Thrifty rental?

[briarberry]

I only need a car for 3 days and Thrifty has the best rates for my dates. I see we have to take a shuttle to the lot at the airport. I am not fussy about what kind of vehicle I get. I won't be spending a lot of time in it. I would appreciate any advice about this company and the shuttle. Is it a hassle? Last time I rented from National and the line at the airport was long and slow! Thanks in advance for any help.

 

[PooohBear]

I used Thrifty last year and had about a 5-10 minute wait for the shuttle, it was not inconvenient at all and we were in and out very quickly because we signed up for the Blue Chip card

 

[molly2004]

We rented from them in October. I was a bit skeptical as well. To sum it up, customer service is not their forte. Other than that, the car was perfectly functional, clean, and if you sign up for Blue Chip, no one pushed insurance.

I have two bits of advice. First, and this would apply to any car rental company, is to take the time to look the car over thoroughly. We had arrived for pickup at 1 AM and the lot was very poorly lit. We didn't see two dime sized dings on the car until the next morning. Thrifty's customer service line is ridiculously bad. We could never get through to report it. As a result, I was stressing the whole time, thinking we'd get charged. Even after we returned the car, filed the report, etc. I felt that I should have been able to get through my vacation without being put in such a stressful position. If they'd only answer their darn phone! That said, I was never charged, but it would have been nice to get through my vacation without stress.

My second bit of advice is to get your own map and figure out where you're going in advance. Every car rental company I've used before had full color maps and the reps always showed me how to get to my destination from their lot. Not Thrifty. They threw me a xeroxed copy of a map that you could barely read and sent me on my way.

So as long as you're okay with basically picking up your car and never speaking to Thrifty ever again, it'll be okay. If you need the reasurrance of being able to contact them for any reason, consider looking elsewhere.

 

[jiminy14]

We rent from Thrifty all the time in Orlando and have never experienced a problem. The shuttle on our last visit (January) ran a little slower as it now makes a stop in a parking lot before proceeding to the Thrifty lot. I think my DH waited about 15 minutes for the shuttle. In the past, he waited 5-10 minutes.
We usually book a full-size car and have been upgraded on our last three rentals to a premium car and twice to a mini-van. We were only charged for the full-size car.
Make sure you sign up for their Blue Chip program on their website as previously posted. The line is much shorter and you don't get the insurance sales pitch.

 

[QT Pooh]

Hi, just got back yesterday from an 11 day rental with Thrifty. We had no problems whatsoever. It took about 10 minutes for the shuttle to arrive when we arrived at 10 pm on a Wednesday night in January. It was the first day of the Builders Convention in Orlando and we saw several shuttles from Enterprise and Hertz before seeing our first from Thrifty. We also had Blue Chip so once we got there, it was handing over Blue chip card, license and credit card, sign here and initial in these two places - here's your keys - your car's in space 57 right through these doors (in and out in less than 2 minutes - no lie). We rented a mid-size but got a PT cruiser (bright blue...which was great since we ALWAYS knew where we parked). Only drove it back and forth to the parks so as long as it could get us there and back, that's all that mattered!

Upon returning at 8 am on a Sunday, drove right into the lot, grabbed our luggage out of the back, the guy came right over, checked the fuel guage and the mileage, gave us a receipt for 27 cents less than our 'agreement' price and there were three shuttles waiting to go to the terminals.

For 11 days it cost us $203.46 including all taxes & fees. I would absolutely rent from them again.

 

[molly2004]

We usually book a full-size car and have been upgraded on our last three rentals to a premium car and twice to a mini-van. We were only charged for the full-size car.

I guess this would apply to any car rental company. We booked an intermediate-size car as well. We prefer the comfort of a larger car. Since it was just the two of us, they down-graded us. We were charged accordingly, but it was unexpected and disappointing.

 

[maux]

My trip in March will be the 5th time i've rented from Thrifty in Orlando, and I've never had any problems at all. If you're planning on renting from them, make sure you sign up for their Blue Chip program, it'll save you a ton of time at the counter!!


maux

 

[travlnman1]

How long is the shuttle ride?
Are the cars on the airport lot or off airport?

 

[briarberry]

Thanks for the helpful information. I think I will go ahead and book with them. I will definitely be signing up for the Blue Chip program.

 

[jiminy14]

Molly 2004...We used to rent from National and Dollar at the airport and we never received any type of upgrade from either company. As a matter of fact, National tried to give us an intermediate car once claiming that it was a full-size. Thrifty has been the only company at MCO that has upgraded us for free.

 

[WillCAD]

How long is the shuttle ride?
Are the cars on the airport lot or off airport?

The shuttle ride is only about 5 minutes. The Thrifty lot is just outside of airport property to the north, in a business district with hotels, gas stations, cargo facilities, etc. It's not difficult to find your way from Thrifty to WDW and back again.

 

[debknight]

Does Thrifty charge a fee for an extra driver?

 

[molly2004]

Does Thrifty charge a fee for an extra driver?

Don't know how much, but yes they do.