RIC is Richmond International Airport which is located about 90 miles from IAD and DCA.. it's closer to my home so i tend to head there for national than to drive up to IAD ..the airport is small and if your driving in if you head to the rental car return you will pass the staging area where cars are cleaned and etc.. i figure thats good to know in case they don't have what u want in the lanes, they cal always call in have to moved ahead or just waiting a few mins.. I've found the staff to be very nice.......the fleet is inter-mixed with alamo as well



1/24.. headed down to grab a car for the week...16 options giving..grabbed a 2012 terrain SLE 4 cyl with 4 miles...

loved the color screen and the sound system sounded very good.. I would rate it a 6..the bass sounded mis-directed @ times...it took the my link system hours to load my Ipod so i could search and etc..

Engine...Well loudness sucked, gas mileage sucked even worse..got about 265 on the tank

this was probably the strongest new car smell i have ever experienced...gave a headache twice

1/25 had enough of the terrain... headed down to swap... tonight the choices was limited..looked very EHI like..impala's,chargers, a santa fe, 4 cyl terrain twin, and some other who gives a damns. as for the staging lanes they looked pretty heavy a few 300's, a lacrosse,nothing really suck out ...on a sad side note Avis lanes and lot which is next to national was looking very tasty..some Camaro SS's, mustangs, a few BMW 3 series and g 37's...yup no compacts or mid sizes on the lanes @ all..very strange. Anyhow, i grabbed a 12' passat s with 205 miles


great gas mileage..POS radio....WTH..no usb port..really your redesign a car to take on the big boys and u cheap out...car seems to have bluetooh but i have NO IDEA how to add my phone..

Dropped in last night on a midsize res..lot looked typically enterprise like, sad to say most of the Richmond fleet is enterprise vehicles now. But with a keen eye you can scan the lot and pick something epic. Arrived around 1030p lot had about 30 cars, I wanted the G37 which had 4 miles but the extremely attractive greeter told me it was being held for a res, so I took the 2012 edge SEL with 6000 miles

The same as my last visit I was offered a choice of what I want between the national and now enterprise ( eww).

Any update for summer??

...and I'm seeing mixed messages about RIC... is it EA or no?

I just bumped to Exec and want to give it a spin.

At least as of a month ago, no, no EA/ES.

I recall seeing: Toyota Camrys, Dodge Avengers, Dodge Chargers, VWs of some variety, quite a few minivans, SUVs were primarily Dodges or Jeeps, a Mustang, an Infiniti... that's about all I can recall.

I know this thread is old, so I am just sharing my experience. No EA or ES. You have to go to a desk and still get issued a car.

I arrived late on a Sunday night, and there were no non-premium sedans left. They insisted on options of only large SUV's. I actually smirked at their choices and said, man, I wish they gave me these upgrade options on my ski trips! The options were Extended Yukon and the alike. I asked about their 4 door sedans and said that is really all I need. Do you have any Maxima's, Altima's, Malibu's, Impala's, etc? And they eventually cave in and give me my nicest rental yet.

2015 Volvo S60 T5 AWD

I am heading back to Richmond tonight, I hope the S60 is still there I only dropped her off on Friday at 3:00 PM

I live in Richmond and have been renting every weekend from National @ RIC the last couple of months.

I'm just regular Emerald and the booth agents usually give me whatever I want as a free upgrade. 2015 Tahoe, GMC Acadia, Ford Fusion Titanium, Altima and Maxima are some of my latest rentals. Currently driving a '14 Toyota Camry SE.

As the previous poster mentioned, the RIC location tends to be heavy on SUVs. Overall the service is excellent and I've gotten to know many of the employees on a first name basis.

Late flight. National counter closes at midnight (I made the mistake of proceeding to the garage and expecting to just go to the counter and get my keys and go). They had a girl from Alamo running the show for "anyone walking up". She had 2 vehicles left and 4 people in front of her. Managers were called.

Ironically enough I was one of the 2 people who would be eligible to take those 2 vehicles, but neither would work because I cannot fit a large SUV in my parking space. And yes, I was only offered options that I would consider on a ski trip. I think they were seriously like...a Ford Excursion or a Extended Yukon or something ridiculous. Whatever it was, I laughed.

Alamo lady has to make calls to a bunch of people, and is finally able to get some cars from Enterprise.

I do not enjoy the rental car experience at RIC, and the lack of options is really stupid. It almost makes picking a vehicle pointless. I e-mailed the manager, Ryan Brama? or something.

He said he just works with what hes given. So he pretty much couldn't ensure that for my upcoming visits I won't have the same problems. (lack of cars available, after midnight everyone heads home and one lady is left doing "all rental companies", etc).

What night of the week did that happen? I've never seen National at RIC be sold out, even during special events. They "should" stay open until the last flight at night arrives (I think a UA RJ from ORD is usually the last arrival, scheduled at midnight) but as we all know this is often not the case with smaller airport rental agencies.

I fly in Sunday nights (11). This flight was late, about 12:20 I arrive really. They really did only have 2 large SUV's left. And myself and another guy had them issued to us by the manager who left the keys/paperwork with Alamo. It would appear at least 3 more reservations were made through National for cars they did not have. The aisle really was empty, and as you know, it is not that large. So there are 5 people, 12:30 at night, 2 keys, and yeah....LOL

I got in and scurried to the outdoor rental booth. No ones there, but Enterprise has a guy working outside still. He says go inside to talk to the counter. I did that, and this is when I ran into this little fiasco.

Its like 1 AM now, and managers are calling other managers and finally Enterprise gives a few cars to National.

Reserved a Premium for a one way to ORF. Had quite a few interesting things in the Emerald Club spaces a Ford Expedition, Jeep Wrangler, Toyota Camry XSE, a Buick or two, plus I think a Challenger was on the other side of the Expedition.

Wanted the Jeep so just asked for it when I got there. Nice night tonight and morning tomorrow for a drive to Norfolk with the top off.

Couple of rentals from the last week or two.

Reserved Premium once and Full Size the other.

First reservation got a 2016 Infiniti QX70 with 11 miles.
2nd reservation got offered the exact same Infiniti, but took a 2016 Grand Cherokee Limited with Lux package with 5k miles.

Other cars of noteworthiness. 300C, Q5, A4, 3 series, Navigator, Escalade, 4Runner, most everything else on the lots was the normal stuff you see everywhere.

Can anyone update if RIC still a kiosk-only shop? As in no EA/ES?

Debating flying into ORF or RIC in July, and to be honest... car selection may play a role.

ORF *never* has a good selection, and is kiosk-only... so no upgrades. I'd drive the extra hour to land a nice ride out of RIC if it's advisable.

...but, I know it's tough if there's no Aisle or Exec.

This, to me, is the single biggest shortfall of National's Executive program. you have the status, but can't use it at some shops. Doesn't make any sense.

#FirstWorldProblems... I know.

I got good service recently at RIC. They don't have an Aisle, just a booth in the garage. As an exec, they gave me 5 or 6 choices, which I thought was reasonable. I ended up with a nice Nissan SUV. Pretty sure other choices included a Charger, a 200, and can't recall what else.

I've got a mid-sized booked for RIC in June. I booked it through Southwest to get the points because booking on National's website doesn't even show an "Emerald" option. Do I just tell them at the counter I'm Emerald Club and ask for an upgrade since they don't have a designated EA? TIA