Car hire - please help - getting stressed!

[atc]

I am going insane! Can anyone help please? We have less than 2 weeks to go and i need to book a car from the airport for 2 weeks. I have looked at the review sites and all the car hire companies seem to have terrible reviews! Loads of them say that the companies take money from your credit card which you are not expecting and that there are many hidden charges. I have spent hours and hours trying to sort this out and i am getting head achey and grumpy now !!!!

Everything is ready apart from this! Can anyone recommend a good company to use please where i am not going to get stitched up and have to worry about it all my hol!

Oh...nearly forgot to ask.....I am also confused about which insurances we need to take out. And if we should do the full tank of petrol thing or not! ...... Wow - do i need a holiday LOL !!!!!

[OKWTink]

I've used many a car company, and have some horror stories myself.

To that end, I feel pretty comfortable with : Hertz (truly never a problem, they've gone way out of their way for me on more than one instance, off site, but the shuttle is very reliable). Enterprise: Slow, but they have never really been an issue. Alamo: No problems. Budget: Sticky about insurance, but other than that, no problems. Just be sure you can prove you have driver's/car insurance that is in effect when you rent the car.

Stay AWAY from EZ Car Rental, and places like that. Ugh.

Take a big breath and relax, ok? It really will be all right. :yes:

[Slowhand]

We always book ours through Virgin here in the UK.
They include all of the insurances you are likely to need and they use Dollar which we have found to be ok. Many of the rental companies will try to sell you extra insurance but we`ve found that we are more than covered with the Virgin package.
Nevertheless you will find loads of good, bad, and indifferent reports about all of the car rental companies I`m sure, but there really is no need to panic, you`ll be fine.

We also tend to go for the "full tank of gas" option. You will be able to fill up en-route back to the airport where you should have no additional charges to pay, but it`s worth checking your cc receipt when you hand over your car.

[clio]

We usually book with Airline Network, who use Dollar. Their basic package includes all insurances and you can upgrade to additional drivers and a full tank of fuel. We usually take the fuel option - if you think you are going to use a full tank then cost-wise it is about the same but it is much more convenient to know that you don't have to fill it up before you return it.

From what I have read car hire companies are among the worst when it comes to customer service so you just have to accept it and not get too stressed about it.

[uscwest]

I use National/Alamo almost exclusively with no problems. The Full Tank of gas option means that you DO NOT have to return it with a full tank.

[atc]

Thanks for all your help! Do i need to take out the gold insurance cover (or whatever the more extensive one is) or is the basic one sufficient?

[OKWTink]

Regarding the gasoline aspect, be certain you understand what it is you are to do. If you are meant to return it with a full tank and don't you will be charged an exhorbitantly high price per gallon!

I almost always go with the "don't need to fill the tank" option simply because it is easier.

[Slowhand]

The Full Tank of gas option means that you DO NOT have to return it with a full tank.
Maybe a confusion of terminology here methinks John.
By "full tank" option, I meant that you collect the car with a full tank of gas and you return it in the same condition...i.e. you DO have to tank up before you return the vehicle.

[OKWTink]

Yes, that is one option. It means you control the cost of gas! The other option (that lazies like me take :D ) is that you pay a flat fee and return the car on or near to empty. You are hedging your bets that the cost per gallon is comparable to the "real world." Sometimes it is, sometimes it's not!

[Slowhand]

Yes, that is one option. It means you control the cost of gas! The other option (that lazies like me take :D ) is that you pay a flat fee and return the car on or near to empty. You are hedging your bets that the cost per gallon is comparable to the "real world." Sometimes it is, sometimes it's not!

That`s the way I used to use Tink.
My only fear is that I`d run out of gas en-route back to the airport drop off, especially when the warning light starts flashing and you are no where near a gas station!

[OKWTink]

:eek: Yes, that would be a problem then! :yes: You do end up giving them a bit of gas, don't you?

I didn't do it last time I was in NY and ended up paying more per gallon than what the car rental place would have charged. :sigh: Can't win sometimes, eh? LOL.

[uscwest]

Maybe a confusion of terminology here methinks John.
By "full tank" option, I meant that you collect the car with a full tank of gas and you return it in the same condition...i.e. you DO have to tank up before you return the vehicle.
Sorry Terry you are right, confusion in terminology. Like Tink says you can pay in advance, at a reasonable rate, for that first tank full of gas, and then you can return it empty if you wish. :D

[Slowhand]

You do end up giving them a bit of gas, don't you?


Due to a hold up on the 528, my car was running on vapour by the time I reached the drop off point! :lol:

[GrammiePo]

I have used most every car rental at the air port with never a problem, I always gas up when taking it back as there are so many gas stations between Disney and the airport

[mrscopeman]

The key is to book a fully inclusive package but not the so called "extra" ones (that include extra named drivers, free tank of fuel etc). Alamo (UK)and Hertz (UK) both do this.

A lot of travel companies that give "free" car hire DON't do the insurance etc, so its not exaclty free and thats what gets a lot of people.

Also if you choose to book stateside, the price/package is usually different beacuse our cousins take more risks, or have more personal insurance (rather than car based like we have).

Don't forget UK side rentals have VAT @ 17.5% and stateside have local tax (charged when you pay) I think @ 7%??? So printed figures often for stateside look cheaper (but see above!!!).

We were once charge by Hertz for a car clean. Yes they took the money without telling me (though we left a CC imprint), but when I phoned up, I realised it was for our little girl who decided to be sick all over the back seat one trip.... (and it wasn't a cheap clean....)

[JuniorMickey]

Most of our car insurances cover us in a rental car (and many CCs give coverage as well) so we don't have to take the rental's insurance

[Dzneeprincss]

Hi-
I'm new here but hopefully, I can help with your dilemma. My name is Marie Lemmon and I am a Travel Consultant with TheMagicForLess.com travel agency. I have permission to post here from Joanne and hopefully will be able to answer any questions that come up regarding travel to Disney properties.

As far as car services go, I can personally vouch for SunRay Transportation. SunRay is a very reliable service and does round trips for a little over $100 but they also give you a courtesy stop for a half hour at a local grocery store. The cars are usually SUVs but if you have more than 7 in your group you get a van. The cars are clean and the drivers are safe, courteous and always on time. My daughter used them on her last trip and her plane arrived 30 minutes early they called her cell phone and told her they were on their way and then called me to apologized for not being there when her plane arrived. You can get in touch with SunRay or you can contact me and I will be happy to help.

Marie
The Magic For Less Travel

http://www.themagicforless.com/affiliates/link.shtml?affiliate=TMFL-UK (http://www.themagicforless.com/affiliates/link.shtml?affiliate=TMFL-UK)

[atc]

Thanks Marie - i actually want to hire a car for the whole 2 weeks though!

[Dzneeprincss]

Try National they are the official car of WDW.

[disneyger]

We use This site www.uscarhire.co.uk (http://www.carhire.co.uk) its very good you can decide which car rental company you want to use by the cost. It gives you the price for car rental from:Dollar,Avis, and hertz. You can also pick which insurance you want
silver or gold.

Dont forget to take your drivinglicence both parts {Paper and photocard}
Hope this helps the website is easy to use as it guides you step by step.

Geraldine

[leonaluvspooh]

Hiya,
We always use Alamo, but book through Auto-Europe in the UK.
We find them to be very competitive in price, and they offer the extra drivers and tank of fuel pre-pay for a few extra pounds.
The only thing they don't include in their package now is roadside assistance. So, it's worth checking with Alamo direct to see if they offer this, before you go.
We've never had any major problems. We had a flat tyre once (puncture), and had a replacement car brought to our villa.
When you get there, you get directed to a row of cars, and get to chose which you one take. Which is good if you are arriving fairly early on.
Anyways, hope this is of use to you.
Have a fab time!!
Leona.

P.S. I would be wary of usrentacar.co.uk - they offer cheap care hire, but often it's offsite collection to get the cheap deal, and friends of our say you get what you pay for!!

[Deb From London]

Hiya,

We've used Dollar and Alamo and have found them both to be very good.
Have a great time.

[PaulaK]

We always use USrentacar. At MCO the cars are onsite and you can choose which company you book with through them. We always go with Alamo/National so we can choose our own vehicle.

[kiltedwarrior]

We usually book through holidayautos and have never had a problem. They use Alamo and its nice to be able to pick your own vechicle. Last couple of times we've been upgraded for free (although they try their best to make you pay for the upgrade before mentioning it :rolleyes: ) We're trying Avis this year, mostly because they have locations at MCO/Port Canaveral so we can pick up/drop-off without too much hassle.

[atc]

OK - i've done it.....booked with Avis. My Mum used them and she said they were fine. I spoke to 2 people at their office who both said that no one would offer me any extras when we collect the car(i'm not convinced this won't happen - i'll let you know!) and that there are no hidden extras (again i'll let you know about that!)