Views On Alamo Rent A Car?

[marcopolo]

In August I will be spending two weeks in California with my wife and daughter. We'll be flying into San Francisco, and out of Los Angeles. We'll be renting a car for those two weeks, and have been checking out rates on the internet. The lowest by far is Alamo (about half the cost of the next cheapest). I've also checked out their locations at each of the airports. There's an in-terminal counter in San Fran, and car lots at both airports are easily accessible by shuttle.

 

I've never used Alamo, but am persuaded by the low rates. Has anybody here rented from them? If so, was it a positive experience? Any reason not to try them?

[4wheeldog]

Just make sure you are comparing apples to apples as far as the class of car. Amazing what passes for a "Full size".

Otherwise, I have used Alamo several times and have found them to be the same as the others. Enjoy your visit.

[mrduck]

Check out the milage charges as you can run up some miles in two weeks,might be better off with more up front charge and unlimited miles

 

( And bring your gps and radar detector with ya! )

 

 

 

[philbytx]

Been using them for years, competitive rates and decent service. They are sometimes a little "intense" on selling you their CDW insurance and pre-paid gas at the counter, which is why I book mine on the Internet. If I use them for pleasure, I "self insure" using my own insurance rather than use their CDW insurance.

[marcopolo]

Thanks all. I have booked a car from Alamo through their own website (same rate as other sites such as Breezenet etc., and far cheaper than the competition). It's unlimited mileage; I've skipped their CDW (covered by my credit card company); and I've done the online check-in, so hopefully I'll avoid the hard sell at the counter. And yes, I'm bringing my GPS, though I've been to California half-a-dozen times now (last summer on the RT), and my wife is a great navigator using maps (remember those?).

[Mike]

I've never used Alamo, but am persuaded by the low rates. Has anybody here rented from them? If so, was it a positive experience? Any reason not to try them?

 

I travel a fair amount of time in my job, but don't have much of a voice in which car rental company is booked for me (my employer requires the lowest price almost always wins).

 

I've rented from a lot of car companies and most of my bad experiences have been with Alamo. Generally the problems revolve around not having the class of car that was promised, and very little effort on the part of the Alamo agent to do anything about it. The usual response is a "take it or leave it" attitude, with not a lot of emphasis on customer service. I'd also note that the cleanliness and quality of their cars are generally a big step below the more expensive companies (like Hertz and Avis). I've gotten cars with cracked windshields, scraped paintwork, and illuminated check engine lights.

 

Alamo has, in my experience, been a serviceable option, but the lower rates net you a lower level of service and a car that's often in fairly poor condition. I've never gotten stuck by the side of the road because of these problems, and most of the time they have something available, so I can complete my business, but they're not at the level of the higher-priced companies. So, I'd recommend Alamo with the understanding that the product is of lower quality, but serves the purpose.

 

I always do a thorough walk-around of any rental car before leaving the lot, but with Alamo I would be very careful in doing that and making sure you note all damage with the agent before driving away.

[marcopolo]

Thanks Mike; I'll keep that in mind, and do more than a cursory walk-around.

[4wheeldog]

For driving in Ca, remember to pack a bunch of adrenaline filled syringes......The pace can be frightening for those who are not well practiced.

[Lynn]

So, I'd recommend Alamo with the understanding that the product is of lower quality, but serves the purpose.

 

I always do a thorough walk-around of any rental car before leaving the lot, but with Alamo I would be very careful in doing that and making sure you note all damage with the agent before driving away.

 

I agree 100%-and have had the same experience. When I travel I have Hertz a majority of the time becaue of the NeverLost system. The small number of times when it has not been necessary and I have gotten stuck with Alamo, I have not been thrilled with the service. The car was servicable-but not as clean or nice as the big guys. And they have tried to get me to pay the full price when they have provided a lower vehicle class and they have tried to charge me for an upgrade when they coudn't provide anything but a higher grade of car.

 

Hertz didn't even try to charge me extra the times I got the Jaguar...which, I guarantee you, my company would NEVER pay for one of us peons to drive!

 

And, while I am always careful to note everything in the walkthrough, I am even more careful with Alamo because the cars have more things to note-so it would be easier to miss something.

 

Personally, if the price difference was pretty substantial, I would be willing to rent from Alamo for a vacation; however, if the price difference was relatively small, I would stick with the bigger companies like Avis or Hertz.

[Mike]

And they have tried to get me to pay the full price when they have provided a lower vehicle class and they have tried to charge me for an upgrade when they coudn't provide anything but a higher grade of car.

 

I have had that same experience. If you argue enough, they'll back off, but that shouldn't be necessary. It's a good idea to print off your original confirmation and have it with you.

[marcopolo]

The rate at Alamo was literally half that of the second cheapest (out of about ten companies, including the big, well known ones like Hertz). At BreezeNet.com, Alamo's rate for a "mid-sized" car was $188/week (before surcharges, taxes etc.); Hertz was $574/week; Budget $539/week; and National was $396/week. To be fair, I only checked some of these quotes with the companies' individual sites. For the ones I checked, the rates were the same as those on Breezenet, though it's hard to imagine the difference could be that much for some of them.

 

After booking online, and then going through the optional online check-in procedure, I was advised I had to print off a copy of the agreement (7 pages) and bring it with me when I picked up the car.

 

I guess there's a price to pay for a substantially lower rate, but it is for a vacation and it is coming directly out of my own pocket.

[MikeRC]

Mark:

 

You might want to try a different location next time. My last 2 visits to San Francisco I have rented from the Pine Street Hertz location. It is conveniently located 2 blocks from the west end of the California St cable car. I paid 2/3 to 3/4 of what the same rental was picking it up at the airport or a downtown hotel.

 

But there is always a cost to convenience.

 

Mike Cassidy

[marcopolo]

Mark:

 

You might want to try a different location next time. My last 2 visits to San Francisco I have rented from the Pine Street Hertz location. It is conveniently located 2 blocks from the west end of the California St cable car. I paid 2/3 to 3/4 of what the same rental was picking it up at the airport or a downtown hotel.

 

But there is always a cost to convenience.

 

Mike Cassidy

 

Mike, I thought about that, but we're staying in Sausalito and figured we'd avoid a hassle by getting a car at the airport. Had we been staying in San Fran, we probably would not have rented a car right off the bat, since we'd probably have spent the first few days on foot. We stayed in Sausalito last summer (when we there on the bike), and it was an enjoyable 30 min ferry ride across to SF.

[Mike]

I guess there's a price to pay for a substantially lower rate, but it is for a vacation and it is coming directly out of my own pocket.

 

You'll be fine. Don't sweat this too much. Like you, when it's coming out of my pocket I also watch my dollars pretty carefully and I would personally choose Alamo under the circumstances you describe. I would just do so knowing I might have to stand up for my rights at the rental counter.

[Lynn]

Given that price and the $$$ coming out of my own pocket-I would pick Alamo as well. For that kind of difference, I can deal with the possibility of a dirty car, or a rude attendant. Especially since they are not certainties-just possibilities.

 

Have fun!

[bakerzdosen]

Well, I'll just pass on my experiences. I rent cars a lot, and have received two collections notes from rental car agencies. One was Alamo.

 

With that said, I've got an Alamo car outside right now. (I think. If not, that was last week. )

 

Anyway, I'm kinda like Mike in that I get around, and I don't get to pick my rental cars - price always wins for my employer.

 

I've probably had several dozen good experiences with Alamo. However, a few years ago (2003), I had a bad one.

 

I was in LA, and I had some sort of Mitsubishi rental from them (from LAX.) Everything went fine, until the end. I (well, "we" as my now X-wife flew out for the last two days and was with me) was driving back to LAX on the 105 between Lynwood and Inglewood when the car just died... at 65 ( ) mph. The car had gotten INCREDIBLY good mileage as it still had a half a tank. Then it dawned on me, that the gas gauge was broken, and we were out of gas. I was able to get it started, and coasted down the exit. I flat out ran the stop sign and coasted into a 76 station 1 block north of the freeway. The gauge once again showed it was full, but the tank took 15 or so gallons (a full tank).

 

 

We got back to the airport just fine. When I dropped it off, I told the people there of the problem, and then didn't think a thing about it.

 

Until...

 

I got a repair bill in the mail from Alamo corporate. It was like $1200 or so.

 

I called them, and they said that Alamo LAX had reported damage to the car and that I owed them for the repairs. So, I called Alamo LAX. They told me there was no problem. They had no record of my owing them anything. They told me to ignore the bill.

 

So, I did.

 

Until I got a letter from a collections agency.

 

It was at this point that I went on my honeymoon. As luck would have it, we ended up sitting next to a customer service supervisor for meals on our cruise. I mentioned my problem to her and she said "see, this is why I don't tell people what I do. I always get complaints like that."

 

Suffice it to say, when we got back, I faxed her the collections letter and my explanation of the story and the problem just went away.

 

Things have gotten better with Alamo since they were purchased or whatever by National.

 

If it were me, I'd risk it, but I'm a cheapskate too, so YMMV.

 

If I can avoid it, I use Avis, Hertz, or National. I've had problems with Budget, Alamo, Thrifty, and Enterprise. But you pay more for the first 3... Go figure.

[ShovelStrokeEd]

I too, rent a lot of cars. Company rules state I can't bring my bike to a customer's site so I have to rent a car when I get to my destination city. Sometimes, I have to fly as well and then it is first tier rental car companies for me, primarily Hertz as I'm 5 star Gold with them.

 

I haven't paid more than $250/wk for a full sized car in the last 5 years or so and that includes some "prestige" cars and prime cities. I take whatever discount is available and do shop amongst Avis, Hertz, Budget. Frequent flyer partner discount is usually the best amongst AAA, AARP, etc. 48% on my last 3 week rental from Hertz out of Palm Beach at the height of the tourist season

 

When traveling on the bike, I use Enterprise as all my mileage will be short, local trips and I could care less about the cage. Cars tend to be older and not as nice in terms of amenities but, I only use the thing from the hotel to the client and back. I can live. Their prices are similar to my discounted Hertz cars and they come get me at the hotel and drop me back off when I'm done with the car.

[Helga]

We use hotwire for car rentals. The rentals are generally cheaper and we haven't had any problems with any of the vendors that we had including Alamo.

[marcopolo]

We use hotwire for car rentals. The rentals are generally cheaper and we haven't had any problems with any of the vendors that we had including Alamo.

 

I tried Hotwire, but they don't do one-way rentals (pickup in San Fan, and drop off in LA).