E-Z rental car!!??

SAV

Well-Known Member
I am confused - was your dollar experience pleasant or negative? lol

I consider getting a POS car that I had to spend over an hour of my vacation going back to MCO and returning it after waiting an hour in the rental line a big negative. At the very least they were going to upgrade me to a better car for my troubles. So getting the full size was nice, but didn't give me the time on my vacation back.

Also, the only way to check in on-line was to be in their dollar club, which had to be signed up for 72 hours in advance of your rental.
 

draybook

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
My friend Used them and they said there was damage on the car when she returned it but she took pictures of the car upon renting it so they were speechless.

Yeah, I always take a video (narrated by yours truly) when I pick a car up and when I drop it off.
 

draybook

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Figured I revisit this thread after my recent trip.

Even though they were the lowest price, I will NEVER rent from Dollar again. It was not a good experience. In the past, I was able to get our luggage, go to check in and I was off and driving within 20 minutes. With Dollar, I waited over an hour in line to get our car. While every other rental line in the airport was short. So as I sat there waiting after about 30 minutes, I had an idea...check rates at Thrifty since they were right next to us and had no line and are owned by Hertz, just like Dollar. Hmmm...Only a buck or 2 more expensive. But at this point, I was already over half way through(or so I thought) and figured it wouldn't be much longer of a wait. So I waited...and waited...and waited. Bad move in hindsight. They did start using the Thrifty lines to get Dollar people through. So I finally get up there and get my car paperwork. Of course they tried upselling me and trying to get me to buy their toll service. We finally get out to the garage to get the car and there are 2 compact cars left. A Ford Focus and an even smaller shoebox of some sort that wouldn't even fit 2 suitcases, let alone our cases, and carryons. So we quickly grab the Focus and head out. The car seems fine as we drive from the airport. We make our usual lunch and Wal-Mart stop and head to the resort. Seems good to go.

Fast Forward from the toll road driving to within Disney property. We get our room, drop the luggage and head to the parks. I start noticing the car not really accelerating well and kind of stuttering. I figure it may be due to the mid 90 degrees, so we just continue on. On the way back to the resort that night, a similar pattern. And since it is June in Florida, it is raining and the wiper blades are garbage and I can hardly see. Go to sleep and figure we'll deal with it tomorrow if it still a problem. It was. So I call Dollar about it and what to do. Since the car was drivable, my choices were to deal with it or drive back to MCO and swap it. Not exactly what I want to do, so I have them note it in our record and think about it. Since we were going to drive to Clearwater Beach later in the trip, I decide that it is best to swap it out. So after our EPCOT night, we head back to MCO to swap it out. Drive in and it is pretty empty since it is is late at night now. They direct us up front and without much hassle, they tell us to pick a mid-size for the trouble. Sweet. Go down the line to find one that we like...takes a while because this one has an odor, etc. Finally find one that is good and there is no wiper fluid...no biggie. Just ask them to fill it up. He says, "No, lets find you a better car with less miles". So we head to the full-size row and he starts checking several of them. Too many miles on many of them and finally gives us a very nice Chevy Malibu. I ask him what's the deal with so many questionable cars. He tells me "Since Hertz bought dollar, we get their junk cars". No wonder their prices are so much lower.

The rest of the rental was uneventful and I did end up with a Full-Size car for my 10 day trip for only $180 and an extra trip back to the Airport.



Wish I hadn't read this as I just realized that the new booking I made was with Dollar instead of Firefly....
 

SAV

Well-Known Member
Wish I hadn't read this as I just realized that the new booking I made was with Dollar instead of Firefly....

All is not lost. My suggestion is to take your time when selecting the car, check everything out thoroughly and take a couple of laps around the airport before you head off to the resort. Even go out onto Semoran Blvd and make some starts and stops in some of the hotel parking lots right by the airport. Take 15 minutes and make sure that everything is working fine before getting to far away. Just don't get a Red Ford Focus with a Florida plate. That's what I had the first time.
 

SAV

Well-Known Member
Also, If you do see a long line at Dollar, do a quick lookup of Thrifty and the price. Use the same codes and I'll bet you'll get the same price. Go to the shortest line and cancel the other one.
 

draybook

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Yeah, thrifty has the same price so I'm going to make reservations at both and cancel the longer line.
 

EOD K9

Well-Known Member
I've used just about all the major ones at MCO and haven't had an issue with Dollar, Thrifty, Alamo, or Avis. I know...I know....I didn't mention Hertz and Budget and Enterprise. They all own each other anyway. @draybook We once did NYOP and my bid was too low, about three days before my trip I get an email to try again. I checked the average going rates and gave them a ridiculously low bid and got a 4 day rental of a compact for just over $100. That's another avenue you may wish to explore. As long as you haven't prepaid the other reservations, you may luck out.
 

draybook

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
I've used just about all the major ones at MCO and haven't had an issue with Dollar, Thrifty, Alamo, or Avis. I know...I know....I didn't mention Hertz and Budget and Enterprise. They all own each other anyway. @draybook We once did NYOP and my bid was too low, about three days before my trip I get an email to try again. I checked the average going rates and gave them a ridiculously low bid and got a 4 day rental of a compact for just over $100. That's another avenue you may wish to explore. As long as you haven't prepaid the other reservations, you may luck out.


Yeah, the only reason I haven't done it so far is I don't want to prepay in case there's any issue with us flying. But once we're on the plane I'm going to try to lowball them.
 

EOD K9

Well-Known Member
Yeah, the only reason I haven't done it so far is I don't want to prepay in case there's any issue with us flying. But once we're on the plane I'm going to try to lowball them.
Sounds like a plan. A good tip is to also lowball what you don't need. A lot of families may only need a mid-size, which is in high demand and the company wont accept your bid. If you aren't picky, you can bid on an SUV or minivan and may possibly get that as they may be overstocked.
 

draybook

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
I was tinkering with NYOP earlier and popped in a bid of $28. It then suggested that I raise the price to $65. I would tell you people what I suggest IT do, but this is a family friendly site.....
 

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