Hal

Rented a car for the weekend at the Dollar rental agency at the Raleigh-Durham airport. As always, I opted to bring the car back with a full tank of gas. We had an early morning flight and couldn't find an open gas station so we decided to just return the car and pay the extra charge for their refueling. We were horrified to find out that Dollar was charging literally 4 times the price of gas at a gas station. I think they charges us $4.19 a gallon and refused to negogiate it. I have writte to Dollar asking for a 50% refund on the gas charges due to exhorbiant pricing. I am curious if other rental car companies charge 4 times the retail price of gas for a refueling charge.

xxx

YES!

x

Yes, they all do that, mostly to penalize people who do not return the car on full, as promised.

just curious

All car rental companies do this. They post the information and tell you when you rent. If you chose to ignore this, then you have to pay the price.

It pays to listen and to always return your car with gas.

I agree the prices are outrageous, but they are what they are. What we chose to do about them is our business.

Sorry.

Cousin Oliver

You signed the contract stating so, accept some responsibility and pay the charge.

Hal

Thanks for the information. Hey Cousin -when they charge YOU $100 for a tank of gas because there is no gas station open at 6AM sunday morning, you may think twice about their justification for that price. I have no problem paying a refueling charge but I do have a problem paying for anything that is a ripoff to the consumer.

Hal

Thanks Friends. Yes, there are people out there that do not have information so they can only get attention by writing their opinions. I asked a question and got my answer so this post can end. The end.

Tony

To avoid this problem, I have been renting from National. I joined their Emerald Club online. For members in most major locations, they will fill up the car at reasonable, local prices.

IMa

Hal, I don't want to be an (_@_) but were the gas stations closed the day/night before also? I just think you are plain lazy, and you should just pay the $$. They have to pay someone to pump the gas as well as the down time on the car. If all people were as lazy as you, we all would bring back the car on mt and pay local prices. Next time be better organized. There are plenty of gas stations that are open 24hrs, you were just tooo lazy to go to one. You probably were late getting to the airport(another sign of being unprepared) and figured the heck with it how much more will they charge me 25-50 cents?
Either way I am sure you could have filled up the night before but were tooo damn lazy top do so. Cough up the cash you couch potato!

Traveler

Actually, whenever I rent a car I take the prepaid gas option. It is usually the same price, if not lower then locaal gas and then I turn it in empty. I have never had a problem.

No

The previous poster is obviously one of those people who fills up the tank too soon and the next person who gets the car is screwed. I always try to fill the tank as close to the return time as possible so that the next person gets the correct amount of gas. I have also been in situations where gas stations are hard to find early in the morning but my experience is that the rental agency was helpful. The previous poster has no clue as to why Hal tried to fill up that morning rather than the night before. Hal could have been 60 miles away from the airport that morning for for all he knows. I think the issue travel issue is clear: rental car companies should be flexible in their policies and helpful to their customers. As should the people who respond to posts. Mr. lazy should go do something else rather than waste his or her time here.

No

My response was to the post two back. As to the previous post that snuck in there, the prepaid option only works if you are going to use the entire tank of gas. If you are going to use only say one-quarter, there is no reason to pay for the entire tank.

Cindy

I used the prepaid option at Dollar in Burbank this week. The price was considerably lower than what I would have paid at a gas station on the street, and I didn't have to worry about filling it up before I brought it back in.

Kimten

Sorry Hal, but this is very common practice..Hertz, Alamo,Dollar and Budget are three companies I use regularly and they all do this. For aabout 2 years now, most of them offer you the option to buy a full tank at the time you rent the car for slightly under the local rate. It is kind of a gamble....If you are able to run down the tank to empty, you win. If you are like me and don't like driving on empty, you can choose the second option: bring the car back filled. Option 3 is the one for when you opt for plan two, but didn't follow the contract, and ALL the companies make it hurt. It is unfortunate that you were unable to get the car filled, but them's the rules. One trick that helps me is to find a gas station right as I leave the lot from picking up the car. I write it on the contract. That way, when I return a few days later, I don't have to waste time driving around looking for one.

Good

Finding the gas station when you pick up the car sounds like a good idea. I guess you would need to stop there and find out the hours of operation just to be safe. Prepaid option - if you are in a new town with a type of car you have never driven, how do you gauge how much gas you will use? It sounds like a rip-off if you don't use all the gas in the tank which you paid for. How does it work if you are going to have the car for a week and know you will use more than a tank? Do you pre-pay the first tank and then return with a full tank?

xxx

I also use the prepaid option. I travel with a short rubber hose and a few bottles. If I don't use all the gas in the car, I just take it with me!

len

Kerry-
The prepaid deal works like this: When you rent it, you agree to be charged for a full tank (14 gallons, 20 gal? good idea to verfiy up front)at a pre-determined rate: ie you'll be charged 14 gallons at $1.00 per gallon. The dollar amount is usually a little bit less than the local average. No matter how long you rent it, and no matter how much is in the tank at return, you pay the $14. It is a fair trade if you can turn over the tank empty, and it savesyou from that last minute search for gas.
I for one, fill the tank the night before if I'm near the airport, or at the last truck stop or convenience store as I leave the freeway. Scoping out your station in the beginning is also a good idea.
to NO Idea: Even the car companies themselves don't "top off" the tanks. If you, however, top it off and drive 5 or six miles, the tank is still full.