Avis/Hertz Experiences with KF

[coffeeblack]

I'm curious to know what your experience has been with PPS Club Solitaire? Booked a couple of trips with both Hertz and Avis, and am curious to know if upgrades are normal. IIRC Hertz has double class upgrade as a published benefit, but not Avis. Does one still get upgraded with Avis or not at all?

[9V-SIA]

I booked a Kia Cee'd at Hertz LHR hoping for upgrade.

But the agent asked me if I wanted an Audi A6 for £50 so I said sure.

I guess that nullified my upgrade entitlement!

But when I looked at bill. Yes, I got a £150 a day car for £50

but there was a £250 upgrade surcharge!

I know buyer beware but I miss old pre private equity acquired Hertz.

To be fair I wasn't unhappy. The promised A6 did not have GPS loaded yet

so I got A5 instead. Diesal. Got 48mpg!

[CarbonMan]

Hidden costs and a confusing bill seems to be modus operandi of many car rental agencies. Insurance, partial waiver, full waiver, gas top up fees, etc.

Recently I was charge 30 Euros, after the fact, by Hertz to provide my contact details to the Spanish police because of speeding.

Since they all do it, it's just mentally preparing the fact that the final bill will be higher than what one thinks it'll be.

[Kyo]

Recently I was charge 30 Euros, after the fact, by Hertz to provide my contact details to the Spanish police because of speeding.

I just got another (turning around in a side street) fine from the Italian Hertz office last week dated 01st October for a rental in Nov 2011! After the other notice I got... back in MARCH 2012 for the same Nov 2011 rental! Now, it's EUR111. And yes, they already billed me...

I have no idea what these Italians are thinking, are they so hard up for cash?

How the hell do we even contest such delayed notices anywhere... better ask LukeGT... no wonder they're in trouble

[CarbonMan]

I just got another (turning around in a side street) fine from the Italian Hertz office last week dated 01st October for a rental in Nov 2011! After the other notice I got... back in MARCH 2012 for the same Nov 2011 rental! Now, it's EUR111. And yes, they already billed me...

Ouch! That's probably more than the fine itself!

[9V-SIA]

I still don't know which is better: return car empty or full of petrol.

They manage to charge me..... a lot for the short distance between refueling and dropping off the car

[CarbonMan]

I still don't know which is better: return car empty or full of petrol.

They manage to charge me..... a lot for the short distance between refueling and dropping off the car

9V-SIA, car rental agencies typically charge you refueling rates that are extremely high. I would always return the car fueled-up unless I seriously don't have the time to do it. They get away with these very high rates because many commercial car renters charge the cost to the company for the convenience of not having to find a pump and time saved.

In this article, Forbes accuses US rental agencies of charging as much as US$9/gallon when prices at the pump is less than $4.

[scooby5]

I just returned a car to Hertz on Wednesday in Germany, they charge Euro3.98/L for petrol against what I paid just outside the airport of Euro1.61.

Didn't get an upgrade this time. Book an Astra, get a Chevy Cruze. Thankfully have a Nokia phone (yes, I'm a rare breed these days) with GPS and free maps on it so I bypassed the ~Euro25/day extra charge.

Last time with Avis I booked a Focus and got upgraded to an E-Class diesel. Got about a 1000kms out that puppy before needing to fuel up, and that was even after very quick runs on the autobahn.

[eriond]

Back in 09 when i rented from hertz in the UK, I remembered that I was offered the option to pay a flat rate of 50 quid to return the car without having to top up the petrol.