Cars at MCO

Old Apr 16, 2009, 7:02 am
  #46  
 
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Luxury line in MCO (Orlando airport)

Hi,

The family and myself are going to Orlando in 1 month and we have booked 2 cars from the luxury line at National which states the car to be a Cadillac DTS Automatic or similar. What selection can i expect to be able to choose from when we arrive? I am not a memeber or VIP at nationals, so no advantages there. And how does the car selection work? Will i be shown to the lot where the cars are and then i can choose whichever i want from that line, or will the salesman at the counter pick a random one without asking?

As you proberly can hear i am not from the US so i am not used to the whole car renting game - have rented from Avis and Hertz before in the US, but they just gave us the keys to some random car within the categoru we had booked - no option to have any say ourselves.
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Old Apr 16, 2009, 8:26 am
  #47  
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Dinovo - welcome to Flyertalk and our National forum. I believe that the procedure for you would be to stop at the counter for National to check your driver's license, credit card, etc. Once checked in they'll give you a contract and tell you to go to the Luxury area and pick a car. Finally, once you've picked the car, you'll drive to the exit booth and hand them the contract and the hangtag that gives the information on the particular car that you choose. I'm pretty sure this is how it will work for you - just the added step of having to stop at the rental counter since you are not Emerald Club.

Selection wise, most likely the Cadillac DTS but could be some others depending on what is around at the time you arrive - perhaps someone else will be able to help you better with that information.
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Old Apr 18, 2009, 5:01 pm
  #48  
 
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Thank you for the welcome :-)

I guess i'll have to wait and see what cars there is availabe at the time - a Cadi DTS or the new Buick Enclave is at the top of the wish list (based on the previous statements of car selection in the luxury line).

I do have one more question though; is it possible that some of the luxury cars are equipped with factory installed navigation in the car? Or is this a rarity?
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Old Apr 18, 2009, 9:32 pm
  #49  
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Originally Posted by Dinovo
I do have one more question though; is it possible that some of the luxury cars are equipped with factory installed navigation in the car? Or is this a rarity?
Rental car companies seem to "disable" factory installed navigation by removing the DVD/CD maps and rely on their own rental units.
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Old Apr 24, 2009, 11:45 pm
  #50  
 
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Originally Posted by peteropny
Rental car companies seem to "disable" factory installed navigation by removing the DVD/CD maps and rely on their own rental units.
One of the reasons I just travel with my own!
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Old Apr 26, 2009, 7:54 am
  #51  
 
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Originally Posted by Dinovo
Thank you for the welcome :-)

I guess i'll have to wait and see what cars there is availabe at the time - a Cadi DTS or the new Buick Enclave is at the top of the wish list (based on the previous statements of car selection in the luxury line).

I do have one more question though; is it possible that some of the luxury cars are equipped with factory installed navigation in the car? Or is this a rarity?
I am pretty sure they have the cadillac cts in luxury..you might see some 300's there too haha. ahve fun and remember to fill your gas up before you return the car...DO NOT fill up the gas at the closest gas station near the airport as they charge $2 more per gallon...its called suncoast or some garbage like that.. if you drive a little farther down semoron, there are a lot more gas stations you can fill up at.

As far as the procedure:

If you already have a reservation confirmed, no need to stop by the booth to talk to a person as they will just redirect you to the luxury aisle (where you have the reservation confirmed for)....After you land, simply head over to the national rental and pick any car you see in the luxury rows..the keys will be inside....drive to the exit booth with your license+reservation+cc and they'll confirm and let you on your way..if you need a navy, you may need to talk to someone inside the booth but if i were you, i'd buy one and bring it with me instead of paying $10/dayx30days = $300 or however much they charge

If gps are expensive in your country, you can go to any store here in the states and probably find a decent gps for around $100-$300 with international maps so you can use in your home country too. (Staples, Best Buy, Walmart, etc.)
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Old Apr 26, 2009, 11:00 am
  #52  
 
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Originally Posted by thecourtside
I am pretty sure they have the cadillac cts in luxury..you might see some 300's there too haha.
A CTS nor a 300 is really Luxury IMO. The CTS is small compared to the STS and DTS (although the newest addition is a little bigger then the older one). As for a 300, those cars are premium at best. It is just amazing to think what cars are classified as.
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Old Apr 26, 2009, 3:50 pm
  #53  
 
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Originally Posted by JLewisinSyr
A CTS nor a 300 is really Luxury IMO. The CTS is small compared to the STS and DTS (although the newest addition is a little bigger then the older one). As for a 300, those cars are premium at best. It is just amazing to think what cars are classified as.
They could classify it as a Premium Minivan for all I care...Caddys are what free days were made for
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Old Apr 26, 2009, 4:08 pm
  #54  
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Arrived B side last Friday around 7 a.m. EA was full of regular Malibu, some Altimas, smaller Dodges, G6, and other normal stuff. I had a Full-Size reserved and saw only standard Impalas, a Camry, and some other normal cars, but none with XM/Sirius. Went over to A side and took a '09 Charger SXT that had about 5,000 miles on it.

Last edited by FlyinHawaiian; Apr 28, 2009 at 6:48 am
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Old Apr 26, 2009, 7:17 pm
  #55  
 
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Originally Posted by thecourtside
DO NOT fill up the gas at the closest gas station near the airport as they charge $2 more per gallon...its called suncoast or some garbage like that.. if you drive a little farther down semoron, there are a lot more gas stations you can fill up at.
Assuming you are coming up the B-Line, just get off at Jetport Drive. There is a decent, not too overpriced station there, and it's easy to hop back on the B-Line. doesn't avoid teh tool, but is faster.
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Old Apr 28, 2009, 4:53 pm
  #56  
 
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I've been to MCO many times in the past but was doing the Hertz thing at that time (corporate preferred) so I had to board the shuttle as they are not on site. I see all the posts A side or B side when referring to National. What is the difference? Do these identify terminals? Thanks
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Old Apr 28, 2009, 10:38 pm
  #57  
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There are two parking garages with National locations (and others) in MCO. One on the A (northern) side and one on the B (southern). They are identical in operations, but sometimes the car selections are better on one than the other. Pretty hard to miss the big, neon "A" and "B" signs that are in the central lobby area of MCO.
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Old Apr 29, 2009, 1:11 pm
  #58  
 
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Mini Van

I will be renting here soon and would like to find out from someone who rented here recently if you noticed any mini vans in the executive aisle?

Or should I book a mini van to be on the safe side?

TIA.
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Old Apr 29, 2009, 1:18 pm
  #59  
 
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Originally Posted by OP_Fav1
I will be renting here soon and would like to find out from someone who rented here recently if you noticed any mini vans in the executive aisle?

Or should I book a mini van to be on the safe side?

TIA.
Don't know about right now but we rented in March, and there were zero mini-vans in neither the EA nor the Executive aisles. See my post #42 in this thread. I'd book a mini-van if you absolutely must have one for your trip.
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Old Apr 29, 2009, 1:23 pm
  #60  
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I was there in March as well and no minivans in either aisle.

This is MCO - everyone wants a minivan If you have to have one, reserve it.
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