March 2022 Car Rental Thread

[Halle]

I use the UCT method at MCO/Budget several times a year. No problem at all. Sometimes the line is 15 minutes or so, but it moves quickly. They also try a hard upsell of insurance, fuel, etc. I've always rented the cheapest economy car possible, I usually end up with a small SUV. My March trip is picking up at MCO, but dropping off at Daytona Beach(flight much cheaper). There was no increased cost for dropping at another airport.

Do you go the counter in the airport or in the garage?

 

[kydisneyfans]

Do you go the counter in the airport or in the garage?

The counter inside

 

[Southernswthrt]

I'll join in here! We have an 8 day rental in early March. I started out at $542 thru PL for an Intermediate SUV with Hertz. I've rebooked twice so far thru Costco and I'm currently down to $495 for Intermediate SUV thru Budget. I am looking at the UT site now and even though Budget is a little cheaper, Avis has some comparable rates. Both companies would save me over $200 (if I rented a standard car). I've read a lot of bad reviews about Budget - long lines, dirty cars, additional charges, etc. My preferred company has always been Alamo. I've always had good experiences with them but they are just way too expensive right now. So should I stick with Budget or book Avis? I've not been able to find a whole lot of info on recent Avis experiences. TIA
ETA: Costco rental for my dates is down to $478 this morning

 

[disneyholic family]

never mind - the clue in another thread was better - google "UT disneytickets" and it pops up...
and when i saw what it is, i forehead slapped myself

 

[ricosuave]

I'll join in here! We have an 8 day rental in early March. I started out at $542 thru PL for an Intermediate SUV with Hertz. I've rebooked twice so far thru Costco and I'm currently down to $495 for Intermediate SUV thru Budget. I am looking at the UT site now and even though Budget is a little cheaper, Avis has some comparable rates. Both companies would save me over $200 (if I rented a standard car). I've read a lot of bad reviews about Budget - long lines, dirty cars, additional charges, etc. My preferred company has always been Alamo. I've always had good experiences with them but they are just way too expensive right now. So should I stick with Budget or book Avis? I've not been able to find a whole lot of info on recent Avis experiences. TIA
ETA: Costco rental for my dates is down to $478 this morning

I'm in the same boat. We have only used Alamo. Only thing that worries me about Avis is reading about people being charged a full tank of gas even though they filled it up. Avis uses a digital system for measuring gas upon arrival.

 

[Donna M]

I'll join in here! We have an 8 day rental in early March. I started out at $542 thru PL for an Intermediate SUV with Hertz. I've rebooked twice so far thru Costco and I'm currently down to $495 for Intermediate SUV thru Budget. I am looking at the UT site now and even though Budget is a little cheaper, Avis has some comparable rates. Both companies would save me over $200 (if I rented a standard car). I've read a lot of bad reviews about Budget - long lines, dirty cars, additional charges, etc. My preferred company has always been Alamo. I've always had good experiences with them but they are just way too expensive right now. So should I stick with Budget or book Avis? I've not been able to find a whole lot of info on recent Avis experiences. TIA
ETA: Costco rental for my dates is down to $478 this morning

Have both booked and keep checking and cancelling as you get the better rate. I have rebooked 20 times so far for a trip that starts in two days. Started at $550 down to $180 for a small car.

 

[tlg588]

Today though Autoslash I found a luxury car for 1 week starting 3/12 for $438 through Hertz. I was looking for a full or midsize but this appeared as the cheapest option. I had a full size already booked through Costco/Budget for $504.

 

[Southernswthrt]

Rebooked again today for a full size car thru PL with Hertz $427 used AutoSlash - just glad it keeps going in the right direction! Thanks Tig588

 

[Spunky946]

We are coming down 3/31-4/4 and staying off pproperty and have booked a rental car through Costco. It keeps dropping by $5-$6 per day, so I keep making a new one and cancelling an old one. I wonder how low it will go.

 

[tlg588]

My rental through AutoSlash/Priceline dropped from 438 to 425 for a Lux. Again, I was not looking for a Luxury but it is cheaper than a fullsize. Rental period is 1 week starting 3/12.

 

[tlg588]

Not much happing on this thread lately. Prices are higher now than the last time I posted here, though they have started to inch back downward the last few days. I bit the bullet and bought a drink and booked through UT a few days ago. Budget standard class, 3/12-3/19, $250 including the price of the soda. But I have to wait inline at the counter in the terminal.

 

[snowangel72]

THANK YOU A MILLION TIMES OVER for posting about UT! You saved the day!!!! Woot! Woot! I am very very happy!!!!! YAYAYAYAYAY!!!! THANK YOU! We booked a minivan today for $409

 

[kandb]

Budget at MCO has horrendous reviews. We have a car booked there in 3 weeks. Many reviews say there is a 2 hour wait for a car at the counter. After flying in and it being dinner time, no way we want to wait for 2 hours to pick up the car. Avis doesn't seem to have as poor reviews. If we booked Avis, can we get pick up faster by avoiding the counter?

 

[Belle5]

Budget at MCO has horrendous reviews. We have a car booked there in 3 weeks. Many reviews say there is a 2 hour wait for a car at the counter. After flying in and it being dinner time, no way we want to wait for 2 hours to pick up the car. Avis doesn't seem to have as poor reviews. If we booked Avis, can we get pick up faster by avoiding the counter?

Have you read through this whole thread? Some people have mentioned that you can’t apply a Wizard number with Avis and still get the UCT rate. That’s the only way I know of that you can avoid the line and it won’t work with this rate from what I’ve read. We do prefer Avis over Budget.

 

[emilymad]

We agree with the horrible reviews of Budget at MCO at least. We are considering the UT deal but the wait at the counter may not be worth the cost savings. I have used the UT deal at other airports with Budget with no issues but you always have to go the counter.

 

[kandb]

We agree with the horrible reviews of Budget at MCO at least. We are considering the UT deal but the wait at the counter may not be worth the cost savings. I have used the UT deal at other airports with Budget with no issues but you always have to go the counter.

Yes, it seems like the very bad reviews for Budget are at MCO in particular. We are flying in a Friday night at around dinnertime and don't want to wait for 2 hours to pick up a car. If it was just a few bad reviews, it would be one thing but it is many many bad reviews.

 

[tlg588]

Have you read through this whole thread? Some people have mentioned that you can’t apply a Wizard number with Avis and still get the UCT rate. That’s the only way I know of that you can avoid the line and it won’t work with this rate from what I’ve read. We do prefer Avis over Budget.

I can't find a way to apply my Wizard number either at UT or at the Avis website.
Others report adding Fastbreak numbers to Budget bookings made through UT. Several recent posts have shown this to now be impossible with the bundle discount from UT.

 

[ricosuave]

I purchased a Costco package deal and the rental is through Budget. Freaking out now . I've never rented through them before, but I was able to add the Costco reservation to my Fastbreak acct. Are you required to wait at the counter for your first rental? I was hoping to skip the counter

 

[migel]

This will be my first time using UCT. I paid a bit extra to book with Avis over Budget, but the price is still less than half of what I've been able to reserve through Costco. Back when I rented in October and November of last year, Costco rates were equally high, but they dropped closer to the rental date. This year, if anything, the rate's continuing to climb. I've always used the counter at MCO, and thus far, I've never waited more than 30 minutes. Maybe I've just been lucky. If all goes well, I'll be using UCT again in May. For the price of a Coke, it's an amazing deal!
BTW, I've rented with Budget before at MCO (through Costco), and never had any specific issues. Like most other companies, they occasionally try to hard-sell insurance and extras, but beyond that, no issues.

 

[corpcomp]

Wow! After reading in USA Today someone buying a coke through UCT and getting a great deal on a rental I had to try it. I've been looking for over a month on various sites. Prices were stupid high, like $400 for a compact car for 6 days. Then when I agreed to rent, I saw an $84 cancellation fee that would be charged only 24 hours after I booked. I immediately cancelled.

I recently bought a townhouse in Orlando and needed to get there to meet contractors fixing it up. But I needed a car.

So as crazy as it sounds, I ordered two AMC cokes through UCT (one extra for DW - hey I'm generous) and was able to get a full size car (Toyota Camry or similar) for only $262! No cancellation fee!! Just insane! I think it was National advertising the same car for $1200.