a330300

Ok...more on the BOS trip.

I narrowed the choices down to three car rental companies- Avis, Hertz, and Alamo. Here is what I'm debating, and I hop you guys can give me some suggestions-

Mid-Size Cars

Alamo- $242.71 with Costco Discount (more vacationer/family oriented, possibly less professional with their service IMO) and I have Quicksilver

Hertz- $244.94 with AAA Discount (more reliable and professional IMO)

Hertz- $271.19 with AAA Discount and NEVERLOST (From what I hear, even confirmed NEVERLOST res. may not be fulfilled; I look forward to this service, but am afraid that they won't have it, and I'll have to make maps for the trip)

Avis- $245.46 with Costco discount and either a space-available upgrade or $15 off (another more "professional" choice)


Full-Size Car

Hertz- $258.76 w/AAA disc. (pretty small price for an upgrade IMO)
Hertz- $285.01 w/AAA disc. and NVLST

So which would be the best choice? The longest trip would probably be 1-2 hrs...

Thanks again..

a330300

[This message has been edited by a330300 (edited 05-17-2000).]

sggolf

My car rental preference would be with the car rental company which I had express service with. I hate waiting in lines and like to have my car ready and waiting.

Unless there was a preference with specific line of cars such as...Hertz uses Ford cars and Avis uses GM cars. Either Hertz or Avis are good choices.

The car size depends on whether I plan on travelling alot or need the room. If neither were needed, the midsize would be fine.

indogulf

if you are going to use alamo you might want to call upthe BOS station and ask what kind of mid size / full size cars they have b/c it does vary somewhat. if they have the Lumina and Malibu as the options I would recommend Hertz. The Lumina is a horrible car for even a 1/2 hour drive. and the Malibu is a sham of a full size car.

With Hertz you are pretty much sure to get a Ford Taurus or Mercury Sable.

SO opt for the full size with hertz and go with Neverlost - it does actually work well - if you get it

sbrower

I always get my NeverLost (*if* it is a location which has that service - many don't). Even when I am in a city where I know the directions I think NeverLost is a wonderful feature. (They had some serious design mistakes in Version 2, but those have now been rectified.)

Eastbay1K

I am very anti-Alamo, although it has been several years since I rented from them. From the fine-tooth-comb inspections when returning cars in some locales, to rates not being honored without a fight, to lying agents who are under pressure to "upgrade you", and so on, I absolutely will not rent from them, unless perhaps its the only car in town. The last time, the agent asked if I wanted a larger car... I said "only if you want to do it at the same price as my reservation". I also had some coupons I was using. In fact, he charged me $25 a day more (2 day rental) for a 1 class upgrade, something that would have been $3 at most if I had simply reserved a larger car. When returning the car, his manager essentially called me a liar, that the "agent told me" it would be the same price because I was using the coupon ($25), which was a heap-o-....

This was the final of a string of bad alamo experiences. On another occasion, when the auto transmission kept self-shifting from drive to neutral, and on the way back to return it, the rear-view mirror fell off and landed on my foot, they wanted to charge me for the gas I had not "filled up" (I had barely driven the car.)

I gladly pay a bit more for Hertz, and my occasional Avis experience has been fine.

Jon Toner

I don't know how well "Neverlost" would work in Boston. The place just defies navigation.

If you're heading up to Peabody (pronounced "p-b-d" without pausing in the local vernacular), then you want to take 1A North out of Logan and avoid the Big Pig... I mean Big Dig. $1.1b over budget and counting! And when they're done - it'll be a PARK! Woo hoo!



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"I will not be pushed, filed, stamped, indexed, briefed, debriefed or numbered. My life is my own."

T3

The last time in MCO I rented from Hertz - express service and all that. They upgraded me to a car with "never-lost". That was the first time I tried it. I certainly found it useful. Up to now, and probably for most trips still, I use my laptop with a GPS. The program, Street Atlas USA, also has voice prompts. I can work on my route in the hotel room and find all the locations I want ahead of time.