Recent reviews of Advantage and Payless rental car

These two agencies are, by far, giving me the best rates for the end of this month. I usually use Alamo or Dollar, so I am curious what people's recent experience has been with Advantage or Payless.

Many online reviews are poor because people get upset about the attempted "upsells" to a bigger car and the insurance. I know how to say no, so I am more concerned about wait times at the counter (no express check-in for either company) and quality of rental cars.

Thank in advance!

Quality of cars very good, but getting some high mileage. Counter waits very bad because the processing time is so long.

Here is my review from last November when we used Advantage:

First time using Advantage; the total cost for five days for a supposedly standard size (Toyota Corolla) car was an excellent $80 (including all of the airport taxes). That was after rebooking several times as prices kept dropping. We only put about 35 miles on the car, so the gas tab came to a whopping $4.25. I did like their rate and the car was fine but there were a couple of things I wasn’t crazy about. One was the incessant push to sell us ½ tank of gas, even offering to include a second driver for a total of $33. Repeated denials and telling the guy we would only put 30-40 miles on the car led to him asking why we were renting a car. Jeez, just process us already. The second thing I don’t like about Advantage is that despite entering all my info on line, I had to still go to the counter and it didn’t seem like I had saved any time by pre-registering. If the majors are within $20, I wouldn’t deal with the counter. But since Alamo was the next best at over $120, that’s why we tried Advantage.

Thanks!

Much less wait time at Advantage counter. I'd take that over Payless, if their rates are the same.
Car-wise.........very similar. Counter-wise..........Not similar.

I got a reservation with Dollar within $10 of the reservation with Advantage, so if nothing else changes I'll end up using Dollar. Payless is still almost $30 cheaper, but I think I will shy away from Payless after what I have read here and elsewhere.

I have always been able to get a great deal with Alamo, but Alamo is over twice as much this time around. I like the Kiosks for check-in, but not that much.

Thanks for the feedback

We just returned from Vegas and after reading the reviews about the upselling at Payless, decided to give them a try. They tried everything and I kept saying no, even when he tried to claim the American Express rental insurance wouldn't cover what theirs would. Still no no no from me. When he handed me the contract to sign, there was a $14.99 "road service" fee added in. Asked what that was and he claimed that they used to just include that for free, but now it was a required fee. Told him I had AAA gold service if I broke down but he insisted. I wrote UNDER PROTEST in big letters and informed him that a letter would be going to Payless Headquarters about the charge as soon as I got home. He said I didn't need to mess up his paperwork and he'd do another and REMOVE the fee!! I then proceeded to the vehicle and went over it with a fine tooth comb, making sure to note every little nick and dent that could be seen on the vehicle, before leaving. Didn't want to give them a single reason to add any charges when I returned. Came back with no problems, so all the problems seem to be on the front end. I'll still send a letter to their headquarters, as they probably think everything is going just great unless they hear from actual customers. They were almost $90 less then Alamo or Thrifty for the week. Vehicle had right at 50K miles but we only used it around Vegas and the outlying casinos, so I wasn't worried about the number of miles on it. Car did great and I'll more then likely use them again, if it's the same difference. I'll just start the next time with "I know it's your duty to try to upsell me, but let's save both of us some time and effort and just say NO to every extra charge you want to put on the contract" or I'll just stand here until you get the point. Simple enough Vegas was great!

Was the hastle/aggravation worth it? I have a payless car reserved for August and this is the second story about an extended sell!

I must be the only person who's never had a problem at Payless. The counter people do run through the usual fear factor/upselling with collision coverage and gas, but I've found them quickly put off if you give them a firm "No Thank You" to all.
The cars at Payless are a bit worn...a ding or two is expected at these rates. I always go over the car with a pretty keen eye and mark any nicks or scratches on the rental agreement page. You can't be too sure. I've never had anyone question me at all upon return.
In addition, I've never waited in a line of more than three people at Payless....and I've rented approximately 20 times from them. A bit slower than the Alamo self-service kiosk, but soooo much cheaper!
Return end has always been smooth.

When I am on vacation I prefer to have a smooth easy transaction with Alamo. Even if you are saving $30 I would rather pick out my car that is very new and less hassle. I just skip the counter and off I go!