In reply to Advan046 :
What happens if I lie and show up at my destination to return the car?
In reply to YoursTruly :
You will get a really big bill. Usually miles for the whole trip at a dime a mile at least.
Also a heavy renter. Usually airports but also local pickup for business trips that are driveable. I always preferred Hertz but my company requires us to use Avis. Agreed that you have to sign up for the loyalty program. Avis is great now with the app. I go straight to the car and then scan a QR code to leave. I'm literally hundreds of rentals (including one right now) I've only had one problem and it was the last time I rented. Avis tried to charge me $300 for a cleaning fee and I returned the car spotless. They even sent me pictures. I called and they offered to cut it in half. I said no and asked for a supervisor. I encouraged them to look at my rental history, all the cars I have had and never had a problem. The finally dropped it. I did make sure to take a lot of pictures this time, I guess the pictures are like insurance, you almost never need it but it's nice to have when you do.
In reply to YoursTruly :
Never tried, but I think they would jam you up big time with fees. Unless you have a lot of history with that rental chain and they want to waive it.
I don't doubt there are real costs to one way rentals for the rental companies but don't know exactly what.
I once had a long weekend trip set up from New York to almost-Florida, Georgia for a weekend. There was a quick stop scheduled in central PA to pick up a friend. To avoid the huge city fees for the Enterprise rental, the Enterprise guy advised me to get a car from the little airport out of the city in White Plains. (Why an Enterprise rental car? Because my Miata was too small for my passenger, and his car probably wouldn't make it to Georgia is why. Also, Enterprise was the only car we could afford.) A subway ride, followed by a probably-Long Island Railroad trip later, I was at Enterprise. "OK, we'll just need a major credit card OR your itinerary." "I don't have an itinerary. Or a credit card. Just a debit card." "Well, at Enterprise, we can't require you to use a credit card, so that's why we allow you to show us your itinerary to use a debit card as an alternative when renting with Enterprise."
Three hours later, I was back at my apartment, loading up the damn Miata, on my way to pick up the friend, to ride in his car to my parents' house to get their Yaris. We ended up making it, but it sure would have been easier if they just gave me the damn car.
Oh, to avoid making Enterprise look bad on the internet, I won't tell you the name of the rental car company I was trying to rent the car from. I'll just say "rental car company" instead of "Enterprise", so that you don't know it was Enterprise that I was trying to rent from.
Make sure you have a credit card, at least if you're renting from Enterprise.
In reply to confuZion3 :
That was the only reason I got a credit card many years ago.
+1 for National and their Emerald Isle. Many many rentals over the years and never had a problem. Often they were out of cars in the aisle and I got upgraded to something from a higher class of car.
I suspect that all major rental companies require a credit card vs. debit. I have a vague recollection of standing behind someone at an Enterprise counter and overhearing that they only had a debit card. There was an option, but it required a pretty sizable hold on the debit card.
I've been renting from Enterprise for years because it suits me logistically. Renting is done through a corporate account and for years was hassle free. In recent years there have been small challenges with things like prepaying for fuel, having to prove employment, etc. Nothing major, but a step down from how easy it used to be.
On the upside, I have gotten no-charge car upgrades more than 50% of the time. I have learned to show up an hour before close on Saturday to pick up. Often all of the cheap cars are gone and they put me in something nicer. I leave an hour in case they are out of cars completely. That gives time to get a car from another nearby Enterprise location which has only happened once in dozens of rentals.
yupididit said:In reply to ClearWaterMS :
I do this with Enterprise. Early last month I booked a car 1 week in advance, picked the "surprise me" option where they just give you whatever sedan at one of their lower rates. I got off my flight and went to the rental car garage to get my car and guess what, they didn't have any of that class available so I was upgraded at no cost. That's happened twice. Usually, I just get in the car that was selected for me and show my drivers license at the gate. Always sign up for whatever membership program they use.
Update:
I'm forever banned from renting from Enterprise and any of their partners. Last February I rented a 3 series BMW in Texas and returned it no issue. I rented it using my credit card so I didn't have to get the additional insurance. 3 months later, I get a package in the mail with a bunch of blurry photos of the BMW printed out on regular 8x11 printer paper. They claimed their was hail damage on the car and the photos had circles all over it showing the damage. You couldn't see E36 M3 in those photos. I called them and told them there was zero precipitation during my rental in the area that I was in. I even emailed the store manager proof of this, cause, you know weather is thoroughly tracked with science. They still said I was at fault. I called my CC company and they told Enterprise they weren't paying for the damage and to F off. After some back and forth they lay off of me and then I get an email saying I'm banned forever. Which is insane because I spend thousands of dollars a year renting from them personally and for work and used to exclusively rent from them. Hertz it is!
I've gotten no-charge upgrades the last 2 times I've rented, but "upgrade" depends on your perception.
My last economy rental was a Sentra that knocked down 44mpg. Last week I was given an upgrade to a Malibu that got 32mpg. Not a huge difference by any means, but a few more bucks out of pocket.
Today my upgrade is a Camry with an out of balance wheel (going to swap it with something else this afternoon)
I have recently found that rental companies are charging MUCH more for rentals if you are logged into your membership account to reserve.
I now open a new browser in private mode (can also use a VPN) and compare prices side by side. Logged out mode is usually much less than being logged in. I make the reservation logged out. Once I have the reservation number, I goto my account and link the reservation, this way when I arrive to pick up the car I get the benefits of being a member w/o being screwed by their new "member" pricing algorithm.
Also, now do a walk around video before I get in the rental and one when I return since I too have been sent "damage" letters, sending the video has quickly made the letter go away.
Yah, I 100% do video before and after, with detail photos of anything I notice. I also do my best to make sure the car is checked in by someone when I return it rather than do a key drop. I've heard way too many horror stories about them not checking the car immediately and marking it stolen, billed for extra days, etc. I haven't actually had a bad time with damages. Mostly reservations. Not having the car, the rate changed, etc. Most of the time you get an upgrade out of it, but occasionally I've had them try and make me pay for the upgrade. Not my problem.
In reply to kellym :
I do walk around videos that I sent to my CC company but it was in a parking garage at dusk. Hardly any lighting. Was told to use a black light to show better details.
hmmm, thread was dead for 3 years, today revived by the first post of a user who created their profile 4 years ago? i suspect watercraft activity.
AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter) said:hmmm, thread was dead for 3 years, today revived by the first post of a user who created their profile 4 years ago? i suspect watercraft activity.
Oh, oof, you might be right. His next post is some link to possibly a rental car company.
I rent a lot for work. Avis is my go-to in the states. I've only ever had a handfull of issues. One of the more comical ones was an avis employee had swapped his honda accord with the rental, changed plates and everything. I got in this car and could immediately tell it wasn't a rental. Went through this whole process with the counter, they checked the VIN and realized it wasn't their car. I got to pick whatever car I wanted for that weekend.
I also did their mystery car option once. I got charged an arm and a leg for a Corolla. Fought that one too.
I've recently had some cool cars with SIXT. For the same price as the cheapest car from Avis, I've gotten a BMW 330e, Audi A4, and Porsche Cayenne. Certainly not dream cars but much nicer than a Corolla or Malibu.
In Italy though, I prepaid for a large for Europe SUV on a family trip. Land in Rome and they tell me they are all out of that class of car and try to charge me the same for a smaller vehicle. Luckily someone with me spoke fluent Italian and was able to schmooze them into getting an upgrade. Then the same thing happened in Frankfurt. So SIXT = Great in US. Not great in Europe.
The last rental experience I had was in England. The car I had reserved was an MG thing with a manual. Well my wife's phone didn't have international service activated yet and we needed satnav. Got an upgrade to a Golf for a reasonable price. That was a slick little car. I'm ashamed to admit it but the lane keep assist came in handy more than once. Driving on the other side of the car took some getting used to with lane placement.
Dropped off in Scotland and got on a plane. Not an issue.
In contrast my last US rental was at ATL and it was awful.
volvoclearinghouse said:Use National. Sign up for Emerald Isle. You make your res online, arrive at the car rental place, you pick the car you want, you hop in, keys are in it, you drive through the toll plaza, give the attendant your license, and a minute later you're on your way.
I've been using National exclusively for years. Zero problems, ever. They just work.
This - we use National at work and I've got emerald club. Zero issues over 10+ years of business and personal use
Datsun310Guy said:yupididit said:In reply to ClearWaterMS :
I do this with Enterprise. Early last month I booked a car 1 week in advance, picked the "surprise me" option where they just give you whatever sedan at one of their lower rates.
Two months ago I arrived at the Houston airport at 11:00pm on a Sunday night and lost the gamble.
I had every Texas brodozer riding my Nissan Versa butt for three days.
What vehicle can go where a 4X4 (Texas brodozer) can't? Rental car.
AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter) said:hmmm, thread was dead for 3 years, today revived by the first post of a user who created their profile 4 years ago? i suspect watercraft activity.
The canoe navy is using AI to actually create semi-intelligent posts. I just can't work out exactly why. How does that advantage anyone?
In reply to A 401 CJ :
The Canoe's second post was a link to, allegedly, a car rental website.
Edited because I forgot what I was saying.
confuZion3 said:In reply to A 401 CJ :
The Canoe's second post was a link to, allegedly, a car rental website.
Edited because I forgot what I was saying.
Ah. Now it's making sense. Now they're actually engaging in conversation across multiple posts - scary. My sincere apologies to the poster if they are not a bot. But the AI infused bots ARE starting to do what I described.
Huh... weird.
Well, I guess I'll fill you in on how it went. I was able to make a reservation through the corporate account at my parents job to get a good rate. Went with national, joined the emerald club and got a car within minutes.
got to go pick a car from the lot and managed to find a Malibu with a turbo ecotec and a CVT that was actually a quite nice car. I did hit my head on the A pillar every time I got in or out of it tho. Also an ice scraper in the glovebox would have been nice.
other than that good deal.
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