Odds of Actually Getting a Chevy Suburban (Alamo)

[Christine]

Our trip starts this Saturday. Large group going. My cousin is attempting to rent a Chevy Suburban through Alamo. When she goes in through the regular Alamo site, she selects Premium SUV and it tells her that it's a Chevy Suburban or similar, seating 8 people. When I go into Alamo through Costco and I select Premium SUV, I get a 5-seater BMW or similar.

That said, I've told her there's really no guarantee of the Suburban (she really needs this and has reserved what she thinks is an 8 seater). So for those that use Alamo at MCO, do they actually have them? I have a bad feeling about this...

 

[kaytieeldr]

Depends what's on the lot when she gets there, but no specific make or model is guaranteed. Now, the (not through Costco) website does indicate that the premium SUV will hold,wait a minute...right people, four large luggage pieces, and three carry-on/personal size bags. So if she booked Premium, she should get an eight passenger vehicle.

 

[debster812]

Years argo, we were supposed to be flying to FL for vacation. A blizzard was bearing down on NE, flights were being cancelled left and right, so we made the decision to rent a vehicle and drive, It was my husband, me, my cousin, her husband, my son, and my cousin’s twins. We rented what was supposed to be a Suburban. It was a Tahoe. Suffice to say it was ‘cozy’ for the 2 boys in the 3rd row that they had to share with some luggage.

 

[kaytieeldr]

And, since debster just posted, this is the perfect time for the standard reminder: do not travel between Boston and Disney when the debster family is going!

 

[ilikecarrentals]

You are looking at two different car classes. Alamo recently added a BMW SUV car class (Premium Elite SUV). Costco is showing this class for Premium SUV - technically it is a Premium SUV but you definitely will not get a suburban if you book this. It says 5 seats and that is what you will get.

If you search here: https://carrentalsavers.com/alamo.html you can see two separate classes - one is a Premium SUV 8 seater and the other is just called SUV and shows the BMW SUV 5 seater. On the Alamo site they are Premium Elite SUV 5 seater and Premium SUV 8 seater.

It looks like Costco are only showing the Premium Elite SUV rather than the traditional 8 seater SUV (suburban). Costco does not seem to be showing any 8 seater SUVs at MCO.

If you book a Premium SUV and get a Tahoe say no thank you as that is a Full Size SUV the class lower than Premium.

 

[Christine]

You are looking at two different car classes. Alamo recently added a BMW SUV car class (Premium Elite SUV). Costco is showing this class for Premium SUV - technically it is a Premium SUV but you definitely will not get a suburban if you book this. It says 5 seats and that is what you will get.

If you search here: https://carrentalsavers.com/alamo.html you can see two separate classes - one is a Premium SUV 8 seater and the other is just called SUV and shows the BMW SUV 5 seater. On the Alamo site they are Premium Elite SUV 5 seater and Premium SUV 8 seater.

It looks like Costco are only showing the Premium Elite SUV rather than the traditional 8 seater SUV (suburban). Costco does not seem to be showing any 8 seater SUVs at MCO.

If you book a Premium SUV and get a Tahoe say no thank you as that is a Full Size SUV the class lower than Premium.

Yes, I noticed that on Costco. My cousin, who is doing the booking for herself, does not have a Costco membership, so she was able to select the Premium SUV 8-seater through Alamo's site.

 

[Heather07438]

If you can be flexible with your company choice, Sixt is good in this category both for price and stock. Sixt was crazy cheap 4 years ago but even with increasing their prices, still way cheaper than everybody else on premiums. BMW and Mercedes SUVs are their specialty, they have Suburbans too.

We've used them 4 times and had 5 star experiences. One thing is you need to board their shuttle at MCO so they can drive you a couple miles over to their lot. It's not as big of a hassle as it sounds, it's a smooth operation. Check out Sixt inventory and prices.

 

[Christine]

If you can be flexible with your company choice, Sixt is good in this category both for price and stock. Sixt was crazy cheap 4 years ago but even with increasing their prices, still way cheaper than everybody else on premiums. BMW and Mercedes SUVs are their specialty, they have Suburbans too.

We've used them 4 times and had 5 star experiences. One thing is you need to board their shuttle at MCO so they can drive you a couple miles over to their lot. It's not as big of a hassle as it sounds, it's a smooth operation. Check out Sixt inventory and prices.

We were going to go with Sixt (as they guarantee a vehicle) but they were quite a bit more expensive that my cousin's current Alamo rate. She is just hoping that booking the "8 passenger vehicle" actually gets her that.

 

[Heather07438]

We were going to go with Sixt (as they guarantee a vehicle) but they were quite a bit more expensive that my cousin's current Alamo rate. She is just hoping that booking the "8 passenger vehicle" actually gets her that.

That's the second time very recently I heard Alamo beating Sixt in this category. They must be upping their game! Sixt used to always be cheapest by a wide margin but not the case anymore; they've substantially increased prices over the last 2 years.

We have Sixt booked for December. They were cheaper than the rest but not by much.

 

[rg35]

For as big as a Suburban is, 8 pax plus luggage is going to be a squeeze, unless everyone is packing very light.
I don't know the logistics of ages, who can drive, etc., but two full size vehicles might be a safer bet than one large one.

 

[Keacc]

There are 8 of us for our Nov 9-16 trip. We have two vehicles reserved with Alamo. A Suburban for getting to and from parks for $398 and a mini van for $260. Both include all taxes. We also have 2 drivers on each vehicle thanks to our Costco card.

 

[ilikecarrentals]

There are 8 of us for our Nov 9-16 trip. We have two vehicles reserved with Alamo. A Suburban for getting to and from parks for $398 and a mini van for $260. Both include all taxes. We also have 2 drivers on each vehicle thanks to our Costco card.

Costco are no longer offering the suburban class for your dates through Alamo, only the premium elite (5 seater). You might double check your reservation, you will be fine if booked before they switched classes.

 

[nkereina]

What about a 12 or 15 passenger van? From what I can see (quickly checked), the Alamo web site shows it only slightly more per day than the premium SUV. I'm sure it varies by dates, however. But it would at least guarantee you enough room, as well as space for luggage.

 

[Christine]

What about a 12 or 15 passenger van? From what I can see (quickly checked), the Alamo web site shows it only slightly more per day than the premium SUV. I'm sure it varies by dates, however. But it would at least guarantee you enough room, as well as space for luggage.

We did look at those but for her dates of booking, it was quite a bit more.

 

[Christine]

For as big as a Suburban is, 8 pax plus luggage is going to be a squeeze, unless everyone is packing very light.
I don't know the logistics of ages, who can drive, etc., but two full size vehicles might be a safer bet than one large one.

I'm not sure why she didn't want to do it. I think the two cars were going to be quite a bit more then the Suburban (which I think she got for about $400 for the week). It is going to be tough to and from the airport which is why I think probably two people are going to have to use DME. For the rest of the trip (park to park) it will work out.

 

[EACarlson]

What about a 12 or 15 passenger van? From what I can see (quickly checked), the Alamo web site shows it only slightly more per day than the premium SUV. I'm sure it varies by dates, however. But it would at least guarantee you enough room, as well as space for luggage.

Double check your insurance if you go this route. The insurance on most credit cards won't cover you and some personal policies won't cover you while renting a vehicle this big.

 

[Christine]

That's the second time very recently I heard Alamo beating Sixt in this category. They must be upping their game! Sixt used to always be cheapest by a wide margin but not the case anymore; they've substantially increased prices over the last 2 years.

We have Sixt booked for December. They were cheaper than the rest but not by much.

When she was looking at things a few weeks ago Sixt had the better price. Now, Alamo is at about $386 (last night) versus Sixt at $500.

 

[PatMcDuck]

We reserved this size once with Alamo. They kept offering Standard SUVs. I even pointed to a Suburban sitting by the office and they said OH NO, that was for people taking an UPGRADE upon arrival. They kept saying, that the contract says "OR SIMILAR". I said my reservation said seats 8. I need it to be similar to THAT. This argument went on for at least 1/2 hour, and it was insanely hot. We finally took a large minivan, the Sienna I think. This happened many years ago, we had 6 people but also a WC type stroller, adult size, and lots of luggage.

 

[Christine]

We reserved this size once with Alamo. They kept offering Standard SUVs. I even pointed to a Suburban sitting by the office and they said OH NO, that was for people taking an UPGRADE upon arrival. They kept saying, that the contract says "OR SIMILAR". I said my reservation said seats 8. I need it to be similar to THAT. This argument went on for at least 1/2 hour, and it was insanely hot. We finally took a large minivan, the Sienna I think. This happened many years ago, we had 6 people but also a WC type stroller, adult size, and lots of luggage.

Gosh, I'm dreading this. That seems like a complete violation of what they are advertising. My cousin actually has 9 people, will be renting a stroller, and two car seats. Someone's definitely not getting in that "Suburban" at the airport, but they definitely need one.

 

[Heather07438]

When she was looking at things a few weeks ago Sixt had the better price. Now, Alamo is at about $386 (last night) versus Sixt at $500.

Wow! That is much better. Last month somebody posted about a great offer Alamo released that saved them a bunch but when I checked our dates it was still more expensive.

After comparing prices for over a month, we finally booked our rental with Sixt for Dec 10-15.
5 days including tax $325
XFAZ (Mercedes GLS, BMW X7 or Caddy Escalade) that can fit 7 people with 3 suitcases.

I hope your experience goes well. Maybe try calling to let them know you cannot accept anything smaller than what you reserved and make sure they can guarantee you. That's just not right to bait and switch, especially after a long flight and everybody's so excited to get on the road to WDW.