Hertz - Experience with new refuelling policy?

I couldn't find a thread on this, which surprised me.

Lots of ads on TV that Hertz now charges "pump prices" with a nominal refuelling fee. Website indicates the latter is $6.99.

How far off are they from real pump prices? I usually put in about 8 gallons and Avis (EWR) wants $7.90/gal to do it, or about a $30 fee for the service (gas in NJ being about $4.00/gal).

If the Hertz prices are close to what's actually charged in the real world, $7 would be enough of a deal that I'd probably take it and skip the refuelling step.

Does anyone have experience with this?

Thanks!
=aw

Hertz gas prices are pretty much dead on to local gas prices, $6.99 one time fee is a deal IMO

Well IMHO it's not really "deal" Lets say you only use 4 gallons of gas. You have now added $1.75 to the cost of each gallon of gas. I don't think that's a deal for anyone but "hertz" LOL! In the OP's case you have added about 80 cents a gallon. While it's cheaper then Avis quoted, it's still not a deal.

Do you have to select this in advance? (I think you do. IMHO it MIGHT be worth it if I was running late, but if I have to select in advance probably not going to do it!)

Of course the less gas you use the more expensive per gallon the Hertz fixed fee is. But it's still $7 vs. the time and inconvenience of finding a gas station. I suppose if it's only 1 gallon then Avis's $3.90/gal fee is cheaper but at even 2 gallons Hertz is less ($7 vs. $7.80).

But it's also the same cost (in time and inconvenience) to detour for gas whether the vehicle needs 1 gallon or 12.

Where this could also be useful would be somewhere like the stations on Century Blvd. near LAX, which when I used to use them 10 years ago were getting fussy about non-US credit cards. For $7 Hertz is also guaranteeing no hassles paying for the gas with a non-US card.

It sounds like they're not planning games by saying "based on pump prices" is double or anything like that.

It didn't sound like you had to commit in advance (as you do for buying a full tank) but it's just (pump-price + $7) vs. (pump-price * 180%) on return. Can anyone who's done this confirm that they could make the decision on their way to return the vehicle, and not commit at the time of rental?

Thanks for the comments.
=aw

Be careful near MCO - last gas station before airport is over $7 per gallon - so will Hertz charge this price?

How does Hertz determine the amount of fuel? Do they guestimate the guage (to the 8th or 4th of a tank), base off of mileage, or do they use actuals from a pump?

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How does Hertz determine the amount of fuel? Do they guestimate the guage (to the 8th or 4th of a tank), base off of mileage, or do they use actuals from a pump?

My guess would be based on the fuel gauge, since not every Hertz location has gas pumps. Basing it on mileage driven would not work, since the renter might have purchased some fuel earlier in the rental.

And I was assuming they'd base it on what it took to fill the tank, since they have to do that before they can rent the vehicle again. With Avis now, and I assume Hertz's old policy, where it's a high price per gallon to refuel, I assume they actually put in gas then charge. It might be a supplemental or additional charge since no matter what, they won't know how much gas they're putting in. At $7.90/gal (Avis price) I'd hope they weren't guessing!

I'd be interested to know how they calculate it now.

=aw

My guess would be based on the fuel gauge, since not every Hertz location has gas pumps.

Does this imply they might not fill up cars under this program? I really hate the way Enterprise (at least one near where I live) handles gas. They give you a car and tell you to bring it back with the same level of gas in it that you took it out with. I've gotten cars there with as little as a quarter tank of gas in them. I hate that.

And I was assuming they'd base it on what it took to fill the tank, since they have to do that before they can rent the vehicle again. With Avis now, and I assume Hertz's old policy, where it's a high price per gallon to refuel, I assume they actually put in gas then charge. It might be a supplemental or additional charge since no matter what, they won't know how much gas they're putting in. At $7.90/gal (Avis price) I'd hope they weren't guessing!

I'd be interested to know how they calculate it now.

=aw

They do it just like they did before this. They "guesstimate" based on the fuel gauge (and it's in thier favor LOL!) Having paid fueling charges at Hertz, Avis, National and so on all of them look at the fuel gauge, put that into the computer and it tells them how much to charge. Your fuel charge is on your receipt not a later charge based on actual.

Now my Hertz local edition does not have a fuel pump but I have in the past done the buy a tank of gas from them option returned the car on fumes and come back the next Monday to rent, gotten the same car and it's full. So they must take it someplace and buy gas!

While it is nice to have this as an option, I still prefer to take the extra 10 minutes to stop and refill on my own.

A real "game changer" would be to offer area pump prices with no service fee; I don't see the rationale for viewing refueling as a revenue opportunity. They don't charge for trash removal, vacuuming or car washes after a rental -- that's just part of what they have to do and all are included in the rental price.

Another option might be the way Avis does it. Drive 75 miles or less and pay a flat fee for refueling (which was $10, I think, about a year ago).

While it is nice to have this as an option, I still prefer to take the extra 10 minutes to stop and refill on my own.

A real "game changer" would be to offer area pump prices with no service fee; I don't see the rationale for viewing refueling as a revenue opportunity. They don't charge for trash removal, vacuuming or car washes after a rental -- that's just part of what they have to do and all are included in the rental price.

Another option might be the way Avis does it. Drive 75 miles or less and pay a flat fee for refueling (which was $10, I think, about a year ago).
Avis's fuel charge <75 miles is $13.99. That doesn't help much when you drive say 100 miles. My time to re-fuel is worth more than $7, particularlly if I'm running a bit late, when I have to go out of my way to find a gas station, or when stations near the airport are complete zoos at peak times.

While it is nice to have this as an option, I still prefer to take the extra 10 minutes to stop and refill on my own.

A real "game changer" would be to offer area pump prices with no service fee; I don't see the rationale for viewing refueling as a revenue opportunity.

I agree. I am surprised that so many on here consider this a good deal. As much as I hate pumping gas, I would never pay someone $7 to do it for me.

It's definitely nice to have the option, but the only time I can imagine my using it is when I'm running so late that I'm in danger of missing my flight. If Hertz offered to refill at local rates and with no service charge, that would be an enhancement that I would truly welcome.

The CDP I use charges $2.50 for the fuel service fee. On Thursday we picked up Kia Rondo for two days and drove ~94 miles. For some reason we got horrible gas mileage and the 94 miles took almost 1/2 a tank (about 8 gallons). Hertz charged us based on the mileage at $0.222 per mile, so the total fuel bill was around $23 including the fee. YMMV

One thing to watch for: I was returning a car at LAS recently and noticed the receipt was about $20 higher than my quote. Upon querying it, apparently the refuel charge is now automatically added by the system if you drive less than 100 miles - even though the agent had entered the fuel level as full.

Since I'd just put almost $20 worth of gas in it on the way to the airport, I probably would have been better off saving time by letting Hertz do it and paying the fee. But if you do fill up before returning, beware of bogus refuelling charges.

A real "game changer" would be to offer area pump prices with no service fee; I don't see the rationale for viewing refueling as a revenue opportunity. They don't charge for trash removal, vacuuming or car washes after a rental -- that's just part of what they have to do and all are included in the rental price.


Not to defend the car companies, but they do charge a rate if excessive cleaning is needed and I think they are entitled to some small labor charge to get the vehicle refueled. I can't state that the charges should be XX dollars but at my HLE across the street, I could easily envision 15 minutes of labor would be needed to drive to the nearest gas station and fuel the vehicle.

One thing to watch for: I was returning a car at LAS recently and noticed the receipt was about $20 higher than my quote. Upon querying it, apparently the refuel charge is now automatically added by the system if you drive less than 100 miles - even though the agent had entered the fuel level as full.

Since I'd just put almost $20 worth of gas in it on the way to the airport, I probably would have been better off saving time by letting Hertz do it and paying the fee. But if you do fill up before returning, beware of bogus refuelling charges.

How did you get the error fixed? Was the return agent able to do it right away or did you have to go to the Hertz desk?

Thanks.

I just returned a car to Hertz at GRR about a week ago. The gas price was $4.14 per gallon, which is probably better than many of the local stations. In addition, a $6.99 flat refueling fee.

The way they estimate it is by miles driven. There must be a base miles per gallon in the equation, because for the vehicle I had, they charged:

miles.....X.....$0.244/mile.....=.....cost

In order to get that $0.244/mile they had to have figured a base miles per gallon for my car. It appears they used 17 miles per gallon for my Hyundai Santa Fe, which seems like a reasonable city MPG for a small SUV like that. I think they use the manufacturer's city MPG for each car, and if you get better mileage than that, Hertz is making a bit more money.

They did not estimate usage by the gas gauge.

I am curious how they would handle it, if for example you drove 250 miles, filled the tank on your own, then drove another 150 miles and returned the car without refilling. It's possible that they might just have to charge on the basis of the gas gauge, using 1/8 of a tank increments like they often did before.

How did you get the error fixed? Was the return agent able to do it right away or did you have to go to the Hertz desk?


The agent did it right away using the handheld machine, and printed me a new receipt. He apologized, saying it was a recent change that they needed to watch out for.

They did not estimate usage by the gas gauge.

I am curious how they would handle it, if for example you drove 250 miles, filled the tank on your own, then drove another 150 miles and returned the car without refilling. It's possible that they might just have to charge on the basis of the gas gauge, using 1/8 of a tank increments like they often did before.

I think they do go by the gas gauge if you drive over a certain distance (100 miles?)

I think they do go by the gas gauge if you drive over a certain distance (100 miles?)

I had 132 miles and they didn't check the gas gauge... my guess is perhaps you need to explain what you did, or the computer has a default "half tank mileage" for each car, that triggers the question 'did you fill up during your trip?'

I had 132 miles and they didn't check the gas gauge... my guess is perhaps you need to explain what you did, or the computer has a default "half tank mileage" for each car, that triggers the question 'did you fill up during your trip?'

If you do not purchase any fuel during the hire, they calculate it based on miles driven multiplied by a cost per mile. The cost per mile is worked out on the listed consumption rate for that vehicle with their price per litre/gallon

If fuel is purchased during the rental, then the cost is calculated by actual amount of fuel needed to fill the car

Dave

I'm looking at my car rental agreement right now from my two day rental in San Diego and it says that "Fuel & Service $.221/Mi $4.42/Gal 16.0/TK CAP Refueling Fee of $4.99."

I thought the refueling fe was a flat $6.99. I wonder if it's different from airport to airport.

In San Diego, $4.42 per gallon is competitive with local gas prices, based on what I saw out there.

I'm looking at my car rental agreement right now from my two day rental in San Diego and it says that "Fuel & Service $.221/Mi $4.42/Gal 16.0/TK CAP Refueling Fee of $4.99."

I thought the refueling fe was a flat $6.99. I wonder if it's different from airport to airport.


Check to see what the rate is under your CDP number. Apparently, the rate is different under different corporate contracts.

I'm looking at my car rental agreement right now from my two day rental in San Diego and it says that "Fuel & Service $.221/Mi $4.42/Gal 16.0/TK CAP Refueling Fee of $4.99."

I thought the refueling fe was a flat $6.99. I wonder if it's different from airport to airport.

In San Diego, $4.42 per gallon is competitive with local gas prices, based on what I saw out there.

I believe the fee varies depending upon the CDP you use.

If you do not purchase any fuel during the hire, they calculate it based on miles driven multiplied by a cost per mile. The cost per mile is worked out on the listed consumption rate for that vehicle with their price per litre/gallon

If fuel is purchased during the rental, then the cost is calculated by actual amount of fuel needed to fill the car

Dave
that's exactly what I've been saying LOL

I drove my rental 147 miles and wasn't charged for fuel. I purchased fuel at a gas station before returning the car when I was in Chicago.

Sanosuke!

I believe the fee varies depending upon the CDP you use.

Actually its $6.99 PLUS the calculated price of gas.

Sanosuke!

Any experiences with SLC airport?

Actually its $6.99 PLUS the calculated price of gas.

Sanosuke!

For our corporate CDP it's $2.50 + the cost of gas (regular pump prices).

I called the res center and asked what my refueling charge was under my CDP. The woman had no idea what I was talking about; she insisted that the charge was always $6.99 + fuel.

I guess I won't know until I give it a try. Worst case, $6.99 down the drain.

For those who have had a rental since the new refueling policy went into effect: Do they put the potential refueling charges (i.e. the fee plus the per-mile charge) on the contract that you take with you when you pick up the car? That would certainly help me in deciding whether to refill the tank myself or not.

Thanks!

For those who have had a rental since the new refueling policy went into effect: Do they put the potential refueling charges (i.e. the fee plus the per-mile charge) on the contract that you take with you when you pick up the car?

Someone else mentioned - there is a per mile charge listed for fuel service plus the fueling fee. One thing to report on - I was issued a mistaken receipt once and all the airport taxes were assessed on the fueling charges (which would have made the refill another $4). I had the receipt fixed before I left the rental location.

Someone else mentioned - there is a per mile charge listed for fuel service plus the fueling fee.

One thing to potentially note - I was once issued a mistaken receipt once and all the airport taxes were assessed on the fueling charges (which would have made the refill another $4). I had the receipt fixed before I left the rental location.