Hertz Zurich Airport Experience?
Sep 27, 2013, 11:10 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: LAX, ONT
Programs: Avios, Mileage Plus, Elevate, Skywards
Posts: 48
Hertz Zurich Airport Experience?
I was wondering what if anyone has had experience with Hertz at the Zurich Airport? I'll be renting from there in November.
Sep 28, 2013, 1:40 am
#2
Suspended
Join Date: Jun 2001
Location: DCA or IAD (originally DUB)
Programs: UA 1K 1.8MM, Hertz PC, Marriott Platinum/Lifetime Gold
Posts: 7,657
Sep 28, 2013, 8:10 am
#3
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: Bristol, UK
Programs: Hertz Presidents Circle; SPG Lifetime Platinum; Hilton Honors Diamond
Posts: 658
I used to work in Switzerland, so rented cars sufficiently frequently from them that I knew all the staff, and even got a Christmas card from!
The staff are very friendly and helpful.
It's not a huge operations (people in CH use the rail system as it is so good), so there are rarely significant queues at the desk. There is no separate Gold desk or area, it is all done at the same place. It is now a franchise location, so you will not get reward points.
The rental car garage is part of one floor of a poorly lit multi-storey car park at the airport. Almost all of the cars are dark grey or black, and they all seem to be surprisignly scratched. You absolutely must check the damage (which is hard because of the lighting) against the damage report given to you when you collect the car, as Hertz will do so when you return it.
I was last back there in the summer and compiled this list of what I saw parked up, or out on the road.
A: Seat Mii and Skoda Citigo
B: Ford Fiesta, Opel Corsa, Mitsubishi Colt, Mazda 2 and Toyota Yaris
C: Toyota Auris (old and new model), Ford Focus, Mazda 3
D: Toyota Verso, Ford C-Max
E, J and W: Skoda Octavia Estate, Hyundai i30 Tourer, Kia Cee'd SW
L: Mercedes Vito
M: Toyota Avensis Estate, Opel Insignia Estate, Hyundai i40 Tourer
N: Volvo V70 d5
P: Volvo C70
Q: Ford Kuga (old model)
R: VW Golf 7 Automatic
S: Mercedes E Class 4-matic
V: Volvo V40
T6: Mercedes ML
Y6: Mercedes S350 4-matic
Unknown: Opel Adam, Citroen C4 Grand Picasso
There are quite a lot of the "Collection" cars listed on the website that were not in evidence. They tend only to have these in summer months, so don't bank on getting one of these. By November, all cars will almost certainly be on winter tyres.
I think the biggest disappointment would be anyone who saw that the sample Group C is an Alfa Giulietta and they ended up with an Auris!
You can tell any Swiss rental car from their plates. Hertz, Avis and Sixt plate theirs from the canton of Appenzell Innerrhoden (a tiny canton, so you rarely see any other cars from there), and they each have an allocation of numbers, viz:
Hertz: AI 3xxxx
Avis: AI 2xxxx
Sixt: AI 6xxxx
EuropCar plate theirs from the Vaud, so they start VDxxxxx.
You will find that cars are expensive (blame the Swiss exchange rate which strengthened when the 2008/9 credit crunch afflicted the rest of the world), and make sure you have appropiate insurance cover for the car. They do offer policies which wipe out the excess but this is very costly compared to the basic (but the excess is quite high).
High end cars such as Mercedes E Class and the like cannot be taken to Italy. There is no problem taking any of the less prestige stuff anywhere. As well as having the Swiss Vignette (needed to travel on motorways), most of them now have the German "UnweltSchuetz" which is needed to enter some German towns and cities. They do not usually have the Austrian Motorway Vignette, but you can by these once over the border for a small number of days.
Fuel is cheaper in Switzerland than all surrounding countries.
Unlike the rest of Europe, most of Hertz' fleet are petrol engined models. They do have a relatively larger number of automatics than in most European countries, but if you cannot drive a manual car, be careful in what you reserve.
Be warned that there are lots of speed cameras all over Switzerland, many of them hidden. They are set to almost zero tolerance, so if the limit is 50 km/h, then if you are doing 52, you may well trigger the camera. And don't imagine you can get away with it as a non resident!
Hope that helps - feel free to post further questions.
The staff are very friendly and helpful.
It's not a huge operations (people in CH use the rail system as it is so good), so there are rarely significant queues at the desk. There is no separate Gold desk or area, it is all done at the same place. It is now a franchise location, so you will not get reward points.
The rental car garage is part of one floor of a poorly lit multi-storey car park at the airport. Almost all of the cars are dark grey or black, and they all seem to be surprisignly scratched. You absolutely must check the damage (which is hard because of the lighting) against the damage report given to you when you collect the car, as Hertz will do so when you return it.
I was last back there in the summer and compiled this list of what I saw parked up, or out on the road.
A: Seat Mii and Skoda Citigo
B: Ford Fiesta, Opel Corsa, Mitsubishi Colt, Mazda 2 and Toyota Yaris
C: Toyota Auris (old and new model), Ford Focus, Mazda 3
D: Toyota Verso, Ford C-Max
E, J and W: Skoda Octavia Estate, Hyundai i30 Tourer, Kia Cee'd SW
L: Mercedes Vito
M: Toyota Avensis Estate, Opel Insignia Estate, Hyundai i40 Tourer
N: Volvo V70 d5
P: Volvo C70
Q: Ford Kuga (old model)
R: VW Golf 7 Automatic
S: Mercedes E Class 4-matic
V: Volvo V40
T6: Mercedes ML
Y6: Mercedes S350 4-matic
Unknown: Opel Adam, Citroen C4 Grand Picasso
There are quite a lot of the "Collection" cars listed on the website that were not in evidence. They tend only to have these in summer months, so don't bank on getting one of these. By November, all cars will almost certainly be on winter tyres.
I think the biggest disappointment would be anyone who saw that the sample Group C is an Alfa Giulietta and they ended up with an Auris!
You can tell any Swiss rental car from their plates. Hertz, Avis and Sixt plate theirs from the canton of Appenzell Innerrhoden (a tiny canton, so you rarely see any other cars from there), and they each have an allocation of numbers, viz:
Hertz: AI 3xxxx
Avis: AI 2xxxx
Sixt: AI 6xxxx
EuropCar plate theirs from the Vaud, so they start VDxxxxx.
You will find that cars are expensive (blame the Swiss exchange rate which strengthened when the 2008/9 credit crunch afflicted the rest of the world), and make sure you have appropiate insurance cover for the car. They do offer policies which wipe out the excess but this is very costly compared to the basic (but the excess is quite high).
High end cars such as Mercedes E Class and the like cannot be taken to Italy. There is no problem taking any of the less prestige stuff anywhere. As well as having the Swiss Vignette (needed to travel on motorways), most of them now have the German "UnweltSchuetz" which is needed to enter some German towns and cities. They do not usually have the Austrian Motorway Vignette, but you can by these once over the border for a small number of days.
Fuel is cheaper in Switzerland than all surrounding countries.
Unlike the rest of Europe, most of Hertz' fleet are petrol engined models. They do have a relatively larger number of automatics than in most European countries, but if you cannot drive a manual car, be careful in what you reserve.
Be warned that there are lots of speed cameras all over Switzerland, many of them hidden. They are set to almost zero tolerance, so if the limit is 50 km/h, then if you are doing 52, you may well trigger the camera. And don't imagine you can get away with it as a non resident!
Hope that helps - feel free to post further questions.
Sep 28, 2013, 10:19 am
#4
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: LAX, ONT
Programs: Avios, Mileage Plus, Elevate, Skywards
Posts: 48
I used to work in Switzerland, so rented cars sufficiently frequently from them that I knew all the staff, and even got a Christmas card from!
The staff are very friendly and helpful.
It's not a huge operations (people in CH use the rail system as it is so good), so there are rarely significant queues at the desk. There is no separate Gold desk or area, it is all done at the same place. It is now a franchise location, so you will not get reward points.
The rental car garage is part of one floor of a poorly lit multi-storey car park at the airport. Almost all of the cars are dark grey or black, and they all seem to be surprisignly scratched. You absolutely must check the damage (which is hard because of the lighting) against the damage report given to you when you collect the car, as Hertz will do so when you return it.
I was last back there in the summer and compiled this list of what I saw parked up, or out on the road.
A: Seat Mii and Skoda Citigo
B: Ford Fiesta, Opel Corsa, Mitsubishi Colt, Mazda 2 and Toyota Yaris
C: Toyota Auris (old and new model), Ford Focus, Mazda 3
D: Toyota Verso, Ford C-Max
E, J and W: Skoda Octavia Estate, Hyundai i30 Tourer, Kia Cee'd SW
L: Mercedes Vito
M: Toyota Avensis Estate, Opel Insignia Estate, Hyundai i40 Tourer
N: Volvo V70 d5
P: Volvo C70
Q: Ford Kuga (old model)
R: VW Golf 7 Automatic
S: Mercedes E Class 4-matic
V: Volvo V40
T6: Mercedes ML
Y6: Mercedes S350 4-matic
Unknown: Opel Adam, Citroen C4 Grand Picasso
There are quite a lot of the "Collection" cars listed on the website that were not in evidence. They tend only to have these in summer months, so don't bank on getting one of these. By November, all cars will almost certainly be on winter tyres.
I think the biggest disappointment would be anyone who saw that the sample Group C is an Alfa Giulietta and they ended up with an Auris!
You can tell any Swiss rental car from their plates. Hertz, Avis and Sixt plate theirs from the canton of Appenzell Innerrhoden (a tiny canton, so you rarely see any other cars from there), and they each have an allocation of numbers, viz:
Hertz: AI 3xxxx
Avis: AI 2xxxx
Sixt: AI 6xxxx
EuropCar plate theirs from the Vaud, so they start VDxxxxx.
You will find that cars are expensive (blame the Swiss exchange rate which strengthened when the 2008/9 credit crunch afflicted the rest of the world), and make sure you have appropiate insurance cover for the car. They do offer policies which wipe out the excess but this is very costly compared to the basic (but the excess is quite high).
High end cars such as Mercedes E Class and the like cannot be taken to Italy. There is no problem taking any of the less prestige stuff anywhere. As well as having the Swiss Vignette (needed to travel on motorways), most of them now have the German "UnweltSchuetz" which is needed to enter some German towns and cities. They do not usually have the Austrian Motorway Vignette, but you can by these once over the border for a small number of days.
Fuel is cheaper in Switzerland than all surrounding countries.
Unlike the rest of Europe, most of Hertz' fleet are petrol engined models. They do have a relatively larger number of automatics than in most European countries, but if you cannot drive a manual car, be careful in what you reserve.
Be warned that there are lots of speed cameras all over Switzerland, many of them hidden. They are set to almost zero tolerance, so if the limit is 50 km/h, then if you are doing 52, you may well trigger the camera. And don't imagine you can get away with it as a non resident!
Hope that helps - feel free to post further questions.
The staff are very friendly and helpful.
It's not a huge operations (people in CH use the rail system as it is so good), so there are rarely significant queues at the desk. There is no separate Gold desk or area, it is all done at the same place. It is now a franchise location, so you will not get reward points.
The rental car garage is part of one floor of a poorly lit multi-storey car park at the airport. Almost all of the cars are dark grey or black, and they all seem to be surprisignly scratched. You absolutely must check the damage (which is hard because of the lighting) against the damage report given to you when you collect the car, as Hertz will do so when you return it.
I was last back there in the summer and compiled this list of what I saw parked up, or out on the road.
A: Seat Mii and Skoda Citigo
B: Ford Fiesta, Opel Corsa, Mitsubishi Colt, Mazda 2 and Toyota Yaris
C: Toyota Auris (old and new model), Ford Focus, Mazda 3
D: Toyota Verso, Ford C-Max
E, J and W: Skoda Octavia Estate, Hyundai i30 Tourer, Kia Cee'd SW
L: Mercedes Vito
M: Toyota Avensis Estate, Opel Insignia Estate, Hyundai i40 Tourer
N: Volvo V70 d5
P: Volvo C70
Q: Ford Kuga (old model)
R: VW Golf 7 Automatic
S: Mercedes E Class 4-matic
V: Volvo V40
T6: Mercedes ML
Y6: Mercedes S350 4-matic
Unknown: Opel Adam, Citroen C4 Grand Picasso
There are quite a lot of the "Collection" cars listed on the website that were not in evidence. They tend only to have these in summer months, so don't bank on getting one of these. By November, all cars will almost certainly be on winter tyres.
I think the biggest disappointment would be anyone who saw that the sample Group C is an Alfa Giulietta and they ended up with an Auris!
You can tell any Swiss rental car from their plates. Hertz, Avis and Sixt plate theirs from the canton of Appenzell Innerrhoden (a tiny canton, so you rarely see any other cars from there), and they each have an allocation of numbers, viz:
Hertz: AI 3xxxx
Avis: AI 2xxxx
Sixt: AI 6xxxx
EuropCar plate theirs from the Vaud, so they start VDxxxxx.
You will find that cars are expensive (blame the Swiss exchange rate which strengthened when the 2008/9 credit crunch afflicted the rest of the world), and make sure you have appropiate insurance cover for the car. They do offer policies which wipe out the excess but this is very costly compared to the basic (but the excess is quite high).
High end cars such as Mercedes E Class and the like cannot be taken to Italy. There is no problem taking any of the less prestige stuff anywhere. As well as having the Swiss Vignette (needed to travel on motorways), most of them now have the German "UnweltSchuetz" which is needed to enter some German towns and cities. They do not usually have the Austrian Motorway Vignette, but you can by these once over the border for a small number of days.
Fuel is cheaper in Switzerland than all surrounding countries.
Unlike the rest of Europe, most of Hertz' fleet are petrol engined models. They do have a relatively larger number of automatics than in most European countries, but if you cannot drive a manual car, be careful in what you reserve.
Be warned that there are lots of speed cameras all over Switzerland, many of them hidden. They are set to almost zero tolerance, so if the limit is 50 km/h, then if you are doing 52, you may well trigger the camera. And don't imagine you can get away with it as a non resident!
Hope that helps - feel free to post further questions.
Sep 30, 2013, 1:29 pm
#6
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: YQR
Programs: no status
Posts: 1,052
Be warned that there are lots of speed cameras all over Switzerland, many of them hidden. They are set to almost zero tolerance, so if the limit is 50 km/h, then if you are doing 52, you may well trigger the camera. And don't imagine you can get away with it as a non resident!
Sep 30, 2013, 10:40 pm
#7
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: LAX, ONT
Programs: Avios, Mileage Plus, Elevate, Skywards
Posts: 48
Usually I rent in Germany and just drive down since I can obtain a larger vehicle for less than in Switzerland; however, this time, I didn't feel like driving from Frankfurt or Munich down to Zurich where I need to be anyways.
Oct 1, 2013, 11:13 am
#8
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: Bristol, UK
Programs: Hertz Presidents Circle; SPG Lifetime Platinum; Hilton Honors Diamond
Posts: 658
There would have to be a pretty huge saving to offset the fuel cost in driving from either Munich or Frankfurt, surely?.... though you are right that the selection of cars in Germany is more interesting (they have the BMW M5, and a whole array of nice Jaguars on fleet). And if you do, you will almost certainly have to buy the vignette at the border, too.
Renting from the non airport locations in Zurich is fine, but they have far fewer cars on site, so you will likely get a more limited choice.
Someone asked if the Auris is "that bad"...... well, think of it as a hatchback Corolla (as that is what it is), and then decide whether you want that or a red blooded Alfa to drive around in. I rest my case!
Renting from the non airport locations in Zurich is fine, but they have far fewer cars on site, so you will likely get a more limited choice.
Someone asked if the Auris is "that bad"...... well, think of it as a hatchback Corolla (as that is what it is), and then decide whether you want that or a red blooded Alfa to drive around in. I rest my case!
Dec 18, 2014, 9:57 am
#10
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Arlington, Va.
Posts: 321
Back for an update .. had a compact elite automatic booked. Given a choice of a small Volvo) forgot which one or a BMW 128i .. took the BMW. Nice car, easy to drive with great sat nav system. Handled well and traditional BMW inside.
Mar 20, 2015, 6:17 am
#11
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: MRY - CNX - TXL
Programs: UA 1K / *G / Marriott PE / Expedia Gold+ / Hertz PC
Posts: 7,058
I am going to be booking for a day in Zurich to drive to the village my grandparents are from (will only take about 2 hours each way compared to 3:40 via train/bus) and doing a little bit of exploring. I'm staying near the HBf and the location there is about $50 USD more than the airport. I haven't really paid much attention yet getting to/from ZRH to my hotel but I would imagine that the savings would be worth the trip back and forth to the airport to rent there instead of the town center location?
Also I saw it said it's a independent licensee which I thought meant I would get no points, but on the points FAQ it says that rentals in CH get points but you can't redeem rewards.
Also I saw it said it's a independent licensee which I thought meant I would get no points, but on the points FAQ it says that rentals in CH get points but you can't redeem rewards.
Mar 23, 2015, 7:10 pm
#12
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: MRY - CNX - TXL
Programs: UA 1K / *G / Marriott PE / Expedia Gold+ / Hertz PC
Posts: 7,058
Well to answer my own question I went through and was going to book from ZRH and then I saw after in the check out it added the location surcharge. Comparing that to the in town locations 1km from my hotel the price came out to then only be 2 CHF more expensive to rent in town so I went with that.
