SO, Tell Me About Dollar.....

[kristenrice]

I have only used Alamo in the past (which was all of two times) but now, Dollar is the best deal I've found. I still think that $175 for a compact for 5 nights is a bit steep, but since I am splitting the cost with my friend, we can tolerate it.

So, tell me everything...

Customer Service?....
Quality of vehicles?...
Speed of check in at the counter? Do they have a "kiosk", like Alamo?....
Anything else?

Since I will be partaking in a little "adult hydration" on the inbound flight, I will be taking DME and my friend will be renting the car. She is also a "rental car virgin" so I have tried to give her a heads up on some of the major landmines. We are arriving at MCO at 4:30pm on a Thursday, if that matters.

First, I told her do NOT take the insurance, no matter what they say. She has already confirmed with her insurance agent that she does not need it. I warned her that they may say it is "mandatory" or offer you "just the basic coverage", but I advised her not to accept ANY insurance.

Second, since it is just the two of us and DME is handling our luggage, we do not need anything bigger than what we reserved. I told her NOT to "pay just a little more" for an upgrade. If they want to give us a bigger car, great, but we are NOT paying for it. If we needed a midsize, we would have booked a midsize. How are the cars assigned with Dollar? Do you go out and pick from the lot or do they assign you a specific vehicle? We did not do the "lock and low" or whatever it is.

Finally, I reminded her to thoroughly check the car for any damage and either take pictures and/or have the lot attendant (do they have those there?) sign off on any damage.

Am I missing anything? Oh, tolls...how many are there and how much will she need between MCO and Pop Century? I've heard about rental cars with the EZPass thingy in them. We don't want to pay for that so do we have to do anything in particular?

Thanks in advance!

 

[DisTwix]

I have only used Alamo in the past (which was all of two times) but now, Dollar is the best deal I've found. I still think that $175 for a compact for 5 nights is a bit steep, but since I am splitting the cost with my friend, we can tolerate it.

So, tell me everything...

Customer Service?....
Quality of vehicles?...
Speed of check in at the counter? Do they have a "kiosk", like Alamo?....
Anything else?

Since I will be partaking in a little "adult hydration" on the inbound flight, I will be taking DME and my friend will be renting the car. She is also a "rental car virgin" so I have tried to give her a heads up on some of the major landmines. We are arriving at MCO at 4:30pm on a Thursday, if that matters.

First, I told her do NOT take the insurance, no matter what they say. She has already confirmed with her insurance agent that she does not need it. I warned her that they may say it is "mandatory" or offer you "just the basic coverage", but I advised her not to accept ANY insurance.

Second, since it is just the two of us and DME is handling our luggage, we do not need anything bigger than what we reserved. I told her NOT to "pay just a little more" for an upgrade. If they want to give us a bigger car, great, but we are NOT paying for it. If we needed a midsize, we would have booked a midsize. How are the cars assigned with Dollar? Do you go out and pick from the lot or do they assign you a specific vehicle? We did not do the "lock and low" or whatever it is.

Finally, I reminded her to thoroughly check the car for any damage and either take pictures and/or have the lot attendant (do they have those there?) sign off on any damage.

Am I missing anything? Oh, tolls...how many are there and how much will she need between MCO and Pop Century? I've heard about rental cars with the EZPass thingy in them. We don't want to pay for that so do we have to do anything in particular?

Thanks in advance!

I've rented from Dollar several times out of MCO and have nothing but props for their ease of service and quality of vehicles.

Your advice about the insurance and "upgrade' are right on target --- Everyone I've ever rented from @ MCO reeeaaalllly pushes that insurance (even going so far as to tell you about some "Florida specific law" that causes your personal auto insurance to be void to scare you into their insurance). I have also checked with my insurance carrier on this issue and they are basically lying to get money --- ALL of the agencies do this, as far as I can tell.

As for the upgrade, when they are really pushing that upgrade it usually means they DON'T have the car your rented on the lot - make sure you have a print-out of your reservation on hand, and make sure it matches what they give you when they send you out to the lot. I haven't had any problems with them charging for an upgrade I didn't request, but it never hurts to double/trip check.

The Dollar rep will give your friend a parking space ID - that is the location of the specific car you're renting.


Since the advent of digital cameras, I definitely recommend taking some photos of any damage that is on the car at the time of pick up, and make sure the attendant marks it when you drive out. I haven't had any problems with Dollar trying to get me for some damage I haven't done, so I wouldn't be overly concerned about it - just the usual caution.

I can't remember how much the tolls are! It does depend on how you choose to go, as there are def ways to get there that are non-toll. I don't remember it being much tho - change, not dollars.

 

[agunders]

Your advice about the insurance and "upgrade' are right on target --- Everyone I've ever rented from @ MCO reeeaaalllly pushes that insurance (even going so far as to tell you about some "Florida specific law" that causes your personal auto insurance to be void to scare you into their insurance)

Actually, this is partially true. The actual law states every driver in Fla must carry at a minimum:

10,000 bodily injury for one person
$20,000 bodily injury to two or more people (this may have changed)
$10,000 property damage liability

If your insurance covers this for rental cars, you're fine, though I would have a copy of your insurance declaration showing this. If you don't have proof, then the rental company is obligated to make sure you purchase the coverage prior to renting you a car. However, if your insurance has this coverage for rental cars, you're covered. So you must have liability to drive the car, but your own insurance coverage will likely be fine.

The new push is Loss of Use coverage, which some insurance companies cover, some don't.

Rest of the advice is spot on.

 

[TomD]

rented from them at Sanford 2 weeks ago and had no problems.

 

[FINFAN]

I have rented from them in Tampa, Sarasota and Ft. Myers through the years no prob...only issue I have with dollar is the fees they hit you with if picking up at one locations and dropping at a different one.