LBloom

DD is looking to rent a car in Charleston, SC for one week. This is by far the cheapest deal, but we don't know anything about this company - never heard of it. Any experience with using one of their cars? Thanks!

happytrailstoyou

I've never used Advantage because I usually get a good deal at Dollar or Thrifty, which are reputable and for which I can often find promotional codes on line.

HTtY

lincasanova

I've used them. Never had a problem that I was able to "test" their professionalism in response.. so .. I usually go with the best deal unless it is a huge road trip since some agencies have worse recourse for large problems than others, I think.

PaulRabe

Based on this URL
http://www.pissedconsumer.com/review...ar-rental.html

it seems that Advantage's clerks are more pushy about selling upgrades. Other than that, it seems they, like all car rental companies, use the following tricks
1) Try to convince you that only their CDW will cover damage to their car. IGNORE THIS -- it's COMPLETELY FALSE.
2) Place a $200 hold on funds for the card you use to make the reservation. If you use a debit card, that means $200 will be taken out of your account -- and who knows how long it will be before you get it back. The car rental companies have NO INCENTIVE to return YOUR money quickly, and a real incentive to hold onto it -- so why expect them to be efficient about it? Some companies actively discourage use of debit cards for exactly this reason.
3) Try to get YOU to pay for THEIR gas. If you pay for a full tank of gas as you exit, then return the car with a tank one-quarter tank full, they will NOT refund the value of that quarter tank! They will simply put in 3/4 of a tank of gas and then charge the next person for a full tank!
The only to beat this scam is to exit with a full tank of gas, fill up the car just before you return it, and keep the receipt when you do so. When they insist you didn't fill up the tank, show the timed receipt from a place one mile from the airport and twenty minutes before you returned the car. Need help finding cheap gas near a specific airport? Check out
www.gaspricewatch.com
www.gasbuddy.com
www.motortrend.com/gas_prices

NewbE

I always go with whichever company located on-airport has the lowest rate. IME they are all the same.

vjpblovesitaly

I just rented with Advantage at RDU on 06/06 (with a return on 06/11). The car had some damage which I told them about, marked on the form, and took a photo of. They did ask if I wanted to upgrade to a Mustang for "only" $12/day. I could not care less what kind of car I have as long as it's safe, gets good gad mileage, and doesn't have too many buttons for me to figure out. I forget what kind it was - a Mitsubishi maybe. It was fine.

I used a credit card and they put the $200 hold on it which was removed on 06/12.

Doesn't every car rental place have that bring it back empty offer? I don't think that is unusual.

NewbE

The bring it back empty thing is totally worth it, as long as you intend to use the whole tank. I don't want to spend time looking for a gas station near the airport.

Tabernash2

The bring-it-back-empty idea doesn't work for us, because we are not comfortable with letting a car's gas tank get empty. Especially in a city we don't know all that well.

We always skip that option, and just fill up on the way to return the car. It's easy. There are gas stations nearby rental return facilities, just for that purpose.

Tabernash2

Forgot to answer your question: we also take the best deal we can get, unless it's Fox rental with which we have had very bad luck. Our favorite is Enterprise, for its customer service. I just rented from Alamo in St Louis, which was fine.

vjpblovesitaly

I don't like that either. I don't let my own gas tank get empty why would I do it with a car I am not familiar with in a place I am not familiar with?

NeoPatrick

I've never understood the "bring it back empty" idea, but maybe because I'm uncomfortable driving with less than a quarter of a tank anyway. Assuming I'm not driving a lot with a rental car (which is usual for me) I don't even use a full tank! But if I did, trying to decide a couple days before return "let's see I think I'll need 5 more gallons between now and when I return, so that's how much I'll put in and that's how many miles I'll allow myself to drive" just seems like a lot more effort than it's worth just to fill the tank near an airport and be done with it (at a whole lot less money than paying for a full tank with them anyway). Do people drive around the block a few dozen times to use up the gas still in the tank? How on earth does one plan to have less than a gallon in the tank when you return (and even if it's only a gallon, that's still something like $5 more cost than filling your own tank and returning full.

And frankly I'm always organized enough to allow 10 minutes on the way to the airport (smart phones, GPS, or anything else will tell you how to find a gas station near the airport, if you didn't bother to look when you picked up the car). I've never heard of them not allowing you to travel up to 15 or 20 miles on that new "full" tank of gas by the way. I'd rather allow that 10 minutes, than stopping and filling up a few times during my vacation time trying to keep the tank near empty and not overfill what I'll use up. Talk about a waste of vacation time to me!

NeoPatrick

Regarding that trying to upgrade you for a cost thing, no one could be worse than Hertz! I think I've only ever used Hertz when I got a super deal through Hotwire or Priceline. When I have a Hotline voucher for a Hertz midsize for a full week for under $120 all inclusive, do they honestly think I'm the type who is going to spend "just an additional $250 a day" for a Mercedes sedan? ($1750 more for the week). At one rental I finally got a little belligerent after the fourth attempt at upgrading (and was still in the over $100 extra per day range -- SUV, convertible, etc.) and demanded I just got the car I had already paid for!

Barblab

All the majors are the same in my opinion. I find that if when handing your cc and drivers license over if I simple say "I do not want the insurance or GPS, and I will return it full" chops 'em off at the knees.

I have found it very helpful to have a printed copy of my reservation because quite often the price changes (always up) when they print it out at the counter. Also I have noticed in the last year or so that they have started charging to credit points to ff programs. Most of the time I have found the charge negates the the credit, and thus decline it.

Gretchen

AS someone else said, rent the lowest price. They ARE all the same.
Look on Hotwire and you may find a deal.
Bring it back full.
Charge with a major card and the insurance is taken care of.
At any given location the agents may be pushy--says nothing about the company as a whole.
I DO like Enterprise, and have rented Advantage somewhere sometime.

NewbE

No, I don't drive it around the block to use up the gas, and no, I am not routinely running late on my return to the airport. I don't mind losing $5-10 of gas to avoid the hassle of filling up near the airport, but modern cars alert you as to how much range you have left in the tank, so getting close to empty is not the terrifying experience for me that some of you find it to be.

Lately, we've taken trips that involve lots of driving and, therefore, more than one tank of gas. As I said, if you're not going to use one tank, then it's obviously not a good option for you.

Tabernash2

Our recent rental car was in St Louis, through Hotwire. I used Kayak to look for rates, and the top one listed was Hotwire, 'starting at $12/day'. I clicked the link, put in my info, and ended up with a nice midsize car for $13.95/day! Score!

Hotwire doesn't tell you exactly which company you will be renting from, but it does list the possibilities. FOX was not on their list, so I felt safe taking a chance. It turned out to be Alamo, which was fine.

NeoPatrick

NewbE, your rental cars are obviously not used to drive back and forth across the Everglades. But it's funny you'd wait for the car to say its nearly out of gas and then instantly find a station and put it what you think you might use up, yet worry about finding a gas station near the airport! If you want to fill up and partially fill up every couple of days during your vacation, playing the "how much will I need and use?" game, that's fine. Just filling up when running low seems infinitely easier to me. The fact that I save money in addition to never thinking or worrying about gas is minor. But whatever. I know someone who only buys milk by the quart every couple of days, rather than a gallon at a time which they'd use. Id find that an annoyance. Whatever rocks your boat.

suewoo

LBloom, is she renting from the airport? Not all the rental companies have pickups there. Some are remote, so she'd have to get on a van and go somewhere. It CAN be cheaper that way. There are gas stations near the airport.

Gretchen

the Charleston airport is really small, and not difficult to find gas nearby--as Sue has said.

mjschiller5

Horrible horrible horrible!

Long wait for shuttle. They never answer their phone. Bad shuttle driver, made me seasick. Long wait at station. Agent acted like she was high. No manager present to complain to. Took 20+ minutes to process reservation. Sent me to a stall that does not exist. Needed to find another agent to redo reservation. She could not get printer to print - printer was in other room from PC, so she went back and forth between PC and printer SIX times before i had new contract. Man checking out cars at gate was most disinterested slow motion person ever seen, except for agent at counter. Apparently they are all using the same medication. Needed to extend reservation - no one ever answered phone. Called national Advantage - they cannot extend my reservation, i have to call local office, but they do not have way to make them answer. Arrggggg!

Stay away - give your business to someone who cares.