Best company to rent car from?

[drhama]

We will be renting a car again this trip since we have 5 days outside WDW before we check in at POR September 26. We have rented a couple times from different companies. No issues. Liked not having to ride a shuttle to pick up the car as we usually arrive or leave very early in the am. Just wondering what experiences others have had and what you would recommend.

[epceddie]

We've always had good luck and have gotten the lowest prices with Dollar. We have an economy car booked for October and it's $149 for six days. The per-day rental is only $19 a day.
I'm a member of Dollar Express and I used a code {website and code removed per Terms of Service} to get that rate.
{Website removed per Terms of Service} has a lot of great info about the discounts that are available at all the agencies.
Check it out. Hope this helps.

[PAYROLL PRINCESS]

I usually use National. It's right at the airport, no bus to take to get to the car. And if you want to know how to sign up as an Emerald Club Member to save time and money, pm me and I'll give you the details.

[AirlineGuy07]

We usually rent from Alamo. They are right at the airport, its quick check-in by using their kiosks and you can pick any car from their lot in the car size catagory you booked. This Dec though I have tentatively booked through Thrifty because it was alot cheaper. Hopefully Alamo comes down because Dollar is an off airport location.

[Minnie Imagineer]

I took National/Alamo last time. I believe they are the same company...

[PhilHarHarMagic]

I've heard Avis has tolltags on their cars now so you don't have to stop at the toll plazas on the way. It's a minor thing, but if prices are the same, it might save you a little time.

[Ed]

...because Dollar is an off airport location.

Correction: Dollar is right at the terminal.

Following car rental companies are "on-site" - you pick up/drop off your car in the garage right across the street from the terminal:

Dollar
Alamo/National (Same company)
E-Z
Avis
L&M
Budget


All others are "off-site". You are picked up by a shuttle bus outside the terminal on level 1 and taken to the company's location, usually less than 15 minutes away. On return, shuttle bus brings you to the terminal.

[BritCody]

We have used Dollar and have no problems what so ever. We will be using Dollar again this October.

[Seasonscraps]

We used National a few times. They are conveniently located at the airport. I have luck finding coupon codes online and with AAA sometimes get an upgrade on top of that.

[Minnie Imagineer]

I took National/Alamo last time. I believe they are the same company...

I also remember that when we were trying to drive to the Orlando Airport, we had trouble finding the place where you return your car. It was located in a different place (they just moved it a few weeks prior).

[Polynesian Dweller]

We use AVIS now after some very poor vehicles from Alamo. We had 3 damaged cars in a row from Alamo. Perhaps Alamo is better now that AVIS bought them out (that's why they are now in the terminal by the way). AVIS prices have been good but the big thing is cleaner cars.

[drhama]

Thanks for all the info. For us right now it is looking like Alamo has the best deal. I don't think we have used them before. I am looking into some discount codes which could turn into a full time job. In the end, it looks like the "special deals" section on each site has the best rates. I still have some time, maybe something really good will show up.

[laprana]

We've rented from Alamo several times and never had a problem! We've always had clean, reliable cars that were pretty new - just a couple thousand miles on them or less. One of the good things about Alamo is that you can check in online before you leave, print out your information, and then when you get to the airport, you can just go straight to the cars and pick out the one you want! No waiting in line at the counter, no signing paperwork at the counter - you just show your printed info to the attendant at the exit and off you go! Couldn't be simpler. This past trip, I noticed that Alamo seemed to drop their rates just about every Wednesday...not sure why, but we started with a price of $400+ for a full-size car for 12 days, and by the time our trip was here, we had gotten the price down to just over $200. When you go online, you can reserve a car and it's not final until you pay for it, so you can keep modifying your reservation to get the lowest price possible.

[Ed]

Perhaps Alamo is better now that AVIS bought them out (that's why they are now in the terminal by the way).

Just to clarify, Alamo merged with National, not Avis. Avis is still a separate company.

[Polynesian Dweller]

Just to clarify, Alamo merged with National, not Avis. Avis is still a separate company.

You're right of course, I was confusing that with Budget Avis merger. Of course, neither of these is its own company, National/Alamo is actually owned by Vanguard Car Rental, and Avis/Budget formally was Cedant and now Avis Budget Corp. To make matters worse there's even more talk of mergers in the car rental field.

But back on topic, I still hope that Alamo is a better company than it was before merger and still recommend AVIS overall.