esbenvb

Hello

By couriosity I just checked the prices for the AVIS "Cool Cars"...

I've already booked a Premium car (Chrysler 300 or similar) from Vancouver, for 8 days in end-august...

BUT when I look at the prices of the Dodge Challenger RT, I wonder why the total price (including taxes and LDW) is more than the double of a Premium car??? And the Challenger does not even have unlimited miles, just 1600 km included (1000 miles).

I can also see that a Ford Mustang coupe is much more expensive to rent, than a "Standard convertible" which most of the time is a Mustang Convertible.

What's the point? The price of a Chrysler 300 and a Dodge Challenger are almost the same, the cheapest Challenger is actually a little cheaper than the 300...

And the same goes for the Mustang, the Convertible is more expensive than the coupe, but the coupe is MUCH more expensive to rent?

bmw745ion19s

Simple supply and demand, plenty of suckers think those cars are SOOOO great and willing to pay for them. Granted the V8 challengers and V8 mustangs are nice cars they arent worth the rental price to me either.

Even most of the mustang rentals are 6 cylinder and cloth and still bring way more then a luxury level car.

Im guessing the coupe is more expensive to rent because its a V8 leather car etc vs the convertible being a base stripped down model. Id prefer the coupe myself.

Being from FL its easy to spot the tourists driving around with a top down over 80 degrees, no one from around here wants to drive around and drip sweat lol

Just take advantage of that and rent the premium or luxury level car like I do for much less and be happy the pricing isnt reversed

esbenvb

Well - I'm from Denmark, Europe - We have mostly bad weather, with only 15-30 hot sunny days a year. So when the sun is finally there, we enjoy to get out and sweat in the sun, since we are freezing the rest of the year And we have a 200% sales tax on cars, so a Mustang Convertible will cost the same as a small appartment...

Last year I was in California and rented a Mustang convertible and had a GREAT time, driving around in the hot sun with the top down

Anyway, yes I'm happy about the relatively low rates on premium cars BUT even though the Chrysler 300 looks great, a Challenger is SOOO much cooler IMO - therefore, it's frustrating that the price difference is so huge.

Maybe a part of the price difference is caused by the extra hassle of being able to guarantee the customer the exact make and model, instead of a random car in a class?

Well I guess I have to live with that... Are there any chances that I might be able to upgrade to the Challenger at the day of pick-up for a better rate than the one on their website, if there's a Challenger in the lot and it has no reservations on it?

bmw745ion19s

Oh yeah, I have some European friends that are the same way when they come here, the know when I am in the car with them though its top up and air conditioning on

Of course you have that option and it might be way cheaper then if you reserved it upfront.

However, you also run the risk of not being able to try to upgrade or it costing much more then renting the car you want in the first place.

The moral of the story is to already have a reservation for a class of car you know you are fine with and if something else better works out great. If not, you still will enjoy your trip too!

Hope this helps.

esbenvb

Yes of course - I'd be happy with a Chrysler 300 or Hyundai Genesis (which is praised by many FT users) - and I'm reluctant to pay $75 extra per day for a Challenger... BUT if I would be given the chance to upgrade to a Challenger, at a lower price, at the AVIS counter, it would be like expecting silver but getting gold :-)

Auto Enthusiast

It seems that Hertz and Avis offer the Challenger as make/model reservable, for significantly greater cost. By contrast, with National sometimes you can get lucky, and find one on the Emerald Aisle (like I did at LGA last year), or more likely on the Executive Aisle.

jackal

That's about 25% of the reason. The other 75% of the reason is--as bmw745ion19s mentioned--just because they can.

I would take a guess that your chances of upgrading to the Challenger for less than the reservation are about 50%--if they have one in stock and available. The commissioned sales agents have some flexibility with the price (even if they claim they don't), so remember these key points: don't act too desperate for the car, and make sure the agent knows that price is a major obstacle for you. The attitude of, "It'd be kinda nice to drive, but I really can't afford to spend [much] more than I'm currently spending" is the best one to approach a sales agent with to get a reasonably-priced upgrade. If you look too desperate, the agent knows he can extract more money from you, and if you make price an obstacle, he'll be more likely to lowball the offer or negotiate with you to get the price down.

Or, since you're from out of the country, I assume you'll probably need at least some of the insurance options (unless you have found an all-inclusive rate); if that's the case, you could try the approach of "Since I'm helping you out with a CDW sale, could you help me out with a Challenger?" Or try the tactic that a friend of mine has had some success with: "Well, I'd like to drive the Challenger, but I was also considering buying the LDW, but I only have enough money in my budget for one of those. Could you make me a deal on the two together?"

Also, there are some coupon codes out there that supposedly work on some of the Collection cars, but I don't know if they are still valid and/or will work in this particular case. Might take a few bucks off, anyway...

esbenvb

Ok? Wien i search on their sites for 8 days in august, vancouver airport, no cool cars show up in hertz or national... ???

esbenvb

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/avis/...ars-class.html

Here, a couple of guys claim that they got the challenger when booking a premium... Either they are just very lucky or it sounds too good to be true...

bmw745ion19s

Not all airports offer the same cars. I never travel up there but from what I recall thats not a high demand airport for nice cars. Someone else will probably know better.

bmw745ion19s

What are the options and trim levels like on these between the different companies?

I have yet to see any that look beyond the basic cloth, v6, small wheels etc driving around but not sure what company they came from