welch9

Also when I arrived at DCA to collect my PCAR I saw a guy who had booked LCAR being offered the only LCAR they had, and guess what it was a MB250.

The other and only other LCAR I was offered at ATL was a MKS, as I set off in the MB250 I kinda regretted my choice. The only redeeming feature of the MB250 was the MPG at around 33mpg and I was doing 1800 miles.

Foxtbh

Exactly. The ONLY benefit of a C250 over something like an Impala is that it has a Mercedes badge to impress your co-workers with. It is otherwise an inferior car - more dated, less nice inside, less refined, less comfortable. It feels like a car from the last decade.. because it is.

When I rent LCAR I'm not bothered about the posh badge, I'm bothered about a refined and well equipped reasonably powerful luxury car. I would therefore always take a Cadillac CTS, a Lincoln MKZ, etc over a C250 or a BMW 328i.

Pretty sure the domestic luxury vehicles cost less to buy too. Save the German stuff for upselling to people or something or perhaps introduce a 'Prestige' car for people who want to specifically rent posh keytags.

cjdesmond

To be fair, the CTS has been moved up the ladder so that it competes directly with the 5-series now, so I'd certainly recommend choosing it over a 328i heads-up. Neither are cheap: a base-spec 4-cylinder Cadillac CTS Luxury will set you back over $51k, a base 528i just under $50k. Adjusted for features, the CTS is still a bit cheaper, but only by a hair's breadth.

http://www.truedelta.com/Cadillac-CT...sonal_feature=

IsleOfMan

I'd probably take a '15 C-class, though, just to try the new body style and layout... but it would probably be a one-time thing.

dwbf11

Gang, let's try and keep the non Cars @ ORD discussion in a separate thread.

FlightNurse

Even though the Impala is a much better car then the pervious gen impala, a 2014 C class is a better car then the most current Impala, and I would have to say the 328i is a much better car too.

This isn't the forum on which to debate which car is worth what, but the German know how to put a car together, that is something GM is still learning how to do.

IsleOfMan

For a car I was buying to live with day-in-day-out for 5+ years, I might agree... for a rental I'll be in anywhere from 12-hours to a few days, I'm looking for trim level, features, comfort, and a moderate personal preference towards RWD. Based on this, I'd probably take anything ranging from an Impala LTZ or Ford Taurus Limited through a Buick Lacrosse over to a Kia Cadenza, around to a 300C and up to an ATS, CTS, or XTS over a National trim-level 328i or '14 C-Class... I'd probably rent a '15 C-Class once out of curiosity, but trim level would probably push me back to any of those listed above.

gabrielsreign

On the Executive Aisle cars in this location?

brendog

The pickings were pretty slim last Monday at 0830, unless one wanted a minivan. There were a few Altimas and Malibus, as well.

I grabbed a crappy Dodge crossover of some sort. I should've taken a minivan.

IsleOfMan

Last night (Sunday, 6:00pm) ES was Minivan, Malibu, Passat, and a few small 2WD SUVs (Rogue I think). EA was Jeta and a few econoboxes (Soul maybe)?

I was on a PCAR res and they were having trouble scrounging anything up. They are also calling for snow and ice, so I ended up taking a '15 Tahoe LT w/ Nav and 4WD... with my rate code and ES discount, it was about $18/day more but I shouldn't have much trouble justifying it given the weather. Turned out to have ~18k miles and inactive SXM, but I usually prefer Pandora anyway.

DoctorORD

Most "exotic" car on the lot was one Volvo S60 T5 and a BMW 328i - both GXAR class, parked right next to the main office, not in ES. ES had a whole bunch of Passats, Jeeps. I saw a VW Tiguan in the return area. Can anyone comment on whether they saw anything else? I am starting to think that a Benz or BMW - or even another Volvo - is like a unicorn here.

B767capt

I agree the Pxr or Lux car selection here is crap. Last time I reserved a luxury and was asked to take a Chrysler 300. After saying hell no a BMW 325i was pulled up for me.

DoctorORD

Is anyone even able to reserve gxar or other luxury at ORD? All I can see when I make a dummy reservation is: economy, compact, midsize, standard, fullsize, premium, midsize suv, standard suv, minivan, fullsize suv. Clearly the "best" option here is "Premium" (PCAR) which is Chrysler 300 and some buicks -- these can be found in executive selection.

How can we possibly book or receive a luxury (or even GXAR) if it can't even be booked online? Do hey expect us to do the daily upcharge thing?

IsleOfMan

GXAR is never a reservable class. It's been reported that LCAR availability system wide seems to be diminished for Q1 '15 for some reason, with a few stations like LAX and LAS being exceptions. I wasn't able to reserve higher than PCAR for ORD last week either. They will, however, honor your company's negotiated rate for upgrades in the booth instead of forcing PS-style add-on upgrades IF they have anything available (all they had in LCAR when I arrived was an ATS from Alamo)... I ended up taking an FFAR (Tahoe LT w/ Nav) since the weather was looking dicey anyway, and got it for the fixed rate under the code I was using (actually at the SFAR rate as an EE).

That said, I probably wouldn't book LCAR nearly as much if I thought I could consistently get a Lacrosse or 300 on a PCAR res... I book LCAR to keep from getting a Maxima or Impala 2LT. While it's possible to find the occasional 300 or Lacrosse on ES at some stations, I wouldn't expect it at ORD ever or as the norm anywhere. Maxima and Impala (even some LTZs which I guess aren't the bottom of the barrel) are far easier to find on ES than what I consider the good PCARs (300, Lacrosse, Cadenza, Taurus Limited).

IsleOfMan

Any reports since early December? I'll be here later in the week with my wife on a PCAR res.