Rental car from Michigan to Florida - need some help

[Sleuth]

We had our vehicle in the shop to have it looked at for general maintenance (belts, plugs, etc) before we leave Friday to drive down to Disney. Well, they found a major problem and it's going to take days to work on it and it won't be ready by the time we have our package reservations.

Anyway, we're considering renting a vehicle from Budget for the drive down and back. I need some help / advice as we've only rented cars after flying down to disney. Budget says there are unlimited miles, but what is "unlimited" mean? Are we able to drive it out of state?

I'm so freaking out right now and ready to cry, we're supposed to live Friday a.m.

 

[malibuconlee]

Yes you are allowed to drive it out of state. Unlimited miles means just that. You don't have a cap on the number of miles you are allowed to put on the vehicle while you have it.

I've known people who will rent a vehicle for long trips just so they aren't putting the miles on their own vehicle.

Sorry to hear about the problems with your car. Hope you have a wonderful trip

 

[Sleuth]

Thanks for the info. I'm looking at Budget and the fine print says that rental is based on a credit check if I use a debit card. Is there a certain credit score you have to have to rent a vehicle? Just curious, I've never had to have a credit check before @ MCO when renting and using a debit card, but then again I did not use Budget.

 

[Lewisc]

PP isn't giving you complete information. Some agencies offer unlimited miles but won't let you drive the car out of state. Others limit the states you're allowed to drive.

You really need to check with the agency you're using. Read the fine print.

 

[marius97]

Thanks for the info. I'm looking at Budget and the fine print says that rental is based on a credit check if I use a debit card. Is there a certain credit score you have to have to rent a vehicle? Just curious, I've never had to have a credit check before @ MCO when renting and using a debit card, but then again I did not use Budget.

Definately check to see what the company's policy says about driving out of state...it may be something like your state and surrounding states.

As far as the credit check goes...do you have a credit card that you can reserve it with? That would eliminate the credit check. When you return the car, you could just give them your debit card to pay for it.

 

[webworm]

Thanks for the info. I'm looking at Budget and the fine print says that rental is based on a credit check if I use a debit card. Is there a certain credit score you have to have to rent a vehicle? Just curious, I've never had to have a credit check before @ MCO when renting and using a debit card, but then again I did not use Budget.

With Budget you can try using BCD Number x474200 (travelocity code) and Ecoupon MUWZ023 for $25.00 off. The $25.00 will be applied against total amount when you check out with vehicle. This may save you some money with Budget.

https://book1.carrental.com/dcweb/a...&budgetCoupon=MUGZ029&CID=W852802_30offweekly

 

[Sleuth]

I think we're going to go with National (there are only two rental car places where I live Budget & National) even though it is about $150 more. They have no problem with out of state driving and unlimited miles.

It just KILLS me that we have to pay an extra $480 for the rental car when we still have to have the work done on the vehicle (rear axle) when we return which could easily be $2K.

I'm considering canceling our vacation because of these issues, but I really do not want to. We have our Disney package all paid in full and we are supposed to arrive Saturday. I have no idea if we could even get the money back at this point. If I canceled I'd have three little ones (and a DH) very sad. Things are so up in the air right now.

 

[cat83]

I just wanted to say I'm sorry this happened! But- in the end, the memories with your 3 little ones will be worth it

 

[Sleuth]

Well I guess it could have been much worse, we could have broken down or seriously injured if we would have drove the vehicle down without getting it checked out. The thing is it hasn't made ANY noise and we haven't had any issues with the rear axle and wouldn't have even known if the mechanic hadn't looked back there. We took it to another mechanic friend that we could trust and he confirmed the issue so we know it's very real.

I guess I need to figure out IF we did cancel how much money we could get back from the package and if using checking in online already will mess with a refund. Does anyone know these things? We're supposed to check in Sat 7/24.

 

[kaytieeldr]

$100 cancellation fee for a package this close... UNLESS you can reschedule vs. cancel, in which case Walt Disney World frequently will work with the Guest to avoid the cancellation fee. Good luck!

 

[Sleuth]

On the phone with Disney now trying to push the resie out a week. There is availability but their computer system is slow... I've been on the phone for awhile and the CM is really trying hard to finish the change but her computer is frozen.

They are not charging me the fee, thank goodness.

 

[happily single]

I rented from Hertz for my roadtrip to Orlando in April. I picked up the day before we left, drove the car over 1,400 miles and returned it. I got a great rate by letting AAA book it for me, as opposed to booking through the AAA website. Go figure

Anyway, I did use a debit card as well. Opps, pre-paid credit card. They ran the card and my credit (which stinks) They put a $300 hold on my credit card, tried to sell me their insurance and I was on my way.