My most recent and horrible car rental experience was with Alamo car rental. After checking in on the airport counter of Alamo for a car that has been previously reserved, I was directed to the pickup location of the vehicle. It was a rainy night. After handing the paperwork to the Alamo employee at the pickup location, the car was brought to me to check it for damage in the middle of a heavy rain and hardly any lighting while the other car rental services have their customers inspect vehicles under canopies.
Over the course of years, I have rented cars from various car rental services including Avis, Enterprise, Hertz, National and E-Z. I never ran into any issue despite the fact that I never used rental coverage offered by these services. For the most part, I had pleasant experiences with vehicles rented via them but not Alamo car rental.
Why should you avoid Alamo car rental?
At the time of dropping off the car, Alamo employee walked straight towards the back of the car and informed me of a dent on the rear bumper as if she knew it was there. She insisted on filing a damage report to further investigate if previous renters damaged the vehicle. Few minutes later, I got a call from Alamo saying there was no reports of damage before and their damage department will contact me. About a week later, I received a letter from Alamo car rental requesting my auto insurance information so a claim can be filed against my auto insurance policy for the repair. The claimed “dent” on the rear bumper wasn’t a damage that can be seen at night and in the middle of a heavy rain.
One mistake I personally made was declining rental insurance coverage. Whether you rent a car through Alamo or other rental companies, you should definitely consider paying for rental insurance to avoid the hassle of filing a claim with your auto insurance. In fact, many auto insurance providers increase premiums when a claim is filed.
I must say, my last month’s experience including visiting Yosemite National Park with a car rented through E-Z car rental was a much better experience.
