Dollar Car Rental MCO The good and the bad

aljjgfamily

Earning My Ears
Joined
Jan 28, 2006
We are heading to disney in December. I was able to lock in to a great rate at Dollar. We usually rent from Alamo but they are super high right now. Since I am not familiar with Dollar I did some research and some of the reviews were not pretty, especially the toll pass option. Therefore I am very nervous. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you!
 
We are heading to disney in December. I was able to lock in to a great rate at Dollar. We usually rent from Alamo but they are super high right now. Since I am not familiar with Dollar I did some research and some of the reviews were not pretty, especially the toll pass option. Therefore I am very nervous. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you!
If you look up reviews for any of the big players, you are going to find mixed reviews (even for your fave Alamo).
Dollar/Thrifty are on par with the other big agencies like Alamo/National/Enterpise, Budget/Avis, Hertz etc
Whichever company you choose to rent with be sure to sign up for their free loyalty program to expedite the rental process, Dollar's is called Dollar Express.

Dollar/Thrifty has what I consider to be the most expensive tolling option at $10.49/day and charged for everyday of your rental (but includes toll costs).
If you are staying in the Orlando area, you could opt out of this and just pay tolls at the tollbooths.
Be careful though...should you miss a toll both and incur a single toll, you will be charged the toll plus a $9.99 admin fee (for each and every toll that you miss).
***we used Dollar once for a one-way rental MCO to MIA and opted into the toll program. It actually saved us some money since we took the Turnpike from Orlando all the way to Miami which would have cost almost $15 in tolls for the trip between the 2 airports. But otherwise you would really have to be racking up lots of tolls every single day of your rental to make this option worthwhile. It's a very expensive "convenience" charge

IMHO, Alamo/National/Enterprise has the most fair tolling program at $3.95/day plus tolls but only for the actual days that you incur any tolls.

***If you are planning to go further south to the Miami area, tolls are all electronic with no option to pay at tollbooths. In a case like this, then using the rental company's toll program OR purchasing your own Sunpass Transponder would be the way to go
 
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We are heading to disney in December. I was able to lock in to a great rate at Dollar. We usually rent from Alamo but they are super high right now. Since I am not familiar with Dollar I did some research and some of the reviews were not pretty, especially the toll pass option. Therefore I am very nervous. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you!
I am in the same boat you are. We jumped over to Dollar when they dropped last week. I am still holding out hope for Alamo to come back down...in the next 12 hours before I leave :teeth:.

We bought our own Sunpass and use that, we have never had a problem with being charged by Alamo. I am nervous about Dollar trying to hit us with toll fees. I still don't understand how if the car has the built in receiver things it knows to take the toll from my account and not Alamo's. Whatever they do it works because I have never had a problem. I was once told to collect receipts as proof that I paid them (before we had sunpass) but that doesn't work so well when you've got long toll lines behind you and an attendant trying to speed you along.

Also, if you frequent Florida I would recommend getting your own. It is super convenient! I got the sticker one for 5 bucks. It's not technically supposed to be 'portable' (I.E. it is supposed to be permanently fixed to the windshield via the self adhesive) but we just tape it into the windshield of our rental and away we go.
 
I was once told to collect receipts as proof that I paid them (before we had sunpass) but that doesn't work so well when you've got long toll lines behind you and an attendant trying to speed you along.

In the Orlando area? They say the cost (they always do in our experience), as you hand it over you say “can I have a receipt?” and they hit a button after putting the money away and hand the receipt to you. I’m not even sure it registers any extra time on a normal watch.

That’s in the change-given lines as well as in the exact change lines. We always get receipts and it has never taken any extra time at all. Fwiw.


Op if you want to pay cash at tolls tell them you don’t want the toll option. Make sure that’s marked properly on your paperwork. Being some ones and a roll of quarters and you’re good to go.
 


I always use Dollar. Sign up for Dollar Express. You can go straight to the garage to collect your vehicle and head out. We always opt out of the toll pass, but we come down often enough that we just invested in a Sunpass. Toll booths on 417 sometimes seem to sneak up on you, but are generally well marked and there are receipt lanes. There are a few exits that have unmanned booths to pay, make sure you have ample change handy. Pick ups and Returns have always been quick and efficient-Pickups can take a little longer if you happen to hit the booth at the same time as a number of other renters.

Not that I would EVER suggest anyone take I-4 rather than 417 from the airport, but if you were to do so, I don't believe you'd hit any tolls.
 
as you hand it over you say “can I have a receipt?” and
I grew up with a self-employed parent, and the phrase is burned into my brain as, "Can I have a receipt, please?" ;) (although if I wanted to be pedantic, proper grammar would dictate, "May I have a receipt, please?")
 

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