MCO Shuttle Car Rental

blobula

Earning My Ears
Joined
Mar 26, 2018
Is there a car rental company outside the airport that you can take a shuttle to that anyone has had good experience with? Seems rates are way cheaper outside of the airport. Seems to good to be true so there must be hidden fees?

Thanks!
 
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Hi, we did this years ago, never again! I know it's a lot cheaper, but also a lot more time-shuttles are late, you have to wait on a line when you get there, really adds valuable time. Everyone is different, if you know all of this going in, and there is a large difference in price, then go for it-personally I would never do it again. We use Alamo, go directly to the garage, and we're on our way in minutes! If you plan to do off the airport rental, just make sure you look at all the reviews. Good luck!
 
For a long term rental (over a week) I think the off site places would be a wise choice - saving vs. convenience.
Seems to good to be true so there must be hidden fees?
I've never seen hidden fees from a reputable rental place off-site. They are usually cheaper because space in an airport is crazy expensive. But the shuttle are ALWAYS the issue. We have waited for an hour at the airport. Even after dropping the car we often have to wait for close to an hour getting a shuttle to the airport - they often want to hold until there are several people on board. So you'll save money but be prepared for a long wait for the shuttle on both sides.
 
Is there a car rental company outside the airport that you can take a shuttle to that anyone has had good experience with? Seems rates are way cheaper outside of the airport. Seems to good to be true so there must be hidden fees?

Thanks!
Make reservations on line, then call the company and see if the rate is better on the phone. Also ask if they have AAA, AARP or any other discount. Last Christmas I saved $300 doing this on a 3 day rental in New York. I have also saved at MCO.
I agree using a shuttle is a pain.
 
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If you look at the breakdown for an on-site rental, there is a pretty substantial fee applied by the airport facilities/authorities. I am looking at my $187 base rate, and there is an additional $20 "concession recovery fee" and $24 "Customer facility surcharge" which I suspect are unique to on-site rentals.

Personally I do not want to start a vacation off by chancing it with a bad experience while shuttling to an off-site rental. I have always had very good results with the on-site rentals. I do not want to waste time both on pick-up and drop-off with shuttling. It is worth it for me, if you can get your hands on discount/coupon codes you can still save a bit with the on-site rentals.
 


Years ago I reserved a car with on off-site company. Rate was great. HOWEVER, when I arrived on their shuttle there was a long line, with a LOT of unhappy people grumbling. Turns out that this off-site company required a certified proof of insurance (not just the little slip you carry in your car). If you didn't have that certified proof, then you had no choice --- had to pay the expensive daily fee for their insurance! They said this requirement was in the fine print online, but I hadn't seen it, and neither had anyone else in line. I gathered my luggage and took their shuttle back to MCO, where I was able to walk up to a reputable company and get a car right away. Cost a bit more, but I refused to rent from that other sneaky company.
 
I think this is not always true in some cases, some company are more affordable and comfortable than the ones outside the airport. Rental services inside the airport are easy to trust, well organized and certified
 
Depends on how much my time is worth and how much time I have. If I rent off airport I plan on two hours from wheels down until I'm leaving the airport, if I rent on airport I plan on about one hour, 45 minutes if I'm renting from a place I can skip the counter.

I have seen some amazing rates from Routes car rental, I know they are big in Canada, but haven't heard anything good or bad about them at MCO. I won't rent from Advantage again after a horrible experience in DEN and a extra charges in MCO.
 
Years ago I reserved a car with on off-site company. ... Turns out that this off-site company required a certified proof of insurance (not just the little slip you carry in your car). If you didn't have that certified proof, then you had no choice --- had to pay the expensive daily fee for their insurance! They said this requirement was in the fine print online, but I hadn't seen it, and neither had anyone else in line.
Was it Payless, EZ, or L&M? I recall that those three have in their fine print that they reserve the right not to rent to you if you decline their collision coverage and also do not have collision insurance on your car back at home.

Yes, you need to plan more time getting from the airport to an ADR or getting from your resort back to the airport when your rental car company involves a shuttle. Just another link in the travel path that you have to wait for.
 
Why not take an Uber or Lyft to the offsite car facility? Shouldn't be too expensive.
 
Depends on how much my time is worth and how much time I have. If I rent off airport I plan on two hours from wheels down until I'm leaving the airport, if I rent on airport I plan on about one hour, 45 minutes if I'm renting from a place I can skip the counter.
Only an extra 15 minutes to wait (and catch) a shuttle, wait in line at the rental car place, and check out? OK.
 
Only an extra 15 minutes to wait (and catch) a shuttle, wait in line at the rental car place, and check out? OK.
No, an extra hour. It's one hour if I have to wait in line at the terminal, 45 minutes if I can skip the counter.
 

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