Hertz - Charge For Sat Radio?

I rented a full size car for a week at RDU. When I went to the car (a chevy impala) I decieded to go back and ask for a Ford product (I hate GM cars). I also asked for a car with a sat radio in it. They gave me a Tarus with a sat radio but I noticed on the bill they charged me 15.00 for it?

What gives? Do they always charge or only if you ask for it? AVIS was going to charge for XM but they decided not to do it....

If you ask for it, they'll charge you ... same with Neverlost, if they give it to you without asking, it's free, but if you ask for it, they charge you.

I have a feeling that Avis and Hertz are both being subsidized by XM and Sirius respectively for this. In Avis' case XM just isn't charging period and in Hertz' case I bet they have some sort of revenue sharing agreement where Sirius gets a cut of whatever revenue Hertz is actually able to collect from customers like you who have paid for it.

I avoid this by having my own portable XM unit I now carry with me everywhere. :)

If you ask for it, they'll charge you ... same with Neverlost, if they give it to you without asking, it's free, but if you ask for it, they charge you.

That has been my experience as well.

- RightD

So is the $15 a flat rate per rental, or does Hertz charge a daily fee for Sirius? I want to get a car with sat radio when I go to Vegas in a couple of weeks, but don't even see an option to request that on the website.

So is the $15 a flat rate per rental, or does Hertz charge a daily fee for Sirius? I want to get a car with sat radio when I go to Vegas in a couple of weeks, but don't even see an option to request that on the website.

The charge is $3.00 per day or $15.00 per week. It is not an option on the website like Neverlost. I now make the reservation via the web and call to tell them I want a car with Sat Radio.

I've had both Hertz and Avis cars with satellite radio, and frankly the GM/Avis package (integrated into the car radio and is CD quality sound) blows away the Ford/Hertz set-up (not integrated, and the signal travels over FM so it sounds like FM quality sound).

The charge is $3.00 per day or $15.00 per week. It is not an option on the website like Neverlost. I now make the reservation via the web and call to tell them I want a car with Sat Radio.

Thanks!! That's just what I needed to know.

I've had both Hertz and Avis cars with satellite radio, and frankly the GM/Avis package (integrated into the car radio and is CD quality sound) blows away the Ford/Hertz set-up (not integrated, and the signal travels over FM so it sounds like FM quality sound).

That's not the case all the time. I have had Hertz cars with integrated XM.

I've had both Hertz and Avis cars with satellite radio, and frankly the GM/Avis package (integrated into the car radio and is CD quality sound) blows away the Ford/Hertz set-up (not integrated, and the signal travels over FM so it sounds like FM quality sound).

XM Radio that Avis has is not CD quality, period, regardless of the implementation in the vehicle. It is digital, which some people confuse for meaning it's CD quality.

If you ask for it, they'll charge you ... same with Neverlost, if they give it to you without asking, it's free, but if you ask for it, they charge you.

Check your rental agreement!!! I know my mom requested a Camry, and the Never Lost system was included. The Hertz Rep charged her for the Never Lost, of course, I had a fit. There was no need for the Never Lost, as my mom has drove plenty of times to VT from NYC to get me from school. Upon returning the car, I had the Hertz Rep remove the Never Lost charge.

Also, we stumbled upon the SAT with an Infiniti last week. I accidentally hit the SAT button while trying to change the station. My mom had know clue as to what I hit, so I had to figure it out. You don't know how happy I was, especially driving to VT where you can barely find any reception for any station.

Sandi

XM Radio that Avis has is not CD quality, period, regardless of the implementation in the vehicle. It is digital, which some people confuse for meaning it's CD quality.

As the proud owner of an XM radio I can share that the sound in my car is somewhere between FM and CD quality (except on the traffic channels which use "clipped bandwidth" to fit more in). CD quality would be pretty nearly impossible to achieve since the sat's output goes either through the cassettte deck (using a tape deck adapter) or FM radio (using an ant. adapter). Regardless, it's tremendously better than any or all of the radio stations in Chicago. Best value that I get for $9.99 per month.

CD quality would be pretty nearly impossible to achieve since the sat's output goes either through the cassettte deck (using a tape deck adapter) or FM radio (using an ant. adapter).

It has nothing to do with using a cassette adapter or FM modulator, even if you buy a receiver with an XM receiver built in, it's not CD quality because XM is not CD quality period, the signal that comes off the satellite is not CD quality. It's digital, which some people confuse to mean CD quality. I'm a little less familiear with Sirius, but I believe the same is true, it may have slight higher audio quality than XM, but it still is not CD quality.

That's not the case all the time. I have had Hertz cars with integrated XM.

This has piqued my interest. I just rented a car from Hertz (Buick LeSabre) and it was marketed to have Sirius (even came with the blue Sirius key tag).
BUT the car has an XM radio and it's not registered :( All I have is the preview channel. I am not paying for it but it sure is disappointing. :mad:

Has anybody experienced this before ? Thanks !

This has piqued my interest. I just rented a car from Hertz (Buick LeSabre) and it was marketed to have Sirius (even came with the blue Sirius key tag).
BUT the car has an XM radio and it's not registered :( All I have is the preview channel. I am not paying for it but it sure is disappointing. :mad:

Has anybody experienced this before ? Thanks !

I just returned said car to my HLE and tried to point out the difference but needless to say they had no idea what I was talking about :(
It sure would have been nice driving through Death Valley...

My last 2 Hertz rentals had the Sirius in it, and I did not pay for it. (I didn't request it either). Not bad quality, but sure a pain in the fanny to go from one end ot the channels to the other...

Flip open the cover of the Sirius unit, and then you can dial in the precise channel # you want (rather than increasing / decreasing by one unit at a time).

Thanks, I'll try that next time I get one...

I had a Hertz rental with a Sat radio (I didn't ask for it and didn't get charged for it) but when I pushed the button, all it said was that I should activate my account so I could listen to it.

Are you supposed to have a personal account with Sirius before you can listen to a sat radio in a rental? Otherwise, how does this work?