Anyone have rental car experience?

[giza]

So, I've been looking to sell my car for awhile now. (the reason why I haven't done so yet is pretty complicated, but that's another story)

One of the things I need to work out is what to do during the times when I do need a vehicle. I think I have short term trips covered, thanks to PhillyCarShare. However, long term trips (like say, to Anthrocon) are more of a concern. I've been looking at doing the car rental thing, and I discovered that Philly Airport might have what I am looking for.

Here is their car rental page: http://www.phl.org/rental_cars.html

That's 7 different car rental companies in total. I did some additional research, and each of them is open 24/7. This works out well for me, because I could conceivably rent a car on Saturday morning and have it back on Sunday night. (contrast with some of the rental places in Center City Philly, I'd have to rent the car on Friday night and return it Monday morning, thus paying for an extra day I'm not using).

The only question is: which car rental company to use? They all seem to have comparable rates, so my main concerns would be things like availability, customer service experiences, and loyalty programs.

If anyone has any comments, pro or con, on the various car rental companies, I'd love to hear them!

Comments

[nemetfox.livejournal.com]

I had a car for a couple of weeks with Enterprise back at the start of 2005.
I didn't have any problems with them. The car was clean and had a full tank of gas, and in good working shape. 2004 Chrysler Sebring sedan.

Again, other people's experiences may vary, as I am in another country.

[giza.livejournal.com]

> as I am in another country.

But... I thought Canada was the 51st state? That's what our president keeps telling us!

[drleo.livejournal.com]

I've had a few cars from Avis with no problems. Both UT-Austin and Microsoft use Avis as their preferred provider, so cars have been from there when I've travelled on their dime.

They always sign me up for an Intermediate-grade car (think Toyota Corolla), and a couple times I've gotten upgraded, I'm guessing because they didn't have enough cars. Once was a PT Cruiser, once was a Buick LeSabre, and once was a Buick Rendezvous SUV. The sweetest part was they had satellite radio. I think that's purely by chance, though.

I can't comment about their pricing since someone else was paying. They do have a loyalty club that I probably should have gotten in on, considering how many cars of theirs I've driven.

My mom tends to rent from Alamo, and she's never had any complaints.

Keep in my renting from the airport may not be your cheapest option. Usually there's an added tariff from renting from the airport as opposed to renting from a regular location. But it may be worth it rather than paying for an extra day.

[furahi.livejournal.com]

I've gotten Avis from Microsoft too. Likewise, no bad experiences, though all the transactions have been pretty "average"; it's when things go bad that there is a difference, in how they handle it.
The one time I had a flat they replaced the car without asking anything else... but I believe all companies do that =P
MS always got me mid sized cars too, which should have always been a Pontiac G6, but I've gotten Pontiac G6s, HHRs and Ford Taurus. All of them were good (though the Taurus was the one I liked the least).

So I wouldn't count my experience as a positive vote towards Avis, but merely a not-negative one =P

[drzarron.livejournal.com]

I've used Alamo and many occasions. The cars where a little more worn than other companies, but never had any trouble with them.

Hertz is solid and is generous with upgrades.

I've used Enterprise a couple of time and had nothing but trouble. And once they dinged me on a dent that I HAD pointed out and signed off on but the second center I dropped it off on didn't believe and charged me. I finally got it sorted out but it was no way for them to do business.

[furahi.livejournal.com]

That's one cute icon

[tosdragon.livejournal.com]

I have used Enterprise on a number of occasions with no problems what so ever. They have always had good rates, and never once was I hit with anything unexpected in the transactions. I would definitely use them again without any reservations, and recommend them to anybody.

Re: I refuse to be without transportation

[kinkyturtle.livejournal.com]

Same here, with one exception: Anthrocon. There are plenty of restaurants within walking distance, and the parking garage is ridiculously expensive, even with the discount.

And I don't know if it's going to work the same way this year, but last year, the discount would have expired the first time I drove out of the garage, so I left my car there all weekend. Felt like a waste of $60, and if it had been a rental instead of my own car, it would've really been a waste!

But all the other cons, I like to have a car at.

[colinlamb.livejournal.com]

I've used msot fo the big car rental places. Enterprise, avis, hertz, alamo, atc. I've had good and bad experiences with all of them. IF you will be renting the car fromt eh same place each time, I'd suggest trying them out until you find one that has individuals you like. The prices vary from place to place and time to time, so I usually check them all and go with the cheapest one that suites my need at the time.
Also, while the airport might be open 24/7 you will usually pay a surcharge for using the airport services. you might check out other locations to see if they have any other 24/7 locations, and find out what the price difference is. the surcharge might be worth that extra day.

[wolffit.livejournal.com]

Many of those rental car companies will have off-airport locations. Renting off-airport is almost ALWAYS cheaper. Enterprise is known for their consumer rental business. They'll pick you up and drop you off, so wherever they are they're easy to get to. If you plan on renting often, go with a company that has some sort of frequent customer program, it could save you some money in the long run.

[giza.livejournal.com]

If I was renting on a Friday morning, sure.

That's the problem with many of the rental car places in Center City Philly -- they tend to close early (like, 2 PM) on Friday, stay closed on Saturday, and only a few of them are open on Sunday. I tried comparing and contrasting the different options in Center City and got tired of that real fast.

Plus, the airport is right on I-95. Makes it very easy to get on my way once I have a car. (I hate city traffic.)

[giza.livejournal.com]

Yes, we have PhillyCarShare, and I'm currently a member. Unfortuantely, their rates don't scale well to multi-day trips.

[tgeller.livejournal.com]

I've always been happy with Enterprise.

Be sure you look into insurance policies and costs -- that can add a LOT to the nominal daily rental rate, like $10-$15. You might be able to get some insurance coverage from the credit card you use for the rental -- check into that. No matter what, expect a hard sell at the rental counter for insurance... that's how they make a lot of their money. ("Yes, your credit card covers you for damages to our car, but there's a $1,000 deductible, and it doesn't cover property damage! Now, for only $7.99 a day....")

Also, consider using some of the money from the car sale to get a folding bicycle -- it's a GREAT adjunct to public transit, and is easy checked baggage on long trips if you have a case for it. (I really want one for that purpose, myself.)

[giza.livejournal.com]

Already done. That's one of the reasons why I got an American Express card recently. If you rent a car with an Amex, they pick up the CDW at no additional cost. The coverage is good up to $25K, and there's a zero dollar deductible.

I still need to pick up third party liability (LLW), though. That's about $12.95 a day, and already included in the quotes I got.

> Also, consider using some of the money from the car sale to get a folding
> bicycle

It's already on my list. :-)

[murakozi.livejournal.com]

I've only ever rented vans from Enterprise, but the experiences have been okay. Nothing fancy, but that's to be expected when you're renting an Econoline to haul stuff around. I don't think they've any airport locations and I don't know if any of their offices have extended hours.

I pretty much rent Hertz cars when work has me traveling. I've had only good experiences with them so far. They've got a couple versions of their Gold Club, one free and one with an annual fee. Both will let you set preferences on their site as to what sort of car and such you prefer. The paid version does tend to allow you to reserve cars at the last minute when the nonpaid and non-club people get told there's nothing available. Since a lot of my business travel seems to end up with less than a week's notice, I've got the paid club membership just for that reason.

Every time I've rented from Hertz, I've ended up with an upgrade when I got to the airport. This seems to be the norm among my coworkers, even those who aren't in the Gold Club thingy. I pretty much always make the reservation for a Corolla-type vehicle and end up with something much nicer. On my last trip they gave me a Mustang convertible. Of course, it was February, so the top stayed up.

With any company, you're likely to have a lot of options if you're picking up at the Philly airport. It's a big airport and all the companies are going to have a big presence there.

For longer trips, such as Philly to Pittsburgh for AC, you'll want to make sure to check the rental terms. Make sure the rate you go for includes unlimited mileage. Most do, but you sure don't want to end up paying some stupid fees.

If you still have your car, and thus still have car insurance, check with them to see what their coverage is like for rental cars. My carrier extends my coverage to include rental cars. As a result, I can't comment on the insurance options offered by the rental companies.

Whenever possible, choose the option to refuel the car yourself before returning it. Most companies will offer you 3 options: return it with a full tank, let them fill the tank when you return it for a disgustingly high price per gallon, or pre-pay for a full tank when you pick up the car (usually in the area of $40 for cars) with no refund for any gas that's still in the tank when you return it.

[darthgeek.livejournal.com]

I've rented a car with Enterprise twice, and both times it was a very good experience.

One time was renting a convertible Chrysler Sebring LX. Long story short, we managed to break the glass back window. Fortunately, we'd purchased the insurance through Enterprise, so, we just said that we'd been at a rest stop, and when we came back to the car, it was like that. I don't think they believed me, but, they didn't say anything. :)

[zeeth_kyrah]

The Neon I so loved was a former rental car - I'm not sure which company, but it was fairly well taken care of. Of course, that may be par for the area I lived in at the time.

[jlick.livejournal.com]

I almost always use Hertz. I've used some of the others from time to time when Hertz' rates were not competitive at some locations (smaller airports sometimes have this problem). My only bad experience was with Budget which was mostly due to incompetent customer service. The main reason I stick with Hertz is that they have almost always delivered better than expected customer service and usually their rates aren't much different than others. Check with your employer's travel department as they can usually hook you up with a free Gold membership and discount codes. Otherwise check with your state's Auto Club which usually has a discount code good for 10-15% off.

[wildw0lf.livejournal.com]

Well...

If they're all the same as far as rates, I'd go with Enterprise, as, they literally will pick you up.

As far as optional insurance. I would recommend getting it. It's not that much more per day, and definately worth the money.

The optional insurance pays if someone hits your car, scrapes it, or some object hits it in a parking lot. Otherwise you'd have to pay those damages out of pocket.

Check with your insurance company first to see if you'd be covered anyway while driving another company's rental vehicle.

[giza.livejournal.com]

> The optional insurance pays if someone hits your car, scrapes it, or some
> object hits it in a parking lot. Otherwise you'd have to pay those damages
> out of pocket.

That's CDW, which is picked up by American Express. I won't need to buy it.

I will need LLW (Limited Liability Waiver), however. That covers damage done to other vehicles if I have an accident.