Location: Fll
reserved: Mid size
status: Chmn
received: H3 traded it for a new cts wagon. Didn't even know they made one. (wife did not like ride of hummer) no hyundai available

Actually, I did not claim that Hyundai would compete against Mercedes and BMW at all! What I did say was that the new Hyundai Equus is SET TO COMPETE, meaning that Hyundai has designed and built a model that they plan and hope will be competitive with those other manufacturers. However, from driving the Hyundai Genesis, I would say that Hyundai has already built a very competitive car, which is an excellent luxury vehicle. The new Hyundai Equus is supposedly designed to be a super luxury car, and Hyundai plans for it to be competitive with the car models which I mentioned above.

As far as getting one as an upgrade, I would suggest that you ask for it. I am not subject to the normal upgrades procedure, because as a Chairman's Club member, I am basically guaranteed the best car on the lot, which in practice means that they will give me whichever car I point to and say "I want that one."

Ah, right. That would make a difference, I suppose...

I love that benefit!!

Ummm how about that car. Yes Sir!

Thre Brand reputation is going to make it very tough for them to compete. The new models might be of sufficient enough quality to compete, but consumer will still discount them.

I think that you are very wrong. As a matter of fact, they are competing with those high end marques with all of the features and most of the quality, but at a much lower price point. For example, Mercedes S-class starts at about $85,000, while the new Hyundai Equus will start at about $55,000. IMHO, I think that Hyundai will do well.

Location: YVR
Class reserved: Standard Size (Ford Fusion)
Class received: Luxury (300)
Status: Preferred

Even though I'm renting more frequently this year, this is unlikely a normal upgrade for just a lowly preferred customer, but hey I'll take it!

Location: LAS
Status: none
Reserved: Economy through Priceline
Received: 2010 Mustang

Perhaps it had to do with the 45 minute wait...but saw the couple in front of me in the parking lot with their Economy car.

Location: OAK
Reserved: Compact
Status: Preferred
Received: 2011 Toyota Corolla (which is an intermediate?)

Priceline might have "economy class," but AFAIK, Avis has sub compact class, compact class, intermediate class, etc.

Either way, Avis says they don't like such upgrades.


http://www.autorentalnews.com/Articl...dy/Page/2.aspx

They would rather use the car for a paid upgrade. If you keep reading about their latest ideas at the conference, you'll see they want all customers to be forced to pre-pay and be unable to cancel. They also hope everyone else will follow them, and say rental cars should be like nonrefundable airline tickets and hotels. Except most people can plan airlines and hotels for a business or vacation trip far in advance. Rental cars are used for other situations as well, where plans can and do change often.

Ex, your car is in the shop and the mechanic isn't sure if it will be ready the next morning or not. You need to go to work, so you reserve a car for 8:30 AM pickup, with the intention to cancel it if the mechanic calls at 8 saying he's done.

Or, you're not sure if your friend can pick you up at the airport. He promised he will, but he hasn't come through for you in the past. That led to major aggravation with either paying expensive last minute rental rates, paying expensive taxi fare, or frantically trying to piece together a mass transit itinerary in an unfamiliar place. What to do? Book the car and wait to see if he shows up. Cancel if he does, and you won't be stranded at the last minute if he doesn't.

Not that Avis/Budget seems to care. They view the customer as a cash cow. Never mind that they'd apparently rather have 2 highly profitable customers over 2,000 less profitable ones. Reading the rental car expo quotes shows some independent companies who by contrast seem eager to increase the number and happiness of customers. Even Rent a Wreck is getting better:

http://www.usatoday.com/money/autos/...eck21_ST_N.htm

Keep bidding on Priceline. It'll be the same lack of flexibility but lower rates.

Funny, I have no problem with upgrades at Avis, and in all my years of renting, overall, I have generally, the vast majority of the time, not had problems with upgrades at Avis. However, also overall, I have noticed that getting upgrades is easier the later in the day/night that it is, because their available fleet has been decreased by customers picking up cars. But, the biggest deal of all about upgrades is loyalty, meaning the more loyal that I am to Avis, the better the upgrades flow.

I have always found that while it is true that you might save a few bucks per day by going through Priceline and other discount sites for rental cars, the benefits lost make it not worthwhile. Even when I was Avis First, as opposed to my present status as a Chairman's Club member, I received free weekend days certificates, which is an offset to saving a few bucks per day, plus I received upgrades, which is also an offset to saving a few bucks per day, since I could rent a lower car class consistently.

Also, I disagree with some of the conclusions in the first article, the most obvious being the statement made about a savings of $13 per day working out to $91 per week ($13/day X 7 days). The reason that I disagree? Every major car rental company that I can think of bases weekly rates on FIVE DAY rentals, meaning that once a rental reservation hits 5 DAYS, it defaults to a weekly rate, so essentially the sixth and seventh day are basically free on any rental over 5 days, and in some cases it is more than that! Recently, I discovered that some of Avis's rentals default to a weekly rate after the FOURTH DAY, thereby making the fifth, sixth, and seventh day free!

So, at most, $13 per day savings result in $65 per week savings, and if some of the alternative (meaning not the biggees) rental companies do not default to a weekly rate after 5 days, then in reality they might not be a savings, they might actually be MORE EXPENSIVE! For example, if with Avis, the daily rental cost of a car is $52 per day (as in the example in the article), which would work out to a max of $260 per week, but the alternative rental car company listed in the article is $39 per day, which would make a weekly rental cost of $273, then in reality, the alternative, or discount rental car company is not cheaper, it is MORE EXPENSIVE than Avis, NOT less expensive. If you add to that there will be no upgrades given by alternative companies, plus the extra time needed to go to the rental car counter to pick up your car with the alternative companies (hey, time is money!), versus just getting in your car and driving away with Avis (only confirming your DL at the security booth), and thereby probably saving 30 minutes or more (and possibly more time at drop off too), there really isn't any comparison at all.

The same was true during my short period (about 15-18 months when I moved from Avis to National and then back to Avis) of renting from National as an Emerald Club member several years ago, especially so when National gave more upgrades through the Emerald Aisle.

I am sure that someone will disagree with me here, especially about the 5 vs. 7 day week, however, I am just following the example used in the article. Of course, as always, we have the disclaimer that YMMV.

All good points. I hear that in Europe, though, which Avis likes to look to apparently, 7 days are not the same rate as 5. This is presumably for the same root reason for higher rental costs there: expensive market conditions all around. Higher registration and purchase taxes = higher total purchase price. More expensive raw materials = more expensive base price. More expensive labor = less reason to overproduce cars = less incentive to offer fleets "good" deals and thus more risk cars. Lower rates of car ownership = more demand. Higher building leases = higher base rate just to break even.

Yes, in Europe, the situation is different from in North America, very true. HOWEVER, in Europe, the situation is the same for all rental car companies, isn't it? What I mean is that car rental companies such as Avis and Sixt have the same market constraints as do "Frankfurt am Main Zentrum Autovermietung," don't they? They all have to pay higher registration fees and higher car purchase taxes, thereby raising their total purchase prices, correct?

The claim of more expensive labor is NOT TRUE however, since healthcare is fully paid for by the governments in western Europe, and a significant portion of retirement is paid for by the governments of western Europe also. This makes labor less expensive, on average, in western Europe, than it is in the United States, while it is on a par with Canadian labor, and overall US, Canada, and western European labor costs are more than Mexican labor, which might be classified as "second world" in lots of ways.

I am aware of no evidence that the raw materials are more expensive in Europe than in North America. GM, Ford, and Chrysler stopped offering fleet incentives over the last 2-3 years, so that is no longer a significant factor either.

Lower rates of car ownership in Europe = more demand is probably true, and in many western European countries it is definitely true, and certainly higher demand generally equals higher prices in all travel related businesses.

Lastly, there has never been a reason for overproducing cars, either in North America or in Europe, and none of the North American manufacturers have ever PURPOSEFULLY overproduced cars. What North American manufacturers have done is offer higher incentives as they have lost market share to Asian and European manufacturers, which might lead some people to believe that North American manufacturers overproduce on purpose, but this has also had something to do with international currency exchange rates and Asian government price supports and "dumping" which are illegal, but have gone unchecked by the federal government, because enforcing the law would raise the prices for "cheaper" Asian imports.

Higher base rates are true for America, but not for Asia or Europe, since American car manufacturers have higher costs of approximately $1,800-2,000 per car due to health care and pension costs, which are borne by the governments of those other companies, but not borne by the government in the USA. This is changing, only in regards to pensions, in the US, since American manufacturers will continue to pay for the health care costs of their employees, which will only continue to increase costs, as American health care costs continue to climb. No, this is not a political statement, it is just a fact.

Really, 4 days is a week somewhere? I've noticed a lot more frequently that 6 days equals a week instead of the old standard of 5. The most recent example is in MDT where I picked up a car 2 hours ago. But one can usually find a coupon for a free day without much issues on such a long rental.