For our upcoming 2 week trip in California (from SFO to SAN)we have a choice of car rental companies between Alamo and Budget.

What is the opinion of this traveller's forum regarding service, cars readiness and safety record, any surprise surcharges during pick-up or drop-off. Also, how are they about "picky" inspection upon drop-off?

Thank you

After several bad experiences with Alamo -- waiting over an hour in line at LAX, nearly as long in San Diego, and once getting a car that wouldn't even start and having to spend another two hours while they tried to figure out how to give us another one, I've sworn I'll NEVER use Alamo again.
I can't recall ever using Budget so can't compare. I find myself using Dollar more and more.

Alamo is VERY picky about the return inspection. When I returned, there was some damage to the passenger side view mirror, rear part, which I hadn't noticed when picking it up but saw it 3 days later and 1,000 miles farther away, and the inspector's face lit up like a Christmas tree and he said "a-HAAAAAAAA!" just like that, and grinned like a Cheshire cat. He also pointed out there was a slight indentation in the metal roof, some warpage that had been there for months I'm sure, and wrote that down as well.

I made a scene in the office and the staff finally realized they weren't going to get away with their scam and I left without paying for the "damage" they were claiming. I'd recommend anyone except Alamo, especially in CA.

I've only rented one car from Alamo and it was fine. Budget doesn't charge drop off fees and on their website they quote the rate you will pay.
I recently had an excellent experience with Budget so they are high on my good list lately. The cars have always been in great condition.
I don't know what you mean about "Picky". I haven't damaged a car but I'm sure that they would charge for it. I don't smoke so I've never had to worry about smoking in a non-smoking vehicle but I've left a messy car behind and it was never questioned. It was a clean mess.

By "picky", I think jet means something similar to what budget4me described - a car company overlooking minor scratches and dings when they rent the car, but then going over the car with a fine-toothed comb upon return and trying to charge people for damage that was on the car before they ever got it.

I haven't rented with Alamo or Budget, but have had good experiences with Dollar and Hertz. Also Avis and Enterprise, although I haven't rented from either in a few years.

Thank you all for the helpful feedback.

It appears that the Alamo isn't the first choice. We decided to rent with Budget, hoping that it will be a pleasant experience.

Don't forget to check prices at kayak.com.

They scan several different sites and help you find the best rates for the same car from different companies.

Gb944, thank you for the link.

It’s amazing the wide range of prices and various options available when renting a car. The quotes obtained either through service provider such as Expedia, Orbiz, Kayak, Hotwire, even PriceLine etc. or directly through car rental companies, is enough to confuse any traveller. In our case the total cost for a one-way intermediate-sized rental (SFO to SAN) was from a low of $342 (Budget) to a high of $648 (Dollar), depending upon certain surcharges such as one-way/drop-off fees, services charges, taxes and other extras or using discount coupons. It seems that it’s cheaper to rent directly from the car rental companies. Large companies like Avis and Hertz appear to be the most expensive and Budget and Alamo are the most reasonable. Quite a few companies don’t even offer one-way rental. Quotes obtained thru airlines sites were also on average more expensive.

Any comments?

Careful, sometimes the quotes from Budget don't include unlimited mileage...important if you'll be doing a lot of driving.

Yes my reservation is for 12 days, 20 hours rental unlimited free miles (rate code B6)

Bid on Priceline or Hotwire and take what you get. Be diligent about examining the car before leaving the lot.

If you bid on Priceline for a car are you garaunteed that price, without any extra taxes or drop-off fees? I'm not sure that Priceline lets you return to a different location?

Budget was selected since they quoted the cheapest rates for our trip from San Francisco (SFO) to San Diego (SAN). We drove 1001 miles using a 2006 Chev. Malibu and paid a grand total of only $342.58 ( incl. taxes and no drop-off charge) from May 23 to June 5 (net of 12 day-20 hour).

Having made reservation weeks before, the freshly washed white car was very clean and waiting for us at SFO. We took notes on a special form (Vehicle Condition Report) of a few small scratches and dents on the car. Upon leaving the parking area the on-board computer started signalling a message about having to change the oil immediately? We reported the problem to the person in charge but he assured us the car had an oil change only 1200 miles ago and not to be concerned, and that the computer would re-set itself. Well it didn’t. The next day I took it upon my self to reset the onboard computer (I just happen to drive the same car at home). After that small incident the car behaved perfectly for the rest of our entire trip.

The drop-off process at SAN took exactly 5 minutes. The attendant took a quick glance at the car, took note of the mileage and gave me my return Transaction Report with the total cost clearly indicated in both US and CAD dollar. We boarded a waiting bus and were on our way to the airport in less then 10 minutes. The car return facilities for Budget in San Diego are located off the main airport site.

Notwithstanding the problem with the oil message (witch could have been major) our experience with Budget was very positive plus the cost was much less then with other car rental companies.

Hope you had a great trip jet29!

yes, we had a great trip.

For more detail clik on the topic: California here we come! - the report