Dollar, Alamo, or Fox for rental car?

My wife and I are leaving this coming Wednesday for a six night stay on the Strip. We'll be renting a car for the whole trip from the airport location and have three options all with similar prices and vehicle types: Alamo, Dollar, and Fox.

I've rented from Fox with no issues but there's the extra shuttle involved. I've rented from Dollar with no issues. I've never rented from Alamo.

Thoughts and opinions on which to go with since the pricing and size options are the same? Thanks!

 

I personally like Alamo, but Dollar runs a close second. Either of these, with joining their club you can be on your way in minutes, while the other people are lined up for an hour.

 

IMHO, rent from Dollar or Alamo. they have a bigger selection of cars at the airport location plus you don't have to worry about taking another shuttle to the fox office. Fox would be last on my list although they usually have the lowest rates but if rates were similar I would avoid fox and take the big national agencies.

One other thing, with dollar or alamo you may be more inclined to get upgraded to a better sized car. at fox you may have to wait for your size car since they don't upgrade as easily as alamo or dollar.

I rented from alamo in march. guess I tried to help a hawaiian couple with the clerk and manager, they had instituted the policy where you have to show your costco card and the couple didn't have their costco card. my clerk was sympathetic for me assisting. I paid for an economy but was upgraded to an impala full sized car for 9 nights.

One more thing, I like alamo staff better than dollar so would rent from alamo over dollar first. at the LV dollar they have a clerk who was a real butthead, trying to push you to buy their added insurance, he even questioned my own insurance, asked how much I had for my deductibles and limits, etc. just so he could try to convince me to buy more insurance even though I kept repeating that I didn't want the optionals. He finally got me my car but it took almost an hour to go through him. I pass by dollar and still see the guy working so I even if I rent from dollar I usually avoid him and allow others to go to him. every time that happenned I ended up with my car and was out the door way before the people who had that clerk.

 

Im shocked that Hertz is not in the running...

Everytime I look to rent a car, Hertz is significantly less than all the other companies...$120 cheaper than the next closest for a midsize SUV in Seattle in a month...

 

Funny how different people have different experiences. I have never found Hertz to be even close to the other 2 in pricing in Vegas. Example: My upcoming trip Sept 7-10. Alamo full size $62, Dollar $85, and Hertz $110.

 

That is crazy!!! I get some negotiated discount through my car insurance but I would never have expected it to be so significant.

 

The past three times my gf and I have went, we have rented through Alamo; it's been the cheapest everytime.
Now, here's how we do it:
1.) Sign up for "Alamo Insider"
2.) Check RentalCarMomma.com for pricing
3.) Google "Alamo Coupons" and see if there's any coupons available

The past three times we've went, we've managed to get it down to like $15 a day for an "economy" (However, the three times we've went we've managed to get a: Chevy Cruze, Hyundai Elantra, Nissan Versa; all very roomy for just two people)

 

No love for EZ??? No shuttle and usually priced very well.

 

check out budget they have a weekly special on a compact for 119.00 with a 25.00 coupon. my total for sept 1-sept 8 was 154. thru zalyn and everyone else was over 200.00. took about 5 minutes to sing up for raprew/fastbreak and by pass the counter.

 

Giving EZ a chance - got a full size for 143.00 inclusive for 5 days (98.00 week plus taxes and fees) Booked about 3 weeks ago - have been checking to see if prices will drop before our trip but they are almost double what we booked at.

 

If you're renting from Dollar, join Dollar Express on their website. It costs nothing and allows you to bypass the counter entirely - just go directly to the garage and get your car from the attendant. Every time we've rented in LV there has been a lineup at the counter, but we've never waited longer than 10 min to get a car. I can't understand why everyone doesn't do this.

 

I've rented with Dollar 4 times and I would agree about joining Express, it's well worth skipping the line. Sadly, when we went earlier this year they were having computer problems downstairs so we still had to go upstairs. Luckily we got in late (around midnight) and there was hardly anybody in line in the main area. The previous three times we've had no problem though.

 

neither

Neither,
I always do make your own Price on Priceline & Always get a rental from one of the biggies @ main rental car center.
(try $14 a day?)

 

EZ is similar to fox, they usually have lower rates over the other national chains but then car selection is very limited. I rented from EZ last year, there only was one car of my type out in the lot. another couple had to wait 45 minutes for their car to be returned and prepped. at least at dollar and alamo you normally have a selection of cars in your size to choose from. the lines were long at EZ, some people gave up and went to other agencies because it too so long to go through the line.

As with fox, I would only go with EZ (or fox) if their rates were considerably lower than the other agencies.

 

Sounds like dollar or Alamo will be it. Does Alamo offer a quick pickup option like dollar? If not, I'll go with dollar and do the express pickup option.

Tempted to try name your own price but not sure ill save much for the uncertainty of company and selection.

 

Done EZ twice now without a hitch. I worked for Avis Rent A Car for almost 10 years, there are times of the day where you are going to have a line, and there are times when car selection is shit- it is part of the industry. Lines at rental car companies are not near as bad as 99% of the hotel check ins in Vegas, or buffet lines.

 

That is one of the reasons I give Alamo a slight edge over Dollar in Vegas. They do have the quick pickup, and unlike Dollar, you can pick your own car. Last few times I went with Dollar, they had my name already on a car.

IMHO, the name your own price is seldom worth it. Like a hotel, you are stuck with it once you bid. And I normally get about $10-$20 worth of airline points from booking direct that I would not receive doing name your own price. If you don't have the time or patience to watch prices then it might be worth it though....

 

Ended up going with Dollar because Alamo site was giving me problems and I wasn't sure about the quick pickup which mattered to me since they were all about the same price. Perhaps ill give Alamo a shot next time around. Thanks for the advice! Two days and counting down!!!!

 

alamo has fantastic online checkin option.

off the shuttle and right to the garage to pick out your car

have used them in florida a few times as well as vegas and always flawless.

 

I got to the ez line at 7 am on a tuesday. yes, it is the time of day that could be busy but there were maybe 18 people waiting in line at ez. throughout that time there were NO lines at the other rental agencies. a few waiting in the ez line gave up in dusgust and went to the other agencies. they did pay a lot more but they didn't have to wait very long to get their car. after I got processed I went the wrong way but I noticed that the major chains has plenty of cars available while the EZ lot was basically empty.

IMHO, Ez is a cut rate operation with a limited selection of cars. to tell you the truth I think ez is as bad as hotel check ins and I will pay a little more to rent elsewhere if possible. I usually find the national chains drop prices at times so I usually just wait until prices drop and rent elsewhere.

btw, I have never found Avis to be competitive with dollar and alamo, In fact I don't remember renting from Avis in decades, I usually find alamo and dollar to be priced better IMHO.