Hertz - Problem compounded at IAD Hertz 2 May

I walked over to my car at IAD having used a double upgrade from mid sized coupon this morning and saw a Hyundai Sonata with my name on it. I was running late, but ran over to the Gold Club desk as there was no line and asked about my upgrade. IAD claimed there was nothing available, but offered to move me to a Subaru Forrester. I am not a Hyundai fan so I accepted. BIG MISTAKE. The Forrester was nice, but it reeked of cigarette smoke. At first I thought it simply smelled of Cinnamon, but the more time I stayed in it the more my stomach turned. I had a pick up and the passenger immediately complained of the cigarette smell.

I called the national desk and they gave me the number for IAD. IAD said no problem, just return the care to Reagan National and pick up a new one. (Kudos to Hertz. ^ This was actually pretty easy.) I returned it and was given a....Hyundai Sonata. Aghhh!!!! The car is actually OK, though it is scratched and obviously had not been cleaned inside for quite while. It smells nice though and right now that is all I have time for. Reagan was almost entirely out of inventory and there was a line, so I really did not feel I could do much debating with the busy staff.

Do I stand any chance of keeping this a few days and exchanging it? Unfortunately I need a car for a week this rental. Normally I am a weekend renter, but this one I'll have for 8 days. I'd kill for on of that string of Pontiac G6's I had last month. Maybe this is Hyundai payback time. :)

I am partially to blame because I was in a hurry and thought that the Cinnamon smell was my imagination. I knew that my coupon should have moved me outside of my category that I was paying for, but I should have stuck to my guns after smelling the Forrester. But I really was in a hurry and needed to be at an appointment in 45 min in DC.

Update:

Well the scratch down the side of the car turned out to have been a minor accident the car had been in and the driver side mirror kept falling off when I closed the door. So I called Hertz national office again and they said to return the Hyundai immediately. I drove back to Reagan and had no problem turning it in. The location was pretty crowded with unhappy customers, but they gave me no grief. I then just pointed over to a freshly washed Pontiac GT6 in the corner and said I'd like that one after my two returns. They never batted an eye and simply printed out the new paperwork. So in the end, I never got an upgrade, but I did get a car that is bearable for a week.

Have to love DCA

I rented an S type Jag in the prestige collection - they gave me a Lincoln Towncar. I got in, it had disabled controls :mad: The main brake pedal was hand operated with a warnign not use until I had been shown how.

Finally ended up in a Mustang Convertible which was fab.

More and more though I have problems with Hertz. In Europe Avis is a league ahead these days

Have to love DCA

I rented an S type Jag in the prestige collection - they gave me a Lincoln Towncar. I got in, it had disabled controls :mad: The main brake pedal was hand operated with a warnign not use until I had been shown how.

Finally ended up in a Mustang Convertible which was fab.

More and more though I have problems with Hertz. In Europe Avis is a league ahead these days

Yes, my issue with DCA is not their inability to provide service, which they actually seem to be quite good at. It is there just indifference. If I just walk up to a car and grab the keys and go to the counter, they will generally transfer that car to my contract. But at the same time they will be more than happy to let you drive off in a car which they have already determined is not adequate or suitable. As if they believe that if you do not notice, then no problem.

They also seem very understaffed. There is always a line there of Glod memebers with any number of problems and one or two people trying to work them out. Nothing like a busy line of customers breathing down the neck of an agent who is indifferent.