Have any of you Dopers rented a car from Advantage? Particularly in Chicago. I reserved a car yesterday through Orbitz because of the cheapest price which is about 20% less than the nearest competitor. However, after making the reservation I looked them up on Epinions and about 90% of the reviews were negative. Now I’m having second thoughts. Can you put my mind at ease? Or should I just back out now while I still can? I haven’t shelled out any money or even given my cc # yet.
I’ve rented from Advantage before, though in Arizona. They were all right, in fact, I can’t remember anything bad about them. We use all sorts of rental companies whenever we go to the US, mostly based on price. From all the ones we’ve come across, only one was downright horrible, and that was EZ (as in: didn’t have the car we wanted, then started giving me crap over not buying their extra insurance, which they claimed was mandatory for someone with an overseas licence (BS, my travel insurance covers rental cars), so we ended up taking the shuttle back to the terminal and rented elsewhere).
What sort of criticism do the Epionions users have? And bear in mind, criticism makes it onto the internet a lot soner than praise.
The criticisms ran the gamut from rude employees to hidden charges to deceptive practices to outright stealing! :eek:
IIRC only 2 were from Chicago, but they were also negative.
If I don’t get some happy talk by this evening I’m cancelling and going with National or Budget Rent a Car. I’ve dealt with both of them before and things went smoothly. The extra 80 bucks or so for a weekly rental will give me peace of mind.
I rented from Advantage for the first time in San Diego last month. They had the best rates. I forgot to refill the tank when I returned the car (it was about half empty) and they never charged me! I’m thinking that’s a pretty good deal.