hlsam

I've heard of cases recently where people with rental car reservations were "upgraded" to SUVs. Despite declining, rental agents admitted that the SUVs were the only things available, despite a reservation for a smaller (read: fuel efficient) car. How can I avoid this situation?

dmlove

Well, you can't if they are truly the only thing available. What we found was that we were told "all the compacts are being washed...." Ha - thank you, I'll wait for a clean compact car.

yk

I wonder if you can ask them to comp you for a free tank of gas for the SUV?

dmlove

You can ask

hlsam

When this happened to my sister, she complained and they refunded her a substantial amount after the fact.

nytraveler

The earlier in the day, and the larger the office - the better the chance you have to refuse an SUV since they're more likely to have more cars left. If your time is flexible say you'll wait an hour or so to see what comes in.

Buffy9297

This doesn't make sense to me...if you specifically reserve a car, booking it online in advance, asking for a specific size car, how can they 'upgrade' you to something you didn't want or ask for? Aren't they obligated to 'hold' the car you want for your pick-up time?

Cassandra

Nope.

But you can stand your ground. In my case, I just point out that I'm too short to drive the big ones -- it's not even a matter of gas guzzling.

Have you all heard the ads now from --- I think it's -- Dollar, promising you that just by asking for a "Big Boy" upgrade, you get a free upgrade to the SUV or luxury van you "deserve." Hah! Do they think we're idiots?

rkkwan

If you're going an airport, and you're not using a prepaid rate (like PL or HW), then book with more than one company.

tekwriter

Buffy, you apparently never saw the Seinfeld episode where he has a rental car reservation, but they've run out of cars, and he tries to explain the concept of *reserving* a car:

Jerry: I don't understand, I made a reservation, do you have my reservation?
Agent: Yes, we do, unfortunately we ran out of cars.
Jerry: But the reservation keeps the car here. That's why you have the reservation.
Agent: I know why we have reservations.
Jerry: I don't think you do. If you did, I'd have a car. See, you know how to take the reservation, you just don't know how to *hold* the reservation and that's really the most important part of the reservation, the holding. Anybody
can just take them.

beth_fitz

If the rental car company wants to "upgrade" you to a car that gets worse gas mileage, I'd be asking for some type of compensation (reduce rental rate/free gas). They are having a tough time renting the "big" cars so they think upgrading you is a great deal....it used to be but no more.

rkkwan

Dollar has a category now called "Lock Low and Go", and Thrifty calls it "Wild Car" which is mid-size or larger. It is priced above compact, but cheaper than mid-size. That's where they'll dump the slow moving gas-guzzler on you.

So, definitely, you should be compensated somehow for involuntarily bumped to a larger car.

Melnq8

I usually book a compact car and routinely get "upgraded" to an intermediate. This practice tends to bother me, because if I wanted an intermediate, I'd have booked one. So as an experiment I started booking economy cars, and sure enough, I'm usually "upgraded" to a compact. It's not foolproof, but it's worked more often than not.

I'd be really surprised if someone booking an economy car would be upgraded to a SUV (it's a three or four step upgrade).

If I were given no choice but an SUV when I didn't book one, I'd walk way and find another rental agency.

5alive

We got a bigger car than we had reserved two weeks ago. It was too big for me to see out of, so only my husband could drive it.

I suppose we could have argued but we had places to be....

rkkwan

Just a few weeks ago at Columbia, SC, I had a PL mid-size with Hertz. They only have a bunch of SUVs or an economy. I don't want an economy (even if they refund me some money, unlikely though), so I took the smallest SUV, which is a Saturn Vue.

Similarly at Hertz in Edmonton, Alberta a couple years ago, all I can choose from are a bunch of SUVs, even though I have a compact or mid-size, can't remember. They are willing to give me any one, Freestyle, Explorer, even an Expedition, if I want. I took the smallest, the Freestyle.

This kind of things happen quite often at the "smaller" airports and/or on busier days.

brando

This happened to me in San Fran this April. I have actually never rented a car before, and was told compacts were out and would I like to be upgraded into a brand new 2008 Dodge Durango SUV. Well I said yes, and truck was huge and quite nice. Being my first time in San Fran I found a big truck like this to be a pain. Thankfully I didn't drive much.

BWBlakely

Here's why this happens:

A rental car company will book up to 110%, or better, of their fleet.

They do this because they know that a number of people will reserve a vehicle at several different rental car companies, and of course only pickup at one (they do this because they want to make sure they get a car, and not get to the rental counter and find the company out of vehicles); some customers will miss their flight, and thus not show up to pickup their 'reserved' vehicle...and this could mean even showing up the next day; and a number of customers will just change their mind and not show up at all.

The rental car business does not have a very large profit margin. A rental car company cannot afford to book exactly what they have in their fleet, and then only have 80% of the public that reserved a vehicle, actually show up to pick-up...and then be left with 20% of their fleet sits in the parking lot gathering dust.

You will never be able to completely avoid the situation of getting a free upgrade. Enjoy it. Hey, if you got supersized at McDonald's for free, you'd probably love it!

Cassandra

You don't put $4.50/gallon gasoline in a Big Mac. I hope.

thurstonbb

I always book the Thrifty Wild Card, guaranteed mid-size or better. I always booked a mid size anyway! I just got my latest reservation in Boston last week. They did offer an SUV, but I said no and they gave me what I had the past 4 times - Dodge Avenger. If I am driving around, especially around a place like Boston, I would not ever take a compact...just my preference - a safety issue in my opinion. I find the Avenger has gotten decent gas mileage and the week I had it to go from Boston to Maine, drive around there and then back I did good. I didn't have to fill it once and when I drove back had to only fill about 2/3 tank...for a whole week! I am a Thrifty Blue Chip and they do cater to us...I believe. The program costs nothing and you just go in and sign then leave so I don't know why anyone wouldn't join. There is a special line for us there and they call it in when they pick you up at the airport so the car is ready for you. I did have to wait a few minutes as the car was being washed.

Buffy9297

tekwriter - no, I have never seen that episode, but obviously sounds hilarious!

Okay, so my next question is - does it make any sense for me to make a reservation online if they aren't going to honor it when I get there? I'm flying into SeaTac in September, but decided to rent a car downtown to avoid all the taxes and extra fees at the airport.

Help?!