Diamondback

I don't see a "Cars at" thread for Pittsburgh. Can anyone give an update of recent cars spotted on the EA/ES aisles. I am visiting the week of Oct 4 and am particulary interested if mini-vans and/or SUV's are ever on the EA or ES aisles. I realize chances are closer to slim but I've seen locations where I can fairly regularly get these larger cars. Reserving the larger car in advance doubles my weekly rate. Any other tips about this location would be appreciated as well.

MisterOX

Bump, i'll be there the week of Oct 18...

jb3t

Been there.... have gotten a nice Jeep, Chrystler 300 pimp mobile, and chargers. I look for anything with Sirius.

The Jeep came in handy as I ended up off-the-beaten-path in the hills of WV. The same happened in the 300 and I though we were going to get abducted.

businesstraveller2

Got a Dodge Avenger from the EA back in July from PIT. Vaguely remember reasonable selection. I had a group of 4 going in my car. That was before I got the ES.

Diamondback

Rented at PIT last week. A couple observations:

1) This is a "kiosk" location. Very easy to access. Walk across from baggage claim to the car rental garage and find the National kiosk. You must get keys from the kiosk rather than just going straight to the aisle. Had a bit of bad service at the kiosk. When I arrived they couldn't find my reservation. I finally got my laptop out to look up my res # and they told me the computer showed I had "already been checked out." Took about 5 minutes (aggravating with 3 kids in tow) for the clerk to rebook. They were polite, though.

2) Here are the cars I observed on the lot. Couldn't tell what class of service since there are no aisles designated. (I ended up with a brand new Town & Country which is what we needed!)

- Chrysler Town & Country (mini-van)
- Kia Forte
- Toyota Corolla
- Grand Marquis
- Chevy Suburban
- Chevy Mailbu

dvs7310

Is this one of those franchise locations with absolutely zero Volvos or other European brand cars for Exec status?

sophiegirl

Most recent rental here was 2 weeks ago. Multiple SUV's in the ES aisle, as well as a few mini-vans and crossovers. I asked for (and received) a new FLEX - but to be fair, it was on site being cleaned, it wasn't like they held it for me.

Service at the kiosk does seem a bit slow, but always friendly and courteous.

Never had issues at this location.....

MisterOX

Just was here, had a mix of the usual suspects on EA. No ES here, but due to having executive status got put in a Town Car at the Compact rate. Not bad...

ElmhurstNick

Trying to rent a car for the weekend of July 8-10, and the rates are insane. $78/day for full-size, $63/day is the cheapest and that's for an Escape.

Is something going on that weekend? PIT isn't exactly a luxury summer vacation destination. I have a backup $45/day rental at Budget (my first non-National rental in over a year), but I'd really rather not have to go down that path. I may have to break down and use some free days, which is really galling for a weekend rate.

Given that this is a kiosk location, I'm inclined to just wait until the last minute and try and Priceline a SUV.

plagwate

I have a rental scheduled for next weekend at PIT; an airport I've never been to. I've read that this is a "booth location" but I'm also seeing in this thread that there are EA and ES aisles. So how does this work versus traditional aisle locations (i.e. FLL, MCO, etc.)? Can one inspect the aisle, select a car and then go to "the booth" for the keys?

Also, I have a backup reservation at Alamo (the rate was just a little cheaper plus if it turns out there's no means of choosing at National, why pay more for no selection?). Is PIT a shared Alamo/National location? Is there an advantage to renting at National over Alamo here? My intention is to cancel my unused reservation once I've settled into the car on the lot so that I'm not AWOL in the system.

Auto Enthusiast

Rent with National instead of Alamo = earn National rental credits.

91StealthES

I see there hasn't been a lot of activity on this thread, so I thought I would provide an update.

I was there this past weekend for a wedding.

There was only 1 aisle here and on it was:

Jeep Wrangler
Buick Lacrosse CXL (which I took..it also had built in Navi and backup)
A few Grand Marquiexs
Jeep Grand Cherokee
Impalas
Ford Flex
A few others I don't remember.

In my opinion, it was a great selection.

I had a good week this week, a Fully loaded Buick Lacrosse CXL (PIT), a Challenger (DFW) and a fully loaded Chevy Equinox LTZ (CLE).

lsugolfer

Alright, I'm renting from PIT this weekend. I'm a new Emerald Club member and all these acronyms are confusing me.

Right now, I have a mid-size car reserved at PIT. Will I be able to get a larger vehicle (or SUV) if available for the same cost? How does this work because it appears that there isn't an Emerald Club "aisle" there?

Thanks!

peteropny

I've personally never rented there but it does appear that there is an Emerald Aisle (but not an Executive Selection) at this location. You would be able to pick from whatever car (or possibly SUV) that was placed in the Aisle. If there is no Aisle (doesn't appear to be the case), you would not be entitled to anything larger than your reserved category (they could possibly give you a free upgrade but don't count on it).

plagwate

I rented from PIT back in July. There is no EC aisle and I was not offered a choice. However, I was upgraded upon check-in at the booth. My reservation was for full-size and was given a premium (a Buick Regal if I recall correctly). The booth staff seemed nice enough and I believe I could have swapped to another vehicle if I had not been satisfied.