Rental Car Experiences?

tjc78

Early last year Emerald Aisle was full of loaded Malibus.

xwesx

Speaking of traveling, we rented from Enterprise again this time around. We had to walk by the Sixt kiosk on our way over there, and my wife commented on the name. She calls all of you my "car buddies," so I told her that my Spokane car buddy rents from them regularly.

I had reserved a half-ton pickup ("F-150 or similar"), as I figured we might make use of such a vehicle this go with spring yard cleanup and house projects on the agenda, but she was not thrilled with the choice. It was about three dollars a day more expensive than a compact, so I figured it was a solid value, but she said "we'll be getting 16 mpg, driving this monster around, and end up paying twice as much as a small car for no reason!"

We ended up with a Ram 1500 Classic SLT (seems like a stripper model) - sort of like an extended cab, except with all four doors opening like a sedan, and a very short bed.... maybe 5' or 5.5' long. Well, I think it is pretty small (really, about identical dimensions to my '69 C20, except it sits a lot higher up), seems to have plenty of power, drives and rides like a big sedan, and is giving us about 24 mpg so far.

She wouldn't drive it initially, but then commented yesterday while we were driving over to the Erie area that it would be the perfect opportunity for her to practice on it. I pulled over, she was a little surprised that I called her bluff, but then she swapped with me and drove the rest of that trip. Afterward, she said that it was very easy to drive and didn't seem that big once she got used to it.

fintail

Full sized pickups are effectively the 68 Coronet, Impala, and Galaxie of the modern car world now (middle rental spec examples, many out there seem to be the loaded Polara, Caprice, and LTD)..

Speaking of rental cars, I read Sixt has GLC43 AMG as a reservable vehicle in some markets, at a reasonable price. In some markets they even have things like Bentley or G-Wagen, but at prices even higher than exotic rental companies or Turo. I am not a fan of Sixt apparently moving to a business model of filing damage claims for every microscopic piece of road rash, to the point where the LDW is effectively a cost of renting now, but even with it, their premium fleet can be cheaper than others without insurance.

I have no plans to rent again until Christmas, I have cancelable reservations at National and Sixt, will likely go with the latter for price.

explorerx4

My lower line 24 F-150 has some nice features, reverse sensing with cross traffic alert, blind spot, lane keeping and collision alert.
Headlights are LED's and noticed the other night is has low speed cornering lights.
The most interesting thing is that if you shut it off while in drive, the column shift moves itself into the Park position.

Sandman6472

Renting from work next month as we take a trip to North Florida to visit the girls for a few days. Want a Rav4 size vehicle again if possible and would love to try out a new Hyundai Kona just to see how it fits my driving style. Don't want to put a lot of miles on the Golf and driving her '23 Kona is off the table it seems. Luckily we get a very generous rental rate from work so makes sense to put the miles on one of theirs. Will have to see how the price works out for a 4-day rental and a week one as sometimes, the week rental is a better rate overall. And this way, we can both drive the rental as I don't ever drive her Kona as don't want anything to go wrong. And by going through work, use their insurance and just walk away if anything does happen. We'd have to use our own insurance if we drove one of our fleet and the odds of having an accident are pretty high as we'll be in the Orlando to St. Augustine area. Lots of crazy folks on the turnpike, I-4 & I-95 area...crazy a-s drivers!!

kyfdx

We've had the Kona for our last two US based rentals. We like it a lot for two old people.

Sandman6472

Being that we're two old people here also, think it'll work out just fine. Think I'll rent again from one of the offices where I know the manager. Last time, she got me a Corolla Cross to try out so hoping she might be able to snag me a newer Kona this time.

xwesx

Having the pickup has worked out great! I dropped off a large load of yard debris at the composting site this morning, and then took another trip to the hardware store for some bulky (long) components that would have been very awkward in an enclosed vehicle......

xwesx

Turned the pickup in on Saturday afternoon at Pittsburgh Int'l. We put 600 miles on it, and had the... honor?... of turning over 25,000 miles on the odometer just before our arrival at the airport. The dash economy gauge indicated that we were on the upper end of 24.x mpg, so probably right at or a little better than 24 mpg overall. Not bad for a vehicle with that much utility (and, this was a 4WD version, too, though we never engaged it). I noticed that the "Trip B" had never been reset, and it noted a lifetime FE of 23.2 mpg.

The audio system in it was terrible, though. Even after I found the equalizer and turned the base down and mid/treble settings up to high, I still could not listen to my audio book while on I79 because the system would not go loud enough to overcome the mild road noise generated at that speed. Even music was nearing the top of the output range (32 of 38 possible volume) to be hearable, and that was the level that my wife set it (she is not a fan of loud music), so I know it wasn't just me getting old and deaf.

Sandman6472

Going to rent something next week as we're going to North Florida and it's love bug season. Happens twice a year, May & August, and it can wreak havoc with your windshield, paint & radiator. Always happened to us when we were going back to school in New Orleans back in the 70's. Had to use Pam on the front paint & windshield and buy a throw-away screen to put on the front grill. Just awful to get them all off the paint!
So, even though they haven't started yet, not going to take any chances, so we'll just rent. Looking to get a new Kona if possible but will have to look at the prices of the other classes. Being an employee, they might just bump us up a class depending on what they order for us. Would rather save the wear & tear on the Golf & the wife has already said that her car is staying home!

fintail

I think I saw a rental spec new style 4Runner today - basic looking trim, no plate frames, rental style barcodes on side windows. Driver was with car or I would have looked at it closer.

Prior 4Runner was a not too unusual sight in multiple fleets.

Sandman6472

Even though they are big, I like the 4Runner honestly. Plenty of get up & go with large windows and just up high enough. Find them very easy to drive. They seem to do everything just about right!

ronsteve

Traveled to NC in Feb, and CLT was such a cluster that we rented a car from there and drove to Wilmington. My recollection of Hertz Ultimate Choice was heavy on Kia and GM 2 row SUVs. My pick was a Camry, which was my first hybrid experience. Not terrible but not spectacular either, as you would expect from a Toyota. So much 55 mph highway that it was intriguing to see how often I could get into EV mode and hold my 65 cruise. It was a fairly comfortable drive and we averaged 47mpg in just over 500 miles with it.

This past weekend we were off to WNY for my cousin’s wedding, and the Hertz operation at ROC was more like the old days. Not too bad getting the car, and they had us in a Wrangler 4xe. I will say the ICE is not very civilized, and you use it a lot when they give you the vehicle with only 1% battery and no way to plug it in. Even with a fair amount of expressway driving out of the 60 miles we put on it, only averaged 18 mpg, but there was no EV mode above 15 mph with so little juice. Also a bit annoying that the return was completely unmanned on Sunday afternoon, so it was the first time in a few years that I had to stop at the counter when returning a car.

xwesx

That's nearly as polar opposite as you can get when it comes to back-to-back rentals! They say variety is important in life, though.

Michaell

My sister and BIL are in Spokane for a couple of days to watch their oldest get his masters degree. Budget upgraded them from a Corolla to a Camry. White, SE trim, pretty much brand new. So far, she’s impressed.

texases

Bottom of the line Camry now has the same power train as a Lexus ES350h...

kyfdx

texases said:

Bottom of the line Camry now has the same power train as a Lexus ES350h...

ES350? or, ES300h?

ab348

This is likely a sign of old age or the inevitable decline in mental acuity, but I find the Lexus model nomenclature confusing and baffling. I wish they would switch to actual names.

Or I suppose it could be just a lack of interest.

kyfdx

ab348 said:

This is likely a sign of old age or the inevitable decline in mental acuity, but I find the Lexus model nomenclature confusing and baffling. I wish they would switch to actual names.

Or I suppose it could be just a lack of interest.

I think that it's because the letters and numbers don't really mean anything, any more?

And, the parts that do mean something are still hard to keep straight.

Not just Lexus

texases

kyfdx said:

texases said:

Bottom of the line Camry now has the same power train as a Lexus ES350h...

ES350? or, ES300h?

ES300h. Odd that they use 300h for the ES, 350h for the RX, same power train.

kyfdx

texases said:

kyfdx said:

texases said:

Bottom of the line Camry now has the same power train as a Lexus ES350h...

ES350? or, ES300h?

ES300h. Odd that they use 300h for the ES, 350h for the RX, same power train.

Yup

fintail

At least MB is consistent with its now-meaningless numerical designations.

New Camry has received some praise, even in rental form I would call that an upgrade from a Corolla.

ab348

fintail said:

At least MB is consistent with its now-meaningless numerical designations.

New Camry has received some praise, even in rental form I would call that an upgrade from a Corolla.

I was behind a nice-looking newish M-B today, a rootbeer brown metallic coupe with E53 and AMG badging on the trunk, very snazzy. Driver was likely of dubious taste though as he pulled into a Wendy’s. I figured driving something like that meant Five Guys at a minimum.

fintail

ab348 said:

fintail said:

At least MB is consistent with its now-meaningless numerical designations.

New Camry has received some praise, even in rental form I would call that an upgrade from a Corolla.

I was behind a nice-looking newish M-B today, a rootbeer brown metallic coupe with E53 and AMG badging on the trunk, very snazzy. Driver was likely of dubious taste though as he pulled into a Wendy’s. I figured driving something like that meant Five Guys at a minimum.

Probably eating at Wendy's because of the car payment, Five Guys can be pretty dear! That with an AMG would mean a real tycoon.

xwesx

Well, just eating at a restaurant means they can't be too far upside down. One could get weeks of Ramen from one such visit to a Wendy's!

fintail

It looks like rental car prices at least in some places have been overtaken by inflation. I booked my rental for Christmas week a few months ago, seeing what looked like a decent deal at Sixt (not prepaid). I checked the same rental today, and it is over 50% more expensive. I know the algorithms can be wacky, but other fleets had similarly high rates. Yikes.

xwesx

Interesting. I was just going to jump on the Enterprise app to see what the rates were for the end of the month when I drive back from dropping off my truck in NC, and it won't give me any rates for a one-way rental. I wonder if Enterprise is having some sort of one-way rental-phobia at the moment? Seems very odd....

Michaell

Bah. I’m hoping to get to CA before the end of the year, and will need a rental from LAX.

I’m afraid to check rates now. Probably will be as expensive as my hotel.

xwesx

The Enterprise rates don't look bad when I just pull up a single location, but it doesn't work at all if I try to set the return as anywhere else. It just says, "Sold out location." Doesn't matter what I choose as a starting location, if I try to return somewhere else, I get no cars.

Maybe I should just set the reservation as a same location, and then drop it off wherever I want. I wonder how they would react to that! LOL

Now I'm feeling a little annoyed since their system literally will not show any vehicles for one way at all... until I set the date to at least a week out. Then? No problem, but you get to pay $1,400 or so for the car. Maybe I *will* just do a one day rental and drop it off wherever. That, or I guess I'll have to start browsing other rental companies.

Perhaps one of our inside guys has some details.

fintail

One way fees can be onerous especially if to smaller locations I suspect. You may have to shop around.

Looking at SEA, some of the budget carriers still have economy cars for ~$400 at Christmas week, but when I rent especially at that time of year I want it to be a treat, so I reserve a fancier car. I'd expect LAX to be as expensive as SEA.

Michaell

fintail said:

One way fees can be onerous especially if to smaller locations I suspect. You may have to shop around.

Looking at SEA, some of the budget carriers still have economy cars for ~$400 at Christmas week, but when I rent especially at that time of year I want it to be a treat, so I reserve a fancier car. I'd expect LAX to be as expensive as SEA.

True, but I'm hoping to avoid the holiday weeks - maybe either early November or early December.

And, I'm OK with something just to get me from point A to point B. As long as it hasn't been smoked in! I'm long past caring too much about what I get.

fintail

Michaell said:

fintail said:

One way fees can be onerous especially if to smaller locations I suspect. You may have to shop around.

Looking at SEA, some of the budget carriers still have economy cars for ~$400 at Christmas week, but when I rent especially at that time of year I want it to be a treat, so I reserve a fancier car. I'd expect LAX to be as expensive as SEA.

True, but I'm hoping to avoid the holiday weeks - maybe either early November or early December.

And, I'm OK with something just to get me from point A to point B. As long as it hasn't been smoked in! I'm long past caring too much about what I get.

It might not be too bad for you then, avoiding the exact holiday times. I'd maybe be most leery of the AI damage scanners that are not receiving positive reviews, almost seems like a ploy to get people to buy the carrier's insurance.

For normal rentals, I have some curiosity about the new/current Camry, having read positive things about it and knowing it is common in fleets. I rent so infrequently anymore, maybe twice a year tops, that I want it to be a little fun if possible. For the upcoming trip I also have a backup reservation with National that I made probably because the rate was fair, but will likely cancel as the Sixt fleet at SEA is generally decent.

Michaell

fintail said:

Michaell said:

fintail said:

One way fees can be onerous especially if to smaller locations I suspect. You may have to shop around.

Looking at SEA, some of the budget carriers still have economy cars for ~$400 at Christmas week, but when I rent especially at that time of year I want it to be a treat, so I reserve a fancier car. I'd expect LAX to be as expensive as SEA.

True, but I'm hoping to avoid the holiday weeks - maybe either early November or early December.

And, I'm OK with something just to get me from point A to point B. As long as it hasn't been smoked in! I'm long past caring too much about what I get.

It might not be too bad for you then, avoiding the exact holiday times. I'd maybe be most leery of the AI damage scanners that are not receiving positive reviews, almost seems like a ploy to get people to buy the carrier's insurance.

For normal rentals, I have some curiosity about the new/current Camry, having read positive things about it and knowing it is common in fleets. I rent so infrequently anymore, maybe twice a year tops, that I want it to be a little fun if possible. For the upcoming trip I also have a backup reservation with National that I made probably because the rate was fair, but will likely cancel as the Sixt fleet at SEA is generally decent.

My last rental was two years ago, and I picked up a Cornflower Blue Taos. I had it for less than 48 hours and maybe 150 miles. I actually liked it.

I test drove a new Camry a few weeks ago and really liked it, too. @breld had a new Camry rental not long ago and was really impressed. I wouldn’t mind one of those, but probably a class or two too big for my needs.

fintail

Michaell said:

fintail said:

Michaell said:

fintail said:

One way fees can be onerous especially if to smaller locations I suspect. You may have to shop around.

Looking at SEA, some of the budget carriers still have economy cars for ~$400 at Christmas week, but when I rent especially at that time of year I want it to be a treat, so I reserve a fancier car. I'd expect LAX to be as expensive as SEA.

True, but I'm hoping to avoid the holiday weeks - maybe either early November or early December.

And, I'm OK with something just to get me from point A to point B. As long as it hasn't been smoked in! I'm long past caring too much about what I get.

It might not be too bad for you then, avoiding the exact holiday times. I'd maybe be most leery of the AI damage scanners that are not receiving positive reviews, almost seems like a ploy to get people to buy the carrier's insurance.

For normal rentals, I have some curiosity about the new/current Camry, having read positive things about it and knowing it is common in fleets. I rent so infrequently anymore, maybe twice a year tops, that I want it to be a little fun if possible. For the upcoming trip I also have a backup reservation with National that I made probably because the rate was fair, but will likely cancel as the Sixt fleet at SEA is generally decent.

My last rental was two years ago, and I picked up a Cornflower Blue Taos. I had it for less than 48 hours and maybe 150 miles. I actually liked it.

I test drove a new Camry a few weeks ago and really liked it, too. @breld had a new Camry rental not long ago and was really impressed. I wouldn’t mind one of those, but probably a class or two too big for my needs.

If you choose the generic cheapest choice you have a good chance of an Elantra or Corolla etc, or maybe a small CUV, which are replacing sedans in fleets like they are for sales in general. Or maybe get a free "upgrade" to a larger car whether or not you want it

It's tough for me to get something too big - I might not be over the moon with an Escalade on this trip but otherwise a big car is fine with me.

Michaell

Sixt at LAX seems to have some decent prices - $40/day, give or take, for either a 2 or 4 series BMW.

kyfdx

Seems like it got harder to get one-way rentals, after Covid

mlevine

I use costco to rent cars. Seems to have best rates and compare 5 companies. Just had a bronco for 3 weeks.

xwesx

I tried Costco... same thing. No one-way trips at all unless you rent for a week. I literally never had this issue before this year. I did two separate one-way, one-day trips in the last year without any issue at all.

Sandman6472

Drove a 2024 Taos yesterday and was pleasantly surprised at how nice it drove. Accelerated nicely with plenty of get up & go and a decent interior for an entry level model. Saw a new 2025 model and the freshened up both the front & rear fascia's to make it look nicer. Did something similar on the new Tiguan also. Do like the subtle changes on my new 2025 GTI also. One can still tell it's a VW Golf and all but I think it's the color that gets me. And am finally getting used to the push button start and having to use my finger to work the HVAC system & radio controls. Just keep a micro fiber towel in the door pocket so I can wipe the prints off every few days. But the best feature for me has been the manual pulling in the outside mirrors before I enter/exit the garage. Have only forgotten once in over 2 months and luckily didn't hit the side of the garage!

mlevine

In July my rental was a Tiguan and definitely enjoyed the ride.

Sandman6472

VW does make nice products, on our third one so we must like them. And the 2025 Taos & Tiguan look really nice. If it weren't for their sizes, I'd probably have a new Taos right now instead of the GTI. Luckily I'm really happy with the GTI!

fintail

This is a fun one - now that multiple rental companies are using AI to detect damage, there's now an app for consumers to document their vehicles and hopefully prove they didn't cause damage:

https://www.proofr.app/

Michaell

fintail said:

This is a fun one - now that multiple rental companies are using AI to detect damage, there's now an app for consumers to document their vehicles and hopefully prove they didn't cause damage:

https://www.proofr.app/

AI vs AI - let the better bot win!

Eventually there will be AI lawyers and judges to make the arguments and rulings.

fintail

Michaell said:

fintail said:

This is a fun one - now that multiple rental companies are using AI to detect damage, there's now an app for consumers to document their vehicles and hopefully prove they didn't cause damage:

https://www.proofr.app/

AI vs AI - let the better bot win!

Eventually there will be AI lawyers and judges to make the arguments and rulings.

If one isn't buying the insurance, it may be a good idea to use a photographic app of some kind.

I've read AI is getting into legal stuff already, and is far from perfect, even making up precedent. We're in a brave new world.

andres3

fintail said:

Michaell said:

fintail said:

This is a fun one - now that multiple rental companies are using AI to detect damage, there's now an app for consumers to document their vehicles and hopefully prove they didn't cause damage:

https://www.proofr.app/

AI vs AI - let the better bot win!

Eventually there will be AI lawyers and judges to make the arguments and rulings.

If one isn't buying the insurance, it may be a good idea to use a photographic app of some kind.

I've read AI is getting into legal stuff already, and is far from perfect, even making up precedent. We're in a brave new world.

One of those I just read a long article about is employer AI spying on their workers computer habits. If you don't move your mouse or hit the keyboard every 10 seconds, you are considered "asleep at the wheel."
Mostly seems very unsophisticated and just another reason I don't have faith in HR departments or the entire HR industry as a whole.

Apparently, just like Tesla drivers defeat the auto pilot software tracking, there are devices that'll move your mouse for you.

andres3

Sandman6472 said:

VW does make nice products, on our third one so we must like them. And the 2025 Taos & Tiguan look really nice. If it weren't for their sizes, I'd probably have a new Taos right now instead of the GTI. Luckily I'm really happy with the GTI!

The GTI has a bigger engine than the Taos last I checked. I bet the GTI is lighter too. You made the right choice.

fintail

andres3 said:

fintail said:

Michaell said:

fintail said:

This is a fun one - now that multiple rental companies are using AI to detect damage, there's now an app for consumers to document their vehicles and hopefully prove they didn't cause damage:

https://www.proofr.app/

AI vs AI - let the better bot win!

Eventually there will be AI lawyers and judges to make the arguments and rulings.

If one isn't buying the insurance, it may be a good idea to use a photographic app of some kind.

I've read AI is getting into legal stuff already, and is far from perfect, even making up precedent. We're in a brave new world.

One of those I just read a long article about is employer AI spying on their workers computer habits. If you don't move your mouse or hit the keyboard every 10 seconds, you are considered "asleep at the wheel."
Mostly seems very unsophisticated and just another reason I don't have faith in HR departments or the entire HR industry as a whole.

Apparently, just like Tesla drivers defeat the auto pilot software tracking, there are devices that'll move your mouse for you.

Oh yeah mouse manipulators are a known thing, have been around for some years.

When an employer devolves into that level of micromanagement, one maybe should at least play with the idea of job-hunting, it probably won't get better if they are that inept.