Wow, you bumped an 8-year old post made in November 2004!

I think the point I was making at the time was that if I reserve a Luxury car as an elite, i.e. pay for it - not upgrade into it, that I would expect to get the best available when I arrive, rather than a high-mileage poorly-maintained car. I remember around this time period we'd had some disappointing rentals for long driving trips around the western U.S. We would reserve a Luxury category for a 3-week trip at considerable expense, and at least twice, the fuel engine light came on shortly into the trip, we were given cars with high mileage, once had a major mechanical issue and had to change the car mid-trip, and once was given a 'luxury' car that could not hold our luggage adequately - and we are only two and did not have an extreme amount of luggage.

As any elite (President's Club, Chairman, etc.), I think one should expect from among the newest cars in the fleet of the reserved, and paid for, category. Isn't that one of the points of being elite?

Happy to report that as a President's Club now for many years, we have in general had excellent service from Avis, often being granted our upgrade wishes upon arrival, but also have found Avis staff to be really helpful if we arrive and ask for something else - which we always do in as friendly and nice a way as possible. The few times we've had less than a stellar experience, it has usually been sorted with minimum hassle.