Talon44

one more question about my january trip. so we booked premium class hoping to get either the lacrosse or the regal.. now if we dont get either of those two then we do not want any other cars or suv unless it is prestige. how does upgrading work? lets say they dont have those two we want... can i upgrade to a mercedes c class? i know i have to pay extra but do you guys know around how much extra? i called a local branch and they said maybe 100 dollars extra a day.... that doesnt sound right to me at all... then it ends up being more than if i would have booked a mercedes!!

bhunt

Crapshoot! I have seen base models to the fully loaded touring models!

Rut Dog

OP, where are you renting?

This makes a lot of difference. You said "on a week vacation" which could be flying somewhere or picking up locally and driving somewhere.

If driving where are you going from, too?

themicah

If you want a specific model, you have to make a reservation for a car class that reserves a specific model. See the fleet list thread, which has asterisks next to the cars you can specifically reserve (although not all locations have all cars, obviously).

A "premium" is not a reservation for any specific model. It can be anything from a fully loaded Buick to a stripped down Nissan Maxima to a creaky Crown Victoria (although I'd hope there aren't many Crown Vics left in the Hertz fleet at this point).

If they happen to have a Mercedes C class, they might let you upgrade to it, but there's no guarantee, and the upgrade fee probably will be something like $100 a day to go from "premium" to a "prestige collection" car, even if that adds up to significantly more than just reserving the C class ahead of time.

Talon44

oh im sorry rutdog

Talon44

and im renting from HPN in westchester county ny

Talon44

ohh wow. didnt know upgrading to prestige was so expensive. i just want a nice car for my vacation. i dont wamt a fricken altima :/

Talon44

and im very aware that prestige and adrenaline and green only are reservable. it just sucks lol

zceuxbhjutf

OP, what he's implying is you should make two reservations and only use the prestige reservation if the premium reservation doesn't get you the Buick you wanted.

fyaric

When you go to the counter and they say here is a..... you can say, i would really like a Regal do you have one in?.........

At airports there is something called gold alerts, where you are text what vehicle was assigned to you an hour before the rental starts.

I found it small had it for 2 days was traveling alone so it was fine, If there where 4 of us that would have been awful.

Performance wise: Decent for a small car definitely nothing mind blowing.

Felt a bit cheap....

Talon44

but the interiors of the regals look so nice on the 2013!!

Talon44

thanks all of you for helping me btw

Rut Dog

All good.

Some thoughts of mine...

1) Study http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/hertz...t-you-get.html so you can know what your options are.

2) Study the rates, so you know what is and is not a good deal on upgrades. The HLE (Hertz Local Edition) person probably quoted you a standard rate. Surprisingly, Hertz employees are some of the least knowledgeable about rates.

3) Leverage your exchange options. You can exchange your car at any Hertz location during your trip. Airports have large fleets to choose from.

4) Ask, politely. Work with the Hertz employees. Provide them with the information they need to help you. Tip accordingly.

You are already doing most of this stuff. You'll figure it out.

Talon44

Thanks rut. I can say Ididnt know I was supposed to tip. who do I tip and whats a decent tip? I didnt know that on my trip I was allowed to stop at a random hertz amd exchange my car. this is definetly interesting.

Rut Dog

It seems as if nobody ever tips. But when somebody does something nice, especially getting me a good car, I make sure to slip them a few bucks. Five bucks goes a long way.