Yes, avis and budget share fleets. They are the same company. Avis and budget are test marketing the fee to see where it is received well. Its still a DM option and some are dead set against it because of fear of complaints. When other locations with great business travel seem to have a greater sense of empowerment from it. Their customers get out faster, have less complaints, and are friendlier.
One reason is "IF THE CAR ISNT FULL TO BEGIN WITH, YOUR PRICE IS STILL THE SAME".
so the business people drive and forget. no worries.
Originally Posted by cl_
Believe it or not, the opportunity for the $9.50 charge is the reason I switched my business from Avis to Budget. I rent every week, and always drive about 45 miles. I was refueling at a cost of about $5.00 each time.
The problem is, the flight schedule is such that my weekly meeting usually ends 1 hour 15 min or so before the flight. Stopping at the gas station for $5 worth of gas often made me lose enough time to possibly miss the flight. I called Avis and asked if I could work out a deal, but this was before they had the $14.50 charge, and they turned me down. The only option with Avis was to prepay for an entire tank ($55-$70) or to pay about $7/gallon at their ridiculous mpg rate (in which most vehicles get about 10 mpg) for a cost of about $30.
The $9.50 charge is a great convenience for me. I know the cost upfront, don't have to fill up the car, don't have an extra receipt to mess with when I fill out my reimbursement, and the extra $4.50 spent on it is well worth my time to not stop to fill up. I could not really justify the $30++ charges.
I've been happy with Budget as their pricing is better than Avis, and I seem to get the same cars - I think Budget and Avis share cars at the location I frequent.
My only complaint is that even though I am a Fastbreak member, they don't ever have the contract printed out when I get there - it is still a 5 -10 minute wait and waste of time. This alone may make me go back to Avis, since they now have a $14.50 refueling option. Also, Budget seems to have no perks for frequent renters (at least none I can figure out), but I would guess that is due to their lower prices.