Nic

I keep reading don't use Alamo car rental, as the service is so terrible. This worries me slightly as we have in fact just booked our car rental with them. We used them last year and thought they were fine, although we had to change our car about half way through the holiday as there was a minor fault with one we had, but this really was no hassle.
So whats the low down, anyone got any tips what to watch out for?
Thanks.

MB

I have used Alamo twice in Florida and both times I had to wait in line for over an hour! After, being delayed by air the last thing I wanted to do was wait for a car. IMO, they are slow, unfriendly and a pain in the neck! I will never use them again! Since, I have always rented on airport. It is a little more expensive but definitely worth getting in and out faster.

PS-If you are a business traveler you can sign up for Alamo's Quicksilver program and they will get you in and out a little faster.

livebyjfk

Hi Nic:
Avoid Alamo! I posted a long tirade here awhile ago about their service out if FLL. Pay the extra money for Hertz, Avis, National anyone but Alamo!!!

livebyjfk

Sorry I meant to say "out of FLL" Just thinking about their shabby service makes me angry!!

lisa

I have happily used Alamo all over the U.S. but have had three bad experiences in Florida -- one at Ft. Lauderdale, one in Orlando, and one in Jacksonville. In each case Alamo had the best rates, but I would not recommend Alamo in FL based on those experiences -- lines were RIDICULOUSLY long. I think their prices are cheap in FL because they understaff their rental counters.

Ann

I've had great luck with National.

Keely

Totally agree about Alamo in Florida. Good luck finding their site at the Fort Lauderdale airport! We almost missed our plane because their signs are so ridiculously bad. At the office they told us they get complaints about it every day but nobody does anything about it. When I wrote to customer service to let them know about it, they sent me back a message telling me we should have used a map!!

travelman

If you want to get the best out of Alamo you must use the Qucksilver service,especially in FLL.It quick and painless.Used them for years with no problem.

chazz

The answer to the original question, based on my experience, is "yes."

TLORAIN

I HAVE ALWAYS RENTED FROM ALAMO HERE IN DENVER, AND IF I'VE HAD A PROBLEM, THEY HAVE ALWAYS BEEN GENEROUS ABOUT CORRECTING IT. IT MUST BE THE LOCATION AND THE WAY THINGS ARE RAN. I'VE NEVER HAD A LONG LINE. NEVER MORE THAN 1 OR 2 CUSTOMERS AHEAD OF ME. I'D SAY KEEP TRYING.

Nic

Thanks everyone for your responses. I have to admit we are still happy to use Alamo, we've had no problems in the past. By what people have said long lines seem to be the worst thing about them, so thats not too bad, really.

Marilyn

I've had no problems with Alamo except waiting in line in FLL. Actually everyone I know has had problems with that in Florida no matter which rental agency they use. The last time we waited quite a long time and they didn't have the midsize we requested but upgraded us cheerily with no extra charge. Another time in Florida we had rented for a few days before a cruise and when we went to pick up a car for a few hours on the return ( from Hertz ) we were told there was nothing less than 40 some dollars for a few hours. They POSITIVELY had nothing available. I went to the courtesy phone and called the central reservations number and they gave me a rate of less than half that amount. I then went back to the counter and picked up my much cheaper car that I had now reserved on their own phone. Maybe it is just the rental agencies in Florida. You have to admit they are some of the busiest but it looks like they would prepare for all that business.

Dana

I'm so glad I found this website.
We had Alamo cars in Hawaii in June, and
it was rickety from the minute we drove off the lot, and guess what, danged car
got a dead battery at our hotel.
However, Alamo did send someone with a
replacement car within an hour and a half like they promised.

Cindy

My biggest gripe is that Alamo is not upfront about disclosing charges. On an Orlando rental, they charged us for the full tank of gas in the car at pickup, but said nothing whatsoever about it at the time. Hours later, we scrutinized the contract and saw the charge. We called, and they gave us a hard time. No other car rental agency has ever tried to sneak the charge in like Alamo. Other agencies try to sell you on it, but you are allowed to decline. So don't assume anything with A-lame-o, and stick up for yourself.

Kay

We have used Alamo in the US and UK and would not use them ever again. In both countries we had to argue over charges on the invoice that shouldn't have been on there in the first place. I think they were deliberately trying to overcharge us. In the US we had 3 cars in 3 weeks due to breakdowns which wasted our valuable holiday time going back to Alamo depots in various states. We used Hertz last time in the US and they were fantastic, not one problem.
Kay

Jan

We would not use Alamo again either. Last year we hired a car from Alamo in San Francisco to pick up at the city depot, in spite of making the booking months in advance when we arrived no car was available and they tried to fob us off with a van. We made it clear we did not want a van so were told to come back in a couple of hours when a car might be available, thus throwing all our carefully made plans into confusion. We finally picked up our car from their badly lit car park so it was not until we were out of the city, that we realised the inside of the car was filthy. My husbands clothes were ruined and as for what was spilt on the carpets in the back of the car, I prefered to think it was red wine but i'm not too sure...We spent time cleaning up the inside of the car as we had already lost too much time and a drive back to the city was out of the question. On returning the car two weeks later not only were they totally uninterested in our clothes being ruined but they tried to charge us from for the two hours we had to wait around for our hire car to arrive! I totally agree with the above posters who said they felt they were being deliberately overcharged. For the record this year in Colorado we hired from Hertz,no problems, newer car and no waiting in line, will use them again.

leon

Nic - you can rely on Alamao in Tampa. Just look over the contract as you initial and sign, and then have no fear. I am amazed at some of the stories about people being overcharged - it may be they do not have a lot of experience with car rental procedures. Anyway, outside baggage claim at Tampa Intnl, hop on Alamo's little bus and a few minutes later you'll arrive at their location on Spruce. By the way, one of their staff will even bring you car to you where you have placed you luggage. Give him a $2 tip and off you go - what could be easier.

Cindy

I think Leon summed it up nicely. If you scrutinize your contract, you will often catch Alamo trying to slip things by you. But isn't that the point? Alamo is the only agency I have dealt with that routinely makes mistakes in its own favor. And once you are worn down by a loooooong wait in line with the kids going nuts, it's hard to be your own lawyer and argue with Alamo. (Oh, and that full-tank-of-gas scam was a new one at the time, so I didn't know to watch out for that ploy.)

Nic

Thanks again to everyone for your responses.

Luckily we have already booked and paid for our car hire from Trailfinders in the U.K. and we know that everything we need is already included in that one price. So we just have to take the pre-paid voucher to the Alamo depot.

Neal Sanders

Nic, that pre-paid voucher just gets you the car. When you rent from Alamo, that's just the beginning of the "relationship."

I used to rent from Alamo regularly when traveling to Florida. I put up with the long lines and the waits for cars that still needed to be cleaned because their rates were substantially below those of the "majors."

Then, one year I rented an Alamo car in Denver. It was an uneventful week; the car was driven to Granby and back, a round trip distance of under 250 miles. When I returned the car (with less than an hour to make my flight), someone on the check-in crew decided that my rear bumper was "out of alignment"; therefore, I must have been in an accident. Mind you, there was not a mark or dent on the car (and I most assuredly had not been in any kind of accident). Pointing this out to the person seemed to make no difference; he was determined that I was going to be assessed for the replacement of a bumper.

It was only when I escalated the issue to the station manager that the "damage" evaporated. Even then, the check-in person threatened than my insurance company would hear from them. That was ten years ago. Since that day I have never, ever been tempted to rent a car from Alamo.