Hertz - Returning Car at Closed Location - Over 24 Hr Limit?

Hello,

I will be renting a Hertz car in 1 city for a 24 Hr rental, from 2 PM saturday to 2 PM sunday, and returning it in another city. At the other city, the location is closed all day on Sunday, which is when I am returning the car. Will they have some way of knowing that I arrived at 4 PM or even 7 PM that Sunday so I can use the car for a few extra hours without paying for an entire 2nd day? Has anyone had experience with this?

Hello,

I will be renting a Hertz car in 1 city for a 24 Hr rental, from 2 PM saturday to 2 PM sunday, and returning it in another city. At the other city, the location is closed all day on Sunday, which is when I am returning the car. Will they have some way of knowing that I arrived at 4 PM or even 7 PM that Sunday so I can use the car for a few extra hours without paying for an entire 2nd day? Has anyone had experience with this?

First, YMMV.

But I have done it sucessfully... they realize that all they have is your time when you put it on the envelope, so it shouldn't be a big deal.

Anyways,... returned it at a Seattle HLE about 8 hours beyond my cutoff (my flight back was late in the evening), and not so much as a peep from them. Worked out great... I drove to SEA, checked in, checked suitcase (one of the few situations where I would... so I didn't have to haul it), drove back, dropped off the car, and took the bus back to SEA.

Obviously, make sure they have an after-hours drop-off: some locations don't take returns after hours. Beyond that, what you're suggesting will indeed work; however, there is a difference between gaming the system (which by definition anyone on FT enjoys), and outright lying...

By the way, some time ago an agent at DC Union Station remarked to me that one of their renters clearly possessed supernatural abilities. He claimed he dropped off his car at 7 pm Sun evening , but he was sandwiched between two cars that were returned early Monday morning!

By the way, some time ago an agent at DC Union Station remarked to me that one of their renters clearly possessed supernatural abilities. He claimed he dropped off his car at 7 pm Sun evening , but he was sandwiched between two cars that were returned early Monday morning!

That's really funny. At the same time, it's entirely possible that a manager might swing by the office on Sunday, make a casual mental note of the cars that were there (or empty the return envelope box), and then do a little cross checking of return envelopes on Monday morning.

Hello,

I will be renting a Hertz car in 1 city for a 24 Hr rental, from 2 PM saturday to 2 PM sunday, and returning it in another city. At the other city, the location is closed all day on Sunday, which is when I am returning the car. Will they have some way of knowing that I arrived at 4 PM or even 7 PM that Sunday so I can use the car for a few extra hours without paying for an entire 2nd day? Has anyone had experience with this?

I would encourage you to contact the HLE office and speak directly with the manager. I have had similar situations and the result depends entirely upon the particular location--the HLE's are franchises for the most part.

Will they have some way of knowing that I arrived at 4 PM or even 7 PM that Sunday so I can use the car for a few extra hours without paying for an entire 2nd day? Has anyone had experience with this?

I'd have to agree that pushing the return time a little is not a big deal, especially when the car won't be out on a new rental until Monday (at the earliest).

I asked about this when my HLE added its dropbox. (Some kind of permit problem with the city delayed the installation.) The manager's response (with a wink) was that he had more important things to do Monday mornings than to track down the exact time that a car is returned on a Sunday. He also pointed out that if he noticed that the car was still warm on Monday AM or if it was wet under the car after a morning drizzle he might be inclined to have a look at the security camera video that includes the dropbox.