Rental car selection/layout at MCO?

[torquelover]

I am looking for a rental company out of MCO that has a lot laid out where I can pick the actual vehicle I am renting. There are good deals through AirTran at Hertz, but unless I go with a specialty car, I will be unable to request a specific make/model in a given price class. The last two rentals for me did not go over well. One car was heavily smoked in and filthy, and the other was delivered to me in a snowstorm with bald tires, no windshield washer fluid, and no ABS (the reservation explicitly stated the vehicles had ABS brakes). Not a problem unless they are the last cars in the lot, which these two were at the time. I found it odd to be in a rental with 45k on the clock as well.

I have read here that Alamo, and perhaps others, has vehicles parked in a lot of similar class/cost to your reservation that you can actually walk up to, look inside, and choose as you like. Aside from Alamo, are there other places at MCO with similar layout?

We are arriving late Sunday with two toddlers in tow. Is it advisable to rent from an in-terminal company? Any recommendations for companies in-terminal or off-site with shuttle?

The last time we were at MCO, we rented through Budget and it was in-terminal. It was late at night as well, and our class of car was not available, so we ended up in a premium sedan instead of a minivan. Is arriving late (10PM) on a Sunday a good thing or a bad thing?

 

[YayDisney!]

I am not an expert on all of the rental companies at MCO however I have rented from Alamo and National there which are both on-site and both allow you to pick your own vehicle from your selected car class. One benefit to a late arrival time is there are usually no lines to worry about at the rental counters. We have had great luck with both which have "member" programs which make it possible to reduce or eliminate the need for checking in at the rental counter(National is the best). However we usually select them for the purpose of being able to select our own vehicle. Whichever you can get the better rate for I would recomend as they are actually owned by the same company. I am certain that others will comment but this is from my experience and we have never had any issues with either company in our last 6-7 trips to Orlando.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Alamo, National, Avis, Dollar, Budget, and L & M all have counters in the airport and cars in the garage across the street. There are several other agencies with counters in the terminal, but I'm not sure where their cars are.

L & M will, or at least did when I rented from them a few years ago, assign your car, i.e. tell you in which parking space your car is located.

I have no idea if this is how they operate at MCO, but Dollar at LAX also assigned me a specific car, well, again, vehicle parked in a specific numbered spot.

 

[wings91]

Alamo and National.

With Alamo, you reserve your car type, then go to that section of the garage and pick any vehicle in your type.

With National, you are part of the Emerald Club. They put random (midsize up) vehicles in a row, and you pick your vehicle from that row. Unless this has changed, this is why I don't like the Emerald Club. If you want an SUV for example, while they are part of the Emerald Club, there may not be one of those in the row at the time you are there. So the vehicle you get is random.

Does anyone know if this has changed with National? I haven't used Emerald for a while.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Well, in fairness - nobody is just automatically a part of the Emerald Club. You have to sign up - just as you would with Alamo's similar QS program, or Dollar's, or Budget's... see mousesavers.com for tips on joining these clubs at no cost.

 

[officer tigger]

I've rented from Dollar a number of times. They tell you which row your class of vehicle is in and you pick whatever one you want. Each time we have gone we rented a mini van. They were all the same kind, just different colors. I never had a problem of getting into a dirty car with them.

 

[Beavis]

I've rented from Dollar a number of times. They tell you which row your class of vehicle is in and you pick whatever one you want. Each time we have gone we rented a mini van. They were all the same kind, just different colors. I never had a problem of getting into a dirty car with them.

Same here with Avis I belive (might have been buget?). When you check in at the counter they start all the paperwork and tell you where to go. We were getting a fullsize car and they told us which isle they were in. It was just two of us and when we got there we got to pick a new 2 door, it only had 12 miles on the car . When you get ready to leave at the exit end of the isle is a person in a booth that finializes the paperwork and records which car you have.

 

[torquelover]

Same here with Avis I belive (might have been buget?). When you check in at the counter they start all the paperwork and tell you where to go........ When you get ready to leave at the exit end of the isle is a person in a booth that finializes the paperwork and records which car you have.

We are going with Alamo. On the website, they mention kiosks to check in, avoiding the counter. Will checking in online allow you to bypass the counter, as well as the kiosk?

 

[Figment&Piglet]

With National, you are part of the Emerald Club. They put random (midsize up) vehicles in a row, and you pick your vehicle from that row. Unless this has changed, this is why I don't like the Emerald Club. If you want an SUV for example, while they are part of the Emerald Club, there may not be one of those in the row at the time you are there. So the vehicle you get is random.

Does anyone know if this has changed with National? I haven't used Emerald for a while.

I am no expert by any means, but I think you are getting Emerald Club and Emerald Aisle confused. First, though, Yes, both Alamo and National allow you to reserve a specific car class (compact, SUV, minivan, etc.), and then go to that specific aisle and choose the car you want. Depending on the time of day, etc., there may be a lot to choose from or only one or two vehicles, but you do get to choose yourself. Doesn't mean they're all in "pristine" condition, either!

With Emerald Club (a club you must join), one of the perks (among many) is the ability to use the Emerald Aisle, where you reserve and pay for a mid-size and are guaranteed at least a mid-size, but you may pick anything on the specific Emerald Aisle and not pay more if you choose a larger type car--and many times there are minivans, SUVs, premiums, etc. That does NOT exclude you, however, from reserving/paying for an SUV and take an SUV off the SUV row if you don't like the "luck of the draw" idea of Emerald Aisle...

Hope that helps.