If you rent from Hertz in Phoenix at the airport, beware of the slick talking agents who try to move you up to a larger car. They don't tell the full truth about the cost. I have rented many cars, and I have done business with Hertz in other locations many times. Never in the past did I feel that the agent at the counter was trying to huckster me. So my guard was down and I let myself get royally "took".

True, I was the one who signed the papers that let me to move up from a Chevy Cavalier to a Camry. But the real price was hidden in a confused line of mumbo jumbo about my discounts, and that it would only cost me a little more. Well, it was several hundered dollars more!!

True, I signed the papers, but I am convinced, and so is my wife, that the agent did not fully lay it out and disclose all of the financial details. My permanent feeling is that I was tricked.

I protested, and the agent at the return desk said he would adjust the cost downward. Well, there was none of the promised adjustment because the bill hit my account today for the full amount. I am not saying I was lied to, but it is a case of misrepresentation and the making of statements that were not kept.
So, if you are a Hertz customer in Phoenix, be on your guard because they will try to take your money with sales razzle dazzle. Although its all quite legal, they will do it to you!

I fear that this event left a sour taste in my mouth. Will I rent from Hertz again? Not exactly.

I was 'fast talked' by the kind folks at Dollar Rental in Phoenix last week. "So you wish to decline all the coverages but the minimum, is that correct, sir?". "Yes", I replied.
Signed the papers, but had a funny feeling about the way the agent was presenting things. Looked at the printed detail sheet after stepping aside from the counter. They'd added $162.00 to my 4 day rental!!!
I immediately went back and re-explained that I wanted NO OPTIONAL INSURANCE OF ANY TYPE. They were very nice in altering the charges, but I had the DISTINCT feeling that this was part of a sales technique, having rented perhaps 80 cars and always declining all insurance (except in Europe).
Buyer beware in Phoenix!!

I was almost snagged in the "full tank of gas" thing. Here's how it works: if you like, they will give you a car with a full tank of gas, and they bill you for the full tank up front. When you return, you don't have to fill up. But any gas left in the tank belongs to the car company, and they get to try to sell the gas you already bought to the next person.

I always decline this "service" (although I understand some people appreciate the convenience of not filling the car up on the way back to the airport.) But check your paperwork, because sometimes they will accidently slip it on in there. Beware.

I have rented from many different agencies at locations all over the United States. Each location appears to operate differently. One place Hertz will be great, in another its like Bob describes. Enterprise was my favorite up until recently. I reserved a car over the internet at the New Rochelle New York location. I has a printed receipt for a weekend special rate. When I called the location to inquire about whether they were open on Sundays, I was told by the agent that the special fare did not exist at that location. The fact that I had the reservation in writing was irrelevant to him. I complained to the district manager who finally agreed to honor my rate. I was so annoyed that I decided to use Avis instead.

RE Cindy's reply:

While I normally decline the fuel option, there is, under certain conditions, one feature that favors the customer. When fuel prices increase rapidly, such as in California during summer, the renter can save money by accepting the option. The rental companies post their price per gallon at the counter; during times of price increases on the street,the rental-car rate likely will be less than commercial. BUT! Bring the car back as close to empty as possible.

We had a horrible experience with the Alamo agency at Sky Harbor airport in Phoenix.

First, they tried to give us the hard sell on upgrading from a compact car to a sport utility vehicle for "only" an extra $75 a day. This price varied depending on which customer was checking in - the trio of older ladies going to Sedona were quoted $125 extra a day to upgrade from their midsized vehicle. We passed.

We also passed on the hard sell for the insurance and the tank of gas.

We got out to the car and realized that they hadn't applied our Hyatt number to the reservation so went back in to get it fixed. The agent checked our car back in so we were charged for one days rental at that time. We questioned the charge and we were assured that "Everything is OK." We went back out to the car and weren't allowed to leave the garage because the car had been checked back in.

We went back inside at which point the agent tried to charge us $400 to take the car. We asked for a manager. It took over half an hour for the manager to arrive. The paperwork was extremely confusing and I still don't have a clue what we were actually charged and I won't until our credit card statement arrives later this week. I think that we may have been charged a total of $40 for a nine day rental through all of the credits and charges. Still, this was annoying when you've just deplaned from a 5 hour flight and it's after 1 am by the time you make it to your hotel.

By the way, we just had a very good experience with Hertz in Miami which was in distinct contrast with a bad Avis experience in Fort Lauderdale. It really does vary depending upon location.

My bad experiences with the Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport car rentals is the taxes charged - outrageous! I now have the hotel pick me up or take a bus. I then get a car the next day from a location other than the airport if I feel I need one. While that's too much trouble for most people, have them quote your price with ALL taxes and surcharges. Suprise suprise.

Also beware of moving cars for the rental companies. I picked up a car in the summer at the Phoenix airport and left it in Las Vegas. I rented a compact for fuel efficiency and they "gave" me a gas guzzling larger car and didn't give me a price break for moving their car. The car had Nevada plates by the way.

To make a complete story, I need to report the results of my negotiations over the cost of my Hertz rental car.
I knew that the larger car would be more, but my irritation was caused by a charge that turned out to be much larger than what I thought.
I spoke with the man who is second in command of the phoenix Airport Operation
and he agreed to scale the cost down to a compromise amount that I find satisfactory. In that respect, I feel I was fairly treated.
I never thought I was getting something for nothing; but I do feel that I let myself get huckstered and slick talked.

The Phoenix airport tax is outrageous. There was a $58 concession fee recovery charge and a 14% sales tax charge. Then to add insult to injury there was a $2.50 city surcharge. I will think long and hard before flying back to Phoenix. It would be cheaper to drive in from Albuquerque.
Wonder what Albuquerque's taxes and "tribute" payments are?

As a final note, we drove a 6 cylinder Toyota Camry for 14 days and 3,000 miles. Nice car.

Julie-
I recently rented from Avis in Ft. Lauderdale with no problems. I had a discount # from an organization I belong to for Avis. I wonder if that makes a difference to how you are treated? We had a bad experience with Alamo there and I will never rent from them again.

The last time we rented in Phoenix (a few years ago) I was surprized that by having my in-laws meet us at the airport and driving us off site to the car rental agent, we saved a bundle! They asked us as we did the paperwork, how did we arrive at the agency? We were puzzled, said we rode over with the in-laws, and got the car. Upon questioning, we discovered that had we replied we rode over in their bus, they would have charged us the extra fee! I never realized the whole set up was such a racket!!!

Wow! I didn't like my experiences with either Alamo or Budget in Pittsburgh. Both agents treated me like a brainless wonder who was taking a terrible risk when I declined insurance. In Burbank we were asked if we would take a SUV instead of our subcompact because they were short handed and we'd have to wait for a smaller car. We waited! Sounds like things are getting like Europe! As for Phoenix, we had no problem with the car rental, but returning it and then getting to the gate is very inconvenient. That airport ranks right up there with DFW and Atlanta!

Has anyone else who works for the US Gov't had this experience?

When I recently asked about a Gov't employee discount on a rental car, I was given a higher price than their "regular" rate!! SOME DISCOUNT!!!!!!!

In fairness to auto rental companies in Phoenix (and elsewhere), please note that they do NOT have a choice of charging the 14% sales tax, $2.50 city surcharge, and the fee for bus transport. Those are fees set by the local government, not the agency -- although it is a bit disgusting they do not quote these fees in their advertised rates.

for what it's worth, I've generally had good experiences with Avis in various cities (mainly, but not always, when on business travel). Generally courteous, no hassles on "insurance", no big surprises on rates.

I suppose that some outlets are owned by the parent corporation, whereas as others are franchisees. I wonder if the diverse experiences people are having, are a result of independedently owned & operated franchisees going about business in their own, different ways?

RE: J.M.'s reply, above

J.M.:

Yes, I have had that experience many times. Government rates are set by an equation relating to cost-of-visiting a particular area. For instance, when I travel to a city in state X, the government hotel rate is $68.00. When my company books the hotel, I am automatically charged that rate. However, if I simply walk into the same hotel off the street, I can get the same room for a $50.00 rack rate. Of course, that isn't always the case; sometimes rates are sold out and one might end up paying more. The same is true for rental cars. If the company requests goverment rate, things such as weekend rates or special weekly deals are simply igmored. In fact, I've often wondered why my company doesn't let me make my own travel plans...I sure could save them a lot of money.

Gary:

I have often wondered the same thing! What a waste of money, for these companies and agencies to allow themselves to be charged such outrageous prices!!

But then again, no one has ever accused the Gov't of possessing common sense!

To clarify my message about riding the bus. I do not ride the car rental bus to pick up a car, I'd be have to still pay outrageous tax. I ride the city bus to my hotel, spend the night & get my car the next day. I've been quoted rates of $60-70/day for an extra day of car rental, plus the local governments taxes. The city transit bus costs about $1.25 in Phoenix. I could take a taxi and still save money.

Maxine: regarding the Avis personnel at the Fort Lauderdale airport, here's a quote from the trip report I have on my website that I wrote shortly after the trip:

"We arrived at the agency at 11:30 pm and the line was out the door. We waited almost an hour and a half in line to get to the front. Keep in mind that there is no air conditioning and there are at least fifty people in line. We finally get to the front and get our car. I go to the car which is described as a Lumina and there is an Achieva in the parking spot. Back inside. I'm told I need to go to the end of the line! No way. I refused to do that and stated the problem. The clerk giggled and said she wrote down the wrong parking spot. She gave me the correct parking spot and
I went back outside to discover the Lumina had been in an accident with the back bumper caved in. We were NOT going to leave the lot with a damaged car! Back inside. We were given a new car. This one had scratches all over it and was black with a black leather/vinyl interior. Again, we were not taking a damaged car or a car with that coloring/interior in such hot weather. Back inside. Finally, we were given another car, which seemed to be okay except for the stench of smoke. The worst part about it was the bad attitude of the Avis employees who looked at the customers as if we were an imposition and they were laughing at us! We drove off the lot at almost 2 am with the
windows down and me grumbling about how I wanted to return the car the next morning."

I didn't return the car but I did write a letter to Avis. In return, I was sent a certificate for a free rental day on another rental. We'll be using that when we go to Milwaukee.

I'm not against Avis in particular as we had OUTSTANDING customer service from them at their Honolulu location.

As regards the various taxes and surcharges, I have found that the rate quotes on most car rental companies' web sites do include these charges. Some, like Hertz and National, show both the percentage and the dollar amount, while others, like Budget, show only the percentage, but you can easily calculate the cost yourself. When you call a company, however, whether or not you're quoted the extra charges seems to depend on the mood of the reservations agent.

Julie-We dealt with the Avis counter inside the Ft. Lauderdale airport next to the baggage area. It sounds like when you landed this desk closed and you had to deal with the lot agents. That could be why your service was not up to par.