Roy

Will appreciate any previous experience with Budget vs Alamo car rentals in Anchorage. Planning to rent a SUV for 2 weeks.

Thank you

Roy

mare

Not in Anchorage, but in other cities, got fed up with Budget and stopped renting from them. Too many times did we show up only to not have the reserved car type available, often with NO cars available at all and just a "tough luck" shrug at the counter. And YES we had confirmed reservations.

Roy

Mare,
Thank you for the information. You are confirming my concerns. I did not arrive to Alaska and I already feel the Budget people are not reliable.
I think I will stay with Alamo.

Roy

Mike W

I had the same concern regarding rental cars in Anchorage several weeks ago. Alaska doesn't have too many rental cars and it seems that running out happens every now and then. What I did to make sure I didn't get disappointed at the counter is that I called the rental agency the week of our trip and explained that we were going to be in a hurry upon arrival and I was hoping that they could go ahead and process my credit card charge to save some time. They did not have a problem with it and promptly charged it. You won't get the shrug if you've already paid - you have a contract then.

Alan Cleveland

With the exception of 110 days in the summer, there are too many cars and car rentals in Anchorage. The town is seriously over-fleeted. That is, there are close to 10 rental agencies that run fleets of over 300 units, and several others that operate 100 - 150.

Best bet for hassle free rentals will be at Affordable New Car Rental.

PS, I used to work in the industry in Anmchorage.

Kay

We've also had good experience with the Avis folks. We had a problem with the rate quoted on the contract versus what we had reserved and they fixed it right away. When we've rented in June and twice in July the cars were always ready.

Be aware that most rentals agreements do not allow travel on unpaved roads such as the Denali Highway or into the Wrangall-St Elias (sp?) Park. They will not retrieve you if you breakdown and any cracked lights or windshields are your expense.

Postal

My experience with Affordable Rental Cars was wonderful. I rented a Grand Cherokee which was in excellent condition. I don't remember the cost for the two week rental, but I remember it was cheaper than every other company I checked.

brb

Thrifty Car Rental is great!! Be sure to book far in advance!! Walk up rates are very high during our summer months!! Be sure to mention if you are an AARP member or Costco, etc. there are many discounts out there....ask if there is a promotional going on....good luck!!There is also Evergreen Rental, Afordable Car Rental, Airport Rental, many "locally" owned car rental agencies in addition to the national companies.