Interesting conversation when dropping off a Hertz rental car

[dougp26364]

I said, "I'm surprised Hertz is renting cars in as bad of shape as this one and with over 34,000 miles on it."

He said, "We can't sell them. We turn them over the the sale barn and they send them back because they aren't selling."

I said, " I'm surprised Hertz would rent a car with nearly bald tires."

He said (as he was putting a sticker on the car to replace the tires), "Ordinarilly, we don't keep them long enough for the tires to wear out, so we don't always look at them."

I said, "What's with the increased rental rates I'm seeing."

He said, "Rentals are down so, to maintain the same profits renting fewer cars, they've increased the prices."

I said, "Wow, that's stupid."

Even though I've put this in quotes, I'm sure it's not the exact words that were exchanged but, it's pretty close.

 

[donnaval]

I'm so disappointed in the cars I've been renting--prices have skyrocketed, and their condition is actually part of the reason why I have not been buying a "Big 3" car for years. Hertz usually gives me Chevys, and they are so beat up and rickety with only 10,000 to 20,000 miles on them that I can't wait to get back to my Honda with 120K plus miles on it. Yes, they are rental cars but still, how bad do the renters beat them up at under 20k miles? And even if Hertz is letting maintenance slide--how much maintenance is required for a car with under 20k miles? Very disturbing.

Our rental car prices have doubled this past year. So I'm not renting as often--more driving trips instead of air fare/car rental hits. They aren't going to make up the difference by doubling the rental prices on me...strange business plan!

 

[craftemp]

Rental Cars

I just rented from Dollar Car at Savannah Airport and was surprised at the number of dents and dings in the car.
I've been watching rental prices for Orlando for next month and they are ridiculous.. .as is the airfare out of Newark.
I'm seriously considering driving down in my own car - it wouldn't be the first time - driving does not bother me at all

 

[donnaval]

My DH absolutely hates long car trips which is why we have always flown and rented a car--but the prices are definitely changing his mind. I recently had to make a trip way longer than I would ordinarily drive, and to my surprise it wasn't half as bad as I expected. So now--inconvenient and uncomfortable air travel experiences, outrageous car rentals and lousy cars--the airlines and car rental companies are doing a great job of training me to use them less

 

[1st Class]

My DH absolutely hates long car trips which is why we have always flown and rented a car--but the prices are definitely changing his mind. I recently had to make a trip way longer than I would ordinarily drive, and to my surprise it wasn't half as bad as I expected. So now--inconvenient and uncomfortable air travel experiences, outrageous car rentals and lousy cars--the airlines and car rental companies are doing a great job of training me to use them less

About five years ago, I accidentally forgot to book airfare for the school break week. My DH suggested driving from NY to FL. We filled our mini-van with 6 people and spent less on gas than what it cost for one 7-day Disney pass. Since then, this has become a family tradition so much so that it is considered part of the vacation adventure. We find car travel much more relaxing than air travel, even driving I-95!

So I'm not renting as often--more driving trips instead of air fare/car rental hits.

The last car we rented was a mini-van from "SHIFTY Thrifty". After declining all the extras at the rental counter, we noticed on our credit card statement that our charge was more than twice what we agreed to. Thrifty did make it right, but I wondered how often others were overcharged because they didn't carefully check their statement.

 

[Talent312]

... The last car we rented was a mini-van from "SHIFTY Thrifty". After declining all the extras at the rental counter, we noticed on our credit card statement that our charge was more than twice what we agreed to. Thrifty did make it right, but I wondered how often others were overcharged because they didn't carefully check their statement.

While Thrifty has some of the better deals, you need to be extra-careful with some of their local agencies. Be sure to completely mark the damage-check card. A few years back, the Vegas agency tried to dun me for some scratches, and I ended up with some coupons and an apology from the main office.

 

[pcgirl54]

Because of a bad experience with Enterprise we now take pictures of the car dings before we drive off the lot and have them recorded/signed by an agent.

 

[riverside]

I, too, was surprised at how much rental cars have increased in price. I needed to rent at LA for 12 days and was dismayed when I checked the price. But I bid on Priceline and got a price more in line with what they used to be. It was almost $400 more on their website. They accepted my first bid which made me wonder if I started my bid too high!