Car rental San Pedro??

[Bailey0930]

Hello,

 

Has anyone rented a car and dropped off at San Pedro Pier in LAX? Which company did you use? Was it right at the pier?

 

Thanks!:p

[NanD]

A year ago, Enterprise was the only rental car company with an office located at the San Pedro piers. We used them. I believe the drop off fee was $25. For more recent information, I'd advise checking the San Pedro postings on the West Coast Departures board.

Nan

[Bailey0930]

Thank you, that is all I've been finding for a company also.

[billet]

It is a short walk from the ship or you wait for the shuttle. I would recommend joining their expresslane service if you haven't already. It is a small office that can get very busy and they do run out of cars and will then take you off to other locations to pick yours up. I would also recommend you phone them prior a few days before the pick up and chat em up a little. They are good but sometimes overwhelmed

[FritzG]

We had a major problem with Enterprise in Jan. 08. We rented at LAX and dropped off at San P. We took the car to the office, and one of the agents drove us to the pier in the vehicle we had rented because the shuttle was busy. When we got back to San P after our cruise we had a phone message from Enterprise asking how we planned to pay the $1300 in damages done to the car! After numerous phone calls to the corporate office we finally found that the damages occurred after we dropped the car off after hours! We didn't drop it after hours, our ship had already sailed by the time the office closed, and further one of their own agents drove us to the ship. We figured that she damaged the car while returning to the office, and since the damage was to the roof she probably had a gate drop on her. She was an agent in the office, not someone who normally shuttled passengers to the port. It took several weeks and many phone calls to get it straightened out. That was our last rental from Enterprise. We rent cars at least 3 or 4 times a year for the last 25 years or so, and this was the first time we've had a problem with any agency we've used.

[wyocruiser]

Last month, we picked up a car at John Wayne/Orange County Airport with Hertz and dropped it at the Hertz office in Lomita (which is the town next to San Pedro). There was no drop-off charge, but we did have to pay $20 for a taxi to the ship.

[billet]

Sorry to hear about your issues FritzG.

 

I have rented from the San Pedro office 8 times so far with no issues. Always from San Pedro to LAX. (would of helped if I had read the OPs question properly in the first place! Oh darn must get another boose of caffeine)

[nho9504]

That will be our arrangement for the Jan 31 cruise.

 

We used Hertz before - rented it at LAX and dropped off at Long Beach City Office, then cabbed to San Pedro.

 

However this time Hertz rate is more than doubled that of Avis or Budget. So we will rent either from Avis or Budget, both have offices at Long Beach City with Budget's office slightly closer to the direction of San Pedro. I believe cab would be around 20 to 25 bucks.

 

I called Hertz Lomita office to enquire approx cab fare to the pier - the woman agent was rather rude. Based on that, we decided not to use Hertz Lomita office.

[robgvic]

Enterprise has a$40 drop fee for laxbut i find their rates are usually lower than the others.

[stevesul]

Bailey- Steve here from the roll call. I am renting from Enterprise from LAX and returning at Crowne Plaza since we are staying there Fri night. We can drop the car off at the Cronwe Plaza. We will shuttle from the hotel.

 

As Rob said, the drop off fee is now $40 (which is more then my $39 rental charge).

 

nho9504- I talked to a guy from Hertz Lomita named Rashad back in September and he said $20-25 for a cab from Hertz Lomita to San Pedro cruise port.

 

The Hertz fare was $25 more for me for the same standard car ($65) so it made sense to just use Enterprise. Even if it wasn't more, I don't want to be driving around an area I don't know and cabbing back to save $20 in the beginning of my vacation. Its just easier to me with Enterprise and I never had any issue with them renting from other offices.

 

My suggestion would be to take cell phone pictures of your car when you drop it off. It can only help if the car was damaged after you drop it off. I did that last year in Galveston when I put my key in the drop box.

[Colo Cruiser]

Bailey- Steve here from the roll call. I am renting from Enterprise from LAX and returning at Crowne Plaza since we are staying there Fri night. We can drop the car off at the Cronwe Plaza. We will shuttle from the hotel.

 

As Rob said, the drop off fee is now $40 (which is more then my $39 rental charge).

 

nho9504- I talked to a guy from Hertz Lomita named Rashad back in September and he said $20-25 for a cab from Hertz Lomita to San Pedro cruise port.

 

The Hertz fare was $25 more for me for the same standard car ($65) so it made sense to just use Enterprise. Even if it wasn't more, I don't want to be driving around an area I don't know and cabbing back to save $20 in the beginning of my vacation. Its just easier to me with Enterprise and I never had any issue with them renting from other offices.

 

My suggestion would be to take cell phone pictures of your car when you drop it off. It can only help if the car was damaged after you drop it off. I did that last year in Galveston when I put my key in the drop box.

 

 

I have found that if you talk nice to the Enterprise station manager at LAX they will waive the drop fee in San Pedro. ;)

This must be done through LAX as the San Pedro office has no control over changes to the contract once you get there.

[sharonsorlie]

Sorry to hear about your issues FritzG.

 

I have rented from the San Pedro office 8 times so far with no issues. Always from San Pedro to LAX. (would of helped if I had read the OPs question properly in the first place! Oh darn must get another boose of caffeine)

What car company did you use, missed that somehow, we are thinking of renting in San Pedro and need to drop off at LAX.

[Colo Cruiser]

What car company did you use, missed that somehow, we are thinking of renting in San Pedro and need to drop off at LAX.

 

Enterprise is the only company in San Pedro. :)

[stevesul]

I have found that if you talk nice to the Enterprise station manager at LAX they will waive the drop fee in San Pedro. ;)

This must be done through LAX as the San Pedro office has no control over changes to the contract once you get there.

 

Thanks for the tip. I will put on a nice smile and give it a shot...heck I better be smiling, I'm on vacation...

[sjl513]

We are staying in San Pedro two nights before our cruise - to make sure we make it from the snowy midwest. Last year we arrived one night early in MIA and almost missed making that night due to a snow storm in Tennessee.

 

Soooo, we have all day Friday to tour around. We thought we'd rent a car at San Pedro for the day, drive south to Newport Beach area, ride bikes etc down there, then return the car that night.

 

Does this sound like a good plan all you west coasters? I thought it would be fun to ride bikes along the ocean or do something active.

 

Does the San Pedro Enterprise office have plenty of cars for us to expect they will have a car there when we go to pick it up on Friday? We thought it would be cheaper to rent for the day rather than pick up at LAX and drop in San Pedro. There are four of us and the luggage would require a larger vehicle than we really need to day tour.

 

Thanks for any helpful hints!

[KCcruisin07]

I think that is a great idea. Newport Beach is attractive, and there is also Fashion Island if you want to shop. If you are thinking of staying along the coast, you can go down Newport Peninsula, park by the Wells Fargo ATM at Palm (bring coins) and take the Balboa Island ferry and walk around Balboa Island.

 

For others who want to stay closer to Long Beach you can go to Belmont Shore and walk up and down Second Street - many stores, restaurants, coffee and ice cream shops. It's very busy at night. You can take the Passport Red Bus (http://www.lbtransit.com/Schedules/Default.aspx?routegrp=31) and get off at 2nd and Park, then go into Belmont Shore on Second Street.

 

If you have a car and want to stay close to the ocean go past Belmont Shore, turn right on Bayshore at Alamitos Bay and go left on Ocean Blvd. and park before the first street (55th) and go right on 55th to east Seaside Walk (a boardwalk overlooking the ocean) and walk as far as you like (we go to about 69th), then go left, cross Ocean, go to the end of 69th and go left on East Bayshore walk (overlooking the bay) all the way back to 55th and your car. Here is a link: http://www.mapquest.com/maps?city=Long+Beach&state=CA.

[sjl513]

Thanks - those are some great ideas!

[Wisconsinites]

Three weeks ago, we rented from Enterprise in San Pedro, returning the car late that evening to the LAX Enterprise location. The drop off fee was $40. Enterprise sends shuttles to the pier to pick up passengers. We didn't see an Enterprise shuttle but were able to get a ride there on another shuttle, and then when I got there, I found out why Enterprise hadn't sent a shuttle yet. We were too early. The San Pedro office doesn't open until 9 a.m. Getting there at 8:15, we were first in line. The employees started arriving right away, but they don't open until 9:00 exactly. By the time they opened, the line had about 20 people in it. When I returned the car to the LAX location, they checked it all over and charged my credit card. Then they offered to give me a ride in the car back to the hotel, which was very nice. I read the post about the damage done to the car by the employee who shuttled the passenger to the ship, and that surprises me. Wouldn't the car have been checked over at time of drop off, and given the ok at that time? Our car was checked out and cleared when I returned it, before my ride back to the hotel. We found all the Enterprise employees to be very friendly and efficient.