Car Hire MCO

[triciacarole]

Do all car-hire firms at MCO give you the option to pick your own car as Alamo do?

[PaulaK]

No, Dollar don't and Avis don't. I believe National/Alamo are one now, so National do too. :)

[triciacarole]

Thanks Paula :)

[AlecK]

Budget don't either :)

[triciacarole]

We are probably going to be using Avis, that seems to be who airmiles are using now.

[Johnie]

National always has, that's why I like using them.

[triciacarole]

National always has, that's why I like using them.

Thanks Johnie, I will look at them, our car last week from alamo was a bit shabby :(.

[Johnie]

National and Alamo are supposed to be run by the same people but there is quite a distinction in customer service between the two. I've always had great customer service and cars from National.

Locally we use Enterprise. They are pretty good too. Not sure how they are in FL.

[triciacarole]

I used National a few years back and found their customer service to be good :)

[PaulaK]

Thanks Johnie, I will look at them, our car last week from alamo was a bit shabby :(.

I always look in several cars before we choose one. If I find one I like, I take the keys out to stop anyone else taking it and still check the others in case there's something better. :lol:

[triciacarole]

Some of the cars had big scuff marks on them or DH did not feel comfortable in the driving seat, but after we had taken the car it was apparent it had not been cleaned properly and there was a big gap between the top of the windscreen and the interior roof, where a spider lurked...I found to my cost on the final day :afraid:

[PaulaK]

Don't be afraid to swap it afterwards if it's not right, i'm sure you could do that at the Dolphin :thumbs: We had about 10 vans to choose from and at least 5 of them stank of smoke :sick: despite there being no smoking signs in them.......:rolleyes:

[triciacarole]

I know what you mean about changing it it just seems such a hassle and uses up our park time :)

[Johnie]

I always look in several cars before we choose one. If I find one I like, I take the keys out to stop anyone else taking it and still check the others in case there's something better. :lol:


:lol: we do that too!

[triciacarole]

So when there are no keys I shall go looking for Paula or Johnie :lol:

[PaulaK]

guilty :whistle:

[MPHARJ]

I always look in several cars before we choose one. If I find one I like, I take the keys out to stop anyone else taking it and still check the others in case there's something better. :lol:
Thats a good idea, :lol: With me and the kids we can get keys to 4 of them and then decide!:whistle: Just kidding, but it might be worth it to grab at least one set. Last year I yelled at teh kids to run to the car we had picked when we saw a bunch of others show up.

[uscwest]

I have been a member of National's Emerald Club for a good many years now. I love their service and the choice of cars. Several times I have booked a lower class of car only to get to the lot and find none and been upgraded free of charge.

[triciacarole]

That's good to know John.

I've actually found a good deal with Hertz has anyone had any experience of them?

[uscwest]

Hertz is a good company, in fact they are still #1 in the industry. I don't generally use them for a couple of reasons.

1. I'm not a FORD person

2. They are generally quite a bit more expensive than any others

[triciacarole]

Oooh, so since we have got quiet a competitive price it may be worth going for, thanks John :)

[jarretth]

If there is a mark on the car and you have a digital camera, always take a photo of it before you leave the airport and make sure it is obvious where the picture was taken. That way, if there is a dispute, you can instantly show them evidence that it was like it when you picked up the car.

[Midnight Storm]

Dollar have always been good about letting me pick colour and model, once you agree an upgrade, there are still 3 or 4 models which they consider the same, you may disagree, asking nicely seems to work. Last year this took us from a cherokee to a Durango

C

[triciacarole]

Doesn't it cost a lot to upgrade as opposed to paying for the larger car at the time of booking?

[Midnight Storm]

Last few times - no. to get the flight I wanted, you are lumped with the car as part of the package, E4 - large 4x4 (cherokee) was about £250 to upgrade, to do it a collection has cost $200 last 2 times out and I have been able to score a Durango both times which is not an offered upgrade.

If you can do the car booking yourself, the yes its cheaper to book often via the .co.uk version of your preferred supplier than from your holiday provider.

If you are lumped with the car as part of the holiday remember the platignum insurance gives you a full tank of gas for £25 or so more, you would pay for the tank over there at about $60 (more if you are in a 4x4) when you pick it up.

[triciacarole]

Last few times - no. to get the flight I wanted, you are lumped with the car as part of the package, E4 - large 4x4 (cherokee) was about £250 to upgrade, to do it a collection has cost $200 last 2 times out and I have been able to score a Durango both times which is not an offered upgrade.

If you can do the car booking yourself, the yes its cheaper to book often via the .co.uk version of your preferred supplier than from your holiday provider.

If you are lumped with the car as part of the holiday remember the platignum insurance gives you a full tank of gas for £25 or so more, you would pay for the tank over there at about $60 (more if you are in a 4x4) when you pick it up.

Thanks MS, we book the car hire by itself but this is good to know should we book a fly-drive :thumbs:. We do use the UK website as they include all the insurances needed too.

BTW I always find the agents try to push PEI on us I tell them we have holiday insurance so we don't need this, however I am now wondering if we are covered :unsure:

[pluto]

quite often I have found when paying for a full tank of petrol that most cars are only half full so it is find the car with the most fuel rather than what car we want

[Catherine]

Funny you should say that Pluto, we paid for the platinum last year with TCD, at the Dollar desk which was an absoloute nightmare, they said to us we had no air con in the rear and asked us to upgrade, i was not impressed and challenged him, he did back down but when we got in the car, we had no petrol, as we had drove out of the airport, we just couldnt be bothered turning around so filled up. However on return we asked to see the manager and he was very nice and refunded us £50..............

We found staff at MCO much better than Sanford and the service was much better.

[jmac]

we're with Budget this time - I'll post a report next Thursday after I've picked it up :)

[jarretth]

we're with Budget this time - I'll post a report next Thursday after I've picked it up :)

Budget didn't give me a choice when I went last September.

[AlecK]

Budget didn't give me a choice when I went last September.


We didn't get a choice with budget either at xmas and their service was very slow at MCO.

[jmac]

We didn't get a choice with budget either at xmas and their service was very slow at MCO.

Oh well - I'll let you know how it goes and if I don't get the car I want, I'll tell them I don't like the colour lol :hehe::hehe:

[jmac]

Well, I said I would report back on Budget.

Basically it wasn't pretty! I reserved through Homeowner Car Hire in the UK (someone mentioned that they were good).

The people were friendly but it took 3 more calls to get the car rental details confirmed. We got Budget as they had 7 seater mini vans that I checked on their web site had sufficient load space (we had a bit of DIY on the house planned :) ).

Got to Budget - no significant line to wait in - good!
Asked what kind of van we had been allocated - Chevrolet - seats not removable. Asked for a Ford like on the web site as we needed it and they didn't have any. Settled for a Dodge Grand Caravan like we usually get from Thrifty and went to collect it.

It was filthy had done 24000 miles and had an out of state plate (meaning I'm not from here so rob me!). I asked for a clean one since I had to live with it for 3 weeks. They had nothing so we eventually settled for the Chevrolet - it'll be interesting to see how I get 8x4 sheets of plasterboard/drywall in!! lol

So - Would I use Budget again - not so far - everyone was low morale and low energy and the cars matched.


Sorry for the downbeat report - but that's how it was! Back to Thrifty next time - cheaper, better cars and free days!