There have been a lot of questions recently about car
rentals.  Although I do not work for any of the rental
companies, I do rent cars often for business travel as well as for many 
vacations.  I hope this information is useful.
     There are several things to be considered when renting a car at the 
airport in Orlando.  These are rates for the
car, discounts, type of car and included options, taxes and surcharges, how 
gasoline is handled, and various types of
insurance.
     Rates are normally quoted on either a daily or weekly
basis.  Most of the companies will have their weekly rate
equal to about five and a half days rental.  The advertised rates are 
normally for a subcompact; the bigger the car the more you will pay.
     When reserving a car ask for discounts.  Membership in many 
organizations, such as AAA, AARP, Airline frequent
flyer clubs, Entertainment Book members, or many other types of organizations 
have discount agreements with the rental
companies.  Check with your employer, many companies have
negotiated rates and allow their employees to use those
rates when on personal travel.  If you are a government
employee, let the car rental company know, but also tell
them that you are NOT on official business.
     The companies define their cars fairly similarly, but
the quality differs.  We own a Plymouth Acclaim with power
everything; this is considered to be a full-size four-door. If we go to the 
larger companies and they have Chrysler
products, we could get a LeBaron as the full-size four-door car; this has 
even more comfort than our Plymouth but is the same car from a size 
standpoint.  If we went to one of the
smaller companies and asked for the same type we would get
an Acclaim but without the power windows, door locks, etc.
     All car rentals in Florida are subject to the Florida
6% Sales Tax.  They are also subject to the state's soak the visitor "Road 
Impact Fee" of $2.05 per day.  If you go to a company that does not have its 
counter in the Terminal
Building and which provides a shuttle to its lot you will
have to pay an "airport access fee" of 8.64% of the rental
fee, no matter how long you use the car.
     There are three ways gasoline is handled; be careful
and ask when you get the rental.  
          The fairest way is to receive the car with the
     tank full and agree to return it with the tank full. 
     If you buy gas within 20 or 30 miles before turning the
     car in the tank will register full and you will not
     have to pay anything.  (Note - Beware of the prices at
     the Exxon stations on WDW, they are about ten cents per
     gallon higher than off-property.)  HOWEVER, if the tank
     is not full they will charge an exorbitant amount based
     on either what it takes to fill the tank or a per-mile
     charge.
          The next way is the tank is not full when you
     receive the car and they don't care how much gas is in
     it when you get back.  This is especially with the
     smaller rental companies.  The downside to this is you
     do not know, when you put gas in, how much to buy.
          The worst way is the offer for you to prepay for a
     tank of gas.  They will charge you for the number of
     gallons of the full capacity of the tank (starting at
     zero) at approximately the average gas price for the
     area.  You will get the car with a full tank and they
     don't care where the tank is when you bring it back. 
     However, unless it is just running on fumes when you
     bring it back you are a loser.
     For insurance there are several types the companies
sell.  All are based on an amount PER DAY with no discount
for weekly or longer rentals.  These include Collision (or
Loss) Damage Waiver (CDW or LDW), Personal Accident
Insurance (PAI), and Personal Effects Coverage (PEC).  Some companies may 
have some others I don't know about.
     If you live in the United States and you own a car and have what is 
normally referred to as a "Standard Family
Automobile Policy" you are covered for a "temporary
substitute automobile" (meaning a rental car) for up to 30
consecutive days as if you were using your own car without
having to notify the insurance company.  In addition, if you use a gold (or 
higher) major credit card (American Express,Visa, MasterCard) for the rental 
the credit card company
will provide several of the coverages (including CDW/LDW) at no cost to you.
          CDW/LDW covers any damage to the car (as well as
     loss of rental income to the company while it is out of
     service) which is due to your fault or negligence. 
     Note that if you have collision insurance on your
     regular car your insurance company would cover the
     costs subject to any deductible amounts you have with
     them.  If you do not have insurance but use a premium
     credit card, the credit card will cover this.  If you
     do have insurance and use a premium credit card, the
     credit card company will cover your deductible.
          PAI basically is medical insurance to protect you
     or anyone else in your car from costs related to
     injuries sustained while in thee car.  Note again if
     you have a regular US auto policy, or you have medical
     insurance, you probably do not need this.
          PEC is stupidity insurance.  It will cover losses
     of personal belongings in the event of theft from the
     car.  Normally one should not leave items of high value
     is a car.  If you have several hours to go between the
     time you check out of your hotel and the time you turn
     the car in you should just be sure nobody can just look
--- Maximus/2 2.02
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