should I rent a car via internet? problems?
 

<BR> We will need to rent a car next week while in Orlando and Ft. Meyers. There always seems to be misc. surprises and charges when I rent a car. My AAA agent and others had nightmare stories about renting a car by internet; hidden charges, low service etc.The agent obviously gains if I rent the car fromhim. The other people with stories also were agents.Having said that, I dont know if I completely trust them- but I also want to get hung-up at the airport because I didnt ariive with a completed, signed contract. Has anybody rented via internet? Do you have good- or bad stories? Please advise, thank you in advance.

In my original message I say ... I want to get hung up in the airport. Obviously I DONT want to get hung up! <BR>

I have rented numerous cars on the internet, though I have only rented directly - through the rental car company's web site, not through a travel web site like Travelocity. I have used Dollar, Thrifty and Hertz in this fashion and never had a problem, even without reconfirming. <BR>There are always extra charges at the rental counter that aren't in the quoted price (taxes, airport surcharges, impact fees, etc.) whether or not you reserve it on the internet. I always assume that these extras will total 20-25% of the daily rate. <BR>Making a reservation over the internet is easy and I can't imagine why I would ever use a travel agent for this again.

One hitch you may have is if you are dropping the car off at a different airport from where you picked it up. Not all rental car web sites can handle that situation.

I always check the price on Internet first, if I am able to because some companies don't cooperate webwise. <BR>After I see a good price, I call on the toll free number to conclude the deal. <BR>And always have a confirmation number! <BR>I find that the biggies like Hertz and Avis have competitve prices and their handling of the rental is usually straight foward. I may get 3 or 4 quotes at a specific location before deciding which to take. But there are always those taxes. <BR> <BR>

Try www.frommers.com & click on Lowest Fares icon..you will have to register, but you can then check rates for rental agencies w/o making rez...you have the option of saying if you want to drop off different place, etc. Prices are better there than car rental web pages, at least for my destination & size car. You can have a bad experience renting a car in person...most people do not.

Florida in particular (in my experience) has some of the highest rental car add-on fees and surcharges of any state. None of the travel agents or phone reservations systems quote these fees so the internet can't be blamed. The advice regarding doing a telephone confirmation and getting a confirmation number is a good idea. I always do this if I rent a hotel room over the net. Also please note that if you use a large travel agency (one that is national and has bulk purchasing power), it's often possible to get a much better rate on rental cars through them provided you are buying at least one other service from them (e.g. car and hotel or car and airfare). I went to CA a few years ago and Liberty Travel (I'm sure there are other large firms like this) was $8 per ticket higher for the airfare but save me $40 per week on the rental car (and believe me - I'd already shopped around). It's worth getting a quote.

<BR>A year ago I found the best rate on the Internet. It was cheaper than booking by phone. Last year I found a cheaper rate by calling several car rental agents and asking for their best rate. AAA or AARP discounts are usually the best.