Car Hire Through this site

[ujpest doza]

How much is the full tank of petrol that has to be paid for in the all inclusive option for an intermediate car?

Is that the only thing that has to be paid on arrival except for child seats?

The child seat we had this year from Alamo was okay but a bit dirty and i had no help at all to fit it. Are the ones from Dollar usually a bit on the tatty (but safe) side as well? Has anyone pushed it and insisted on a better one?

I don't really want to take our own in case anything happens to it meaning we won't have one in the car to get us home.

[christhear]

Hi Can't help you out with the tank of petrol but may be able to help with the car seat. When my son was just under 3 we hired a car seat from dollar. It was clean but the material was actually plastic, sort of like some of the high chairs you can get. This probably helps to keep the seats clean but was terrible for comfort. My son wouold sweat something terrible in this seat as although you have the AC, the seat has heated up whilst you've been parked. In the end we placed a towel over the seat the best we could. I wondered why so many people took car seats with them and then understood why. If you have toddlers rather than babies you can actually buy some fairly decent seats from mothercare which are probably cheaper than the daily hire rate, unless of course the seats have improved.

[floridadreamvilla.co.uk]

The car hire companies will not tell us how much they charge although returning customers have mentioned $3-$4 per gallon rather than the $2 per gallon (ish) that you will pay at a gas station in Florida.

This is the only thing you have to pay for on arrival. If you choose the Gold option then there is nothing at all to pay for on arrival.

[KJH]

When we went in June we were charged just over $63 for the tank of petrol. What made it worse, was that we had been given the wrong insurance, on my confirmation paperwork it should have included the petrol and the xtra driver.

Kaz

[Katys Grandad]

I must reiterate the comments about the car hire link above that others have done throughout this site. Not only are the rates the best I can find (and I do look very hard to save money!)but they are matched by the highest service standards.

Given that the gold rate includes the fuel and the amounts mentioned above it has to be preferred to the supposedly all-inclusive rate. The only slight gripe I have is that the term 'all inclusive' is not a completely accurate description.

[wrpac00]

I had a convertable in the summer and I paid £15.74 ($27-$28) to Alalmo on arrival and brought it back with an empty tank.

Does that help?

[floridadreamvilla.co.uk]

That's at the top end of the prices for gas we have heard off customers.

I'm not sure if you booked with us but we do fully check all vouchers we send out and also stress to customers they should also fully check them. That way you do not arrive with an incorrect voucher as it's the last thing you will want after a long flight [msnsmile]
<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by KJHewitt
When we went in June we were charged just over $63 for the tank of petrol. What made it worse, was that we had been given the wrong insurance, on my confirmation paperwork it should have included the petrol and the xtra driver.

Kaz
[/quote]

[floridadreamvilla.co.uk]

The term we use is "fully inclusive" and it is meant to relate to the insurances required to drive a car in the US. If you choose this option it does remind you several times of the need to pay for a tank of gas on arrival as the last thing we want to do is mis-lead people [msnsmile]

<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by Katys Grandad

Given that the gold rate includes the fuel and the amounts mentioned above it has to be preferred to the supposedly all-inclusive rate. The only slight gripe I have is that the term 'all inclusive' is not a completely accurate description.


[/quote]

[ellie]

We always recommend the gold option to our guests as the extra cost is minimal, and is usually less than you are charged for a tank of petrol, and comes with extra drivers, too. The Gold package is superb value, and our guests have been pleased with the service. So have we! Just about to book another 3 weeks!



:)

[floridadreamvilla.co.uk]

Thanks Ellie.

The Fully Inclusive Option comes into it's own for longer bookings as instead of paying an extra amount per week for the Gold Option (it's usually about £12 more per week over the Fully Inclusive option) you just pay a one-off for gas on arrival. For example for a 3 week booking, 3 * £12 = £36 = $65 (approx). It's unlikely the tank of gas will be more than $65 except maybe on the really big vans.

The tank of gas on the fully inclusive option is not something that is unique to us - all other providers also have it too - including if you go direct to Dollar themselves (just to clear up any confusion anyone may have after reading this thread [msnwink]).

<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by ellie
We always recommend the gold option to our guests as the extra cost is minimal, and is usually less than you are charged for a tank of petrol, and comes with extra drivers, too. The Gold package is superb value, and our guests have been pleased with the service. So have we! Just about to book another 3 weeks!



:)
[/quote]

[Iain Watt]

With regards to the car seats, we used to rent one from Dollar or Alamo.

However, last month we took our own (checked in luggage).

This is certainly the best thing we ever did. It would have been insured if we'd lost it, it costs a lot to rent one, rented ones don't always suit 3 / 4 year-olds and we knew how to fit our own safely straight away.

In the past we have always struggled to fit the rented ones.

I definitely recommend taking your own, even if only for the kid's comfort.

Iain

[finishrich]

We booked our carhire through this site, took the Dollar option with fully inclusive. Booked a 2 door economy but actually got a 4 door compact. The charge for petrol was $34.65 / £19.33. For us this worked out cheaper than the Gold option as it already included 2 drivers. When we filled the car up ourselves it took about $15. Mind you we did take it back empty, by the time we got to the airport it must have been running on fumes, I kept looking over at the fuel indicator on the dash, which made DH a bit nervous.

We also took our sons booster seat for the car with us. Packed in the the case on the way over but just had it in a holdall on the way back as we seemed to accumulate extra luggage on the way back. I don't know how either;)

[Katys Grandad]

I promise that this is the very last thing I will say about this and repeat that I am happy with the service now that this point has been clarified. I certainly do not think that there is any intention to mislead.

However, I would point out that the very 1st papragraph on the linked car hire home page includes the sentence:

"Please bear in mind that these prices really are 'all inclusive' and you will not be required to pay any more on arrival, unlike many other car hire deals".

Whatever the intention and other notices on the site about new US taxes and fuel charges, I think this sentence is at the very least capable of giving customers a false impression.

[floridadreamvilla.co.uk]

That's a throwover from before they introduced the Customer Facility Charge at a minority of airport locations and also started to insist you pay for a tank of gas on arrival (you used to be able to just bring the car back full). I have amended the wording to remove any ambiguity.

<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by Katys Grandad
I promise that this is the very last thing I will say about this and repeat that I am happy with the service now that this point has been clarified. I certainly do not think that there is any intention to mislead.

However, I would point out that the very 1st papragraph on the linked car hire home page includes the sentence:

"Please bear in mind that these prices really are 'all inclusive' and you will not be required to pay any more on arrival, unlike many other car hire deals".

Whatever the intention and other notices on the site about new US taxes and fuel charges, I think this sentence is at the very least capable of giving customers a false impression.
[/quote]

[ujpest doza]

<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by wrpac00
I had a convertable in the summer and I paid £15.74 ($27-$28) to Alalmo on arrival and brought it back with an empty tank.

Does that help?
[/quote]

Yes, thats not bad at all really. Presumably if you bring it back full they refund that to you?

[floridadreamvilla.co.uk]

No they don't. They used to do this but not any more. You just pay for a tank of gas on arrival on the Fully Inclusive option.

<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by ujpest doza

Originally posted by wrpac00

Yes, thats not bad at all really. Presumably if you bring it back full they refund that to you?

[chris c]

A comment on the car seat.
We hired a seat from Dollar for our 3 month old granddaughter.
The first seat they supplied was filthy. The substitute was reasonably clean, but not ideal for a young baby. There was no head support and the straps were very difficult to adjust.
I would strongly recommend that parents/grandparents take their own seat.
The car rental companies will not help with fitting. It's all to do with liability in case of an accident I think!!
[msnsad][msnsad]

[floridadreamvilla.co.uk]

Absolutely - they will not even put the seat in the car let alone tell you how to fit it as they are concerned about liability if they could be seen to give incorrect instructions to you.

As a parent I would recommend taking your own seats every time.

<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by chris c
A comment on the car seat.
We hired a seat from Dollar for our 3 month old granddaughter.
The first seat they supplied was filthy. The substitute was reasonably clean, but not ideal for a young baby. There was no head support and the straps were very difficult to adjust.
I would strongly recommend that parents/grandparents take their own seat.
The car rental companies will not help with fitting. It's all to do with liability in case of an accident I think!!
[msnsad][msnsad]
[/quote]