Latest reviews about Alamo

wm000 says "stay well clear of this company" about Alamo

wm000 — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 12:26:06 GMT

I booked an Alamo car in Antofayasta Chile on the internet. I accepted the web update offer (for 20 pounds) for an auto with air conditioning. When I arrived to pick up the car they knew nothing of me and finally offered me a broken down wreck (maual) with a dodgy gearbox and an empty fuel tank. I had no choice as I was backed into a corner time wise. I was quoted $119 US but charged $150 US on my credit card. The language barrier prevented argument so I took it up with the UK parent company and received platitudes and an offer of a 20 pound refund. I considered it quite inadequate and I told them so (admittedly in very colourful Aussie language) but they kept insisting it was my fault for taking the (unsuitable) car.

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JJL203 says "My experience with Alamo was hell" about Alamo

JJL203 — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 14:25:48 GMT

I recently had to travel for emergency business for NASA near Melbourne FL. I work in software design and was called down to troubleshoot the latest Atlas rocket that was to be launched on Friday Nov. 13th 2009. I drive a corporate car for business, insured by my comapny, and rent from Enterprise at least 4 times a month. I have NEVER had an issue with Enterprise but had to rent from Alamo since they were the only ones open when I would be arriving. The reservations were made, including all pertinent information (License number, etc.) I arrived at the rental counter at 11:30 pm, and was finally greeted by an gruff, obviously not happy to be there, annoying clerk. After giving him my reservation number, he dissappeared for 10 minutes. No explanation as to why, or when he would return. After handing him my reservation papers and my drivers license, he inform me that Alamo had me on the "DO NOT RENT" list. No explanation, no nothing. I have nver had this happen before. I...

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drorca says "Avoid at all costs" about Alamo

drorca — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 17:32:03 GMT

Prepay, a scam, not honored. Reserve ahead of time, not honored so you wasted your time. Everything online on their website is a lie. Baggage claim service desk broken. Kiosk for speed, broken, Customer service manned by scam artists who will do anything to swindle you out of your reserved price, must be on commission only. Lying, standard operating procedure even about mpg. Blame sudden increase in prices on "taxes" which were already included in your quote. They will laugh in your face if you complain b/c they are not disciplined by management for lying and crappy service, they are rewarded. You will pay more than you agreed to or you are not getting a car and cars at SeaTac are scarce. The car you get will be dirty inside and broken despite less than 30K. If you call to complain, a robotic person will deflect your comments with platitudes, nothing changes there, customers are always wrong and will never get any refund no matter what paperwork you provide, this is the management style...

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CSanity says "Unprofessional Service" about Alamo

CSanity — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 23:28:50 GMT

The following is a review of Alamo rental at Ke-ahole Airport in Kailua-kona , HI which I reserved through hotwire.com:

This was the first and last time I will use Alamo. The vehicle was infested with roaches. The staff was rude and unprofessional in satisfying the matter. A replacement vehicle was provided upon request and a meager $20 "Quality Service Program" credit issued. However, the replacement vehicle was filthy and after requesting a second wash, it still was unclean and it too had roaches. The inconvenience and hassle of taking time from my vacation (Honeymoon) to deal with an inept company such as Alamo is not worth the "savings" obtained through using Hotwire.com. I would rather spend more for the guarantee that I will be treated professionally and courteously from a reputable company. Also of note is the fact Hotwire.com conveniently...

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GoldyLocks2008 says "They take care of their customers." about Alamo

GoldyLocks2008 — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 20:47:43 GMT

We used Alamo twice, once in 2008 in San Diego. They were supposed to have a Buick Lucerne for us, and when we went to pick it up, they didn't. The guy was a little smart, said he only had a Cadillac CTS (ummmm good), cost more. Wanting to get on the road, we took it. Thoroughly enjoyed this car cruising to Palm Springs and back. Called Alamo after vacation, and customer service took care of the extra charge. The best deal combo was using Southwest & Alamo as their partner, could not beat the price anywhere on the net. Yea. Easy check-in. Last year we did the same, but used Alamo's $10 a day Thursday - Sunday. They upped us a level, saws that we rented from them before, no extra charge, and we had a nice Toyota Avalon for ......$58 TOTAL....and .actually could have turned it in Monday early but we were leaving. Fast check-in, a little problem, but they had someone special to clear the way.

Compared to the other two rental companies we used, in our area Chicago...

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bbihler says "Buyer beware...." about Alamo

bbihler — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 06:49:14 GMT

This was probably our 15th, maybe 20th experience renting a car from Alamo. And the only complaint we have is the ordeal at the rental counter declining all of the 'extras' they want you to purchase. For our July 2009 extended weekend car rental in Seattle we got an OK price.... though once again could not believe the song and dance you had to endure at the counter. Do you want to buy extended protection, gas, insurance, doo-dads, and so on and so forth??? Given the atmosphere at the rental counter when we declined all of the extra charges I was somewhat apprehensive with the whole contract. (Are you sure about this the agent asked....ahhh yes, I'm sure!) To wit, spent a LOT of time going over the car looking for and documenting each and every scratch, blemish, possible blemish, dimple, and so on. All in all our Toyota Camry got us around the Seattle area w/o issue for 1 1/2 days until the little alarm and dash light indicator came on letting us know we were loosing air pressure...

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SUSAN061864 says "THE ADVERTISEMENT LIES" about Alamo

SUSAN061864 — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 04:32:07 GMT

I WENT ON TRAVELOCITY AND GOT MY PLANE TICKETS AND RENTAL CAR, PLUS MOTEL, WHEN ME AND MY HUSBAND ARRIVED AT ROCHESTER AIRPORT AND PROCEEDED TO GO GET THE CAR, THEY REFUSED TO GIVE US THE RENTAL BECAUSE WE WERE USING A BANK CARD NOT A CREDIT CARD. WHEN I GOT MY BANK STATEMENT THEY CHARGED ME FOR THE RENTAL...

adelafosho says "Alamo almost killed us with faulty brakes and no airbags." about Alamo

adelafosho — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 08:02:16 GMT

On Sat, July 18th my friends and I picked up our rental car from Alamo San Jose in Costa Rica. ONE hour into our trip while driving my brakes went completely out the road started to go downhill and we were approaching a curve. The car started to pick up speed and I pulled the emergency brake and NOTHING happened.

I tried to keep the car steady but was forced onto the other side of the road. We hit a truck that was coming the opposite direction.
We could have all died, there was a cliff that I thought we were going to fly off of if we didn't collide with the truck. The collision was very bad yet the airbags did not go off at all. Alamo left my friends on the mountain for 4 hours while I was rushed to the hospital with a broken wrist.
Today I received in email from alamo stating that the" brakes were in perfect condition and that they overheated due to overuse because we were going downhill." Can someone please explain to me how this makes ANY sense? I did not overuse the brakes...

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momIN2 says "Watch out for unsuspecting car class change" about Alamo

momIN2 — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 14:22:23 GMT

I rented from Alamo through hotwire and received a great price. I decided to add one additional day to my trip, I was able to do that at the counter, I was asked if I needed more seats in a mini-van or more luggage room. I stated more luggage room. I was given a Toyota Sierra mini van, had no clue it was an upgrade. I did not read my agreement good enough, I guess that shows me. What I was expecting was an additionl $40 charge when it ended up being an additionl $150 charge for the upgrade that I did not know I was getting. If it was told to me by the representative that it was a $15 a day upgrade, i would never of agreed to it. Due to this, I will never, ever rent from Alamo again. It may seem cheaper, but in the end, watch out for unsuspecting upgrades.

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friendlyuser says "they should have van deals, like they do the cars" about Alamo

friendlyuser — Fri, 22 May 2009 19:45:26 GMT

i also look for really good deals when i have to rent a vechile, and i have to rent offen.

alamo, usually has very good deals like the car weekend rental for 10 a day, that really h

helps, but why dont you ever see a good rental on their vans or suvs for the weekend or

week. i have emailed customer service many times, and told them avis was giving me a better deal then they did, and i asked them could they beat that since i usuallygo with them, they just wrote me and said they were sorry that i got a better deal with avis, what kind of mess is that, they would rather see their customers go to someone else, then give them a better rate? i am needing to rent a van or suv for the begining of june, for 3 days, and almost300 is what they said it would be, that is crazy. and there are other companies that are cheaper. if they would have more deals, and cheap deals on their vans and suvs that would have alot more business. take it from me, i would get them more. so i am still watching,...

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glennrb says "Poor Rental experience with Alamo" about Alamo

glennrb — Mon, 18 May 2009 03:02:06 GMT

A poor experience was had in Seattle at a pick up for Alamo Car Rental. They said they did not have any compact SUVs for rent though there were some in their lot (that they denied were there). They persisted in trying to rent me a large SUV which I did not want and told them several times that I did not want. They threatened saying that unless I got their insurance that if an accident occurred I would pay rent for the vehicle while in the repair shop - perhaps for an unlimited time. Gas tank down several gallons through they claim was full. Vehicle in area with no lights- impossible to check for initial damage - no people around to check initial damage. High pressure....I will not use them again.

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bsafe14 says "Alamo has the WORST service in the rental car industry!" about Alamo

bsafe14 — Fri, 15 May 2009 15:44:55 GMT

We rented a car out of the Miami international Airport. It took us literally 1 1/2 hours to get on the Alamo Shuttle becuase this company was too cheap to run more than (1) shuttle every 15 minutes. To satisfy the influx of customers, they needed to at least (3) shuttles. When we finally got to the office, we had to wait in line for another (2) hours becuase they only had a hand full of people working.....on a Saturday afternoon! When I asked them why there were so few people working with so many customers trying to rent their cars, they said it was because they were trying to save on staff expenses....it was unbelievable. To top it off, out car was not cleaned out and was dirty. I would rather walk then to rent a car from Alamo again. Hands down, the worst car rental company in the business.

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Michigan5035 says "Corporate greed....bad business" about Alamo

Michigan5035 — Fri, 08 May 2009 13:37:39 GMT

I rented my car at the Orlando airport. A few weeks after I got home I received a letter from them stating their was an unpaid toll of .25 cents tracked to the vehicle. They wouldn't give me any details so I had to call the Florida State Toll Center. Luckily, they were very helpful. I paid the .25 cents over the phone, but Alamo stated they charged me a $25.00 processing fee just to pay the .25 cents that I already paid. I sent them all the necessary documents proving I had paid the toll, but they said it wasn't sufficient and too complex to track throught the system. Apparently, this happens often? They refused to credit my card the $25.00 fee.

It's a very bad business decision in the long run. I will never rent from them again.

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schroek says "Mediocre rates, lousy customer service." about Alamo

schroek — Thu, 07 May 2009 19:14:03 GMT

Rented a car for the weekend. When I picked it up, the front desk person was rude and condescending. The first car they gave me wouldn't even start. Then, even though they're closed on Sundays, they told me that there were no extensions available and that they kept someone inside to log the time the keys were returned to make sure they were returned on time. I went home, called Enterprise, and found out that I could have rented cheaper from them - for an extended period of time. Called Alamo to see if I could get out of my contract, but they would charge me a full day for keeping the car for one hour. Next time I'll go with Enterprise!

For every negative experience, you tend to tell 10 people. And every extraordinary experience, you tend to tell three. Well, you can be sure I'm telling more than ten.

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Susannadanna says "that stupid ad is enough to put me off...ewww, you HAD ME ..."" about Alamo

Susannadanna — Mon, 04 May 2009 15:27:05 GMT

Is anyone else as IRRITATED by their ad with the woman declaring, "ewww...you had me at (something). Oh, wait, oh no!" OMG!!! I will NOT rent another Alamo car til they get that STUPID ad off TV!!!

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