LAX Car Rentals - Good ones? Ones to Avoid?

[PrincessIM]

Hi,

We've decided to rent a car. Just wondering if any one has had any good experiences or bad experiences with car rental companies out of LAX. I know there were a couple I should avoid but not sure which ones.

Thanks!

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[minniebeth]

Curious to know that as well, also, which companies are easiest to access?

 

[lisah0711]

We've used Alamo the last two times. Reasonably priced and got our cars fast enough to be walking in the park by 11:30 a.m. with a 9:00 a.m. flight, check-in and a stop at the grocery store. They are a little ways away from the airport but not too far. I always allow lots of time in case we get stuck in So Cal traffic.

Have fun on your trip!

 

[BraMax]

We have used Enterprise the last 3 times that we have travelled and love them. First off they are where we (being Canadian) have always found the best price. They have a shuttle that picks you up at baggage claim and it's like a 10 minute drive to there location (depending on how many people you need to pick up at the other terminals). I don't think we have ever stood more than 15 minutes to get our car which we usually get to pick out from a number of them. When you return it you drop off the keys and get on the shuttle. It takes as long as you need to get your stuff out of it. We are renting from them again this summer for 2 weeks.

 

[Anater]

Whatever you do, DON"T use Carrentals dot com. I usually use Hotwire and I've been very happy with their service. Our last trip I was joining my husband on his business trip so he had his own car already (through Hotwire). I was on a serious budget and found Carrentals dot com, they offered great cars at cheaper prices than Hotwire. They didn't require payment ahead of time, I just made a reservation. The rental company they gave me was some little independent outfit about five miles from the airport. They didn't have a dedicated shuttle, you had to hop the shuttle they shared with a hotel (I can't remember who they shared it with). My husband picked us up at the airport so he drove me to pick the car up, thank goodness. When I got there the rep asked me for a copy of my liability and comprehensive insurance policy and declarations page. I told her that I was fully insured, but that I don;t carry a copy of those with me. She said that she wouldn't be able to rent the car to me unless I provided those documents. Of course, she was more than happy to offer their insurance for $45 per day. I told her that usually I just decline the insurance and sign off that I have my own. She said that they don't operate that way, and unless I purchased the insurance I wouldn't be renting the vehicle. I let her know that the insurance info wasn't on the car rentals dot com page anywhere - I read all the fine print. She then said that I should have gone into their page to read their policies. I was ticked, told her I thought it was a scam and left. Thank goodness my husband drove me - we went to his in laws home, I ordered a car off Hotwire and picked it up an hour later from Avis....with no proof of insurance required. I think of the poor people who go to the rental place expecting a bargain and end up driving out of there paying more than if they had just rented the car on their own through a large agency, because they are stranded at the rental place far away from other rental agencies, and they are just too tired to deal with it. They had the nerve to send me an automated survey a few weeks later asking me how my experience was. I really ripped into them, and never heard back. I understand policies and procedures, and every company has the right to conduct business however they want, but the circumstances just seemed very odd.

 

[phisigprincess]

We used Thrify, but we rented out of San Diego and returned to LAX. Our gas tank was a little under a full tank when we returned it, and the guy told us not to worry about it. I was overall impressed with them.

We found that finding the rental car places around LAX was pretty difficult, but other than that had no problems.

 

[4Ollies]

I'm looking at renting a car one way. That's not much fun or cheap. Found really cheap prices from Fox and then started reading reviews about them. No thanks! Sounds like one to avoid.

Looking at Avis, Budget, and Thrifty. Sticking with names I'm familiar with and that should have decent customer service.

 

[brenda1966]

I won't ever use Hotwire to rent out of LAX again because you don't know who you are getting until you've already paid.

Summer of 2006 I got Budget! Great rate. Not a good experience. This was a Saturday in July. We had to wait in line over 2 HOURS to get to the desk to find that our car was not "ready" yet. I am about to blow a gasket. 30 minutes later they offer me a huge van to get me out of there.

The people working the counter just looked at all of us unhappy people standing in line and said "this is how it is in the summer."

I will never, ever, never, ever rent from Budget out of LAX.

 

[princessalexis]

I just got back and we rented a car from Hertz. I got a pretty decent AAA discount there, that is why I chose Hertz. I felt that the shuttle drivers and customer service people were quite friendly, although there was a long line when picking up the car. Returning the car was very quick. They had a few shuttles lined up so we didn't have to wait at all to get back to the airport.

 

[PrincessIM]

Anyone have any experience renting from Alamo?

Princess Alexis - how long did you end up waiting for your car?

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[princessalexis]

It felt like forever, but we probably only waited for about 20 - 30 minutes. For me, waiting to get the car wasn't an issue because we didn't have any solid plans for the rest of the day. The biggest thing for me is how long it takes to return the car and get to the airport - that was super quick and why I would definitely recommend Hertz. Plus, if you are an AAA member, you can't beat the rate (at least for what we wanted).

 

[bluegrizzlies1]

Priceline bid your own price

 

[only1mouse]

Avoid Budget! They are rude, they are SLOW and the shuttle is always the last one to get to the airport. I typically used Alamo or Enterprise. Both are great, quick and the people who work there are friendly and really work for their customers.

 

[pxlbarrel]

I always rent from National... I guess I'm a holdover from when they used to be the official car rental place for WDW. Anyway, the last time I rented from the LAX location and dropped it off at the Anaheim location which was close to my hotel (Anaheim Hilton) and DL. And after we dropped the car off, they were kind enough to drop us off at the DL entrance!