Rental Car Experiences?

ab348

Michaell said:

 I am scheduled to have a rental car Monday night – I am flying to San Francisco for job interviews on Tuesday

They must be liking what they've seen and heard so far, so the very best of luck! Bring it on home!!

Michaell

stever said:

Good luck! (both with the job hunt and the rental you wind up with).

Thanks - I finally saw the itinerary. Hertz Intermediate, which the website shows as a Corolla or similar.

Mr_Shiftright said:

and the traffic. Where's the interview? what city?

Palo Alto. I get into SFO at 7:20 Monday night, so I'm hoping to have avoided all the rush hour traffic. My return flight leaves SFO at 4:20 Tuesday afternoon, so that ought to be fun.

They must be liking what they've seen and heard so far, so the very best of luck! Bring it on home!!

I've talked to three people in the last two days - one face to face, the other two by phone. The trip to CA is to meet with the senior manager and executive of the business unit, and an HR representative.

What I didn't mention is that I also have an on-site interview from 2-3 at another company. They are located NW of downtown, and the airport is NE of downtown, so it will be interesting to get from the company site to the airport in time for my 5:40 takeoff.

fintail

I was going to take a long road trip later in the year to use some lease miles, but now that I have a different car, I don't think I will. I have a ton of Hertz points I redeem from online surveys, so I might use some air miles from an old account and take a road trip in another area. I wonder what Hertz has in the "luxury" category, lots of Chrysler 300s I suspect.

Good luck, Michaell. If they are flying you out there, they must think pretty highly of you already, right?

Michaell

I gotta believe that, too @fintail

berri

Lots of ups and downs when looking for a job. You can only do your best and it should eventually work out however. Don't beat yourself up and dwell on what you "coulda" done better. Just try to keep a positive and professional attitude. Good Luck!

Mr_Shiftright

Michaell said:

I gotta believe that, too @fintail

4:20 pm won't be too bad because you should be getting there early to the airport. You hop on 280 north, then take 380 East to 101 South and then the airport. Kind of a right hook.

Michaell

Mr_Shiftright said:

Michaell said:

I gotta believe that, too @fintail

4:20 pm won't be too bad because you should be getting there early to the airport. You hop on 280 north, then take 380 East to 101 South and then the airport. Kind of a right hook.

I am figuring the company won't keep me so long as to put my departure in jeopardy. Not sure what time I'll be finishing up, but I've got a believe around two or 230 in the afternoon

kyfdx

Sounds great. I wish someone wanted me..

andres3

Parents rented a Camry SE I drove around. This is supposed to be the sporty version right? So soft!

stever

A listing geared for LA residents, but even after you throw out the aggregators and local-only shops, there's still more on the list than I would have guessed.

Need to rent a car in the U.S. or internationally? Here are 45 rental car agencies you can try (LA Times)

carperso

Looking to get 7 pass suv for a road trip. What is the difference between full size suv and premium suv for avis/budget? What models do they currently have on fleet. And any reason to pay extra for avis considering they are owned by the same company

jpp75

I've had several rentals over the last couple of months while traveling for work. All of these were through National except the MKX which was through Avis.

Jeep Cherokee in Denver, CO -- 15,xxx miles. Drove ~200 miles in 2 days. Adequate power but that's about all it was, suffers from the 9 speed transmission hunting all the time. I wonder how much power is "lost" in that transmission always changing gears. It wouldn't be my first choice but I'd take it over a few others.

New gen Malibu in Charlotte, NC -- 5,xxx miles. Drove it ~60 miles in a day. Nice ride, Chevrolet finally built a competent car for the class. The brakes were a bit stiff, power was ample, not as quiet as some competitors but overall no complaints. This one had the fabric dash, I can't imagine what that will look like in 5 years. Not something I would pick again though.

Ford Focus Hatchback - Asheville, NC - 13,xxx miles. Drove it 600+ miles in 2 days. Great driving car, the DCT transmission wasn't as offensive as prior versions. Decent mileage and good visibility. I'd definitely (and did) choose one again.

Nissan Altima -- San Diego, CA - 8,xxx miles. Rental car queen. Did nothing great and wasn't offensive in any area. Soft ride and drive, it would do in a pinch.

Jeep Renegade -- San Diego, CA - 500 miles, drove 1,300 miles in 3 days. I was pleasantly surprised by the Renegade except for that 9-speed transmission. Always hunting and could drop from 9th to 5th on a 70 mph highway on a grade. Way too fussy. Otherwise I liked it, for the amount of driving I did it was comfortable and complacent. I chose one again (see below).

Lincoln MKX -- Salt Lake City, UT - 18,xxx miles. Drove 100 miles in 2 days. Nice enough but had some clunks and rattles in the back. I don't see any reason to buy this over a Ford Edge. I'd take one if they gave it to me but meh.

Ford Focus -- Columbus , OH -- 9,xxx miles. Just like the one I had in Asheville, fun to drive and enjoyable all around. At this price point it's a lot of car for the money. I'd pick one again.

Jeep Renegade -- Charlotte, NC, 13.xxx miles. I chose this one based on my prior experience in CA. What a difference 10k miles makes. This was a Limited, which is step up from the one in CA but NVH was much more pronounced at 13k miles. And that 9-speed transmission, still not impressed.

henryn

That Nissan Altima -- was it by any chance black? We all remember what @jmonroe said about black Nissan Altimas!

Sandman6472

Agree that the newer Foci's tranny is a bit more relaxed than the earlier models but still, something I hate driving at work and most of our renters will take almost anything else if given the chance. Agree about the Renegade and love the looks but it's one thirsty piglet and the auto tranny doesn't help in this respect much. The real sleeper in our fleet are the Optima/Sonata cousins...drive great, decent mpg's and very good auto tranny. If were in the market for a mid-sizer, the Optima would be my first choice, hands down. Hyundai/Kia remind me of Honda Corp. of the late 80's and 90's, every new model better than the last.
Best part of working at my Hertz HLE location, never know what kind of vehicles I'll get to drive. Yesterday had a wonderful CLA 250, only drawback was that I only drove it 10 minutes from one location to another. Really need to get some more seat time in one of these puppies as it's on my short list for my next vehicle, my retirement present.

The Sandman

fintail

So you're working at Hertz again, Sandman? What do you see in the "Luxury" (Class I) fleet there?

jpp75

henryn said:

That Nissan Altima -- was it by any chance black? We all remember what @jmonroe said about black Nissan Altimas!

Actually it was black.

ab348

I don't think those women were actually smitten with @jmonroe's rental Altima. They were actually in love with his thick, permed hairdo and were just too shy to admit it.

Mr_Shiftright

I think it was that bumper sticker he had: "My other car is a Ferrari".

fintail

I remember when I was a kid, a Jag in town had a license plate frame that said "My other car is a Rolls-Royce". What was their other car? A Rolls-Royce. Funny interpretation of the joke.

Sandman6472

Have never left Hertz, just looking for a transfer closer to home. Not sure it will come through though so will just see how things play out. Not sure about the classes of vehicles but know we did bring in a MB C class the other day for a customer, have gotten a few Infiniti large SUV's lately also. Picked up a CLA 250 from a regular customer who rents like once a month, always a MB of some kind. Have seen Porsches and larger MB's at the airport, drove a couple 328i's up for maintenance...we have many kinds of upper crust vehicles.
Hopefully come Thursday, I'll also have the option to drive for my old company a couple times a week as I do enjoy the long distance driving. A good way to clear the head, listen to some good music and try out different vehicles. A win/win/win anyway you look at it!

The Sandman

fintail

Do you see a lot of Chrysler 300? Those are the ones supposedly most in that category. If I use Hertz for an upcoming rental, I will rent in that category - but I would be using gold points, so not renting a "prestige collection" car. Maybe I could get an upgrade

Also, does Hertz still put NeverLost in a lot of vehicles, even those that should have factory nav?

jpp75

henryn said:

That Nissan Altima -- was it by any chance black? We all remember what @jmonroe said about black Nissan Altimas!

Actually it was!

Sandman6472

Love the 300's we have as they drive very nicely, a good upgrade. We also have MB's and Porsche's that one can rent among other upscale vehicles. A nice change of pace if one wants to spend a bit extra on their rental. I enjoy when I'm called upon to pick up vehicles in this class. We also have 320 i's and I fell in love with them the first time I had to drive one back from the airport. And that's the best part of my gig at Hertz, I never know in advance what kinds of vehicles I'm going to drive on a particular day. And my lead driver knows which ones I really like so he'll throw me those keys when we have to move any of them!

The Sandman

fintail

I read on another site that there's a rumor that Hertz and GM did not have a deal this year, so there will be less and less GM in the Hertz fleet. I will probably have a 10 day Hertz rental in a couple months, and had a thought I might get a Caddy, which doesn't sound bad. I guess not, now. I don't know if/how much I would be willing to pay for a prestige upgrade, esp as so many Euro cars in US fleets are base models. Maybe I can work my way into a nicely optioned 300 - I saw a base rental one on the road last week, you can tell.

ab348

I would be interested in your impressions of a new Caddy, even a rental unit, given your history as a longtime M-B driver.

fintail

I'd like to have one as a rental, too. There's been a rental XTS hanging around my workplace garage for weeks, sometimes it never moves. I guess that one is a fancy Impala, but I know CTS exists in fleets too, even a few ATS. It'd be interesting. I like how Caddy's design is maturing, not as angular and edgy for the sake of edgy as before.

berri

Last I saw at a Hertz lot were lots of Nissan and Hyunkia, with a few Toyota's mixed in. Very little GM or Ford. But I don't frequent them enough to know if that is really a trend.

Michaell

berri said:

Last I saw at a Hertz lot were lots of Nissan and Hyunkia, with a few Toyota's mixed in. Very little GM or Ford. But I don't frequent them enough to know if that is really a trend.

The Hertz lot at SFO has a bunch of stuff, but I don't remember seeing a lot of GM.

ab348

Odd. Going back 10-15 years ago all the automotive forums were filled with posters excoriating GM for inflating their sales numbers with excessive fleet sales. I don't see anyone doing the same now for those market leading Asian brands that are now doing the exact same thing and make up most rental fleets these days.

henryn

Some people just love to beat on General Motors. Any subject, any reason, pile on GM.

Sandman6472

We don't have that many GM's from what I have seen but on Friday, saw a long row of new Chevy Cruse's lined up with the window stickers still on them. Ft. Lauderdale also got a whole bunch of '17 Hyundai Elantra SE's in and are about ready to be put into the fleet, the license plates were being put on Wednesday while we were there. We also had to go down to MIA last week to pick up a couple Lincoln MKX's and I enjoyed driving one of them, a lot. Not sure if it's the same as the Ford Edge or the Escape but Lincoln did a nice job here.
But, we do have all kinds of vehicles and we do our best to get folks a particular vehicle if we get enough notice.

The Sandman

fintail

I think Nissan and Hyunkia are the fleet queens of the new age. Toyota is up there too in numbers anyway, if not sales percentages. The rental Corolla or Camry is a good stereotype, at least on the west coast.

andres3

ab348 said:

Odd. Going back 10-15 years ago all the automotive forums were filled with posters excoriating GM for inflating their sales numbers with excessive fleet sales. I don't see anyone doing the same now for those market leading Asian brands that are now doing the exact same thing and make up most rental fleets these days.

For what it's worth I think those three Asian Brands (Nissan, Hyundai, and Toyota) should take a beating for requiring fleet/rental sales in order to sell their product. I don't view it favorably, and the market doesn't either; their resale values plummet accordingly.

I think one of the extra problems GM had was that when someone rented one of their vehicles back then it made a good case for why you'd want to avoid the brand. Some of the rentals you get these days aren't so bad.

berri

Too bad Toyota can't use some of their Camry line for Highlanders. That line is geared for high production which may explain some of the fleet sales.

I think many GM cars make a good impression when rented. Their issue is more about pricing. They seem to want Toyota and Honda prices, but without a comparable resale value. Also, there are still more than a few previously burned GM owners who remain reluctant to return I think.

andres3

berri said:

Too bad Toyota can't use some of their Camry line for Highlanders. That line is geared for high production which may explain some of the fleet sales.

I think many GM cars make a good impression when rented. Their issue is more about pricing. They seem to want Toyota and Honda prices, but without a comparable resale value. Also, there are still more than a few previously burned GM owners who remain reluctant to return I think.

I'd be reluctant to return if I had been burned as a customer. I feel burned as a taxpayer alone due to the bailouts.

When I said GM cars made bad impressions as rentals I meant their cars back when they were rental fodder. Cars like the Cavalier, Malibu Classic, and Impala that were just so common rentals back in the day.

suydam

The Malibu Classic. What a dreadful rental to get saddled with. We had that misfortune,

fintail

The Impala "Limited" is still in production I think. Suddenly it's 2006!

berri

Seriously? That is just sad. All it does is confuse buyers and hurt the new model.

fintail

I take it back, production just ended a few months ago. Of a 2006 car that was based on an even older car. Brand equity wasn't taught to these guys.

Sandman6472

They moved all the new vehicles to the staging area over the weekend and now, they're putting on the plates and taking all the plastic off. They have new Cruze's, Sonata's and Elantra's this time around. Must've seen one hundred or so all about ready to hit the road. There's always a steady stream of turnbacks and wholesales being put onto car carriers and driven to auction or their new owners also. Before Hertz, I was an independent contractor who did that very work, and I do miss it. Seems that I need to wait the full three years since my last speeding infraction to be rehired, which I figured was the case. If not, I would've been back working there already. Around March 12th is when the three year period is up so will call back them then to see about being rehired. They moved their offices a bit closer to us, so now it's only a 31 mile drive door to door, similar to what I drive now to my Hertz gig. Figure once I retire from Hertz, can just keep that other gig a couple days a week so at least I'm bringing in some extra cash.
A shame they are making me wait because have been very careful since then with my driving. Just got a bit careless there for a bit, was really having a good time and got a little stupid really!

The Sandman

henryn

So, those who follow Cars & Conversation know that the hood was stolen off my F150 while it sat in my driveway last night. So I’m now in a rental car, a 2016 Explorer Limited with 6k miles.

I checked on Truecar, and it looks like one similarly equipped goes for about $41k against an MSRP of $47k. This thing is very nicely equipped. Leather, navigation, heated and cooled seats, 4WD, about the only thing it doesn’t seem to have is an engine.

It’s equipped with the base 3.5L normally aspirated V6 engine. I don’t think I’ve ever driven any Ford with that engine, and after this, I would certainly never buy one. Why anyone would spend better than $40k for a car, and not get the optional engine (the 3.5L ecoboost) is beyond me. But then, no human actually did this, we are talking Enterprise rent-a-car.

The review here on Edmunds says “Feels bigger than it is behind the wheel”, and I can verify that. Sitting in the driver’s seat, trying to see out over the hood, this thing feels every bit as big as my F150 crew cab. And it isn’t that big, not by a long shot. Once you get used to it, it fits into a fairly small parking space, it will maneuver where my F150 couldn’t possibly go.

On the plus side, it does have a lot of head room. And on the negative side, the seat bolsters do not fit my wide posterior.

berri

Sorry about your truck. This stuff is just rampant anymore, probably because there is at most a slight slap on the wrist by the judicial system if they get caught. I find the Explorer driver's seat and position just odd. I have had several rentals and over the years I don't think Ford has done much to improve the situation. Might be that Volvo chassis the genius Jacques Nasser picked up from the "premier" group days.

js06gv

berri said:

Sorry about your truck. This stuff is just rampant anymore, probably because there is at most a slight slap on the wrist by the judicial system if they get caught. I find the Explorer driver's seat and position just odd. I have had several rentals and over the years I don't think Ford has done much to improve the situation. Might be that Volvo chassis the genius Jacques Nasser picked up from the "premier" group days.

My dad picked up an Explorer Limited last year. He also didn't get the right engine, as the base 3.5 was all that was available in that trim in 2015 (I think it's optional in 2016 now). The engine is very "industrial" and coarse sounding, much more so than the same engine behaves in a Taurus.  I agree on the driving position. When I'm in the drivers seat the steering wheel feels offset by at least 6 inches and just doesn't seem right. Vehicle is roomy and rides well though. 

berri

Ford is too busy blowing money on tech things like driverless cars. It is kind of like Jacques Nasser has returned, but now his name is Mark Fields.

suydam

A friend got a Malibu as a rental over the weekend. Really liked it. Said it was miles away from the really base Cruze I had as a loaner a year or so ago. Plenty of power, roomy, and pretty good FE.

imidazol97

suydam said:

A friend got a Malibu as a rental over the weekend. Really liked it. Said it was miles away from the really base Cruze I had as a loaner a year or so ago. Plenty of power, roomy, and pretty good FE.

Which Malibu? Gen 8 or Gen 9? Are Gen 9's in the fleets?

fintail

Gen 9 is definitely in the rental fleets on the west coast.

imidazol97

fintail said:

Gen 9 is definitely in the rental fleets on the west coast.

I haven't seen any in the waiting queue of one on a road I drive. It's an Alamo or Dollar combined. I was next to one of the big guy's lots in cell phone waiting area when son flew back from LA last Fri, but all I could see was Nissans, sedans and SUVs, and some Corollas or Camrys, can't tell the difference.

fintail

I suspect it might be Enterprise Holdings (National/Alamo/Enterprise). There's a Hertz HLE a few blocks from me, their lot is a sea of Nissan and Toyota with an occasional Hyunkia. There's an Avis not far from me that doesn't seem to have any GM content either.

I work at an office campus that receives a lot of visitors, and live in an area with a lot of business travelers and tourists - I've definitely seen the new Malibu.

imidazol97 said:

I haven't seen any in the waiting queue of one on a road I drive. It's an Alamo or Dollar combined. I was next to one of the big guy's lots in cell phone waiting area when son flew back from LA last Fri, but all I could see was Nissans, sedans and SUVs, and some Corollas or Camrys, can't tell the difference.

suydam

This was an Alamo in New Hampshire.