15Nov2007
Filed under: Used Cars
Author: admin
bigdogvt asked:
At the Orlando airport, does anyone know which car rental companies let you select a car and which ones assign you a car? I prefer the ones that let you just go to the full size car area and take whichever one you want. I’ve been told that some just assign you a car and hassle you if you want something different. I like to use traveling as a way to test drive vehicles.
Yes, they do allow you to choose. I’ve done it before in Orlando, just can’t recall who the rental was with. You simply go to the lot, choose the vehicle, all of which have the keys in them, and check it out at the booth.
Fred C
November 16th, 2007 at 7:34 pm
I have never heard of a rental place that didn’t rent a specific car. You can specify a choice at the counter, but do you really think anybody is going to give you the keys to 10 cars and let you take off with whichever one suits your fancy? That would be like giving you the keys to 10 hotel rooms and saying you should just sleep wherever you like!
Edit Nov 26
A rental company that left keys in all the cars? Wow, insurance and law enforcement nightmare! I can’t imagine, in this day and age, any company being that damnably stupid, unless all the cars were in a restricted entry garage with security guards on duty.
Jeanne
November 18th, 2007 at 7:32 pm
It doesnt matter which company you go to, they all work off a booking sheet and what car you get depends on availability. First priority goes to those who have pre-booked. Some people specify “must-haves” for their rental vehicle so the staff find a vehicle to suit the needs then “lock” this vehicle into the booking so no one else can rent it, and no staff member can change it without authority. If you have certain needs for your test drive, tell them at the counter, or prebook, and they will choose the category that this vehicle fits into. If you are in the “touring”category there may be 3 different types of vehicles in this category eg Honda Accord, Toyota Camry or Nissan Maxima. Find out what the choices are then SPECIFY which you prefer and they will put this in your booking notes. This is an example only but this is how it works. Sorry its not specific to Orlando.
At the car rental company I was manager for we only ever took people out and gave them a choice if (a) we had several spare vehicles, (b) we wanted to impress that person or (c) were extremely bored and had run out of work. Even though you see a carpark full of cars most will have bookings on them, that is why they are parked up at the airport and not in a cheaper storage yard. A few “spares” are brought to the airport in the hopes that someone like you will walk up and just rent one (usually at full rates)
Good luck