Chicago Travel Forum

i am getting a hire car from chicago airport and as its my first time to hire a car i am wondering what the procudure is - i will be arriving at 5pm ish and will be staying in one of the hotels in the area of the airport that night and heading off the next day - i have not picked a company yet but i say they are all the same -
do i pick up the car at the airport or are they kept somewhere further away and is there any chance that they could be delivered to the hotel i will be staying in ??

thanks for your help

The car rental lots at O'Hare are located offsite but it appears that you need to pick up the rental contract at the airport and then take a shuttle bus to the lot. If you are coming in from overseas you will be coming in at Terminal 5, you could always go over to T1, T2 or T3 and talk to them before going to your hotel to see if they would deliver, I have no idea.

http://www.flychicago.com/ohare/groundtransohare/rentalcarsohare.shtm

Most O'Hare area hotels have a free shuttle back to the airport if you need to go back to pickup the car.

You don't mention where you're going after you pick up the car, if you are using one of the tollways, check with the rental agency regarding the I Pass, if you don't have one, you need to keep right and go through the cash lanes at the toll plazas otherwise you may be fined through your rental agency. Open Road tolling is only for people who have an I Pass (an electronic device usually affixed to the inside windshield).

When looking at rental cars, if the search site says "in terminal pick-up" the car will be in a garage at the airport, if not they will provide a shuttle bus or van to take you to the rental office and or to the lot that the cars are. Generally you only find rental cars kept at major (very large) hotels. The only rental company that frequently will pick you up at a hotel is Enterprise. I would wait and pick the car in the morning. If you stay near the airport the hotel will likely offer a free shuttle service that will take you back to the airport to pick up the car.

A note on American English. You rent a car, you would hire labor. If the car came with a driver you would hire it, because it does not come with a driver you rent it. The regional (or in this case national) usage, will make you stand out as less of an outsider.

Good luck,

David

Even though I guess I "live" in Chicago (am employed there), I've used a rental car every time I have visited for the last 7 years...

All rental carriers have courtesy shuttles from the arrivals level, both domestic and international terminals. It is not required that you have a prior reservation, but it is recommended. If they do not have a car available, you may simply go to the next company.

The exception is Ace Rental. They are possibly the cheapest from Chicago O'Hare. The rest of the companies are located still within the O'Hare limits, but Ace is located about 1.5 miles away and therefore does not have to pay higher rates, taxes, and airport fees. If you rent from Ace, you will have to leave the arrivals hall and follow the signs for the Hilton Hotel. The courtesy shuttle leaves from the front of the airport hotel due to its physical presence is off site.
http://www.acerentacar.com/landing/lp_ordo01.aspx

I think it's always better to have a reservation as well, the rates are almost always cheaper than if you just show up. Try expedia or travelocity if you want a comparison of rates, I usually use Hotwire or Priceline when I rent in the US but it's then nonrefundable whereas booking directly or through Expedia or Travelocity you can always cancel.

I don't ever rent cars at O'Hare but I'm almost positive that most if not all of them have desks inside the terminals and then shuttle buses to pick up the cars, I pass the car lots on my way to remote parking every time I leave from O'Hare.

I don't know anything about Ace, I always try to go with one of the majors, assuming it's easier if you should have a problem (the car dies in a cornfield in Iowa, you get in an accident, etc.). I try to stick with Hertz, Avis, Budget, National, Enterprise or Alamo.

thank you all for your help , i have taken everything you have said and i hope it will make the process a bit easier

thanks again

My corporate policies for the first several years required that we rent from Hertz while away. However for those renting in Chicago area, Ace was required. I rented from Ace several times over ~4 years. They provide the same services as the big companies (roadside assistance, insurance, etc).

Subsequently, due to corporate changes, I now have to rent from National, and if national is not available, then I have to go with Avis. Honestly in my opinion the real difference between them is that if you like Chevrolets, rent from National. If you like Fords, rent from Hertz. etcetera, etcetera. If you don't care, pick the cheaper one.

You said that you are coming in at 5 pm. I would definitely have a reservation for any arrival after 5. Some rental agencies only take reservations if it's after a certain time (usually much later than 5, but it's best to not be surprised!) and the later in the day it is, the fewer car models to choose from, generally speaking.

And now that I've said that, O'Hare and most other major airports don't have a problem with running out of cars, nor do their counters close early. I would personally have a reservation just to ease the process a bit and, as Dabs said, you can usually get a cheaper rate when you book in advance.

I think i can help you so I decided to signup for an account. My wife is disabled and we need to collect the car in terminal. we spoke to Samantha at www.gostarmedia.com and she made special arrangements for us. We where met at the arrivals hall and the car was brought almost in to the arrivals hall, well as near as was possible and we only had to pay an extra $5 for the service.

It was worth making the phone call you should try it the car companies do try to help if you ask

Welcome to VT John, and that's good information to know!!!

well i have returned from my trip to green bay and the car hire was great , i decided to pick it on on the sunday morning instead of the saturday night for a few reasons - the hotel we stayed in had the shuttle bus to the airport but since i was the only one on the bus it droped me at the car hire place which was a big help
the car i got was great and managed the automatic and the "wrong" side of the road ok
the one thing i will say is that i said i would fill up the tank before i got it back and had expected petrol stations to be near the airport as they are here in dublin but this was not the case = i was charged for the difference at a higher price than i would have got myself
so fill up when you can find a station - the last ones i saw were probley about 20 miles outside o hare - im sure there are loads if you know where you are going but if you are on the moterway like i was just be warned

thanks to all for your help on this