Routes Car Rental feedback please

[Coconuts]

Hey all I am considering a car rental for our upcoming Sept trip but prices are so high. I found a great deal through Expedia with Routes but it says the customer rating is 32% which makes me leery. Any first hand experience with this rental company? Is it a total sham where you get what you pay for? Thanks for any and all input

 

[Ross Kratter]

Honestly, I would stick with one of the major, on-airport rental companies. I have never heard of Routes. I travel very regularly and I’m at MCO all the time; I have never even seen a shuttle van from that company.

 

[EACarlson]

Routes is a big player in Canada, and expanded into MCO just before COVID if I remember right. Haven't heard anything worse about them than I have with any of the other off site companies. When it goes well, it's fine. When it goes bad, it goes really bad. Personally I would only consider the 10 on site that are operated by the big three rental companies and Sixt. I'm also willing to pay to have a better experience and most of my trips through MCO are business where time is valuable.
Don't pay any attention to a review rating for travel related things. Couple of big reasons, almost no one writes a review if the experience is as expected or slightly above average, they only write the review if things go badly or it drastically exceeds expectations. There seems to be a disconnect between reasonable expectations and the expectations on some of these companies. It's not reasonable to expect a brand new car with all of the options for the bargain basement price you're getting. My recommendation is to look at the actual reviews and see what the complaints are. If you see a repeating pattern, that is when I would start to get concerned. Look outside of Expedia's own reviews, since I can't even find a way to look at individual reviews.

 

[Lewisc]

From autoslash
In AutoSlash’s Ultimate Rental Car Ratings, we give Routes 2 out of 5 stars, the lowest score. We consider it a “Tier 4” company after hearing complaint after complaint after complaint. While Routes may offer what looks like an attractive price, be aware that you run a big risk of an unsatisfactory experience.

OP quoted a 32% satisfaction score.

Rent if you're a masochist.

 

[Tasscrapper]

Do you have a Costco membership by any chance? Is so look at car rental prices through their travel section.

 

[Coconuts]

Do you have a Costco membership by any chance? Is so look at car rental prices through their travel section.

Yes I am a Costco member thanks. I looked at their prices and I don't know if it's just me, but their prices are as expensive as any other site. Am I missing something?

 

[Tasscrapper]

Yes I am a Costco member thanks. I looked at their prices and I don't know if it's just me, but their prices are as expensive as any other site. Am I missing something?

I don't know what to tell you. I just checked again for my dates and it's about $123 dollars cheaper on a 12 day rental. We are getting a mini van.

 

[EACarlson]

Yes I am a Costco member thanks. I looked at their prices and I don't know if it's just me, but their prices are as expensive as any other site. Am I missing something?

The Costco prices can sometimes be fantastic, but it depends on many factors. The offsite companies are always going to be cheaper and usually have more hassles. It's like the difference between flying Allegiant and flying Delta. If everything goes fine, it's fine and you can save quite a bit of money, but when anything goes wrong, no chance it's going to be made right.

I don't know what to tell you. I just checked again for my dates and it's about $123 dollars cheaper on a 12 day rental. We are getting a mini van.

$123 cheaper than what? If you're comparing the Costco rate to the rack rate it's going to look much cheaper. If you're comparing an Autoslash quote, that's an absolutely fantastic deal.

 

[Tasscrapper]

The Costco prices can sometimes be fantastic, but it depends on many factors. The offsite companies are always going to be cheaper and usually have more hassles. It's like the difference between flying Allegiant and flying Delta. If everything goes fine, it's fine and you can save quite a bit of money, but when anything goes wrong, no chance it's going to be made right.


$123 cheaper than what? If you're comparing the Costco rate to the rack rate it's going to look much cheaper. If you're comparing an Autoslash quote, that's an absolutely fantastic deal.

I was comparing it to Expedia. I've checked others too. Costco also beat two corporate codes.

 

[_19disnA]

Renting through a 3rd party invites a lot of other issues when you have a problem. Is the Expedia price any lower than using the website of the actual rental car company? I always book directly with the rental company and never had any issues. I agree with other to stick with those having on-site rental locations and you can save a LOT of time by not having to wait at a counter or take yet another bus to get to their off-site location. To me renting a car is a commodity, stick with the well known brands for the least hassle.