Completed my 4-day rental over President's Day weekend.

Bus arrived at the airport within 3 minutes of us reaching the pick-up area. We saw one Hertz bus first, and then the Sixt bus right behind it. Same slow pickup process as last year. 10 minutes in line, then 10 minutes with an agent - must of which was neither of us doing anything but the agent looking at her Instagram feed while we waited for someone else to "assign me a car". Agent tried to talk me into taking a downgrade to a Jeep Wrangler. I was booked in the small luxury SUV class and the agent was annoyed when I didn't want a Jeep because the "Jeep is bigger." I said I didn't stand in line for a Jeep when I paid for something better. Agent did not attempt any kind of upsell to better cars. Eventually I was assigned a Volvo XC60.

Of course, then I had to wait another 10 minutes to actually get the Volvo. The car was spotless - I looked for any possible scratch, dent, ding, or blemish and could find nothing. Ended up being a very nice car for four days, probably better for 4 people than the Mercedes in that class would have been. (The Volvo looked roomier.) Drove to Palm Springs and up in the mountains around there...had plenty of punch going up hills. If I ever book this class again, I'll ask for the XC60 again.

Brought it back with no scratches and a full tank of gas. Surprisingly had no hassle at return. No damage or fuel scams were attempted. We boarded a waiting bus, waited less than 60 seconds for one other customer and the driver, and were on our way back to the airport. Got a $0 invoice via email the next day.

In short, about the best I could have hoped for. I paid 30 minutes to get a 4-day rental of a nice car for about $75-100 less than a standard car at Hertz or National would have cost. As much as I hate the inefficient process, I will probably keep doing it once a year for this purpose.