curunir

I must relate this story. I was waiting for the valet at the Gaslamp Hilton when I left the engine running and got my luggage out of the trunk. When I returned to the drivers side of the car to open the door for the valet, I was locked out of the car in the middle of the street with the engine running. Upon calling Dollar, I was told that I could either call chrysler and they would charge me for opening the rental or use my own AAA. I'd have thought they'd have some provision for this since the car locked me out. Any similar experiances?

Ramomatic

Interesting story

MFLetou

Anyone have other experiences with Dollar at SAN? Is the Shuttle ok?

MinetaFlyer

The shuttle runs less frequently than shuttles for Hertz, Budget, Alamo, Avis, National. I paid $78 for a full-size car for 4 days.

MFLetou

It does seem to be the cheapest, but I'm arriving at night and frankly I'm afraid that if I incur a delay, I will arrive after Dollar closes. Seems like it just isn't worth it.

RobertTheTraveler

Well, then book a second, backup reservation at one of the 24-hour companies (AVIS-HERTZ-NATIONAL). If Dollar is closed, then you are OK. If you are staying downtown, there is also the option of cab-ing it to your hotel and getting your car the next day. There's always so much heartburn over car reservations. Heck, you could make 1000 reservations every day on every car company and never show up for any one of them. Total cost to you: $0.00.

Some weekends, I have 4-6 reservations made, since my plans are in flux. If I am able to, I will go back and cancel the ones I decide not to use. When I see a lower rate, I immediately book it, then go back and cancel the old one.

As for Dollar in SAN, it's an OK facility. The lines can be very long though. I joined FastLane about 4 months ago (after years of renting Dollar on-and-off). They treat FastLane drivers much much much better. You won't get hassled about your insurance coverage or your extra drivers or that "upgrade for $10 more".

CruiseOne2003

I have nothing but good things to say about Dollar. Their Fastlane service is really fast, especially in SAN. I showed up the last weekend in April, their small office had about 25 customers snaking through. Two agents were working the counter and only one customer in the Fastlane line. I was pleasantly surprised how quickly I was processed and upgraded into a brand new PT cruiser.

iahphx

I've bought a cheapo airfare into SAN for later this year and Dollar/Thrifty are, for the moment, much cheaper than the "big boys." So I want to hold a reservation with one of them. Is there any difference between Dollar and Thrifty at SAN? The rates are, as usual, identical. So which should I book?

Thanks for the help.

Auto Enthusiast

Jackal once gave a comparison, and recommended Thrifty Blue Chip for its satisfaction guarantee.

However, Hertz now owns Dollar/Thrifty. So that will limit how low the prices go, how new the cars will be (Hertz castoffs eventually), and the service (many complain here about Hertz employees).

iahphx

Ah, I forgot about that Hertz's purchase. There sure aren't that many independent rent-a-car companies left. I wonder why prices are still pretty cheap -- I hope I haven't jinxed that.

In SAN, for an advance weekend rez for my days, Thrifty/Dollar are about 1/3 the price of the larger companies. So, for the moment, I have no real choice but to book with them. In deciding which one to use, I was wondering whether one was a franchise and the other corporate-owned, their locations (I guess everybody requires a shuttle), and if one had a better fleet than the other. Or are they co-operated at SAN?

EDIT:
Looking at Google maps, it appears that the Dollar and Thrifty locations are across the street from each other, about a mile further from the airport than the larger companies -- but right before you get to I-5, so not materially more inconvenient. I don't know if this nearby location means the two companies are co-operated.

Auto Enthusiast

They are. Only a few locations, ex SEA and PDX, have a corporate Thrifty competing with a franchise Dollar.

iahphx

Yeah, I know about that Pacific Northwest thing, so that's why I wondered about SAN. It sounds like, in reality, it makes zero difference which one I use. Do they even share the same bus?

ljwobker

I rent w/ Dollar in SAN maybe 10 times a year. The shuttles ARE less frequent, but not horrifically so. I'm Ok with waiting another 10 minutes in 70F and clear weather to save what is usually a lot of money. My only real suggestion (and I STRONGLY suggest this) is to get signed up with Dollar's free frequent renter program. This lets you shortcut the line at the office and get to your car much faster. When the lines at the office are long that usually means a lot of un-seasoned travellers, and those people take a long time to process. The frequent renter lane moves a lot faster, I've probably never waited more than one person in that line. The office is further from the airport, but only by a few blocks and it's quite convenient to the airport and downtown. Cars at this location have been perfectly serviceable though rarely anything special.

iahphx

Thanks. Good idea to sign up for the Dollar frequent renter program. I know these things can be a timesaver, so why not? I don't rent from Dollar/Thrifty that often (I usually get equal or better rates from the big companies closer to pick-up time), but I know that I'll face an annoying line at a Dollar location sometime in the next year or two. Might as well have a way out!

Effekt

Would like to know what kind of convertible they have at SAN now? Mustang or Sebring? 2012/3 or older?
Remember they had Mustangs back in 2011.


Thank you!