Picking up rental car early?

[Mrs~Incredible]

Hi experts. Our SW flights changed and we will need our car 2 hours earlier than when we booked, and we will also be returning the car 2 hours earlier than when we booked.

We used Costco to book thru Alamo, found our reservation on the Alamo site and did pre check-in and skip the counter. We have a GREAT price for the original rental that is not there now (not even close, through Costco or through Alamo)

Questions:
1. Should I just call and speak to an Alamo agent and ask to modify 2 hours earlier on each end of the rental?
2. I worry the price will jack up. Can we just show up 2 hours earlier (and return the car 2 hours earlier)? This seems risky and in this case I worry we will have to wait for the car to be available.

Thanks everyone! Appreciate any advice and experiences you have with this!

 

[Lewisc]

It will work, IF there are cars available. Otherwise you'll wait.

 

[Mle8308]

If you want the car 2 hours earlier than you reserved, you definitely need to call to ensure a car will be available when you want it. A lot of rental companies base outgoing rentals on when they have cars being returned and how long it takes to turn them over. Your price could change, that is why it's best to call.

 

[gmi3804]

If you change the time, the rental company might treat it as a new reservation with a new (higher?) rate. I'd just show up early. Alamo has tons of cars and you won't be shut out, or made to wait until your original pick-up time. I do this all the time when I change inbound flights, Just note that clock on your rental will start ticking from pick-up time, so you'll need to return it by that time on the return day, or perhaps be faced with a late return fee.

 

[woodys_girl]

Not exactly the same, but I had a situation where I needed to pick up my rental (from Alamo) like 12 hours later (the day after I had reserved it for). I was really worried they would change my very good rate, but they said they would not and for future reference they always hold reservations for something like 24 hours in case of flight delays etc. My only advice would be to make sure you have a copy of (email or screenshot) your reservation and the rate in case something happens. I did have once (may have been that same time) where the rate that was printed on our paperwork when we pulled out of the garage was not the rate I had reserved at even thought the reservation matched. When I got home I contacted Alamo and they said, "I guess you accidentally got re-rated." And then they refunded the difference.

 

[Mrs~Incredible]

Not exactly the same, but I had a situation where I needed to pick up my rental (from Alamo) like 12 hours later (the day after I had reserved it for). I was really worried they would change my very good rate, but they said they would not and for future reference they always hold reservations for something like 24 hours in case of flight delays etc. My only advice would be to make sure you have a copy of (email or screenshot) your reservation and the rate in case something happens. I did have once (may have been that same time) where the rate that was printed on our paperwork when we pulled out of the garage was not the rate I had reserved at even thought the reservation matched. When I got home I contacted Alamo and they said, "I guess you accidentally got re-rated." And then they refunded the difference.

Ooooh that is great advice!! Thank you!!

I’m going to try to call them this week and see if they can change it in their end without a rate change.

 

[Genie+]

It’s a good time for reminder: Take THOROUGH pictures of your vehicle before you drive away.

We had gotten lackadaisical after a string of 10+ rentals having no damage issues. I started not taking as many pics. Last trip the car had 2 small dents and some scratches and luckily I did try to document it all. 2 hours later I also noticed a windshield crack very low down on passenger side and took a photo.

Weeks after we get home Hertz contacts us for car insurance, they want to claim the windshield. The first round of photos did not show the crack but since I had the better photo taken hours later, I knew what area to try zooming into through all the photos. Without the combo I may have had a hard time recalling and proving pre-existing damage. Be vigilant! Even if you notice something later, take the time to document it asap.

 

[Mrs~Incredible]

It’s a good time for reminder: Take THOROUGH pictures of your vehicle before you drive away.

We had gotten lackadaisical after a string of 10+ rentals having no damage issues. I started not taking as many pics. Last trip the car had 2 small dents and some scratches and luckily I did try to document it all. 2 hours later I also noticed a windshield crack very low down on passenger side and took a photo.

Weeks after we get home Hertz contacts us for car insurance, they want to claim the windshield. The first round of photos did not show the crack but since I had the better photo taken hours later, I knew what area to try zooming into through all the photos. Without the combo I may have had a hard time recalling and proving pre-existing damage. Be vigilant! Even if you notice something later, take the time to document it asap.

Wow!! That is great advice. You’re right, we too have become a little lackadaisical with this but appreciate the reminder!! Glad it worked out for you.

 

[_19disnA]

When I make my online rental reservation, I always put down 2 hrs before I expect to arrive and never had any issues. I also return it 1-2 hrs before the time shown on my reservation. If they are short on cars, the turnaround time can be rather tight and the car they expected to give you might have not yet returned. I would contact the rental company (or change the reservation pickup time online if possible) to show your updated plans.

If you show up and no car is available, not contacting them ahead of time due to a concern about pricing won't mean much.

I always walk around the vehicle to look for obvious damage before driving away, but have never bothered taking pictures. IF the car has obvious exterior damage, I would either refuse that vehicle or insist that it is shown somewhere on the rental agreement to avoid issues later on. Also be sure to return it will a full gas tank to avoid excessive refueling charges. I also make sure to get a printed receipt from one of those hand-held devices their employees use when checking in returned vehicles. NEVER just leave the car without getting some sort of receipt (shows mileage, date/time of return, fuel status and total cost of rental).

 

[Genie+]

IF the car has obvious exterior damage, I would either refuse that vehicle or insist that it is shown somewhere on the rental agreement to avoid issues later on.

This was a quick 3 day trip during spring break. What you say is good. Sometimes harder to do though. We were tired from early travel, already waited a while just to get our vehicle, inventory was low for what we needed, 2 other people were roaming around looking for attendants, none were in sight… at some point you just want to get out of the airport! Lol. So I was ok taking the vehicle. I would’ve been really aggravated having to take responsibility for damage I knew it wasn’t my own. In that case - the minutes spent on photos well exceeded their value

 

[ilikecarrentals]

Sometimes when you pick up early from Alamo their system will re-rate your booking. Make sure you check your receipt/rental record. Alamo will fix it if you point it out.

 

[seashoreCM]

This was many years ago and with an off brand rental company but the same company (at MCO) had (on different dates) done all three of: (1) just given me a car early, (2) offering me a car early at a higher price (I declined and they gave it to me immediately at the original price), and (3) told me I had to wait for the pickup time to get the car. I can understand that on popular dates, such as Daytona Week, they will try to be strict in order to have an excuse to cancel a "cheaper" reservation and rent the car to someone else for more.

I would say, don't reserve the car for an earlier pickup than when you will get there. Otherwise they may consider you a no-show and cancel your reservation.

 

[EACarlson]

Hi experts. Our SW flights changed and we will need our car 2 hours earlier than when we booked, and we will also be returning the car 2 hours earlier than when we booked.

We used Costco to book thru Alamo, found our reservation on the Alamo site and did pre check-in and skip the counter. We have a GREAT price for the original rental that is not there now (not even close, through Costco or through Alamo)

Questions:
1. Should I just call and speak to an Alamo agent and ask to modify 2 hours earlier on each end of the rental?
2. I worry the price will jack up. Can we just show up 2 hours earlier (and return the car 2 hours earlier)? This seems risky and in this case I worry we will have to wait for the car to be available.

Thanks everyone! Appreciate any advice and experiences you have with this!

I would suggest just showing up early and being vigilant in checking the price per day/week matches what you had booked originally. You may see a price difference on the expected charge based on when you were going to be dropping it off. If you're original booking was at noon on the 5th through noon on the 12th, then you pick up at 10am on the 5th, it will probably show your charge with an extra day, for the time period of 10 am to noon on the 12th. But it will come back down if you drop it off before 10am to the correct price. To give a better example I'd need to know your exact reservation dates and times and what you now expect your pick up and drop off dates and times to be. If the cars on on the lot, I've never been told I have to wait for my reservation time with any of the big three companies.

 

[Mrs~Incredible]

I would suggest just showing up early and being vigilant in checking the price per day/week matches what you had booked originally. You may see a price difference on the expected charge based on when you were going to be dropping it off. If you're original booking was at noon on the 5th through noon on the 12th, then you pick up at 10am on the 5th, it will probably show your charge with an extra day, for the time period of 10 am to noon on the 12th. But it will come back down if you drop it off before 10am to the correct price. To give a better example I'd need to know your exact reservation dates and times and what you now expect your pick up and drop off dates and times to be. If the cars on on the lot, I've never been told I have to wait for my reservation time with any of the big three companies.

We are currently pick up at 3:00 pm on 11/9, drop off at 10:00am on 11/24. Want to move both times up by 2 hours (1:00 pm pick up, 8:00 am drop off)
It’s with Alamo in MCO. Thx!!!!

 

[EACarlson]

We are currently pick up at 3:00 pm on 11/9, drop off at 10:00am on 11/24. Want to move both times up by 2 hours (1:00 pm pick up, 8:00 am drop off)
It’s with Alamo in MCO. Thx!!!!

You shouldn't need to change anything and the price shouldn't change. You're currently booked for two weeks, plus one day. Car rentals operate on actual time out for charges. Even picking up early, your scheduled drop off time is still within the amount of time you're paying for. I don't think you'll have any issues, I would make sure the rate when you get your paperwork is the same as what you should have screenshotted before you go.

 

[Mrs~Incredible]

You shouldn't need to change anything and the price shouldn't change. You're currently booked for two weeks, plus one day. Car rentals operate on actual time out for charges. Even picking up early, your scheduled drop off time is still within the amount of time you're paying for. I don't think you'll have any issues, I would make sure the rate when you get your paperwork is the same as what you should have screenshotted before you go.

Fantastic. Thanks for the insight!!