Pinned

So, I recently had a really poor rental experience with Enterprise. The local branch was great, and managed to get the entire rental comped for me, but knowing that if I'm in a situation in which I need roadside assistance or help over the phone that Enterprise will do everything they can to make a mess of it I'm not so sure that I want to continue renting from them (after 5 or 6 fine rentals earlier this year).

Enterprise definitely seems to be the most convenient, they are also the only ones with any sort of regional network in my area from what I've seen.

But, most of my rentals are airport based, and Hertz seems well liked. I can get Hertz Gold via AAA. Is it worth it for me to switch? Is their customer service better? Are the cars kept in better shape?

UAPremExecflyer

I'd suggest you might find some answers in here

bmw745ion19s

to me enterprise has hands down, (1 exception) the worst kept cars out of any rental agency. Hertz for the most part has had some of the cleanest usually as far as washing them properly, lack of damage, interior wear etc.

the one exception for enterprise was at the jaguar dealer in HOU, the car was immaculate but all the cars are kept up by their detail and service dept so they better be nice lol

SkyTeam777

When it comes to the rewards program, do people generally prefer Enterprise because it is easier to earn points (Enterprise and National), lower award threshold, and "we pick you up" service? Or are people typically in favor of Hertz for their quality?

m907

i've never known Hertz to have good customer service, it's always very uneven. I haven't rented from Enterprise but National is fantastic.

ijgordon

In terms of rewards, Hertz is better for longer, more expensive rentals; National favors shorter less expensive ones.
National agents have always been friendlier but I'm not sure how much that is really worth.

jackal

Hertz Gold is their basic, free level of the program. Anyone can get Hertz Gold for free, AAA not needed. Don't let that influence you.

That said, renting a Hertz car with Hertz Gold is far more seamless than anything Enterprise offers. At most major airports these days, as long as you book a midsize or higher, you simply walk straight past the counter and choose any car you want from the Gold area and drive off. At some less-major airports, your name will be on a "Gold Board" with a stall number, and you walk straight to that stall and drive off. And at smaller airports or at Hertz Local Editions, you (in theory) go to a special Gold lane at the counter, briefly show your driver's license, and they hand you an envelope with your keys in it and you drive off (though it can be hit or miss, and sometimes they haven't bothered to get around to pre-process things for you at these smaller locations, but it's still a relatively quick process for them to process the rental as all your info is on file).

None of the whole Enterprise rigamarole with selling you the coverages, doing a walkaround with an agent and going over the car with a fine-tooth comb, etc. Hertz employees tend to be more apathetic than the brainwashed overly enthusiastic fresh-out-of-college Enterprise agents, but neither are Hertz agents falsely convinced that they're next in line for the Regional Vice President position making $1.2 million a year if they can only get you to buy that prepaid tank of fuel. Fortunately, apathetic Hertz agents are not much of an issue since you rarely, if ever, actually have to talk to a human when renting with Hertz.

FWIW, National takes everything good about Hertz and does it even better.

My suggestion: rent with whomever is cheapest next time you need a car. If it's with Enterprise, great: a little hassle and you save money. If it's Hertz, great: you get to test them out and save money. (Your first Hertz rental with your Gold number may require you to stop by the rental counter to verify your license and credit card, so the "real Hertz experience" starts on your second rental.) If it's with someone else, great: you get to test them out, too, while saving money. Car rentals are largely a commodity, and while the experience can vary from company to company, so can it vary between locations of the same company. (In fact, the competence of local management has a far greater bearing on whether your rental experience will be smooth than which company you go with.) That said, the three more premium brands (Hertz, Avis, and National) have systems in place (when you rent with their frequent renter programs) that make things more automated and thus less likely to go wrong but typically at a price premium over the lower brands like Enterprise, Thrifty, Budget, etc. I would personally pay a small premium to go with one of those brands but not a large one.

msp3

The proper comparison is between Hertz and National, and National is the clear winner here...

CalItalian

Not when it comes to rates. I find Hertz beats National hands down if you know how to play Hertz game (CDP's, PC's, AAA discount, watching rates).

Tom M.

Just had a new experience with Hertz and BWI. Returned my car and instead of having to take the shuttle bus back to the airport, they had a courtesy driver drive my wife and I back to the airport in the car I just returned. Very impressed.

strickerj

hoangb

I used to share this same opinion. However, since the roll out of Ultimate Choice at many airports, the quality of cars that I have gotten--including infinities, mercedes, BMWs, etc. and not having to pay extra, I seriously am not sure if I believe National is better at all.

Based on the recent rate comparisons, the ability to earn a bunch of United Mileage Plus miles, and the availability of high end cars in the UC, I truly believe that Hertz offers the best value for the money at this time.

I get that comparing Hertz and National is hard for some, but I would not even compare Hertz vs. Enterprise as I don't see any value that Enterprise offers from what I can get at Hertz.

tmiw

Reminds me of the time that I had to use Enterprise after a car accident (same building as the body shop/insurance adjuster). That experience turned me off of ever renting with them again.

Meanwhile, I've had few issues with Hertz, mainly around billing since they apparently will use the card in one's profile despite renting through an employer's travel agency using another (in my case, corporate) card. That ended up being a mess but was ultimately resolved.

cestmoi123

I've had this happen a number of times at ORD, when traveling with family. No charge, although I did tip the driver.

pinniped

My advice in 2017 has changed from 5-10 years ago. Now, my advice is simply to sign up for all of the "expedited renter" programs and then rent from the cheapest one.

Bottom line: none of them are as good as they used to be. There are fewer XM-actually-working cars, more high-mileage cars, deteriorating customer service as a norm, worse cars by category (e.g. a 2007 compact is a 2017 midsize), and greater difficulties getting problems resolved.

I have probably 500 lifetime Hertz rentals, mostly from 1995 to 2015. The entire experience is vastly WORSE than it once was, when Hertz was truly the gold standard among rental car agencies.

If I was a weekly road warrior with company-paid rentals, I'd probably align with National. They've deteriorated less than the others, and in some locations still run a pretty nice Exec Aisle. That then puts your neighborhood rentals with Enterprise, who aren't my favorite but at least they're everywhere.

Most of my personal rentals in the past 5 years have been Dollar or Alamo. I can usually work the coupons and promos and get them a lot cheaper than Hertz or National. Their expedited-renter programs are sufficient. The single most important benefit with a program is not having to stand in line, and both work well enough for that.

If you manage to run into the various annual promos like 1-2-FREE (National) or the similar Hertz one, great. But don't overpay for them. Figure out what Hertz points or National free days are worth to you and don't overpay for the basic programs either.