I wanted to title this "Arizona Car Rentals (as in "I'd rather not end up a shriveled raisin on the desert floor...")" but that was too many characters....

We'll be in Sedona, Arizona in August (hoping we're not frying our brains out....), and I've been doing a lot of internet searching for a car rental (we'll be renting in Phoenix). On one hand, the inexpensive prices of companies such as Advantage, Payless, etc., look good, but several reviews are available that aren't exactly overwhelming with compliments, although I get the sense that I'd be able to find positive/negative comments about any rental company. It just seems that some of the less expensive companies have some pretty bad reviews (older cars, bald tires, stained/smelly upholstery).

My main concern is having a safe, reliable car because the last thing I want to do is break down, have a flat tire or lose the air conditioning in Arizona in August. I know that it's a chance I take regardless of the rental company, but I wanted to get some feedback regarding companies other Fodorites might have used, where you pleased, etc.? Should I avoid the cheaper rentals and go for the more expensive ones? Thanks!

Budget is the price leader at the PHX airport. Enterprise has an office in Sedona. If you rent at the PHX airport, watch out for a special charge that goes to pay for PHX stadiums, etc. If you rent off the PHX airport premises, check to see if this surcharge applies.

Thanks for your reply, USNR.

The problem with renting at the off-airport premises is we don't fly out until 11 p.m. on a Sunday night, so that kind of limits drop off anywhere but the airport rental.

We rented from Fox several years ago. They were off site, had a great rate and were fine. Check it out.

MY

We rented a car from Budget in Phoenix last July. We had no problems. It was quick and easy to pick it up as there is a shuttle to the rental car centre at the airport. All of the major car companies are in one building there. As for dropping it off, our flight time was not conducive to renting from a non-airport location, and we found it very easy to drop off. Everything is well marked and we caught the shuttle to the airport without a hitch. We didn't encounter any car issues other than our GPS not working, but the call centre was quick to respond and fix it for us. Hope that helps. Being off-season, we found the rates to be very reasonable and had unlimited kilometers.