Orlando Car Hire

makfli

Looking for a recommendation for a good value car hire company out of Orlando airport for 12 days. Appreciate any help/advice.
Many thanks

sofireland

I booked through hertz.com found them good value as their quote includes all the liability waivers etc

Jonnykitedude

Do not go to the airport without renting a car. They will kill you on charges etc.

Been a number of times and i find http://www.usrentacar.co.uk/ best plus rates are the best I have found.

J

holly_johnson

Seconding Hertz. I've used them every year for the last 8 years out of MCO in Orlando.
They're only about 5 or 10 mins from the airport with a shuttle bus that takes you there and back.

TingTong

We are over here in Orlando at the moment, and the last thing you want to do after a nine hour flight is get on a bus and travel four or five miles to a hertz depot to collect a car. Go with www.usrentacar.co.uk they are the best value at the moment and are at the airport. Got an eight seat Toyota sienna for €195.00 per week, all insurance included. Bargain.

MarkHobBray1977

stay AWAY from Dollar...Utter cowboys !

ncmc

I found for our trip this year, www.carhire3000.co.uk were far and away the cheapest we could find. They are only a broker, so our car hire was with Alamo. They were far cheaper than Alamo's own webiste. We had no problems at all and they would be my first stop for future visits.

Your booking should include all the necessary insurance, they will try and upsell you when you pick up the car, so just make sure you know exactly what you've paid for and politely refuse any extras!

nochalito

I would use www.hotwire.com if you can. They have rates that are normally well below other sites. Your reservation will be with some random rental company at the airport. They have rates starting at 10USD for Orlando right now.

mackey087

we rented a dodge charger for 320 euro for 2 weeks. sat nav and fuel charge brought it up to 500 euro. used thrifty. they asked us if we wanted to pay a 50 $ for toll roads but we said no. ended up not going through any tolls. went down to miami, key west.

makfli

Many thanks to all . Very useful info.

denmar

Hertz gets our vote too. Tried loads of others over the years but Hertz the best. We also found that there is a a significent saving possibly up to a couple of hundred euro by prepaying when you book !! Oh I wish I was you heading off!!!

pebbles21

www.yescarhire.com

oakshade

Def Hertz and def pre-pay before you leave. But a word to the wise...I got caught for a speeding ticket on an 'off ramp' off the highway between the Hertz office and International Drive...total rooky mistake, the speed limit drops dramatically on the ramps. Unsympathetic cop didn't care I had just spend 12 hours traveling and was on honeymoon :-)

rakmator

I have rented cars in the States several times using www.Arguscarhire.ie
and www.autoeurope.ie

Both companies are reselling car rental services of other big companies such as Hertz. Sometimes, I try to compare prices between several companies, but in the last year or two, the Arguscarhire and Autoeurope always give me prices lower than any other companies.

Now, the car hire price per day is not the only expense, when you collect a car they always tend to sell you things as extra insurance and gps, and so on. The extra insurance option would often cost the same as the actual car rental. In case of the two companies that I mentioned earlier, when you get a quote for your days, have a look if there are any cars with "ZERO EXCESS", in that case you do get insurance which covers most things except for roof and wheels (but as with any of the insurance options that are being sold by the carhire companies, you have to read the small print). However, I generally, find this to be the safest choice - renting a car with the "zero excess" option.

A few weeks ago I rented a car through Arguscarhire.ie and originally booked the cheapest car I could get with the zero excess option (not all cars listed will have this option), and I was offered to book a Toyota Yaris, or any other economy compact class car. It turned out to be a car with Thrifty (you will find out the name of the actual company only after you book it).

When I went to collect the car at the Thrifty desk at the airport in Orlando, the lady at the counter tried to upgrade me to a larger car ('oh, you booked a really tiny car, sir, but for just 10 dollars a day extra, I could get you something a little bit better'), to which I said I did not want to upgrade, and that in fact I wanted a Yaris (cheaper to run, and I am used to driving one here in Dublin). She tried to sell me some extras such as the rental of a GPS device, but I brought my own.

Now, the most interesting part. When I came to collect the actual car, and came to the parking lot where my Yaris was supposed to be, there was no Yaris... In fact, in the entire place (Thrifty parking), I did not see a single economy class car!

What I was given was a Jeep Compass, a jeep! The whole theatrical performance of the lady at the counter was to persuade me spend a few more dollars

PS: About six months before that, I booked another car through Arguscarhire in San Francisco. I also booked an economy car, and got yet another one of these huge jeeps with oversized engines... At least petrol is cheap there

makfli

That is really useful information , thanks. I am very confused about the insurance options. LDW, UMP, SLI etc. Any advice on this one ?

ba oom bop didi

carrentals .co.uk are worth a try. They have a lot of companies feeding into their engine. They are a broker so its cost comparison. Auto europe worth a look too. Keep in mind they are brokers so you will not know who you are picking up from til you book

hertz with their never lost gps.
Book it in advance at mco orlando either via hertz.ie or by ringing their dublin call centre.

clonmelguy

Staying in Lake Beuna Vista in June. Would you need a car for the two weeks? If so is it best to book here or wait till you get there and maybe book for a few days?

ncmc

Are you staying in a hotel in LBV Clonmelguy? If so, there is a good chance that it will include complimentary shuttles to the parks.

However, I wouldn't dream of going to Orlando without a car. Things are very spread out compared to Irish cities and I think you would be very much a prisoner in your hotel if you didn't have a car. Do bear in mind though that although car hire is quite reasonable, the theme parks charge $12 per day parking, so include that in your budget if you do decide to rent a car.

Also, Orlando is baking hot in June, I can't imagine anything worse than standing in the heat waiting for a shuttle or bus. Nice to just get in your own car and blast on the air con!

makfli

Just back from a 10 day trip to Orlando. You definitely need a car. I arranged before I left with uscarhire.co.uk. This filters out the best options from all the major firms. I ended up booking through Budget and every thing went very smoothly. Good rate as well. You can also preregister online which means you beat the queues at the desk and go straight to the car park and pick up the keys from the booth.