis cast-offs!) I had a good corporate Avis rate at MCO for next week and checked Costco today. Got a Budget rental for $40+ less. May keep Avis cause I hate having to deal with any rental counter.

 

[stinkpickle]

And Alamo dropped again today on Costco.

 

[mrsboz]

I have found the extra 30 minutes driving from Tampa saves quite a bit on car rental costs and flight availability.

 

[mrsboz]

I haven’t rented a car in a million years. I’m looking to rent one at the mco terminal from January 8th to 15. I don’t even know where to begin. We usually used ME which is no longer an option. Anyone get any great rates?

 

[EACarlson]

I haven’t rented a car in a million years. I’m looking to rent one at the mco terminal from January 8th to 15. I don’t even know where to begin. We usually used ME which is no longer an option. Anyone get any great rates?

www.autoslash.com and when you get the results filter on vehicle on airport-no shuttle needed.

 

[EACarlson]

My rental for 1/25-1/30 came down again. I'm now in a Mid-Size from Thrifty for $156. When I started planning this trip on October 23rd I started at $459 and I was 90% sure I wasn't going to make this trip.
This was the cheapest option they had for an on airport rental. Being this is a business trip the convenience means more than the lowest price I could get. There was an option presented to me for $74, but it was off airport with a name I don't know a lot about. NextCar.

 

[starryagain]

We found good rates from Costco for a rental January 20-24. Paying a little more for Alamo ($180) vs Budget ($160), as we have found the service marginally better at MCO. My question - how are the rental car lines currently running? My husband had a long wait (40 minutes) at Budget in October. I know staff shortages are still impacting travel.

 

[riversend22]

Hey all. Traveling to Orlando 1/26-2/2 and looking to rent a car. I found a great deal on Expedia with an AARP discount through budget ($263 for a 7 passenger SUV) but honestly, I'm nervous to rent from them due to reviews. So does anyone have experience with Budget, thrifty, or Avis at the Orlando airport that could shed some light? The car is being split between 3 people so I'm ok with spending a bit more to rent from a more reputable company, but trying not to spend an arm and a leg. Thanks!

 

[CanucksRock]

I have rented multiple times with Budget at
MCO. No issues. (Even had someone back into me and damaged a budget rental It was a smooth process)

I totally forgot about checking prices for my upcoming trip - happened to look yesterday and was able to go from a compact SUV to standard elite SUV for $130 less. ($505 for 2 weeks - I did Budget Prepaid for extra discount) Happy prices actually came down.

 

[Ralph&Pam]

We found good rates from Costco for a rental January 20-24. Paying a little more for Alamo ($180) vs Budget ($160), as we have found the service marginally better at MCO. My question - how are the rental car lines currently running? My husband had a long wait (40 minutes) at Budget in October. I know staff shortages are still impacting travel.

Since you have an Alamo/Costco booking, why not use the Alamo confirmation number in the confirmation email from Costco to do log into the Alamo site, do online check in with the option to bypass the counter rather than going to the counter at MCO? I login with my Alamo Insider number and do this routinely, but have also read reports of renters who do it without an Insider account. In any case, signing up for Alamo Insider is free, so creating an accounts is easy.

 

[SueInBoston]

I just want to give a final summary of my Jan rental. The final price of my 6 day rental from budget through Costco was $172, from close to $500 when I first booked in October. I forgot to bring my EZ Pass, so I signed up for VisitorTollPass while I was waiting to board. Flight arrived in Term B and VisitorTollPass pick up is only at Term A, so it was an annoyance to lug bags to A to pick up the pass. Luckily Budget also has a counter/fastbreak kiosk in A, so I picked up car at the Fastbreak kiosk and was out on the road under 30 minutes from deplane. I just got my statement from VisitorTollPass and everything was clear and accurate, I'm so glad I read about VisitorTollPass from this board, last time I was in WDW, I had to pay Budget $10 per day for their toll pass plus tolls, that was highway robbery.

 

[bsmcneil]

Autoslash is great!

Is it common to not hear back for a little bit? I guess I assumed it was automated - didn't get a response (sent in info yesterday).

 

[EACarlson]

Is it common to not hear back for a little bit? I guess I assumed it was automated - didn't get a response (sent in info yesterday).

It usually takes 5-10 minutes to get a quote. Check your spam folder maybe?

 

[bsmcneil]

It usually takes 5-10 minutes to get a quote. Check your spam folder maybe?

Huh. I did (yesterday - haven't yet today). Maybe I'll resubmit to make sure I typed my email correctly (seems unlikely - but possible!). Thanks!

 

[bsmcneil]

Got it this time - I must've done something wrong the first time! Now, to decide. Mostly it's the not-well-reviewed options but this site (autoslash) lists Payless as being 4-star (and the cheapest of the mid-range). Priceline says 7/10 recommend. Hmmm. Here they are in order of Priceline ranking (since that's, theoretically, based on the many ratings they receive) - so it's:

Name - Priceline Rating / AutoSlash (Cost)

NextCar - 5.3 / 2.5 (206)

Easirent - 6.0 / 2.5 (252)

NU - 6.4 / 2.5 (262)

Economy - 6.5 / 2 (215)

Fox - 6.7 / 3.5 (207)

Advantage - 6.9 / 3 (200)

Dollar - 7.0 / 4 (348)

Thrifty - 7.0 / 4 (359)

Payless - 7.0 / 4 (267)

ACE - 7.3 / 2.5 (185)

Avis - 7.5 / 4.5 (412)

Budget - 7.5 / 4 (377)

USave - 7.8 / 2.5 (260)

Hertz - 8.1 / 4.5 (396)

Sixt - 8.1 / 4 (494)

Alamo - 9.2 / 4 (423)

I think I'd rule out anything under 7 (Priceline) or 4 (Autoslash). This is for 8 days.

 

[EACarlson]

I make it even easier, I rule out any company not on site at MCO. The lone exception is if Fox is half the price of the majors, for that I will take the shuttle, stand in line and fight off the hard upsells. So far I've always been able to find one of the majors for a similar price eventually.

 

[Rigbyfab4]

Got it this time - I must've done something wrong the first time! Now, to decide. Mostly it's the not-well-reviewed options but this site (autoslash) lists Payless as being 4-star (and the cheapest of the mid-range). Priceline says 7/10 recommend. Hmmm. Here they are in order of Priceline ranking (since that's, theoretically, based on the many ratings they receive) - so it's:

Name - Priceline Rating / AutoSlash (Cost)

NextCar - 5.3 / 2.5 (206)

Easirent - 6.0 / 2.5 (252)

NU - 6.4 / 2.5 (262)

Economy - 6.5 / 2 (215)

Fox - 6.7 / 3.5 (207)

Advantage - 6.9 / 3 (200)

Dollar - 7.0 / 4 (348)

Thrifty - 7.0 / 4 (359)

Payless - 7.0 / 4 (267)

ACE - 7.3 / 2.5 (185)

Avis - 7.5 / 4.5 (412)

Budget - 7.5 / 4 (377)

USave - 7.8 / 2.5 (260)

Hertz - 8.1 / 4.5 (396)

Sixt - 8.1 / 4 (494)

Alamo - 9.2 / 4 (423)

I think I'd rule out anything under 7 (Priceline) or 4 (Autoslash). This is for 8 days.

I would recommend setting your Autoslash results to only consider on-site name brands and see if that helps!

 

[bsmcneil]

I make it even easier, I rule out any company not on site at MCO. The lone exception is if Fox is half the price of the majors, for that I will take the shuttle, stand in line and fight off the hard upsells. So far I've always been able to find one of the majors for a similar price eventually.

I think that if I were without kids, I'd consider that rule. But as one adult and two kids (maybe even with one), I feel like the shuttle's a bridge too far for me. Then again, I had been weighing Mears to/from and mostly buses while there (the occasional Lyft, if necessary). A number of things are nudging me towards renting, though. Thanks for the advice all - super helpful!

 

[K9pal]

Even if you go through AutoSlash and sign up for price drops, keep checking - I just checked Hertz directly and my rate beginning 1/22 dropped $60 and I didn't get a notification.