Consolidated "I'm Renting a Manager's Special; What Kind of Cars to Expect?" Thread

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Mar 31, 2019, 9:12 am

#301

osubeavers01

Join Date: Jan 2017

Programs: AS 100K, Marriott Titanium, Delta Gold, United Silver

Posts: 250

Quote:

Originally Posted by m907

In most cases you'll receive their smallest or oldest available car. Are you getting a significant savings with manager's special vs. intermediate? You'd be better off booking intermediate and choosing with Ultimate Choice unless it's a huge savings.

Thanks for the advice. I went ahead and cancelled the managers special and booked a midsized (C class) car instead

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May 28, 2019, 12:46 am

#302

Flyinmatty

Join Date: May 2019

Posts: 11

Greetings everyone,

I'm renting a managers special from ISP in august, one way to jfk for a weekend. I'm figuring that I'll get stuck with a yaris or something, which I probably won't fit in as im 6'1" and over 230 lbs. My thought was maybe if I booked managers special and got something awful, I could ask if there were any upgrades or anything (this will be my first time renting a car, so I'm not totally sure how this all works.)

Is that a thing you can do, ask if there are any upgrades or do they have to offer it. And if you can, is it worth it or no? I'll be driving all over Long Island that weekend, visiting a bunch of people.

May 28, 2019, 11:11 am

#303

Auto Enthusiast

Join Date: Jan 2009

Location: New York suburbs

Posts: 4,210

Welcome to FlyerTalk. Hopefully you'll find our threads about this insightful. Usually Managers Special is a category for the smallest car they have extra of. Since it's a one-way, and at location where you can not choose your own car, it's safe to assume you will get the worst car they have and want to get rid of. You may be very lucky in requesting something else, but that's generally not been the norm for other people's experiences.

Jun 23, 2019, 3:34 pm

#304

CMK10

In Memoriam, FlyerTalk Evangelist

Join Date: Jul 2002

Location: Durham, NC (RDU/GSO/CLT)

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Posts: 33,857

Rented one for my first time in a while. I was going to be in TLH and knew I'd be driving fewer than 20 miles and it was $30 if I paid in advance. They gave me a 2019 Corolla with 8,000 miles which worked out very well.

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Jun 23, 2019, 8:48 pm

#305

Rumples

Join Date: Dec 2016

Programs: Mileage Plus 1K \\ ConciergeKey

Posts: 531

Hey FT Gurus,

Newly minted President's Circle Member here, but have a question.

Going to Maui and see a MGRs SPCL - if I book this, can I still use my PC status to get a pick from the PC lot? Or do I need to have a min. booking (ie - standard 4 dr/etc)?

Thanks in advance for the help!

Jun 23, 2019, 9:00 pm

#306

m907

Join Date: Oct 2016

Posts: 3,704

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rumples

Maui does not have Ultimate Choice so there's no choosing from a PC lot to be done. But for future reference you need midsize or above. Manager's special, economy, and compact don't work for UC; anything else will.

Rumples likes this.

Jun 24, 2019, 6:10 pm

#307

Rumples

Join Date: Dec 2016

Programs: Mileage Plus 1K \\ ConciergeKey

Posts: 531

Quote:

Originally Posted by m907

Thank you!

Jun 25, 2019, 3:46 am

#308

FlyinHawaiian

Moderator: Hawaii-based airlines & Hawai'i forums

Join Date: Mar 2003

Location: Ka ʻĀpala Nui, Nuioka

Programs: NEXUS/Global Entry, Delta, United, Hyatt, IHG, Marriott, and Hertz

Posts: 18,038

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rumples

...Going to Maui and see a MGRs SPCL - if I book this, can I still use my PC status to get a pick from the PC lot?

Quote:

Originally Posted by m907

Maui does not have Ultimate Choice

Minor correction to the above; it appears that OGG now has Ultimate Choice in the new consolidated rental center. https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/31113299-post16.html

Jun 26, 2019, 1:30 pm

#309

Rumples

Join Date: Dec 2016

Programs: Mileage Plus 1K \\ ConciergeKey

Posts: 531

Quote:

Originally Posted by FlyinHawaiian

Minor correction to the above; it appears that OGG now has Ultimate Choice in the new consolidated rental center. https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/31113299-post16.html

Oh perfect, thank you for the information!

Jul 12, 2019, 6:20 am

#310

michaelpa

Join Date: Jul 2019

Posts: 3

Hi all!

I am renting a Manager's Special from ORD in about a month or so (August 4th - August 26th).
I was planning on renting an economy car either way, so I don't see how I'll "lose" on this one.

Does anyone know which cars are more popular than others in ORD? I was thinking that economy cars were probably the most popular ones, since people would probably be driving in the city, but I honestly have no idea.

Jul 12, 2019, 6:39 am

#311

cestmoi123

Join Date: Jul 2006

Location: NYC

Programs: DL PM, Marriott Gold, Hertz PC, National Exec

Posts: 6,736

Quote:

Originally Posted by michaelpa

There aren't a lot of economy cars in the fleet (although with a Manager's Special, you might well get one). Most common class in the fleet is probably midsize. While Manager's Special is by nature hard to predict, figure on something like a high mileage Sentra.

Jul 12, 2019, 7:05 am

#312

michaelpa

Join Date: Jul 2019

Posts: 3

Thank you!

In regards to the high milage; would it make sense to buy some sort of road side assistance (no idea if Hertz provide that), if it is a higher milage car? I wasn't planning on doing so, but I might consider it now.

Jul 12, 2019, 12:17 pm

#313

Auto Enthusiast

Join Date: Jan 2009

Location: New York suburbs

Posts: 4,210

I highly doubt most people are renting cars to drive in the city. Mass transit is available for that, as are Uber and Lyft. Rather, Chicago is probably more like NYC airports, where most people who need rental cars are going to the suburbs.

Regular roadside service covers breakdowns free of charge due to vehicle defects, like might be the case for some poorly maintained high mileage cars. But the premium roadside coverage is for customer negligence that would otherwise be charged, like running out of gas, or locking the keys inside.

Jul 20, 2019, 10:12 pm

#314

rbAA

Join Date: May 2003

Location: Bangkok, Thailand. No longer Palm Coast, FL though still exiled, again, from the Bay Area.

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Posts: 5,153

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rumples

As long as they have the PC lanes, you can pick one from there. I did this at SJC (returning to SFO) earlier this month, Booked Manager's Special, stopped by the counter to ask, told I could take midsized, found a Maxima in PC lane, checkout with that and it was the same price. Since the MS is compact or higher, seems to satisfy the PC rules.

Jul 21, 2019, 2:33 am

#315

m907

Join Date: Oct 2016

Posts: 3,704

Quote:

Originally Posted by rbAA

That's not correct. Ultimate Choice requires intermediate or higher. Manager's special, economy, and compact do not qualify. Sounds like you took their instruction to take from midsize as permission to take from UC and they didn't care enough to turn you around at the exit booth.

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