I was just wondering if any on here has rented a car in Florida recently?
I'm taking the nipper to Disney over Easter, and I'm having a hard time finding a suitable car hire deal.
Basically some companies throw up a final figure that includes a collision damage waiver and supplementary liability cover (or insurance as some call it). Some include CDW and SLI in the price, some don't, some won't even tell you how much CDW or SLI will cost until you're standing in the airport terminal picking the car up.
I'm happy to pay for CDW and SLI through the car hire company - I've tried third party policies in the past and had issues. I'm happy to go through the car rental company, but just having issues finding transparent pricing from anyone.
I literally just need an intermediate car with an infant's seat for 7 days.
I'm pretty confused to say the least and at this point I'd sooner just go down the route of recommendation. We're flying into Orlando (MCO) on 17th April 2017 - any help much appreciated!
Enterprise seems to have the most transparent pricing when I went in Jan. Sixt were also competitive but beware of add ons when you return the car.
For the extra insurance , Ive always used www.insurance4carhire.co.uk as they were the ones that came out with the best reviews.
I'd personally avoid Dollar at Orlando. They are often the company of choice for package holidays and my experience with them has been the longest queues followed by a tale of how they don't have the class of car you ordered and then trying to put you in something else (won't apply to you but they often run out of people carriers and then suggest you either have two cars or have to wait until the next day - unbelievable!) . Neither are ideal at the end of a long flight.
Last time I rented in the US I used these guys, they have deals with a lot of rental companies and were the best price at the time.
uscarhire.co.uk
Avoid Budget , every time I,ve been to Florida Ive been told the car I rented is not available and try to get me to upgrade or accept a car I didn't want, then couple of weeks after I return I've had extra costs taken from my credit cards, gave up chasing them in the end as got nowhere, last time I use them.
I was in Orlando late last year for two weeks and hired a car for the second week. Used a local company called Action Car Rental. Their price was competitive and the pick-up point (on I-Drive) was close to our hotel. They are also located at MCO.
https://actionrac.com/
We nearly always use Alamo, and will be again collecting from them at Orlando on Saturday. Never had an issue, prices have always been competitive and what is included is clear. Usually booked directly with them but this time I have gone through Netflights.com as it was a bit cheaper. I do have annual third party CDW excess insurance with worldwideinsure.com but haven't had to claim.
Thanks for the advice guys, going to look at these companies now - with the exception of Budget!
Regardless of which auto rental you end up booking, its a worthwhile effort to see if they are listed on Autoslash. Its an online service that notifies you if a cheaper rate for your rental pops up. Pretty neat.
http://millionmilesecrets.com/2015/0...n-car-rentals/
Alamo would get my vote.
In my experience they're straight up with none of the dodgy retrospective charging shenanigans when you've returned home and the drop off is always easy.
I tend to do the "return full" WRT fuel - just make sure you use a filling station not right adjacent to the Airport as pump prices there are typically much higher.
I've family in Fl and there's a guy who owns a fuel station South of the Airport who has been prosecuted many times for failing to display prices at the pump, (they are sky high, relatively).
He happily pays the fines since he rakes in so much cash from tourists filling up that it is well worth his while to continue!
Last edited by r1ch; 3rd April 2017 at 15:34. Reason: typo
ALAMO for me as well - I've used them in Miami and they were very good - no hidden costs. GF uses them all the time
Interesting thread. We've used Hertz for more than 10 years. They tend to raise their prices when the date of arrival gets nearer and nearer! Booking early is cheaper. But not interesting here, since you're planning a trip around Easter. My wife always uses Alamo when she's in Boston or Pittsburgh for her work. So this time (December) we use Alamo.
Menno
Dealing with car rental desks after a long flight can be awful so make sure you get a firm that has its cars on site so you can drive right off rather than being stuck in a hot noisy bus.
Flying into Sanford rather than McCoy is easier with Dollar just outside the airport exit.
I just get my son to meet me.
Cheers,
Neil.
Same story with Miami. But the worst thing is it allows rental companies to post that price as being the cost of local fuel and then making their return empty price look good value when it is still way over the topOriginally Posted by r1ch
Sanford is rather small with 'in house' car rental offices. A few years back, we had to change plans halfway through the holiday and were able to switch airline and airport. So the car (then Hertz) was returned to another airport than agreed when hiring. No extra charges, just a big smile and "we will take care of it, sir!"
Menno
We have been pleased with Alamo from Sanford and have hired with them a few times. They offer 10% discount for brits guide readers (£10 for latest copy on amazon) and include free additional driver, full zero excess CDW etc. I've never found better prices yet, and always check several brokers, and have never been asked to present a copy of the brits guide when collecting...
https://www.alamo.co.uk/partners/members/brits/
They are mostly similar - used most of them over the last few years.
Try and get one with the electronic toll booth device fitted - saves time if you are driving about a lot.
Always,always,always make sure you get CDW AND Third party damages insurance regardless of who you use.
Haggle.
When you look long into an abyss, the abyss looks long into you.........
Could hardly agree more, I have found Alamo (particularly the Miami airport branch) to be absolutely first class!
That's a really good idea! Lots of toll roads around Orlando!Try and get one with the electronic toll booth device fitted - saves time if you are driving about a lot.
Menno
We normally use Alamo too, and don't forget quidco!
Many thanks BaBa for this link and discount tip, just saved myself £70 for the cost of the 2015 guide book at £2.79, great result. Alamo quote was already the cheapest quote for the vehicle I required before the discount and for the same vehicle at Avis was £174.00 cheaper.
Alamo here too
You might gleen some good info here
https://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/
Used Alamo in November in Florida and very happy. Their full size family class will get you into a 7 seater Dodge Grand Caravan or equivalent. Would'nt be happy driving anything smaller over there to be honest especially beside all those Ram trucks.
Take a look st BA web site under car hire. They are a good example of all in prices so that you don't have to add the "necessary" extras the car hire staff will try to upsell. You can also order baby seat with them too.
Alternatively I vote for Alamo. Use them most of the time in USA and no complaints.
Have a great time - all of you!
Jim
I use Advantage. Their rates are good and the pick up/drop off is usually very quick and painless.
The prementioned tollbooth thingy is worth checking and a sat nav. Often pretty pricy for a holiday. Consider using your own TomTom with a SE USA roadmap.
The Alamo 'Tollpass' costs $3.95 per day with a maximum fee of $19.75 per rental, plus any tolls. It is usually worth it in my experience, and the price is similar or less than most other rental companies.
We collected a car from Alamo at MCO yesterday afternoon, it was all very slick despite it being quite busy, plenty of staff on duty and the paperwork side took less than ten minutes. Also threw in a free upgrade. They let you choose your own car from any within a given parking area - they scan it and your paperwork on the way out to match them up. That bit can take quite a while with family - all checking out the seating comfort, boot space, colour scheme and so on from numerous options...
Our youngest daughter still needs a booster seat, we just take one with us as we know that it is comfortable and it is cheaper than renting.
I've never rented a SatNav either. I used to take a Garmin with local maps added but now just use Waze on the smartphone. It works a dream with constant traffic updates but you need roaming data. An alternative is to download Google maps or similar in advance that can be used offline.
For the first time I have chosen the option to bring it back without a full fuel tank. I reckon that needs to be less than a quarter full on return to be worthwhile, which will not be much of a problem, and it saves having to factor in the time for faffing around refuelling near the airport at rip-off prices on the way back.
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