Paying More for Car Rentals

Over the years I have rented from every major U.S. auto rental chain with the exception of Avis. Over that time I have had almost every problem imaginable with almost every one of them: extra fees tacked on at rental time, cars that had mechanical failures, cars missing pieces in the lot, cars that simply were not available despite a confirmed reservation, cars that could not be dropped off where I was supposed to drop them off, rental offices that were closed during their operating hours, insurance that I didn’t need but was required to purchase anyway, “unlimited” mileage that wasn’t, outrageous gas prices, gas I was charged for but didn’t use, frequent flier miles that were promised and not credited, and more. About the only aspect of car rental service I’ve been lucky enough not to experience is what happens when your rental car is in an accident or stolen.

The latest variation was on a trip to California where I planned to spend some time birding on windy mountain roads with very small pull-offs. Consequently I’d reserved a compact car at Dollar. Instead they saddled me with an effective tank, possibly the single longest car or truck I’ve ever driven. Over six days they claimed to be unable to find a compact car to replace it with.

Recently it occurred to me that there is exactly one car rental company I have never had a problem with or a complaint about: Hertz.

I am not sure if this is significant or not. My experience with Hertz is limited to exactly one rental in the last twenty years, and that was in Canada, at a city location instead of an airport, so it may not be comparable to what I usually go through. However that one time still stands out in my memory as exceptionally friendly and helpful service compared to almost everywhere else I’ve ever rented. They got me the car I’d reserved at the price they’d quoted: no extras whatsoever. What most stands out in my memory is they actually kept me from buying insurance I didn’t need, whereas everyone else has usually tried to push it on me.

The reason I only have the one experience with Hertz (and none with Avis) is that I’ve been a fairly price sensitive shopper for auto rentals. I figure all rental cars are pretty much the same, and just go to Expedia and rent whatever’s cheapest on the day I arrive. Hertz and Avis are usually 30-100% more expensive than everyone else. The only reason I rented from Hertz the one time was nobody else had any cars that day in downtown Montreal. However, maybe I should rethink this strategy. 30-100% more is really not more than about $40-120 more for my typical rentals, and frankly it would be worth that much to me if I could reliably get the car I reserved with no surprises. In fact, if they don’t tack on surprise fees and surcharges. Hertz and Avis might really be as cheap as everyone else.

I think the next time I travel I’m going to make a point of renting from Hertz or Avis, paying the extra money, and seeing what it’s like. They may be just as bad in the U.S. as everyone else, but there’s only one way to find out.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 3rd, 2007 at 10:22 AM and is filed under Travel. You can follow any responses to this entry through the Atom feed. You can make a comment, Digg this story, or trackback from your own site.