Recent Dollar/ Alamo/ National questions

[BAST]

What types of minivans have people rented from these companies lately?

I look at the websites, and notice that Dollar lists a Caravan as standard - this will be too small for us (really need a Grand Crarvan type).

Any way to guarantee this type of car?

Thanks!

 

[MulanMom]

Our last trip in Aug. 2003, we rented from Dollar and got the "sport" minivan. It was small. My DH is a big man with wide shoulders. As cars get smaller, there's less he can fit into. And with this minivan, it was close. I believe they charge you more for a grand caravan.

We rented with National in March 2003 and had a lovely Oldsmobile minivan with plenty of space. For our upcoming trip, we're renting from National again, so I hope we have the same experience.

HTH!

 

[sgtdisney]

The last time I rented with Dollar they made me pay to upgrade to a Grand Caravan. This was about 2 years ago. I emailed Dollar because at the time their website still said Grand Caravan. Long story short, they told me that most locations had switched to Caravans as standard issue and that you would pay more for the Grand version. All that being said, a number of posters here have reported that they have gotten Grand Caravans with Dollar for no upcharge. It could be what they have in stock at the the time of your arrival as to whether they charge to upgrade you or not. I will say I have had wonderful experiences with Dollar and even when they made me pay for that upgrade, Dollar corporate refunded the upgrade cost because they admitted their website was wrong, but they also told me in the future Caravans were considered standard.

I have used National for my most recent trips and they always have had the extended wheelbase model GM minivans (Montana, Venture and Silhouette) as well as Chevy Astros and Grand Caravans. Nice thing about National is you can walk out to the aisle where the minivans are and pick the one you want. Last time we were in Orlando we picked an 8 passenger Montana.

I haven't rented from Alamo for years now but they feature GM products like National since they are both owned by the same parent company.

 

[BAST]

Thanks - I have used both Dollar and National and received great service. However, I have not used Dollar in a while because I am concerned I will get the smaller van.

I would pay extra if I need to, but would want this booked before I left (I do not want to take the chance on the smaller vehicle).

Can I do this using codes? ALso, what do they charge for the bigger minivan?

Thanks.

 

[sgtdisney]

The only think I would suggest if you want this to be absolutely confirmed and you are leaning toward Dollar is to call them. I do know that they have rental classes that are not listed on their webpage. I am fairly certain you can reserve an 8 passenger van with Dollar if you call them on the phone. This would probably be an Astro van. In my case the upcharge was negotiable. They started at 7.00 a day extra and after I balked at it, the agent agreed to 3 or 4 a day if I remember correctly. Like I said, because their website was wrong at the time I got this money refunded. As I mentioned before, a number of people here have reported getting an extended wheelbase model at no extra cost, it seems that they have more of those than the Caravans, but your best bet would probably be to call and ask them directly.