Rental Car Experiences?

Sandman6472

Good luck with the rental. I was upgraded last month with my week rental but even their choice of upgrade wasn't what we needed. Rented a Nissan Kicks but they gave me the choice of a Nissan Altima or a Honda Accord. I needed a small CUV or SUV so they eventually found us a Rav4 which turned out to be just perfect. Fit all the last minute things our daughter had plus our clothing for about 5 days away. Wasn't too big or too small as the Mrs. drove it the first leg of our trip. I drove it the rest of the time and it was wonderful. And even had AWD which was great since it poured in St. Augustine.

fintail

Arrived at the SEA rental center around 0730 - barely any customers around, and the rental car lanes were packed. National Emerald Aisle and Executive Selection both had tons of Altimas, Malibus, with a few Camrys and Sonatas. Both also had a few basic to modest spec pickups. ES also had an Accord, a few G70, a few Chargers, a CT4, and virtually no SUVs, vans, or CUVs - all reserved and hidden I suspect. Upgrade area had an S60 and a Defender - the latter could have been cool, but for a $40/day upcharge, I didn't go for it. I had a "luxury" reservation and was able to choose from a few A3/A4s. This was in the mix, and the enthusiastic agent told me this was the best thing there. 2024 A5 Sportback, I believe a 45 TFSI Premium Plus. Only ~1400 miles on it when I picked it up, still pretty fresh. No complaints for the rate I booked at months ago, especially as SEA is notoriously expensive. Just one pic so far:




A 2er GC was coming in as I left.

Sixt at roughly the same price had a normal 3er for me with about 15K on it, with X5/4er/5er at $30-40/day upcharges. I had a cancelable reservation, so I went with National as it was marginally cheaper (maybe $5/day) and the car is fine.

Michaell

Nothing wrong with the A5. I got a reminder in FB that 6 years ago today I flew to CA to spend Christmas with my family, and used Silvercar to have an A4 for my trip.

mlevine

Initially offered a dodge charger for my 10 day rental but always concerned about sleet or snow and went with altima AWD. Needed vehicle to go to and back from work. If this was spring, summer, or fall would have went with charger.

fintail

Michaell said:

Nothing wrong with the A5. I got a reminder in FB that 6 years ago today I flew to CA to spend Christmas with my family, and used Silvercar to have an A4 for my trip.

IIRC Silvercar doesn't exist anymore, at least in its prior form -- last time I checked now only at dealerships with non-competitive rates.

I am pleased with the A5, especially given the rate I paid (pretax 375/week I think, but tax + insurance adds to that).

Michaell

fintail said:

Michaell said:

Nothing wrong with the A5. I got a reminder in FB that 6 years ago today I flew to CA to spend Christmas with my family, and used Silvercar to have an A4 for my trip.

IIRC Silvercar doesn't exist anymore, at least in its prior form -- last time I checked now only at dealerships with non-competitive rates.

I am pleased with the A5, especially given the rate I paid (pretax 375/week I think, but tax + insurance adds to that).

Yeah, they moved away from the "airport adjacent" model to one within Audi dealerships, then I think they just faded away.

I used them twice, both out of LAX - pleasant experience both times, and not that much more expensive than a car from one of the major players.

Sandman6472

My rental with my employer, Enterprise, went great last month. We have tot ake the full insurance package but get a "great rate" so well worth it. And we got a vehicle that was perfect for our needs. Due to my hospitalization, we had to cancel the minivan first rental and went with the second, a Rav4. By the second week, I was well enough to drive & help out a little bit. All worked out great.

Just picked up wife from train since she spent a few days with the kid in St. Augustine. I'll go up maybe in March or April by myself as it'll be tax time & the wife wll be just too busy!.

fintail

mlevine said:

Initially offered a dodge charger for my 10 day rental but always concerned about sleet or snow and went with altima AWD. Needed vehicle to go to and back from work. If this was spring, summer, or fall would have went with charger.

AWD might be at least an SR trim, so not stripped? I was amused to see base model Altimas and similar even in the ES in Seattle, but at the same time I doubt some renters care, nor do the workers keep track of trim levels.

fintail

I wonder if the fleet volume used by Silvercar has been shifted to Hertz and National especially. Even 5 years ago a USDM rental Audi was very uncommon, but now plenty seem to be out there, with a number of BMWs and MBs too and not just at Sixt.

Michaell said:

fintail said:

Michaell said:

Nothing wrong with the A5. I got a reminder in FB that 6 years ago today I flew to CA to spend Christmas with my family, and used Silvercar to have an A4 for my trip.

IIRC Silvercar doesn't exist anymore, at least in its prior form -- last time I checked now only at dealerships with non-competitive rates.

I am pleased with the A5, especially given the rate I paid (pretax 375/week I think, but tax + insurance adds to that).

Yeah, they moved away from the "airport adjacent" model to one within Audi dealerships, then I think they just faded away.

I used them twice, both out of LAX - pleasant experience both times, and not that much more expensive than a car from one of the major players.

kyfdx

fintail said:

mlevine said:

Initially offered a dodge charger for my 10 day rental but always concerned about sleet or snow and went with altima AWD. Needed vehicle to go to and back from work. If this was spring, summer, or fall would have went with charger.

AWD might be at least an SR trim, so not stripped? I was amused to see base model Altimas and similar even in the ES in Seattle, but at the same time I doubt some renters care, nor do the workers keep track of trim levels.

S (not in AWD)
SV
SR
SL

Lowest to highest trim

All but S available in AWD

fintail

kyfdx said:

fintail said:

mlevine said:

Initially offered a dodge charger for my 10 day rental but always concerned about sleet or snow and went with altima AWD. Needed vehicle to go to and back from work. If this was spring, summer, or fall would have went with charger.

AWD might be at least an SR trim, so not stripped? I was amused to see base model Altimas and similar even in the ES in Seattle, but at the same time I doubt some renters care, nor do the workers keep track of trim levels.

S (not in AWD)
SV
SR
SL

Lowest to highest trim

All but S available in AWD

Probably SV then, seems to be the fleet leader. I noticed most Altimas at SEA either had the cheapest looking wheels imaginable, or they were hubcaps.

Michaell

fintail said:

kyfdx said:

fintail said:

mlevine said:

Initially offered a dodge charger for my 10 day rental but always concerned about sleet or snow and went with altima AWD. Needed vehicle to go to and back from work. If this was spring, summer, or fall would have went with charger.

AWD might be at least an SR trim, so not stripped? I was amused to see base model Altimas and similar even in the ES in Seattle, but at the same time I doubt some renters care, nor do the workers keep track of trim levels.

S (not in AWD)
SV
SR
SL

Lowest to highest trim

All but S available in AWD

Probably SV then, seems to be the fleet leader. I noticed most Altimas at SEA either had the cheapest looking wheels imaginable, or they were hubcaps.

I had an Altima rental on my last trip to Cincinnati several years ago. I think it was the SV trim. Nice enough ride.

mlevine

So far Altima has been a good ride. No snow only rain.

Sandman6472

It's a really good "appliance"...nothing more or nothing less. And now with the "better", they seem to shift without lugging, something our kids 2008 Versa SL did all the time. Made it tedious to drive 90% of the time and they were able to fix this #1 complaint with the CVT trannies. Now, would I want to own one right now? Put that check in the box on the negatory side, no Nissan product is something I'd want to own right now honestly. But if I needed some small run-about for the next 24 months, a cheap lease could fit the bill. And it's something I've considered if my Golf was ever totaled by my insurance. Especially with it being "season" down here in South Florida, have so many old people on our roads right now who I wonder how much they paid to get someone to give them a drivers license! Have no clue what I'd settle on as a cheap lease. Did see a decent looking Chevy Bolt on the showroom floor of the local dealer which could work if I was rushed into something. I'll know it when I get behind the wheel just like last time but hey, just not there yet. And just not quite ready to test drive the new 2024 Kona quite yet in case I end up really liking it. Thinking my timing is about a year off...something around 12/29/24 would work nicely for me. There'd hopefully be more inventory out at the dealers and maybe some better end of year deals to be made. There's just not something I need to get right now, at this moment...or I would've already pounced on it.

But having another bad cold and a case of vertigo since early Tuesday morning has kept me in bed since then. Called out Tuesday & today, Friday, as I was too dizzy to drive. They called me about an hour ago to see if I could come in tomorrow at 9 and said sure as I'm feeling more human again. Won't be a super long day and will still have Sunday off to rest up. And then we have Monday off for New Years. Funny part is, when I'm feeling like myself, love going into work but when I'm feeling like I did these past few days, that's the last place I want to be. So, it's a really thin tight rope I'm walking on lately & I'm not happy about the situation, one bit. Have literally in bed except for a few hours total since Tuesday morning about 1:15 when I started complaining about a sore throat/cough with the vertigo hitting me around 4:45 am or so. Hardly ate much as the room kept spinning no matter which room I was in. And it just came on full force so quickly which really threw me for a loop! Know one has any idea why the vertigo is reacting the way it is or the time table of each episode! And now, it's really starting to piss me off...big time!!!

explorerx4

While on the big island we had a Pacifica, which I didn't drive.
It was pretty loaded with tech features.
On Maui we had a more base model 2019 Dodge Caravan with 45k on it.
Did the job, so can't complain.
It had Nav with worlds smallest screen, about the size of my iPhone SE.
One interesting feature was that it had the vehicle speed in the lower right portion of the screen.
Good for backseat driving.

kyfdx

Rented at LAX, the past week. Emerald Aisle at National.

We like compact SUVs for rentals, for ease of access, small parking footprint and decent forward visibility.

In the Aisle, the top two candidates were a Mazda CX-5 and a Mazda CX-50. Either would have been acceptable, but neither had a cover for the cargo area. That's a must when traveling with luggage.

New 2024 Kona was the winner. Not sure of the trim, but it had the 1.6 turbo AWD, and was loaded. NAV, moonroof, heated and ventilated seats. Very, very peppy. Luggage space is not great, but still handles two full-size bags. You wouldn't want to rent it for four people, just for that reason.

Reasonably attractive, when compared to the previous model.

$395 for the week, including all taxes and fees. Not bad for LAX.

fintail

While visiting family on this road trip, another family member came to visit, and had a rental as their car was hit and is still in the shop. They had an Enterprise Corolla, 2022 model and about as basic as possible. Seemed to be holding up fine at ~50K miles, but definitely not a luxurious ride - the driver thought it was quaint that a car this new still takes a key and commented about the NVH compared to their ~2016 Lexus LS. I noticed it had new tires of a brand I forget and had never heard of. The renter chose the optional insurance, which has already paid off as they were backed into at a gas station on the drive here, leaving a noticeable gouge in the bumper.

sda

Longer post. @oldfarmer50, @Sandman6472, @andres3
A very poor experience with Enterprise. My daughter travelled with her boyfriend’s family to attend a funeral in NJ. As their Kia Sedona was acting up they rented a vehicle for the trip. When they were driving home yesterday, somewhere in rural VA, the car displayed an urgent message to stop ASAP. They called customer service for help and were told they could send a tow truck but they needed to call 911 to transport them. Of course this became an escalated conversation and the rep hung up. A second call was similar, except the rep said, oh those Chrysler Pacifica Hybrids are known to have issues..what?. Then why did you rent it knowing it was needed for a long trip? The rep did say there was an airport around 40 miles away. They waited about an hour and were able to restart the Pacifica and drive to an airport in Lynchburg. No Enterprise desk there, National. National was able to take in the Pacifica Hybrid and exchanged it for a standard Pacifica and they were able to get home safely, albeit stressed, tired, aggravated and hours behind. To boot, my daughter’s boyfriend works as an adjuster for an insurance company and contacts Enterprise frequently to arrange rentals for their customers. He knows Enterprise sends cars out when a customer is broken down on the side of the road. We were so relived when our daughter walked thru the door last night after such an ordeal. Thankfully it wasn’t a wreck with injuries or worse.

texases

What a mess. Those Pacifica hybrids are crazy unreliable. Too bad, good idea, terrible execution.

Michaell

I've got a rental set up through Enterprise for next week, when the Outback (finally) goes in to get the front fender repaired.

Nothing special, just an "intermediate" to get me around.

andres3

texases said:

What a mess. Those Pacifica hybrids are crazy unreliable. Too bad, good idea, terrible execution.

Thanks for posting, I was on the verge of investing in 1,000 Pacifica's to store them until they became collector cars and profitable.

fintail

Interesting rental car sightings - I've read Sixt has Lucid Air in the fleet (but in Germany, of course - and nice Grand Touring trim too). I also read today that Lucid has been spotted at National but not prepped for rental yet. That would be an interesting rental, hopefully would go better than Hertz's Tesla experiment.

edmunancy

Hi everyone! I intend to visit Rome next year. I'm searching for tips on trustworthy car rental companies in the city. I've come across some reviews that suggest tourists often struggle to enjoy the views because they're preoccupied with traffic and crowds. They're actually suggesting to hire a driver to take the stress out of driving and parking. Has anyone else had this experience? The last resort I'm considering is a private car tour from https://gowithguide.com/Italy/rome/guides. Has anyone used them before? Any feedback would be greatly appreciated!

fintail

A friend just returned from Vegas, where he had a Sixt Camry, 2025 model. He said it was trouble--free and delivered excellent mileage (as they are all hybrid now), but the regen braking was much stronger than on his Elantra hybrid, which he had to get used to.

ronsteve

Two recent Hertz rental experiences, one fairly predictable, the other not as much.

Late August I was renting at LGA, and on a govt reservation so the convenience of Gold Rewards was not in play. Slightly chaotic even though it wasn't super busy, ended up in a Kia Soul. Rental spec, not an impressive car in general. But it got the job done to and from Islip/Patchogue.

Weekend before last I was on a leisure trip to Detroit, and Gold was in play. My reservation was either Midsize or Standard category, but when I arrived I was on the board for Presidents Circle. Passed on a couple typical SUVs and grabbed a Subaru Crosstrek. Since it was the Sport model, it had the 2.5 liter instead of the woefully underpowered 2.0. Overall a solid ride, substantially nicer than rental spec. My only regret was that we hardly drove it, just to Belle Isle, and then downtown where it remained parked at the hotel for the balance of the weekend. Not sure how short my fill was before I returned it, since I only put just under 1.5 gallons in it after 52 miles.

fintail

I have a reservation in a few weeks at SEA for Christmas, as I find it easier to fly and drive out to the coast than risk the perils of mountain pass winter weather on the 7-8 hour drive from here. I have a booking with Sixt, where I found a good deal on a 5er or similar (special luxury category - code XDAR - would be a 7er/S-class etc in Europe as NA has devalued equivalents). I have double checked prices over the past week and rebooked it twice, as prices on non-SUVs apparently were slashed, to the point where my latest deal is maybe a third cheaper than the original booking. Fingers crossed it works out - I know Sixt has G60 5ers in the fleet, which would be fine.

fintail

And the rental is...

A G60, my booked class:





The last time I rented from Sixt at this location, I received a 7er with a 5er reservation. The cars present in the garage early this morning were smaller - a few X5s, several 530is, and numerous 4er/3er/2ers along with a few Volvo S60 and mainstream cars. I know Sixt in some locations even in NA has some highline material - 7ers, X7, even things like Bentley and G-Wagen (where the German locations can be pretty wild with plenty of M and AMG cars), but not at Seattle right now. All of the 5ers in the garage this morning appear to have been in the fleet for some time - this particular car has 17K on it with signs of use, registered in March, but it drives fine. Modestly optioned as typical for a rental, with an apparent MSRP of $64875. I got an amazing good rate, as I think the pricing algorithm messed up or something (probably the cheapest rental of any kind I've had in over a decade), so I am more than pleased.

Quirks - the A-pillars seem too wide and coming from a column shift takes some re-learning, but the car is comfortable and smooth to drive. The ICE menus are complex as expected for a German car, but eventually one learns. It'll be fine for the rest of the week.

explorerx4

Overheating should not be a problem.

ronsteve

fintail said:

And the rental is...

A G60, my booked class:



Quirks - the A-pillars seem too wide and coming from a column shift takes some re-learning, but the car is comfortable and smooth to drive. The ICE menus are complex as expected for a German car, but eventually one learns. It'll be fine for the rest of the week.

MB has had a sort of column shift going on for a few years, haven't they?

And I can't say I am a fan of the two-spoke steering wheel (which I think Genesis/Hyundai are all in with as well)

fintail

explorerx4 said:

Overheating should not be a problem.

No risk of freezing over this year either, and the constant rain washes the car.

fintail

ronsteve said:

fintail said:

And the rental is...

A G60, my booked class:


Quirks - the A-pillars seem too wide and coming from a column shift takes some re-learning, but the car is comfortable and smooth to drive. The ICE menus are complex as expected for a German car, but eventually one learns. It'll be fine for the rest of the week.

MB has had a sort of column shift going on for a few years, haven't they?

And I can't say I am a fan of the two-spoke steering wheel (which I think Genesis/Hyundai are all in with as well)

IIRC the modern MB column shift debuted on the W221 S-class, entering production in late 2005.

This steering wheel is pretty unique, I tell myself the squircle shape is just like on a 60 Imperial.

kyfdx

My rental for the week is a Renault Sandero. Considering the max speed limit of 70 km/hr, it's fine. Good clearance for potholes and speed humps. Easy in/out access and a covered luggage compartment in the hatch.

tjc78

@kyfdx said:
My rental for the week is a Renault Sandero. Considering the max speed limit of 70 km/hr, it's fine. Good clearance for potholes and speed humps. Easy in/out access and a covered luggage compartment in the hatch.

Reminds me of a Golf

kyfdx

tjc78 said:

@kyfdx said:

My rental for the week is a Renault Sandero. Considering the max speed limit of 70 km/hr, it's fine. Good clearance for potholes and speed humps. Easy in/out access and a covered luggage compartment in the hatch.

Reminds me of a Golf

Sits up more like a CUV

Michaell

kyfdx said:

tjc78 said:

@kyfdx said:

My rental for the week is a Renault Sandero. Considering the max speed limit of 70 km/hr, it's fine. Good clearance for potholes and speed humps. Easy in/out access and a covered luggage compartment in the hatch.

Reminds me of a Golf

Sits up more like a CUV

Like a Crosstrek?

ab348

Of course, fans of the original Top Gear would remember James May's favorite car, the Dacia Sandero, which is identical except for brand name.

fintail

ab348 said:

Of course, fans of the original Top Gear would remember James May's favorite car, the Dacia Sandero, which is identical except for brand name.

Great News!

kyfdx

Michaell said:

kyfdx said:

tjc78 said:

@kyfdx said:

My rental for the week is a Renault Sandero. Considering the max speed limit of 70 km/hr, it's fine. Good clearance for potholes and speed humps. Easy in/out access and a covered luggage compartment in the hatch.

Reminds me of a Golf

Sits up more like a CUV

Like a Crosstrek?

Not quite.. but, closer

texases

Recommendations? We will be traveling to Italy, Austria, and Switzerland this spring. Two rentals, one picking up in Florence dropping in Rome, one picking up in Vienna dropping in Milan. Sixt? Avis? Other?

fintail

One way fee for the latter might be dear, as I think they increase a lot when crossing a border.

I've only ever rented from Sixt in Europe, always in Germany. I suspect the fleet would be decent in Vienna.

sda

texases said:

Recommendations? We will be traveling to Italy, Austria, and Switzerland this spring. Two rentals, one picking up in Florence dropping in Rome, one picking up in Vienna dropping in Milan. Sixt? Avis? Other?

Sounds like a great trip. I’m jealous. Enjoy!

kyfdx

Yeah. take me with you?

texases

It’s an anniversary celebration, and our son is joining us for the first half. Sorry, don’t think the car has room for more!😏

And thanks for the info on Sixt, Fin. Their locations in Italy have better reviews than other’s, got me interested in them.

kyfdx

We're going to Venice and Tuscany for two weeks around Labor Day. But, no driving. Taking a train between the two.

fintail

texases said:

It’s an anniversary celebration, and our son is joining us for the first half. Sorry, don’t think the car has room for more!😏

And thanks for the info on Sixt, Fin. Their locations in Italy have better reviews than other’s, got me interested in them.

Only big recommendation I would make is to think about insurance. Sixt has a rep for nickel and diming damage claims maybe as a profit center, and the rep seems to be increasing. It can be a big headache, as the industry and that aspect of it seems to be pretty unregulated. In the past I have been able to find decent rates that include insurance, sometimes the peace of mind is worth the (often not cheap) extra cost.

texases

Yeah, I've written off the extra cost for insurance as necessary for peace of mind.

Michaell

Thinking about a trip to San Diego in May, so I looked up Sixt rental cars.

Seems a mid-sized SUV (RAV4 or equivalent) is several dollars a day cheaper than either a "compact" (Versa), "mid-sized" (Sentra), or "standard" (Jetta) sedan.

What gives with that?

And, just now reading the comment from @fintail above about insurance @ Sixt.

fintail

Michaell said:

Thinking about a trip to San Diego in May, so I looked up Sixt rental cars.

Seems a mid-sized SUV (RAV4 or equivalent) is several dollars a day cheaper than either a "compact" (Versa), "mid-sized" (Sentra), or "standard" (Jetta) sedan.

What gives with that?

And, just now reading the comment from @fintail above about insurance @ Sixt.

I've already been looking at Christmastime rates (as I am a weirdo and find rental cars interesting) - at SEA, Sixt seems to be in a pricing progression based on class, but National is a bit wacky, with some more premium categories being cheaper than those less posh ("luxury" and "elite" categories being cheaper than "premium"). I've already made cancelable reservations at National and Sixt, that I can rebook if I find a better rate later. I am still seeing plenty of complaints about Sixt damage claims - apparently they have some kind of AI image scanner doing some of the work, you can imagine how that will go. Fortunately at least at SEA, the last time I looked and made a reservation, rates were so low that even with their expensive insurance the rate handily beat others for the same class.

kyfdx

In Miami. Picked up a National rental on Monday. Hyundai Kona. Small, covered luggage compartment, wireless CarPlay. Easy access/egress for us old people.

We rented the same thing in LA, last year (but, that one was loaded with moonroof and ventilated seats).

Emerald Aisle was full of sedans, so snagged this one. It's that flat gray color that resembles my wife's Macan.

xwesx

kyfdx said:

Emerald Aisle was full of sedans, so snagged this one. It's that flat gray color that resembles my wife's Macan.

Well, shoot. I bet you had to do a double-take to realize it wasn't the same car!