March 2014 car rental!

[Fundytrail]

Finally bit the bullet. Cancelled my Focus through Budget ($460) and booked an SUV through Alamo for $529 (including tax & etc) for 14 days (27/3 to 10/4), as we are only a little over a week away.

Unbelievable how high the prices have remained

 

[Ranger111]

Finally bit the bullet. Cancelled my Focus through Budget ($460) and booked an SUV through Alamo for $529 for 14 days (27/3 to 10/4), as we are only a little over a week away.

Unbelievable how high the prices have remained

Don't feel bad.....my trip is in April and prices are well -- can't say it on a public board.

I did get lucky on a cold snowy night in February and managed to get a minivan $24/day (including taxes etal) on Enterprise, but that was only around for an hour or so....I keep looking to better that rate -- and so far not a chance.

 

[loveswdw]

Checked this afternoon through Costco and Alamo had dropped a touch so I rebooked my Budget car into an Alamo car. Previous with Budget was a premium for $354. Rebooked Alamo standard for $354. Smaller and not as nice but I can use the kiosk rather than stand in the Budget line and have to tell them no, no, no to the hard sell plus I can pick my own car in the garage instead of the one Budget assigns me.

Didn't save any money but maybe saved a headache!

 

[Fundytrail]

Checked this afternoon through Costco and Alamo had dropped a touch so I rebooked my Budget car into an Alamo car. Previous with Budget was a premium for $354. Rebooked Alamo standard for $354. Smaller and not as nice but I can use the kiosk rather than stand in the Budget line and have to tell them no, no, no to the hard sell plus I can pick my own car in the garage instead of the one Budget assigns me.

Didn't save any money but maybe saved a headache!

I too prefer Alamo for the same reason as an "Insider" I check-in on line and go directly to the rental lot no counter or kiosk just the individual to check your "ticket" then pick out my car from the assigned row and one last check as you leave the parking lot.

 

[Mich Mouse]

Finally bit the bullet. Cancelled my Focus through Budget ($460) and booked an SUV through Alamo for $529 (including tax & etc) for 14 days (27/3 to 10/4), as we are only a little over a week away.

Unbelievable how high the prices have remained

The price for our February trip never went down from the rate I had booked two months prior. That was the first time in at least a dozen rentals that I was not able to get the rate adjusted in my favor close to the date of departure.

Keep checkin though....you never know.

 

[richmo]

Ok, just back, so I'll share a few things:

- In the past, I've almost always rented from Alamo because of the convenience and the ability to pick any car from the row. This time the Alamo rates were much higher than I was able to get with that Dollar rate that come up about a month ago...so I rented with Dollar. For those of you that have a Dollar rental, I would encourage you to sign up for Dollar Express and attach it to your reservation (make sure the rate doesn't change, though!). When you are ready to go, you can bypass the desk in the terminal and go right out to the garage. There is a monitor at the station in the garage that will likely have your name on it and may have a car already picked out for you. Or, in my case, I had to see the agent and I was told to just pick out any car in the Compact row (which is what I reserved). Pretty similar to the Alamo experience. I imagine if you get a pre-assigned car, you can go back to the desk and they'll switch it for you.
- I remarked to the agent that, although I was able to get a good rate, that rates seemed much higher this year. He told me that demand is way up. They've had a lot of relatively late bookings, probably because everyone up north is fed up with winter. Judging by park attendance at Disney, I'd have to agree. I've been there roughly the same time for the past several years and the crowds were definitely higher.
- Exiting the Dollar gate at MCO there's a sign that if you're not paying for fuel up front that you have to fill up within 10 miles of the airport and show a receipt. Upon return last night, my experience was that they checked the fuel gauge, but did not check the receipt. I filled up at a Hess station just before you get on SR-417 (by the way, it was $3.479...the onsite Disney Hess stations were just two cents more). The Hess I stopped at, as well as the Disney locations, are outside that 10 mile radius.
- The Greeneway tolls (SR-417, leading from/to airport South Exit/Entrance) are $1.50. There are two of them. I happened to return the car in the afternoon rush yesterday and they had exactly one attended cash toll open. There were a good 10-15 cars ahead of me, and I've seen worse. If SunPass isn't an option for you (and no, EZPass is not compatible), it wouldn't hurt to bring 12 quarters with you to use for the exact change lane, which is almost always empty.
- As you may be aware, Downtown Disney parking is pretty much a mess right now. On the marketplace end, where I like to park, I would recommend just parking at Casting, across the street. Its a short walk to Marketplace and you avoid the madness of trying to grab a spot near Marketplace...and its a lot easier to exit.

 

[jgraney106]

When we rented from Alamo this month, my husband noticed the 10 mile radius gas rule also. But when we returned the car to the Tampa airport they just checked the gas gauge to see that it was a full tank. Don't think the 10 mile radius rule will be closely inforced as long as the gas gauge is full. Wonder why this new rule is being posted? Guess someone must have had some kind of an issue.

 

[loveswdw]

Alamo dropped some more this afternoon. Rebooked through Costco. Was $354 standard, now at $321. 3/26-4/5, PU MCO, DO TPA

 

[loveswdw]

Alamo dropped some more this afternoon. Rebooked through Costco. Was $354 standard, now at $321. 3/26-4/5, PU MCO, DO TPA

Dropped a few more dollars tonight. Now booked at $313. Let's hope it keeps dropping!

 

[loveswdw]

Rebooked again. Std now $274

 

[nedidajohn]

Loveswdw,

We have the same dates only flying in and out of MCO. I got $311 this morning. This is the most we have ever paid. As a matter of fact I've never paid more that $175. Wonder what gives...

 

[Shelly S]

I just checked costco for 3/28 to 4/6. An economy is down to $258 about $100 lower than a few days ago. Of course it is still $100 higher than the Dollar deal I got from a month or two ago. I am still hoping for Costco to go lower as they have the second driver free.

 

[loveswdw]

Just dropped another $10. We pick up tomorrow. Now our rate is standard for $264. I'll check again this afternoon.