Best place to rent a car at the MCO? - Page 2 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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We generally go with what's least expensive of the big companies that are right at the terminal. Going off site is a pain. We've had good experiences with Budget and Alamo in Florida.
Have had bad experiences in the past with Thrifty and Alamo. Have rented from National and Hertz--have always had a good experience with them. Last time we rented from Hertz and stayed on property, our plane landed at 9:45 am. We collected luggage, took the shuttle, got the car rented, and were at WDW by 11 am. I can't really complain about that.
I know that every company tries to trade on brand loyalty, but let's face it, all the rental car companies are buying cars from the same manufacturers. Each company tries to distinguish itself in one way or another - on-site vs. off-site, "pick your own car," express check-in for club members.... At this point, I just go for the best price from a reasonably reputable company. Best price changes frequently, so I suggest you go to an internet travel pricing service like Kayak.com, and set up an account so you'll be notified regularly with comparison pricing from a variety of car companies. Go with the best deal.
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Thanks for all the suggestions! I've never rented a car so with all the companies out there its very confusing. Let's face it I'm going for the cheapest!
we have used hertz, alamo , L & M , and Dollar and the last time i used Alamo in dec and i got real luck I used the kiosk machine to check in then went across the street to get the mid size car . the lady told me to go to a certain area where they are and me being a wise butt i ask her jokingly is there is a mini van there do i get it for the same price she said yes and came with us and guess what i got a mini van for a full size price talk about lucky and a magical start !!!!
I know that every company tries to trade on brand loyalty, but let's face it, all the rental car companies are buying cars from the same manufacturers. Each company tries to distinguish itself in one way or another - on-site vs. off-site, "pick your own car," express check-in for club members.... At this point, I just go for the best price from a reasonably reputable company. Best price changes frequently, so I suggest you go to an internet travel pricing service like Kayak.com, and set up an account so you'll be notified regularly with comparison pricing from a variety of car companies. Go with the best deal.
I couldn't have said it better myself.
Stick with one of the major national companies, pick the cheapest rate for the size car you need, and you'll most likely have a satisfactory experience. I do prefer to rent from an on-site company whenever I can, but I used to rent from Thrifty when they were off-site at MCO and it wasn't bad at all (the Thrifty facility was very close to the airport and only took about 10 minutes to get there by shuttle bus). Of course, I rented from Alamo in 1999 and 2000, when they were off-site, and their old facility was a good 25 minutes away from the terminal, in the middle of absolute NOWHERE. It's much nicer now that both Alamo and Thrifty are both on-site.
Shopping for the best deal on a rental car can be a little time-consuming, however. The best way, in my experience, is to book the cheapest rate about 3-6 months out, and keep checking back about every week for lower rates. Whenever you find a lower rate, book it, then cancel the previous ressie. Cancelling or changing a ressie with a car company doesn't cost you anything until 48hrs before pick-up time; if you cancel within 48hrs, they will charge you a cancellation fee, usually equal to one day's rental cost.
Keep all of the coupons and codes you find, even after you book a car. Re-check them each; a discount code that saves you $20 today might save save you $50 next month, because the companies will put on sales at various times to boost their bookings.
If you have a BJs or Costco memebership you can get a discounted rate and they have coupons as well. Just make sure the coupons are valid for when you go.
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I've used Alamo, Budget, Dollar and National at MCO. But I always check Mousesavers for discount codes first and go with whoever has the best price. I also check Costco, and keep checking back to see if I find a better deal, which I almost always do. Mousesavers also has great reviews on the different car companies at MCO.
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First trip DW--Nov. 1975; Senior Class Trip DW--Oct. 1979; First trip w/kids--Oct. 1995; Halloween at DW--Oct. 2002; Spring Break at DW--April 2004; Christmas/Pop Warner Nationals-POR--Dec. 2005;Cruisin'--April 2008; Mom/Son trip-POP--March 2010;Taggin' along w/DD on DH's conference-BWI--Oct. 2011; 50th birthday with the Gartner Geeks--Adults only!--BWI--Oct. 2012; The Trip That Almost Wasn't--BWI--Oct. 2013; We climbed The Summit (National Cheer Competition)--ASMovies--May 2014
I booked a mini van through Enterprise back in Oct. for our trip in 3 weeks. It was $350 cheaper on average than any other company. I went back about to their website about 2 months ago and the same car, same time was up $250. Keep checking all the rental companies at different times, the rates seem to change for no reason. Good luck.
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