Car Rental Semi Scam Practices
 

It may be my imagination, but it seems to me that almost all rental car companies are forever trying various tactics on the customer to squeeze out more money.

For example, just two days ago at the rental center associated with Baltimore-Washington airport, I was offered a larger car that would be more "comfortable" than the smaller car I had ordered. My wife asked, if we take what we ordered, what do we get? The answer was that we would get a PT Cruiser. We decided to stay with the size I had ordered.
(I had no problem with a PT Cruiser.)

When we arrived in the garage, our PT Cruiser turned out to be a Chevvy Impala. As we drove out of the rental garage, there was not a PT Cruiser in sight.

Then there is the gas tank refill question. It seems to me that it is next to impossible to return the car with only a gallon or two of gas left in the thank. Gas guages simply are not that accurate and gas milage varies greatly betweeen highway and bumper to bumper traffic. The end result is that I think most people return the car with 4 or 5 gallons in the tank, which is pure gravy for the rental company.

Then there is the "bigger engine upgrade" scam. Last spring in Phoenix, we were told that the car we had ordered, a Hyundai Sonata, was not powerful enough for the climb to the Grand Canyon. What we needed was a Dodge Charger. I thought that was utter and complete BS of the most egrgious form. We drove the Sonata and found it to be more than adequate for our needs. Nice car actually.

Then there are the charges for a second driver. I never will understand how that cost is justified. It hits me as being a pure scam to extract more rental money from the customer.

Then there was the arm twisting to get us to buy the collision damage insurance. The admonition we received was that we were driving the car out of state, which involved some unknown perils of greater magnitude than if we simply stayed in Arizona.

My son, who is a senior claims rep for his employer, scoffed at the idea, citing it as scare tactics to sell insurance.\

These practices hit me as being at best only semi honest. Unfortunately, they are virtually universal in my somewhat limited experience.

My question is this: Are there any rental companies out there that are straightforward with their rental procedures? Or, do all of them engage in these various practices designed to gouge money out of car renters?

I think that &quot;upselling&quot; is common place everywhere nowadays. I just got back from post office [where we have a PO box, so I am there frequently]. The clerk <i>always</i> asks if I need stamps to take home, mailing supplies, envelopes etc. I smile nicely and say, &quot;no thanks, not today.&quot;

I commented to my DH about this and his reply was that it is part of the job to sell as much as they [any one selling anything] can, regardless of need.

Debi

These all sound like standard car rental practices - as many of us have warned inexperienced renters.

I think it becomes self-perpetuating. It allows rental companies to quote a lower price for rental. For example, let's say a company figures it wants to rent cars for $300 per week to cover costs and profits. But if they advertise cars for that amount they will be $100 over everyone elses quoted rate of $200 - to which they then add $100 in other fees.

Without getting into a post-election political analogy - isn't this the same as someone saying &quot;no new taxes&quot; and then raising every fee, fine and usage charge on the planet?

It helps to be a member of the company's express rental program where preferences on insurance are stored in your profile. I rarely (maybe never) am upsold when I rent under these programs.

I use Hertz Gold....I just show my license and go...no upselling at all..just like Brian.

bob, you mentioned the gas refill. Did you &quot;buy&quot; the gas in the tank at a reduced rate? If so, that was your mistake. As you saw..it is virtually impossible to return the car empty.
If that was the case...next time, go for full tank option ..and then just fill it up before returning the car.

No. I did not buy the gas. I filled up before return at a station about 1.5 miles from the rental car return. That has been my standard practice everywhere, save one.

That one time was when I had to take a very early flight. I recall putting in 1 gallon after the red low fuel light had been on for about 20 miles. I may have returned the car with 3 gallons in it. I never did it again!!

At the time I did it, gasoline was under $1.00 a gallon, which was more than 12 years ago.

They all do all these things. Just ignore them and stick with what you want. If they become insistent - offer to go elsewhere.

There are other semi-scams too. Hertz gives a 20% discount if you rent and pay with AMEX. But you can't find it on the web site and when you call you usually have to insist they look it up before you get it.

I do understand the second driver though - the more different people driving a car they're not used ot in an area they don;t know the higher the risk of problems.

Just be happy you have a good driving record. The son of a friend of mine is a (now) reformed drinker and had such a bad driving record no one would rent him a car. It got to be a problem since he travled for business and had to cab everywhere.

bob, I've been renting mainly from Dollar for the past several years, and I've never had a single experience like you mention. I have been told I'd HAVE to take a free upgrade as that's all they had -- one time if was from a &quot;Dodge Neon&quot; compact to a 9 passenger mini van. Another time it was from that same compact to a Lincoln Town Car. But no one has ever tried to talk me into a more expensive car than I ordered. And I always pick up and return my car with a full tank -- no extra charge. What's more, I decline all extra insurance, and not one person has ever batted an eye at that or suggested I was making a mistake.

So if all those things you mention are typical of other agencies, I suggest you look at Dollar. But by the way, I have also rented from Avis and National in the past couple of years, and I never ran into any of those tactics there either.

Yes, these are all annoying but the customer still has the right to decline. The merchants try things like making the rentor initial a decline box on the contract - all just fear based hooey to coerce (if you are the consumer) or slick marketing (if you are the CEO). It works if the customer doesn't know better, but eventually people wise up. But let's not get into dissecting the election results....
The &quot;lucky you, a free upgrade&quot; thing is another PIA. A couple times I have arrived to pipck up my reserved compact or midsize vehicle (seems to happen most often in San Jose, for some reason) only to be told all that remains is a minivan. Even before fuel costs were this high, I did not want to have to deal with driving and parking a van and just insisted that I would not accept it, and asked what else was available. Only one time did a grumpy agent insist there was absolutely nothing else available. I asked that she call the local manager to discuss, she refused, so I whipped out the cell phone, called the national # and asked for a supervisor. Before the agent could connect me the agent magically found a vehicle.
I should add these things happened when I was using a company other than the one with which I have membership in a frequency program (National). I learned my lesson and now stay with National whenever possible.

I agree with you Brian... I am a frequent renter and never get asked to buy anything extra. I pick the car I want from any in the lot without extra cost, too.
I just love National!

Once again, the word &quot;scam&quot; is misused.

I have had the &quot;free upgrade&quot; work out to my advantage most often. I use Enterprise, and reserve the smallest size car, and more often than not, get a bigger car for the same rate. One time it was from a Kia Rio to a PT Cruiser. And I always stop at the gas station before returning the car. As far as insurance goes, I just show them my State Farm ins card at the counter and they never give me any hassle.

I'm surprised so few people in this forum blink an eye at the &quot;forced free upgrade.&quot; It has happened to me, literally, every single time I've ever rented a car, in any location, from any company. Not once have I ever reserved an economy car and had one waiting for me. I think I'd have a better chance of winning the lottery than successfully obtaining a compact car for my two week trip.

As I always travel alone, having a bigger car is not something I am overjoyed at. It just means higher gasoline charges during my trip. To me, the bigger cars should actually sell for less than the smaller cars since the fuel is more, but then again I don't set the rates.

The van is ridiculous. That happened to me only once and I refused it and waited until a regular car was returned.

Dollar is a good company. It's the one I generally use.

And Dollar does not charge for an extra driver. At least they don't on my upcoming rental at SFO.

I always laugh about the free &quot;upgrades&quot;. Since when does bigger mean better? At 4'-10&quot; tall, I really really want the small car. I am not interested in driving an SUV around, esspecially in a city. I might as well drive a tank!

As my regular car is a small car, I enjoy a larger more luxurious car every now and then. But I agree if all they have is a van or SUV and you rented a compact car, I would not take the 'upgrade'.

The rental car agencies definitely put the scare tactics on you. I've noticed they've been asking me who I have my insurance with and what my coverage is - this is an obvious ploy to make me think I don't have enough coverage (or that I don't know ENOUGH about my coverage) and that I should add something additional.

I now arm myself with all the info I need about my coverage, politely decline and definitely ask for a full tank when I leave the lot. I've even made them top it off if it's below the full line.

As I pull out of the airport on the way to my destination, I keep my eye open for the nearest gas station so that I can easily fill up just prior to dropping the car off.

Like other posts, I always reserve the smallest car and have often been upgraded. This has sometimes been to my disadvantage. I have no desire to drive an SUV (and even have a hard time with good visibility from a PT Cruiser) and would prefer a smaller gas saving car.

As has been stated before, all of this pressure can be avoided by belonging to the rental car company's club.

I belong to Hertz Gold (previously I belonged to National's Emerald Club). Membership is free. They have my CC info and preferences, including no extra insurance, on file.

I just show my driver's license and go. In most airports I avoid the lines at the rental counter and go straight to my car. It avoids all of the high pressure tactics and I am still able to use any promo or affinity discounts.

I joined Hertz Gold and was charged $50 for the privelage. When I called to inquire, I was told that it was an annual membership fee. I told the rep to cancel my membership. I have no desire to pay $50/year to belong to a club so that I can get a level of service that should be included in the rental fees.

HowardR said...&quot;once again 'the word scam is misused'....WRONG, it is used correctly. The word means a fraudulent or deceptive practice....car rental companies do this all the time.

I was once offered an &quot;upgrade&quot; from my $12 priceline compact car for just $5 more a day to a mustang...I declined, and when I walked out to my car....it was a mustang....not a compact car in sight.

I checked in for my car in Baltimore a 1/2 hour early and they wanted to charge me an extra $15 for that 1/2 hour...(even though I would be returning the car within 24 hours)...they said that they would waive the fee if I took an upgrade...(I declined, and was never charged the extra $15..) I could go on and on...and YES, I'm a memeber of most loyalty programs...

nowadays you just have to stand your ground and not fall for their scams..(deceptive acts) or scare tactics .

I like to carry a copy of my credit card's auto rental coverage policy to show the upgrade-hungry clerk. That stops the insurance paranoia plays.

The only time I was forced into an unwanted upgrade was when I was renting while my smashed car was in the shop. I had no choice as they really didn't have any other cars without a long wait. They gave me the small car the next day, but this was a local rental on the car insurance rate and they wanted the van back anyway for the higher rental fee from someone else.

If the gas needle isn't all the way on &quot;Full,&quot; I insist that the clerk note that the tank is 3/4 full, or whatever, or else top up the tank before I go. I then see how many miles I can drive on a full tank to the noted level or else if it was topped up, how far I can drive before the needle is below full, so I know how far from the return point I can be when I fill the tank and still give them a &quot;full&quot; tank.

Two can play the same game, and we're smarter than those clerks!

What's really frustrating about this is having a husband who falls for it every time he rents a car. Our final car rental bills always ended up being about twice what they should have been. It took public ridicule at a dinner party plus my taking over all car rental duties to get him to see the light.

J correa,

I have had Hertz Gold for several years and never paid a yearly fee.

I don't remember how I got it initially but it may have been from an Airline FF or CC.

Free memberships seem to be offered through several affinity groups ( work, professional, etc)

I don't rent cars often, but when did this practice start of not filling the gas tank? This was annoying as the only station we could find nearby when we rented from Enterprise in Eugene was a pre-pay one, so trying to fill the tank to a partial amount was even more tedious. In the end I put in way too much, and that just left me with a negative opinion about Enterprise.

Once you start to engage in the conversation about gas options and insurance upgrades, they know they have you.

When renting a car I simply tell the clerk no-insurance options, no prepaid gas options and that stops them cold. No need to show them any credit card coverage paperwork when a simple no will suffice. If they insist, I simply ask them what part of no didn't they understand.

Returning to the airport, I find whatever gas station is convenient within 10-15miles - never the last one before the airport, and I top it off.

One time we did the inspection with the rental agent, then when it was time to drive off, next thing you know -- the gas tank was on E -- we drove right back to agency and had them initial that the tank was on E and we were returning it in that same condition. So, during the inspection, be sure to start the car and check the gas tank reading.

Most people don't rent cars for more than 2 weeks I suppose, but be aware that MC and Visa only cover you for 15 days or less of rental.

And some luxury cars, trucks, huge vans etc are not covered. .

I called my ins agent to see if I was covered under my own policy and he said I was, and also in his own words said &quot;Between me and you, you don't need to take the extra coverage&quot;. He did point out that some of the rental car agency's charge an 'out of service' fee for each day that the rental car is out of service for repairs if something should happen. And ins companies do not pay that. But by and large you should not have to pay for extra coverage. Only one time in my life I paid for extra coverage was when I was renting a Cadillac from Enterprise and driving to Detroit in the middle of January and there was some bad weather when I got to Detroit, so I felt the extra peace of mind was worth it at the time.

In the States I've had nothing but good luck with Hertz, using my AAA discount. In Europe, ditto with Auto Europe. However, I also insist on having the car I reserved, and I don't fall for upgrades unless they are at no additional cost.

J62,
We weren't given any gas options. They just said to fill it back up to how it was when we got it. Easy for them to say.

Considering the moment, if you can, that trip in the foreign land with a language barrier if you having a little knowing of that language and without option to go to some other car rentals company when you are having it up to here with the scam company.

It cannot always be the case where a club card saves us from these problem. Can it be in the USA and on this local forums, but not for the world. Try the English on a forein country and see when the prejudice starts away.

I one time was trying to not be a victim in other country with the language slowing us up and they trying to add charges for the rental car that we reserved online before we leave the USA. They thinking they can do anything when you are not in control of their language. You have to be the strong person without a pissing contest? Is that your saying? So I stand on my ground and the manager eventually knowing that we not taking this from them and we got the car price we reserved, but it was another car.

In what other business can you reserve &quot;A&quot; and receive &quot;B&quot;? And the customers finding it aceptable? Tell me that one.

Do seek truth in all your travels and you will never be overchaged, overbooked, or oversold.

- AR

Armani, you have tarnished my image of you! I always had a mental picture of you C:) traveling by magic carpet!