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car rental companies @ SEATAC

i've been reading some pretty bad reviews of the more affordable car rental companies at the Seattle airport, more particularly Dollar & Thrifty. I'm not sure how concerned I should be and if I should stay away from these companies, but, as mentioned, they are the more affordable ones.

we are arriving late at night and would probably be picking up the car around 11:30ish -midnight. also, we need a company that would allow us to drive the car to Oregon, but also into Vancouver, and back.

has anyone used any of these companies, or know someone who has?

any insight would be great.

I've used Thrifty at that location with no problems, but only for local driving. More frequently I use National or Alamo - again, no problems.

We typically use Budget from SeaTac; no issues there. Our choice has been driven by a combination of best price & ability to cross into Canada.

(sound of me, pondering...)

One good idea I have is somewhat centered on whether you can be at all confident of making The last Link Light Rail train from the airport to downtown Seattle - which leaves at 12:10am.

It will be November, so highly unlikely that downtown rooms will be overflowing, so I'm guessing you can land a downtown Seattle hotel room on Priceline.com for that first, Saturday night.

The trick is this... you arrange to rent a car for (what...) a week from a downtown location, where the fees/taxes are much less than at the airport. You go to arrange for that car on Sunday morning (before the game)... you stow your luggage in that car/(trunk), leaving it at the rental car location, and ready to drive off upon your return from the game.

Alamo/National are quite suitable for this, as the Hilton Hotel parking garage houses their cars. They'd give you a ticket to get 'out' of the garage, free of charge, but you'd just stay IN the garage (maybe moving the car out of the rental car fleet area, but remaining in the garage).

In a perfect world this is timed so that the end of 7 days you can return the car by the same time and then take the same train to SeaTac for your flight out.

EVEN IF you can't know for sure you're going to make the timing for the last Light Rail train, maybe the alternative is to STAY at one of the many hotels right across from the airport (use Priceline), and then take that same train into the city in time to reserve your car as described above, stow your luggage in the trunk, and then get to the game.

The time it takes for you to (walk, most likely) back from the game to the car rental place is time best allocated to allow game traffic to dissipate.

This might be a great plan for you, depending on how it all fits with your preconceived notions.

And while Seattle has some cause for concern to women walking at night, it is mostly safe, and we could work-out specific plans depending upon which hotel you land via Priceline.

Hope this all makes sense.

At any rate, compare rental rates between the BIG companies downtown and those very same second tier companies you mentioned here, when picking up at the airport.

You have a devious twist to your thinking, NorthwestMale. I like it.

I have to agree with you sludick :)

NorthwestMale, we are actually coming in on a Friday night - flights already booked!!- however, we won't be landing til about 11-11:30ish. One possible idea I've been flirting with is to pick up a car somewhere DT on saturday AM in order to do our "touristy stuff" on saturday, go to the game Sunday, and off to OR or Vancouver on Monday morning. And, we're flying out the following Saturday AM - which means in this case, we would have to probably return the car Friday PM.

We are looking (for now) to possiblly stay at the Hampton Inn Downtown. I plan to do research for the different companies downtown and see what would be best.

do you, or anyone reading, know what the average cab fare would be from the airport to DT? just in case we can't get that last train ... ?

Instead of driving the rental car into Canada, consider riding the Amtrak train or bus from Seattle to Vancouver and back.
I have had luck with Priceline bidding for rental cars at several locations.
I would trust the major rental car companies with the exception of Fox.

The cab fare could be fifty bucks.

And sadly, the alternatives after that last Link Rail are unsuitable.

(now mind you, the cab fare may be nearer to $35, especially at that hour with nobody on the roads)

I think I would improvise based on what you've now added, by staying at an airport hotel upon arrival, and then taking the rail into town on Saturday morning.

Plenty to see on foot, and no need to be driving around and paying to park when you don't really even need the car. (It will be raining)

The trouble is, you don't really save too much vs. the weekly rental rate - only the $20-40 overnight parking fee.

And I would soooooooooooooooo drive off to your next destination after the game on Sunday. Interstate 5 south toward Oregon wouldn't find you missing much if having to travel it in the dark, and you'd be ahead of the game if there by Sunday evening.

(same is true of Vancouver, Canada... which is a town always alive, and it promises same upon your arrival no matter the time)

And given your timing, it just doesn't make enough sense to stick with the train (or bus) between cities.

If waking on Monday morning in "Seattle", you will be under the gun the rest of the trip, for sure.

And if planning to "return the car on Friday evening"... you'd be potentially plotting to cross back from Canada with a huuuuuuuuuuuge line of traffic heading out of Canada for the weekend.

Geez, I was originally so hopeful that you could see both Oregon and Vancouver, but your window seems smaller and smaller each time I get more details.

Sad to say that the best course of action may be to just make a very GOOD go of Vancouver, Canada and miss Oregon all together.

Saturday and parts of Sunday can give you some taste of Seattle and perHAPS you might then return from Canada on Thursday, missing the Friday border crossing (even Thursday won't be a piece of cake heading south). That would let you have another day in Seattle on Friday.

Maybe the Saturday-morning-to-Saturday morning car rental from the more expensive airport IS the best way to go after all (at least you'd have the convenience of driving to the airport on your own schedule). Then you'd have overnight parking fees to face on Saturday night somewhere in downtown Seattle - and what would you do with the car during the game if not paying even more for parking?

Ah well, there must be a perfect idea we've just not found yet!

We're doing something similar with car rental for our trip this September. We will Priceline an airport hotel (we do that about every trip to Seattle, always 3* and have had great success). In the morning, we'll take the Light Rail into town to pick up our car.

It's the first time we have tried this strategy here, so not sure how it will turn out either.

I've reserved a car with Budget at their 7th Avenue location, although I really don't know if that is the best or if the Financial District (4th Avenue) would be better. We don't spend much time actually in Seattle, and have never ridden Light Rail, so I don't know.

But by staying at an airport hotel, you can get some rest instead of messing around for another couple of hours, and save some money. Depending on where you are coming from, the time zone difference might make it really late for you.

Then you can easily just return to the airport and catch the Light Rail in the morning to get downtown to the rental car place. On Priceline you should be able to get a 3* hotel at the airport for around $49 (plus tax & fee).

I spoke to my trip-mates about the possibility of leaving to perhaps Astoria post-game and we like the idea. so long ... and by now you know my worries lol ... as we're not going to encounter anything cliffy on the way to Astoria (at night). Which, according to google maps, would take us from Seattle on I5, and into the 30 through Oregon and into Astoria.

We are awaiting the NHL / Canucks schedule to see if they're there and that would determine which place we'll hit second. But for now, we have Oregon as our 2nd stop.

Look forward to hearing how things go.

actually, you'll be going before us! we're not going til November :)

(sorta laughing @ "cliffy") (oh, and by the way, it will be raining steadily, and fairly lightly, and NOT like the monsoons you guys might know)

I-5 all the way is anything BUT "cliffy" (casino, Burgerville USA, the Rib Eye Restaurant, a billboard with the wackiest political statements on it).

Longview/Kelso has a selection of eateries which might suit you before switching highways (of course I'd try the new Sonic restaurant near Chehalis - only because it's there)

I don't know the #30 well, but it is far enouygh 'inland' that it doesn't seem a great risk for major cliffs, and you won't exactly be in the thin air of high altitudes either, so how far can you go...

Did I mention it will be raining (lightly) ??

As for the Light Rail thing... The Light Rail is a piece of cake to/from SeaTac to downtown Seattle. (not only for the fact that SeaTac is the LAST STOP, so you can't really screw-up when returning TO the airport)

You get to tour one of Seattle's more shaky neighborhoods along the path... but it is nothing like most big cities tend to possess.

Even if you rode to the very end of the line downtown, you'd still be within a mile of m-m-m-m-m-m-most hotels people tend to use when staying in downtown Seattle.

So nobody inclined to use Seattle's Link Light Rail to go to and from SeaTac and downtown Seattle need expect any causes for concern. (it is a good, flat hike TO the rail station from the center of the airport, but it's all under cover)

OK, so let me get back on track with the Oregon-AND-Vancouver itinerary:

Sunday night: Astoria, Oregon

Monday night: after a daytime 'loop' down to Lincoln City, Newport, (Florence?) Portland area not at all doing the city justice (sadly)

Tuesday (you drive all the freakin' WAY up I-5 from Oregon to Canada, and 30-ish more miles into Vancouver) where you stay IN Vancouver at night.

Wednesday night Vancouver

Thursday night Vancouver

Friday's border crossing is sure to be a pain in the ass, and a time-cost effective move might be to drive farther EAST than you otherwise would, just to reduce crossing times (which can be upward of an hour) on a 'normal' mid-day.

Border crossing specifics:

The main crossing is The Peace Arch (between Douglas, BC and Blaine, WA)

Adjacent to that is Truck Customs (from hwy #15 in BC) (which is at times a strategic alternative, but still looooooong and slow)

Signs on the highways, while on approach from either side, tend to suggest the wait times for either one, letting you alter course at the last moment if the opposite one is likely to be faster.

Aldergrove, BC / Lynden, WA doesn't add much of anything to the overall trip, as it is due north of Bellingham, WA, where it connects with Interstate 5. Aldergrove is a suitable alternative for those returning from Canada at times likely to draw lots of traffic.

Abbotsford, BC / Sumas, WA is a bit out of the way, but depending upon where you are in terms of wanting time to see a bit more nature, while reducing your long wait at the border (ideally before facing crunch time of your deadline), it might be a suitable alternative.

Once back in the USA, the path south from Sumas offers alternatives for getting back to I-5 fairly conveniently, and the scenery on that path, and even the one south from Lynden, WA, is impressive.

So where are we???

Friday night you should probably be back at SeaTac in an adjacent hotel.

I'm really puzzled about what time to suggest leaving Vancouver... so I'm gonna leave it in your hands (LOL) and just say: If you drive-off from central Vancouver at noon-ish on Friday, do consider taking highway #1 eastbound to exit #73, and then south to the border from there. (that entails about 30-ish miles from Vancouver, and then due south on a line with Bellingham, WA)

(getting there from central Vancouver requires driving out East Hastings, just past the PNE Fairgrounds (rides visible, but closed in November), and then right onto Highway #1)

The more popular and traditional path has you driving south on surface streets from central Vancouver, and onto hwy #99 for a less-scenic and all-freeway-ish trip to the most-traveled border crossing in the northwest.

(hope something in here helps)

PS - When so far from home, and wanting to see a couple of things in opposite directions, you just have to haul-ass at times - you can sleep on the plane.

(I would and have traveled like this in eastern Canada, for example, where I'm far from home and want to see as much as possible)