Hertz - Rent a GM/Crown Vic but switch to an Avalon?

In another thread, SEA_Tigger said:
Make the reservation, then the day before call the station directly and ask about a particular vehicle.

It's how I used to get Avalons instead of Crown Vics when I'd rent Premium. ^

Do they really do that for Golds?

e.g.: I have a GM/Crown Vic booked at my HLE for 3 days. The total rate is 81.82. A Toyota Avalon prices to 175.47. The PC 959976 (Free rental day on B/C/D/F/G on a minimum 3 day rental), that i used on the GM/Crown Vic doesn't work.

There's a big price diff there.

To answer my own question, the Avalon is now Class H whihc probably has its own price structure and ergo higher than a GM or Crown Vic.

The operative word was "used to"... :)

In 2003 and early 2004, the Avalon (like the G35) was a YG - Specialty Premium.

When Hertz created the new H class and kicked both cars into it, then getting one became a class upgrade by the station. And such upgrades still happen (I got an Avalon on an F rental as a Five Star in January at SEA), but now you probably can't call in and ask for one as they are no longer "in-class" upgrades.

Exactly my experience. My HLE now has the Avalon in class H. So, despite booking a Premium, I can't get an Avalon,but have to stick with either a GM or a Crown Vic.

Needless to say, the GM or Crown Vic are cloth interior and I think the GS level of trim.

As I priced through this, I notice a big jump between G and the H class and higher. For a 3 day weekend rental:

G: 81.81
H: 175.47
I: 183.99

There are no PCs/CDP/RQ combinations I could find, that would bring down the H and I rates.

Hertz is really slicing their car classes thin and extracting the maximum possible from each tier.

I called Hertz today and put in a request for Leather Seats on my G Class booking. The CSR put me on hold for 5-10 mins. She returned to say she had to clarify what requests are allowed/not allowed before she could put in my request for Leather seats.

That struck me as curious. What is Hertz trying to do? Disallow specific requests based on ..?

I am renting a Premium Vehicle after all. Seems to reinforce past observations on this board that Hertz' selection for Premium class vehicles is really poor.

I have never had (nor would I ever accept) a GM or CV from Hertz with cloth. They all have had leather and I have been renting these babies for years.

At SEA, the I's (Luxury) are actually cheaper then the H's. Usually $60 for I and $70 for H.

Slightly OT....

I was very happy this past weekend in PHX when I used my free weekend certificate (full size requested) and happily found the Avalon in my pre-assigned space.

Just for comparison's sake....

I was in PHX for three days. I had a free day cert for Thrifty and the free weekend for Hertz. I used my Thrifty rental first, and it only reconfirmed what I had known since I discovered FT, Hertz, #1 Club (in that order!). From now on, unless all else fails, I am seriously thinking it will all be Hertz! There was a line, almost out the door, despite being a "Blue Chip" member. The wait was almost a half hour. I was given a Chevy Impala (or the Impaler, as one co-worker calls it) -- no comparison to the Avalon. The taxes and fees for the one day rental from Thrifty were more than double the same taxes and fees for the Hertz rental.

Buh-bye, Thrifty (yes, I know that they're crap to begin with, but they had that double point promo earlier this fall and they were sooooo much cheaper in TX that I could not justify the extra expense). I have one more free day certificate that I am not even sure that I will use.

Stevekoe

What the hell is an Avalon? My friend says that it's a stretched Camry. If that's so, bag it. IMO, nobody in his right mind would drive a Camry anywhere except to the grocery store.

Agreed, I sure as hell would not put it in the same class as the G35.

Shame on you Hertz! :td: :mad: I'll take the GM in my stall and get the hell out of here!

What the hell is an Avalon? My friend says that it's a stretched Camry. If that's so, bag it. IMO, nobody in his right mind would drive a Camry anywhere except to the grocery store.

The Avalon was the first Japanese car to be classified as a "Full Size" under the EPA rules. It is essentially a wider and longer Camry, with a bigger engine and some nice luxury fittings. Think of it as a damn good Buick.

For 2005, they decided to make it an inexpensive Lexus. Big bump in engine output and while Hertz probably will not get the full-tilt luxury edition, the XLE they will buy have significant improvements.

When the Avalon is just 10-15 below a I class Towncar, I would pick the Lincoln over the Avalon any time. In any case, most HLEs that i rent from seem to have the Avalon rather than the G35.

The really scary part about the Class H rearrangement is that they have included the Kia Amanti in Class H as well. I had a agent in SAN tell me that the Kia was the same as the Volvo S80. I replied that a sentence with the word Kia in it should not also include the word Volvo, let alone a one car class containing both.

David Bricker / SYR

The really scary part about the Class H rearrangement is that they have included the Kia Amanti in Class H as well. I had a agent in SAN tell me that the Kia was the same as the Volvo S80. I replied that a sentence with the word Kia in it should not also include the word Volvo, let alone a one car class containing both.

David Bricker / SYR

As I've stated before, the creation of the H class is Hertz way of ensuring that it's most loyal and valued customers never end up with anything better than a CV/GM unless we fork over an extra $15 + /day. :td:

The reason why Hertz (especiallty HLE's) can't do requests is that most of the time they have no clue what your car will be. And even if they did ask for it, distro ignores them anyways and brings them what they want. Unless they have if sitting on thier lots, you aint gettin it.

Furthermore,

I have never seen a G with cloth in it. Usually we got Grand Marquis that were nice but brutal in the winter (RWD).

Also,

The reason why Hertz moved the Amanti, G35, and Avalon into the H class is because people were flipping out over these cars when they couldn't get them. So with the ol law of supply and demand in hand, you want you'll pay for came into play.

I have never seen a G with cloth in it.



There are plenty out there and it seems as if they are becoming more and more common, especially with the addition of the Bonneville to the "G" class.
Even CV's and GM's showing up w/cloth which I don't recall seeing in the past.

IMO, it's not worth the extra $$$ to reserve a "G" over an "F" anymore.... No chance of getting an G35 or Avalon and the high probability of getting an "extended wheelbase" Grand Am w/cloth :td: .

What the hell is an Avalon? My friend says that it's a stretched Camry. If that's so, bag it. IMO, nobody in his right mind would drive a Camry anywhere except to the grocery store.

On the contrary, an Avalon is more similar to Lexus than to a camry. The Camry , IMHO is a terrific automobile and again IMHO far superior to any domestic POS.

I called Hertz today and put in a request for Leather Seats on my G Class booking. The CSR put me on hold for 5-10 mins. She returned to say she had to clarify what requests are allowed/not allowed before she could put in my request for Leather seats.

That struck me as curious. What is Hertz trying to do? Disallow specific requests based on ..?

I am renting a Premium Vehicle after all. Seems to reinforce past observations on this board that Hertz' selection for Premium class vehicles is really poor.


I also e-mail rates and reservations on the website and asked them to put my request for Leather Seats, on my G class reservation. Like, someone else on the forum Ive also been renting the GM/CV for years and they have always been very nice and loaded with leather, they have also been new, never more than 6k miles, my last rental with a CV was In ALB, were they gave me a brand new loaded Crown Vic with 30 miles on it. :)

The Camry , IMHO is a terrific automobile and again IMHO far superior to any domestic POS.
Except that if you're going to sit in it for any length of time, you better stock up on the Advil because you won't be able to straighten up when you get out of it. The seats have absolutely no lumbar support, step on the gas and very little happens, the numb steering wheel gives no clue as to the direction of the tires as you are required to feed in more and more steering input on any turn, and the whole thing leans over so that you think it will turn over whenever you try to change direction. That is not to say that the competing domestics drive much better because IMO this whole front drive conception for larger cars is fundamentally defective, but at least most of their seats are comfortable.