Dollar Rent-A-Car - Grab a good rate, then hang on with both hands.
Written: Jun 20 '05 (Updated Jun 20 '05)
|
Product Rating:
|
|
|
Pros: Good rate. Decent car. Quick service.
Cons: Hard sell on upgrading, collision waiver, insurance.
Added full-tank-of gas charge up front.
The Bottom Line: Dollar Rent A Car offered a good basic rental rate for a decent car. However, they pushed hard to get more dollars out of us.
|
|
|
| trailhound's Full Review: Dollar |
On a recent trip to New Mexico USA a friend and I needed to rent a car at the Albuquerque International Airport. Before the trip we did some comparison-shopping and found a good rate using Dollar Rent A Car. The rate was booked through Priceline.com over the internet about 3 weeks in advance. It was for an Intermediate size vehicle for a period of five days.
They quoted a price of $169, which included unlimited mileage but excluded taxes, fees, gas, second driver charges, any insurance, and anything else they would try to add on. I kept joking that we were getting a Yugo at that price.
When we arrived in Albuquerque we took a shuttle bus to the car rental facility from the main terminal, which was about 1 mile off-site. All the car rental agencies operate out of the same facility and use the same shuttle. We quickly found the Dollar desk, and there was no line so we got immediate service. A rental agent (who had dollar signs in her eyes) greeted us quickly and cheerfully. We had a print -out of the rental reservation from the internet and showed that to the agent. The Dollar Rent A Car agent said she had a very nice car waiting for us. It wasn’t a Yugo.
We had a choice of either a Ford Taurus or even a Chrysler 300! I believe that most of their vehicle are either Daimler-Chrysler or Ford products. My friend asked if these cars had the same rental rate as our reservation and the agent said there was a slightly higher rate for a vehicle that was more suitable for our needs. We quickly declined the higher rate and asked what type of vehicle we would get for $169.
She offered us a 2005 Dodge Stratus, but said that it had a small engine and may not drive well in the mountains. We thought the Dodge would be fine and said we wanted both of us listed a driver if the price wasn’t too high. She quoted an extra $5/day for having a second driver, which we agreed to. She wanted to see credit cards and driver’s licenses from both of us then processed the rental agreement.
After we agreed on the vehicle she turned up the heat on buying the Loss Damage Waiver, Personal Accident Insurance, and Personal Effects Protection. Since both of us have coverage through our own insurance policies we declined all those. She then said that if the vehicle was out of service that we would have to pay rental charges for every day that is was unrentable, unless we bought some other insurance. We declined that too.
The rental agent strongly suggested that we pay for gas up front, since the gas prices are higher off-site and theirs was "only $2.29/gallon". Although we declined this option, the tank of gas charge (almost $40) was added to the agreement anyway. Why? They said it would be removed only if the car was returned full, otherwise we would incur the whole charge even if it was slightly below full!
The agent mentioned that the vehicle had to be returned on the same hour that it was rented on the day the rental agreement ended. Otherwise there is a $14.99 charge per hour! We were then given a small piece of paper with a diagram of the car.
We were asked to mark on the diagram any pre-existing "damage" on the vehicle prior to usage. After signing the necessary paperwork we were offered some travel brochures and given the car keys. We quickly found the 2005 Dodge Stratus and thought it was fine. We then looked over the car with a fine-tooth comb and marked on the diagram every ding and tiny scratch the car had. We handed this in to the lot attendant and were off.
We found that the 2005 Dodge Stratus was fine for this trip. The trunk room was a little tight and it was a little underpowered for mountain driving, but we were not in a race to get anywhere. It was well maintained, clean, had about 7,400 miles on it, and looked OK too. Overall we were happy with the car and glad that we got a decent rate.
Upon returning the vehicle we filled up the tank before getting to the airport and noticed that we had only used up 3/4 of a tank. If we had prepaid for a full tank of fuel we would have spent more than needed; they don’t refund any extra gas in the tank if you paid for a full tank up front.
When we pulled in the rental return lot an attendant immediately came up. My friend mentioned that the agreement had a fuel charge and that we wanted it removed, which he did. The attendant then looked over the car (every square inch) looking for any dents, scratches, and probably a squashed bug. He didn’t find any though. The total bill was about $234 with all the taxes, extra driver fee, and surcharges they tack on, but the fuel charge removed.
Overall I was satisfied with using Dollar Rent A Car. We got a decent car at a low rate. Service was prompt and there were no delays. However, they did try very hard to sell the damage waiver, extra insurance, and a full tank of gas. I guess this where they rake in the extra money. I would use Dollar again, but next time I’ll be know that the hard-sell on extra fees is coming and I should be ready to tell them no, no, and no.
© trailhound. 2005.
Recommended:
Yes
|
|
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.