Florida Car Hire

[dunning]

hi everyone
going on a family holiday to florida at the end of august,
i was just wondering if anyone can reccomend a cheap car hire place?
never been to usa before so any tips on the whole hiring process would also be good.
i will be flying into sanford and we'd like 2 cars.
thanks in advance

[S7Paul]

dunning said:

hi everyone
going on a family holiday to florida at the end of august,
i was just wondering if anyone can reccomend a cheap car hire place?
never been to usa before so any tips on the whole hiring process would also be good.
i will be flying into sanford and we'd like 2 cars.
thanks in advance

I've used Alamo & Dollar, and both have been fine. I always book in advance on the net. Last year the guy at the airport desk was amazed at the price I'd got when I booked, and said that if I had booked it there and then it would have been nearly twice the price. Incidentally, why do you need 2 cars?

[Roo]

I've used carhireagency.com several times on trips to the US. Never had a problem with them and always had good service.

[autoholic]

I've used Hertz quite a few times. Joined their loyalty club, for free, and didn't have to queue with the "riff raff" at Sanford. Avoided a 2hr wait last time!! Also got a discount too. Why did I use them? They were the only place I could get a Mustang convertible at the time. Now I'm Gold Club so no "or similar" for me and the car is ready and waiting at the check-in. Oh, and that didn't cost me anything either.

Whoever you choose make sure get all the insurances, a few $ up front could save you loads if something bad happened.

Have a great trip and get down to the Keys if you can!

[Battenburg Bob]

I've used Holiday Autos in the past and they have been quite a bit cheaper than going direct to the rental firms.

[Deva Link]

I usually use http://www.usrentacar.co.uk - and they're widely recommend on the Disney forums.

For the last few years they've had offers with Alamo where you can get a 7/8 seater SUV at a reasonable price (around £400 all in for 2 weeks) and I've booked that. Some people like to gamble and reserve the cheapest compact for around £250 and then hope they either get offered or can blag an upgrade.

Whoever you book with, either an agency or direct with a car rental company, if you book in the UK then it usually includes all the insurances you'll need.

[yellowbentines]

I've used the agent www.uscarhire.co.uk which was cheaper than booking direct with hire firms, good rates inclusive of all insurances, I took the car through alamo as you get to choose your own car from the slection they have available in your category (e.g. for convertible you might get a row of ford mustangs and chrysler sebrings, then you choose what you want).

[davidjpowell]

Hertz at Sanford are good, and I have found that the tour operator's tend not to use them. First Choice use Dollar and I remember a previous visist when a good proportion of the plane were waiting to pick up their car.

Can't comment on rates too much asd had a special rate, but would say if a holiday includes a free car, it won't be so free with the needed insurance. I actualy found it cheaper to use hertz than pay for a decent car with the insurance.

[Rollin]

yellowbentines said:

I've used the agent www.uscarhire.co.uk which was cheaper than booking direct with hire firms, good rates inclusive of all insurances, I took the car through alamo as you get to choose your own car from the slection they have available in your category (e.g. for convertible you might get a row of ford mustangs and chrysler sebrings, then you choose what you want).

Agreed. I've used them 3 times and had no problems. Price they show is the price you pay (no hidden extras on pick up). Always been cheaper than anywhere else too.

[SLacKer]

Have used these http://www.floridacarhire.net/default.aspx several times and they provide a complete range of rates across multiple brands. They also offer a complete insurance package so no hard sell at the counter.

[whirligig]

We just got back from Sanford yesterday and used Dollar - they tried to fob us off with an Hyundai Sonata (which was classed as a full sized family car) but we upgraded to a new Dodge Nitro (well, you have to have a big car in the States don't you!). It was quite slow getting the car but the drop off was great and straightforward and very near the terminal. We brought our own booster seat with us for the youngest child and glad we did as the couple in front of us wanted to hire one and it seemed to be a bit of a hassle.

BTW Sanford Airport was great - nice and small and quickly negotiated and Tom Tom took us out and on our way to Lake Buena Vista quickly and smoothly.

[v15ben]

Battenburg Bob said:

I've used Holiday Autos in the past and they have been quite a bit cheaper than going direct to the rental firms.

I'd second that. They are also good for younger drivers too as they have reasonably low age limits for the better models.