Other Car Rental Programs/Partners (ie. Alamo, Enterprise, Sixt) - SFO / Winter tyres / SUV upgrades

Hi, this is my first post in Car rental programs. I intend to rent a car at SFO late December for approx. two weeks. IIRC most people don't use winter tyres in SFO. Would winter tyres be desireable if driving up e.g. to Yosemite and can they typically be requested at the rental agency? I plan to use Alamo but can still switch to another agency if needed.

Another question about SUV's. I have understood that SUV's are easily given as an 'upgrade'. How likely is it that I will get an SUV if I rent a full size car. Will the likelyhood increase/decrease if I rent a premium car instead? Thanks!

Hello tsastor,

I would say that it is highly unlikely to get winter tires / snow tires in California, even in the winter season. As far as i know (from many rentals in the US) the concept of winter / snow tires is unknown, at least in the so called southern states (I have been to California, Nevada, Virginia, West Virginia, Oregon, etc. and NEVER heard of them over there).So I would not count on that.

Regarding the upgrade to a 4x4, from what I hear the chances are getting smaller since these type of cars are not requested tha toften anymore and the rental car companies are not purchasing these cars a lot anymore. This is mainly due to them being unable to remarket (=sell) them after the rental period and the manufacturers are not giving attractive buy-back deals out anymore.

I would go for reserving a 4x4 and not hoping for an upgrade, and if you go through the consolidators/travel agents, the price difference is not very big.

Enjoy your trip!!

my recent search on Enterprise and Hertz for rentals out of SFO and SMF resulted in finding a cheaper rate for an SUV than an Intermediate.

they are giving them away, I would reserve one though so you're not stuck with something you don't want if the upgrade doesn't work out.

--Russ

PS. the 4x4's typically have all-season tires so as long as you keep it in 4x4 mode and don't do serious off roading (which I believe is against your rental policy) you should be Okay with the West Coast winters... plus the main roads are kept relatively clean even in a snow storm.

Reviving my old thread... Booked a std 4wd (Blazer/Trailblazer?) but thought I'd check here if I did the right thing. Think I got it for a good price although it was still a few bucks more than an intermediate 4wd (Equinox?) or a premium 4 door. Don't know these cars very well, but research shows they are not on the top of any lists (rather at the bottom, actually).

Still, I think I will feel better driving a 4wd on the foothills of the Sierras and I think the gas prices won't scare me as they are probably still far from European prices.

Also, with three to four passengers and a lot of luggage, I want the additional space of a std 4wd compared with an intermediate. I also understand that the Blazer/Trailblazer is a much more reliable car than the Equinox?

So did I do the right thing? :cool:

I have never seen anything but factory all season tires on rental cars, or 4wd trucks.

And I rent in Buffalo, NY sometimes in the middle of winter.

As for blazer versus equinox, the blazer is a little larger truck than the equinox..

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Just to help future renters I thought I'd give my experience how it went. When we arrived at SFO; there were all kinds of Suv's available except any Blazers of course. We could pick any Suv we wanted and I think we might as well could have reserved just a cheaper intermediate Suv instead of a standard one. We picked a Ford Escape and since there was no user manual in it and there was no sign of 4wd I asked the rental agency guy if it really was a 4wd. He didn't know but called someone who said it was. Later on I realized it said 2x4 on the key ring so it turned out they didn't know what they were talking about.

On the Sierra foothills we ran into trouble because chains or 4wd with winter tyres were required. (Locals told us that 4wd would have been enough for the highway patrol.) Also you are not allowed to put snow chains on a rental. So strictly speaking I guess you won't be able to use a rental in snowy conditions at all!
Read the T&C more carefully: you are responsible for damage caused by chains. They are not forbidden (at least with National).

Btw. They do sell snow chains at places. At the Yosemite gate they asked 60$ for chains, 30$ to put them on and 10$ to take them off.

Tsastor,

Thanks for sharing your experience.

I'll be headed to SF and then to Yosemite this March and will be renting a 4WD. Frustratingly, most intermediate and standard SUVs rentals do not guarantee a 4WD. I have a Standard SUV booked with Dollar and an Intermediate via Hertz and will give them a call day before collection to check if I will indeed be getting a 4WD.

Did you get your chains at Yosemite's entrance? I was hoping to pick up a set at Mariposa which can be returned if not used. Was told it is cheaper further from the Yosemite gate. Can you advise?

Tsastor,

Thanks for sharing your experience.

I'll be headed to SF and then to Yosemite this March and will be renting a 4WD. Frustratingly, most intermediate and standard SUVs rentals do not guarantee a 4WD. I have a Standard SUV booked with Dollar and an Intermediate via Hertz and will give them a call day before collection to check if I will indeed be getting a 4WD.

Did you get your chains at Yosemite's entrance? I was hoping to pick up a set at Mariposa which can be returned if not used. Was told it is cheaper further from the Yosemite gate. Can you advise?Hi, at National at SFO there was no shortage of smaller 4WD's but bigger ones where more scarce.

I should add that chains were offered at the North entrance to Yosemite, I did not see them at the South entrance. I also bought my chains for $80 at a local HW store. It was a model that you can fit on the tire from the side. At least at this HW store there was a big sign saying they will not accept returns on chains. I was able to sell my chains after having them on two times (also went to Big Trees in Calaveras).

I will be entering Yosemite from Hwy 140 (West Entr), last stop being El Portal. After that, I will be driving south to Fish Camp. Do you know if chains are available at the west gate?

I won't be picking up my car from the airport but rather from Fisherman's Wharf as my wife and I will be spending a week in the city and a car would be more a liability than anything else.

The best rate I got was from Hertz - intermediate SUV at USD 240+ per weeek before LWD but not sure if I'll actually get a 4WD. Dollar offers a Standard SUV at a hundred dollars more and I have that on reserve.

National's rates on the internet was rather high.

Do you know if chains are available at the west gate?

Sorry, no, as we did not pass that gate.

I heard though, that you can leave your car at the west gate and take a bus to the park. Might be an option if you are going back the same way.

Sorry, no, as we did not pass that gate.

I heard though, that you can leave your car at the west gate and take a bus to the park. Might be an option if you are going back the same way.

I did think of that but our current plan is to exit south to Fish Camp. No worries... will check out Walmart as suggested on another thread. There is one at Merced on the way to Yosemite.

Do you think Hertz's rate of $332 for an intermediate SUV (taxes included) is reasonable? Base is $240+?

Thanks for all your help!

Do you think Hertz's rate of $332 for an intermediate SUV (taxes included) is reasonable? Base is $240+?

Thanks for all your help!Sounds ok to me if it includes insurance. (Others may know better)

The best rate I got was from Hertz - intermediate SUV at USD 240+ per weeek before LWD but not sure if I'll actually get a 4WD. Dollar offers a Standard SUV at a hundred dollars more and I have that on reserve.

National's rates on the internet was rather high.

Be careful you don't run into a no-show/cancellation fee with either company if you choose one and cancel the other. I read through the T&C's for both Hertz and Dollar and I didn't see anything. Thrifty has a 24 hour cancellation deadline to avoud a one day charge. Their rate is smack in the middle, $299/wk for a Liberty or similar. I've never seen a Dollar or Thrifty SUV without 4WD, but my experience is Canadian. I can't speak for Hertz but they generally carry higher up models so it should include 4WD. Hope this helps!

Be careful you don't run into a no-show/cancellation fee with either company if you choose one and cancel the other. I read through the T&C's for both Hertz and Dollar and I didn't see anything. Thrifty has a 24 hour cancellation deadline to avoud a one day charge. Their rate is smack in the middle, $299/wk for a Liberty or similar. I've never seen a Dollar or Thrifty SUV without 4WD, but my experience is Canadian. I can't speak for Hertz but they generally carry higher up models so it should include 4WD. Hope this helps!

There isn't any cancellation fees for no show with Hertz, Avis and Dollar as long as they are booked directly from them, but as a courtesy to the rental company, I would cancel at least a couple of days in advance if necessary.

I seldom double book but in this case, I wanted to check with them on arrival in SF a few days in advance that I will indeed get a 4WD.

Hertz: Intermediate (RAV4 or Similar) $332 per week before LDW ($15/day)
Dollar: Std SUV (Grand Cherokee or similar) $401 per week before LDW ($12.99/day)

All other taxes included.

That's strange, here in Canada Toyota only sells the RAV4 with 4WD, but in the US all trims are available with 2WD as well. Sounds like you've got a plan, phone a few days ahead to see what they'll have kicking around. Being that it's a city location and you're reserving a "specialty" vehicle that doesn't get moved around often, they should be able to tell you a few days out. I'd also say it wouldn't hurt to call ahead now and see what they generally carry, and ask if they're all equipped with 4WD. I've done this before with other agencies with beneficial results.

I notice that most of the rental companies avoid the term "4WD" for their SUVs. A bit frustrating as we cannot really pin them on it.

Hertz did use the term 4WD in their description of the RAV4 but NOT in the rental booking acknowledgement, keeping the specs as vague as possible (as did the other rental companies).

I just found that Orbitz does give a significantly better rate for Alamo but there is a non-returnable booking fee and of course, no mention of 4WD or 2WD. I'll wait till I get to SF and then call them to confirm the vehicle spec before booking.

Thanks for all the input!