Kris

We'll be renting a car next month from LAX and was wondering if any of the rental companies are more convenient than the others? Last year we rented from Alamo and in addition to the bus ride over to the rental agency, the wait to get out of the lot was at least a 1/2 hour. Any tips would be appreciated! We will be landing rather late, around 10pm if that makes a difference.

L

In late March we used Avis at LAX ... their location is a five-minute ride in their bus ... and it's at an easy on/off ramp on Rte. 405, as I recall. All in all, it was very easy and fast ... returning the car, we were driving down from Mailbu and had to catch an early morning flight east ... no room for snafus, and happily, Avis was good. 1-800-331-1600. Ciao

x

Kris, I don't know much about the locations at LAX, but I would advise to stay away from Hertz.

Lori

A lot of it has to do with the time of the day you arrive, how many other flights are arriving at the same time and local traffic. At 10 p.m. it should not be a major problem whichever rental agency you use. We've used Avis, Hertz & Budget and found them about equal. Surface street traffic will be very light by that time so that's not an issue.

joan

Your question reminded me of National Car Rental in LAX. THIS IS A TRUE STORY: We had reserved a full-size car, one way to Denver, last August. When we got to the counter, I mentioned we were going over the Rocky's and "please give us a good car". She smiled and asked which would we prefer, a Blazer or a fully loaded Cadillac Deville? Of course, our teen daughters shouted Blazer, so she gave us the keys to BOTH CARS and let us choose. One look and we took the Cadillac. There were other customers wandering around the parking lot CHOOSING THEIR OWN CARS TOO! That car was so much fun. We still joke about being inside the Zion Park tunnel and my husband pressing the "Onstar" button inside the tunnel to see if we could get Superbowl tickets...(he cancelled the call). I've been a loyal National Car Rental customer ever since (unless price gets in the way, of course).

So, if price works, try it! Let me know if this happens to you.

Chris

X,

Why do you say stay away from Hertz?? I am renting a car there next week, and you have made me nervous. Please share! Thanks.

Chris

lcuy

surprised to hear about waiting 1/2 hourto get out of the lot at Alamo. I rent from them at LAX 4 or more times per year and never had to wait more than two or three minutes. You may have hit an unusual situation. Most of the big guys - Avis, Hertz, Dollar, Alamo are all in the same area, so there isn't much difference in travel time- only their lines to pick up keys.

Jen

I agree with Joan - National is the only company we use at LAX. You can go to their website and sign up for the "Emerald Club". I believe that there is a special promotion going on right now that you can have a one year free membership, and DisneyClub members also get a free membership.

One of the benefits is "Aisle" service. The shuttle from LAX drops you off in the middle of National's parking lot and you're free to choose whatever vehicle, model, style, color, etc., that you want. The keys are in the car - start it up and drive to the gate. A quick look at your driver's licence and you're good to go.

Kris

Thanks for the replies. I thought perhaps there was one closer to the terminal but if they are all in the same location I guess I'll focus on price as we're not doing heavy duty driving and the type of car doesn't really matter.

I thought the Alamo wait was really weird too, we must have hit it at a popular time as there were at least 20-30 cars waiting in line to get out. But I think it was midday on a Saturday last time so I assume it will not be as busy at 10 pm on a Friday.

lisa

Here's another vote for National at LAX. They let us choose our car too. Seems like a small thing, but it's really nice to be able to pick out a car that doesn't smell like cigarette smoke. Good service, didn't take long, and they had the best price of all the agencies we checked (and they didn't charge us a dropoff charge when we returned the car in Sacramento).

holly

I have to put in a good word for Dollar. I organised the rental on the internet from New Zealand before leaving (after much research Dollar always came out cheaper)
We had great service, a great car and a great price. The shuttle from LAX took about 10 minutes to get to the depot.