USVI-On-Line

We have a reservation with Budget for our trip next month but over the years their service seems to be getting worse. I'm not entirely unhappy with Bugdet but since I've heard good things about Amalie Car Rental I'm considering giving them a shot.

Any thoughts from people who have used both Budget and Amalie and how they compare?

The only thing that is really swaying me is not having to wait in line at Budget on either end of our trip; the wait can be time consuming and this year our flight lands at STT later than usual and I don't want to be super stressed trying to make the car ferry. But if you have to wait for Amalie anyway they might not be much of an advantage.

Thanks

Never have used Budget, but two trips ago we made the switch from Dependable to Amalie.

Amalie's owners are an absolute joy to deal with - before, during, and after the trip.

Both trips they have been there waiting for us when we got off of the plane, and you return the car right in front of where you'll enter the airport.

We've done carry on - and are long gone from the airport by the time those bags start coming off of the conveyor belt!

I just got a quote from Amalie and it's $117 more from them than through Budget. I can't justify that price. Darn.

we paid more for Amalie also..

but they were there with the keys...if Delta had not gate checked our luggage we would have been on our way as soon as walking outside and signing papers.

great experience returning also...they met us in line at drop off...no hassle at all.

my first visit..so I can't compare.

I can't remember if our quote was that much more though...

Amalie is higher, but I don't remember how much. Their cars are new and customer service is top notch! The way it should be!

we used budget a few times about 5 yrs ago and got tired of rude/slow service. then used both dependable and discount 7 or 8 times and always pleased. then this past april neither d had a jeep for us so used budget again. when we arrived we were greeted by nice and pleasant lady (thinking things have changed)but was advised no 4 door jeep ready and they had 2 more customers before me waiting. supposedly folks not returning jeeps on time but we arrived on a wednesday mid afternoon. we took a ford fusion that worked for what we wanted but did cut down on the 2 guys adverture trips.

unless they have changed, their 2 dr wranglers do not have side or rear curtains and you can get wet which matters some time to old folks like us. good luck.

papabou

Time or Money??? It depends on what is important to you... oh and top notch customer service, brand new vehicle and door to door service. We used Budget the first year and it was such a fiasco, I would have spent easily $200 more if someone had a vehicle readily available to me. I would also worry about their less than new fleet breaking down on STJ and how much that would cost???

It comes out to $15/day extra if we were to use Amalie. It's too bad because I really wanted to use them. But that's the price of 16 Painkillers over the course of our trip. Need I say more?

I'm not a big drinker but the financially prudent decision is obvious

As for the service on St. John issue, last summer my parent's Jeep, from Budget, smelled like vomit. After a couple days they just couldn't take it anymore. Then their tire went flat and my parents weren't comfortable driving around without a spare. I called after hours and left a message. Budget brought a new Jeep over on the 9 a.m. ferry the next day, no problem.

If it is financial prudence driving the boat, --- Even at STJ market prices you could just buy the Pussers [ sadly] Rum , OJ and pineapple Juice some coco Lopez and a fresh Nutmeg and mix plenty of painkillers at the villa instead of paying $5 -8 at a bar and come out way ahead financially, have a newer car and less hassle.
$117 Divided by 16 = $7.30 plus tip

We just got back for STJ and we rented from Amalie for the first time. The pickup and drop off at the airport is so great. Getting my luggage from the carousel and having to drag it a few yards into a car was ideal. Off we went to the car ferry.

On the way back we called Amalie and they met us at the airport drop off location. Did a quick check of the vehicle, said everything is good and they were off.

The only thing I was worried about was that they warn you that they will charge you $150 cleaning fee if the vehicle has too much sand, is overly dirty, or if you get the seats wet in your bathing suits. I was very paranoid and made everyone clean their feet of sand after every beach day and always sit on towels and I was worried about anything getting the jeep dirty.

I never have done that before and I even used the hose at the house we stayed at to clean off mud/dirt in the wheel wells and on the sides of vehicle after driving on dirt roads or after rain showers. Also, I took out the mats and tried to clean up sand in the vehicle which is almost impossible without a vacuum.

This was the first time I was worried about keeping the car clean. I guess I did good enough, but still I spent time cleaning up a rental car on vacation for the first time.

Just food for thought if you like to go off road or are not careful with sand, etc.

I'm not saying its a bad thing and we will rent from Amalie again, but I was not as carefree on vacation with the rental car this time as in the past. Probably exactly what they want anyway!

Exit Zero wrote:If it is financial prudence driving the boat, --- Even at STJ market prices you could just buy the Pussers [ sadly] Rum , OJ and pineapple Juice some coco Lopez and a fresh Nutmeg and mix plenty of painkillers at the villa instead of paying $5 -8 at a bar and come out way ahead financially, have a newer car and less hassle.
$117 Divided by 16 = $7.30 plus tip

Well, we already mix our own at the villa...

tochin wrote: The only thing I was worried about was that they warn you that they will charge you $150 cleaning fee if the vehicle has too much sand, is overly dirty, or if you get the seats wet in your bathing suits. I was very paranoid and made everyone clean their feet of sand after every beach day and always sit on towels and I was worried about anything getting the jeep dirty.

I never have done that before and I even used the hose at the house we stayed at to clean off mud/dirt in the wheel wells and on the sides of vehicle after driving on dirt roads or after rain showers. Also, I took out the mats and tried to clean up sand in the vehicle which is almost impossible without a vacuum.

This was the first time I was worried about keeping the car clean. I guess I did good enough, but still I spent time cleaning up a rental car on vacation for the first time.

Just food for thought if you like to go off road or are not careful with sand, etc.

I'm not saying its a bad thing and we will rent from Amalie again, but I was not as carefree on vacation with the rental car this time as in the past. Probably exactly what they want anyway!

I think all the companies have this warning?

We always vacuum out our rental vehicle though so I wouldn't worry about it not being clean enough.

I would have vacuumed it out as well but our villa did not have a vacuum that was assessible to us and if there is a place on island to go vacuum out a car I didn't find it.