Car rental downtown Toronto

Celica190 · 17 Dec 18, 08:34 PM

Hi folks,
DH and I are taking our niece and nephew to Toronto next August. We�re staying in an AirBNB apartment almost right at the CN Tower. We won�t need a car in the city but intend picking one up the day before we drive to Niagara Falls for a couple of days. I�m an Avis Preferred member but their office nearest the apartment doesn�t get very good reviews online.
Would any of you who have picked up a car in downtown Toronto be able to recommend a good rental company / office to use? We will be using the car for about 12 days and returning it to Toronto Airport, if that makes any difference.
Thanks

Omega1 · 17 Dec 18, 09:50 PM

We did exactly the same several years ago - but not for as long. From memory, we used Hertz and picked up at Union Station, opposite the Fairmont Royal York Hotel (not far from CN Tower). We drove to Niagara and dropped the car off at Toronto airport. All very easy.

Wismgari · 18 Dec 18, 10:26 AM

I used Avis in Toronto. When I booked it I somehow ended up booking from one really far north in Toronto and it took ages to get there in an uber! However, the nice man changed our drop off to the Avis near Union Station. This was fine - difficult to find (it was in a multistory car park and we felt like we were driving forever, but once you were in there it was well signed). The people we dropped it off to were polite and helpful. Obviously, I didn't pick up from there so can't comment on that but I would rent from them again if they were cheapest.

It is worth noting that we purchased excess insurance from a separate insurance company, as the excess for Avis in Canada was really high on or booking. Something to keep an eye on.

hazy123 · 19 Dec 18, 04:15 PM

We did similar a couple of years ago, stayed near CN Tower too. We walked a block onto Blue Jays Way and used Budget. Lovely new car. We usually use Avis but Budget was the closest. Would use them again. Dropped back off at Pearson.

HobosMum · 19 Dec 18, 08:24 PM

We hired from Avis in Toronto, picked the car up from the Hudson Bay Center, really hard to find the office as it was tucked away in the corner of the mall, but had good service from the guys in the office and no hard sell from them. Dropped off at Toronto Airport with no problems.

neilhd · 23 Dec 18, 11:51 AM

We picked ours up at Union Station. There were several companies there. I think we used Hertz.

Cutiepie · 23 Dec 18, 12:00 PM

Originally Posted by neilhd

We picked ours up at Union Station. There were several companies there. I think we used Hertz.

We did the same & we stayed in a hotel beside CN Tower, we walked to pick up the car with our luggage.

chippyminton · 23 Dec 18, 10:05 PM

We used Hertz Union station, which is actually located in Brookfield Place, near the Hockey Hall of Fame. We did check out the location when we were passing a few days before as it�s in the underground PATH network. It�s a small counter, with parking in the multi-storey. Dropped off at Pearson a week or so later, all straightforward.

neilhd · 24 Dec 18, 09:30 AM

Originally Posted by chippyminton

We used Hertz Union station, which is actually located in Brookfield Place, near the Hockey Hall of Fame. We did check out the location when we were passing a few days before as it�s in the underground PATH network. It�s a small counter, with parking in the multi-storey. Dropped off at Pearson a week or so later, all straightforward.

Thinking about it when we picked ours up, the counter was in Union Station and the car park itself was in Brookfield Place. It's only a 1 minute walk away IIRC.

Celica190 · 13 Jan 19, 05:28 PM

Just to let you know, I�ve booked an intermediate SUV from Avis at College St / Spadina for 13 days for just under �500. The nearest office to our apartment wanted �1200 for the exact same car! It�ll take us 20 minutes on the streetcar to save �700

Thanks for your assistance

17 Dec 18, 09:50 PM	#2
	17 Dec 18, 09:50 PM Omega1 Imagineer
Omega1 Imagineer Join Date: Jan 08	We did exactly the same several years ago - but not for as long. From memory, we used Hertz and picked up at Union Station, opposite the Fairmont Royal York Hotel (not far from CN Tower). We drove to Niagara and dropped the car off at Toronto airport. All very easy.

19 Dec 18, 04:15 PM	#4
	19 Dec 18, 04:15 PM hazy123 Proud to wear my Ears
hazy123 Proud to wear my Ears Join Date: Jul 10	We did similar a couple of years ago, stayed near CN Tower too. We walked a block onto Blue Jays Way and used Budget. Lovely new car. We usually use Avis but Budget was the closest. Would use them again. Dropped back off at Pearson.