Car rental: Concession recovery fee?
Jul 18th, 2004, 08:26 PM
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Car rental: Concession recovery fee?
What is the 11.11% concession recovery fee on the receipt for my recent car rental from Budget at Sea-Tac? I hope I wasn't charged for the "free" upgrade they offered me.
Donna
Donna
Jul 18th, 2004, 08:56 PM
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Concession recovery fee has something to do with the rent that the car company pays to have their counter at the airport. They pass the cost on to their customers.
Years ago, car companies were advertising cars at $200 a week, then some company (Alamo?) came along and starting advertising $150 a week. "Hidden fees" were added to the $150 rate bringing the final price up to par with the others, but when comparing rates, at first it looked like one company was $50 cheaper than the others. Soon after ,all the car companies started using this tricky tactic, and the govt finally decided that after quoting "weekly rates", car companies must now tell us what the final total will be with all the fees.
Still today, I notice Dollar advertising lower rates than others, but then adding more fees so you really have to do your homework to find the best deal. Besides all the taxes that the renting cities add on to sock-it-to the tourists, the car companies also creatively add things like "fleet recovery fee" (which means that one day the car you are in is going to be old and they are going to have to replace it, so they are passing the replacement cost on to us.) Amazing but true!
Probably soon we will have these creative fees everywhere. Like when grocery shopping, they will advertise something at 99c, but then we will also pay a cashier fee, a floor-sweeping fee, an air conditioning fee and an elevator music fee at checkout time. Grand total $1.50 for the 99c item!
Years ago, car companies were advertising cars at $200 a week, then some company (Alamo?) came along and starting advertising $150 a week. "Hidden fees" were added to the $150 rate bringing the final price up to par with the others, but when comparing rates, at first it looked like one company was $50 cheaper than the others. Soon after ,all the car companies started using this tricky tactic, and the govt finally decided that after quoting "weekly rates", car companies must now tell us what the final total will be with all the fees.
Still today, I notice Dollar advertising lower rates than others, but then adding more fees so you really have to do your homework to find the best deal. Besides all the taxes that the renting cities add on to sock-it-to the tourists, the car companies also creatively add things like "fleet recovery fee" (which means that one day the car you are in is going to be old and they are going to have to replace it, so they are passing the replacement cost on to us.) Amazing but true!
Probably soon we will have these creative fees everywhere. Like when grocery shopping, they will advertise something at 99c, but then we will also pay a cashier fee, a floor-sweeping fee, an air conditioning fee and an elevator music fee at checkout time. Grand total $1.50 for the 99c item!
Jul 18th, 2004, 09:14 PM
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Tranks, tracy, I guess this was something I should have expected for the convenience of renting the car at the airport. Just for "fun", I'm going to go back and look at my original rental agreement, anyway. It's been so long since I reserved the car, I can't remember the price I was quoted.
It this time, I will say that I am pleased with the car rental from Budget. I think I did get a free upgrade from a small SUV to a large one, and I loved the Buick Rendezvous. Now, I want one of my own!
Donna
It this time, I will say that I am pleased with the car rental from Budget. I think I did get a free upgrade from a small SUV to a large one, and I loved the Buick Rendezvous. Now, I want one of my own!
Donna
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