Budget or Dollar car rental ?

People may have had different experiences but the last time we took Budget out of MCO it took an hour longer to get our car and out of the airport than either of the times we booked Dollar.
 
Which ever one is cheaper and I would suggest joining their rental club that way you can skip the main rental counter and head out to the garage counter which is usually faster. If you want even faster service I would use Alamo. You check in online at home and print the rental agreement. Once at MCO head to the garage pick out what ever car you want from the car class you rented. Give the paperwork, drivers license and credit card that the exit booth.
 


I like Dollar over Budget only because you get to pick your car. I don't like being assigned a car and then find out you hate it. A car is like a pair of shoes. I want to try it out and make sure its a good fit.
 
I like Dollar over Budget only because you get to pick your car. I don't like being assigned a car and then find out you hate it. A car is like a pair of shoes. I want to try it out and make sure its a good fit.
I just rented from Budget this weekend at BWI airport. I was given the choice to pick any car from a specific aisle. They were all different makes and models so we had a lot to choose from.
Denise
 
I just rented from Budget this weekend at BWI airport. I was given the choice to pick any car from a specific aisle. They were all different makes and models so we had a lot to choose from.
Denise

That is great if Budget starts to do that. At my local airports they do not and I can't remember if MCO does or not since I try to stick with Alamo whenever possible.
 


Budget did not offer that on my August trip. I booked economy and got stuck with an awful Kia sedan. It was gutless with poor gas mileage, not to mention bigger than I was expecting. The trip before they gave me a little Ford hatchback, maybe a Fiesta and it was great. Their counter is dreadfully slow too, no matter what time of day or night that you arrive.
That is great if Budget starts to do that. At my local airports they do not and I can't remember if MCO does or not since I try to stick with Alamo whenever possible.
 
Budget did not offer that on my August trip. I booked economy and got stuck with an awful Kia sedan. It was gutless with poor gas mileage, not to mention bigger than I was expecting. The trip before they gave me a little Ford hatchback, maybe a Fiesta and it was great. Their counter is dreadfully slow too, no matter what time of day or night that you arrive.

Thank you for that information. I have Fast Break so the counter wouldn't be a problem for me but I do like to pick out my car.
 
I've rented with both and prefer Dollar. At MCO, they allow you to choose your own car from a row. The only time I rented from Budget, they assigned me a car and I wasn't a huge fan of it.

When I rented from Dollar in Disney Springs at the Wyndham Hotel, they assigned me a car (and had a much smaller inventory)
 
Got a great rate from Dollar as a AAA member thru the AAA website. If you book thru the AAA website - you also get a free additional driver and possibly other perks (which weren't important to us this trip - like free child seat etc.) Will have to post back after our experience. I've only ever done Alamo and always had quick, fast service and always enjoy picking my own car from the aisle!
 
Got a great rate from Dollar as a AAA member thru the AAA website. If you book thru the AAA website - you also get a free additional driver and possibly other perks (which weren't important to us this trip - like free child seat etc.) Will have to post back after our experience. I've only ever done Alamo and always had quick, fast service and always enjoy picking my own car from the aisle!

Was this recently booked?
 
It was actually booked on Wednesday Aug 8th. The prices are are about 25% higher now on Dollar, but just a few dollars higher for Hertz than my current Dollar full-size rental.

Currently Hertz is $162 for a 6 day rental (for my dates - just don't like sharing specific dates due to security reasons online).

I just really liked renting from Alamo because you could choose from a row. And their full size row had minivans each time we did that. But, Alamo was more expensive this time. And, the free additional driver will be really nice this time as my mom is only going to parks 2 days, and she will want to go shopping other days. And I might want to do a Walmart run etc.
 
Alamo is my favorite too, but I've had pretty good results from both Dollar and Budget having made sure I sign up for their respective insiders clubs (Dollar Express, Budget FastBreak).

However, my last two trips to MCO I've wound up renting from Hertz (again, join their #1 gold club) as they've had the best rates and those rates have shown up about 3 to 7 days before the trip. Like Alamo, I was able to go straight to the garage, pick a car from an aisle and go. Very similar experience. (With Dollar and Budget, I believe I had to stop at a garage booth, but those were both quick also).
 
I like Budget but I joined the free fastbreak thing they offer, and it makes life super easy...bypass the rental counter...go straight to the rental cars, and the key is sitting on the driver's seat. Load up and go!
 
Both have good rates but both have bad reviews. Which one would you use?

Dollar in a heartbeat. Budget cars we’ve been assigned have been rather beat & high mileage. YMMV.

Don’t rule out Thrifty, rented twice so far this year thru them with no issue and almost 50% less.
 
We had not rented a car in MCO in years, but did so last month. I was advised not to use Dollar when I asked about it, but we ended up using them. We paid $90 less than any other car company for our 5 night/6 day rental using the Dollar Days sale they had in August. It was $134 for a full sized car when all was said and done. We used the kiosk and got our car quickly. No lines, no added charges, no problems. We had great customer service when we returned. I would use either company.

We opted out of the toll pass.
 
We always use Dollar. One thing to check is that the price you booked it for is the same as the rental agreement they hand you when you pick up the car.
 

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