stimpy

I picked up a car at SAN and was in a for an unpleasant surprise in that this airport is hugely popular with tourist rentals. The airport will not allow Hertz to do Platinum pickups, but they do allow drop offs. I returned to LAX though and SUPRISE! Platinum service has returned to LAX. Oh joy.

But back to SAN, everyone has to stand in a long Disney like queue snaking back and forth. Fortunately I arrived at an off-peak time and the wait for the bus was only about 20 minutes. And I ended up getting on a touring bus rather than the usual airport bus. So people had to stow their bags below and climb up to the nice coach seats. The Hertz staff told me that on Labor Day they had hundreds of people lined up to return their car and get on the bus.

I was upgraded to a Toyota Avalon which I regard as a gussied up Camry. I noticed some Mustang's in the Pres Circle row and they happily switched me into one of those. I hadn't driven a Mustang in about a decade so it was a fun experience. Nice car with all the modern features.

JohnnyP

RDU, they were pretty bare bones on cars, but they had a G70 pulled aside for me — it smelled a bit smoky/stale inside but was passable and the only other option was a Cadillac. Service was with a smile.

I had to change my return to another airport. Platinum Desk (offshore from what I could tell) was useless. Ended up just returning vehicle and renting another one. They let me keep the same car and do a swap in/out.

DJ_Iceman

Another great experience in PHX this week. They e-mailed me in advance and when I wrote back saying that my preference was for newer, smaller, nicer, and sportier cars they wrote back offering a G70 or a Chrysler 300. Not the best choices, but I had booked a compact, and a coworker with no status was unable to book cars with any company at all due to everyone being sold out. So I took the G70 which was parked right outside the gold booth (and had active satellite radio, which I love) and had no problems. Upon return I asked for a ride back to the airport, which was offered and provided immediately. They said they should start platinum pick-ups next month, and also reported they are getting 10,000 (!) cars in for the Super Bowl next year.

stimpy

Just a note to say that the guy who drove me to the airport in my Mustang at LAX said they have the Shelby's in now. He wondered why they didn't give me a Shelby til I said I picked up at SAN. So maybe I'll get a Shelby next time at LAX. But even the entry level Mustang I had was pretty fast and had satellite radio, Apple, etc.

If it is true that Hertz is buying $80,000 Shelby's, then maybe they are finally able to invest into the fleet again. That plus 10,000 cars at PHX!

Auto Enthusiast

Do you know if these 10k cars are new, used, trucked in from other off-season parts of the country, or forecasted to be one-wayed in through what before the pandemic was special rates?

DJ_Iceman

Okay experience at BOS this week. Booked a compact; was reserved a Toyota Venza. I wrote them an email saying I'd prefer something nicer/sportier, then arrived to find... a Venza. The counter agent told me it was probably the best thing she had to offer, so I took it. Surprisingly, the Venza is not a bad vehicle and it did have active satellite radio, which I enjoy. Upon early return this morning there were no Hertz employees checking in cars. "Customer service" kiosk was dark. So I went to the gold booth and eventually a woman came out who at least returned the car for me but said they didn't have anyone available to drive me back to the terminal. Okay, no big deal, I used to ride the bus all the time. But I went up to the bus driveway and waited 30 (!) minutes with dozens of my closest friends for a bus to finally arrive. Of course we all packed on and there wasn't room for everyone, then the bus driver disappeared for another 15 minutes. I had time to wait, but some people were really freaking out about their flights. We finally departed on the fullest bus I've been on since riding the subway in Tokyo; again, it was fine but it did make me miss the normal platinum drive-back service...

corolla

Massport provides free shuttle bus service between airline terminals, the Rental Car Center, the Water Transportation dock, and Airport Station on the MBTA Blue Line. All Massport shuttle buses feature low-floors for easier boarding, luggage racks, and are wheelchair lift-equipped.

Buses serving Airport Station, the Rental Car Center, and the terminals generally run every 5-6 minutes. Look for the shuttle buses at curbside on the lower level of each terminal.

Routes

Route 11: Serves all Terminals A, B, C, and E (9am to 8pm, daily)

Route 22: Serves Terminals A, B, subway station, and the Rental Car Center (9am to 8pm, daily)

Route 33: Serves Terminals C, E, subway station, and the Rental Car Center (9am to 8pm, daily)

Shuttle Bus 55: Serves all Terminals, subway station, and the Rental Car Center (during early morning and late evening off-peak hours)

Shuttle Bus 66: Serves all terminals, subway station, LOC, and Water Transportation Dock

Shuttle Bus 88: Serves the Economy Garage, all Terminals, and the subway station

Comments, Complaints, Compliments?

Send us your comments, complaints, or compliments regarding bus service by calling 617-561-3452.

In conclusion, although always wrong in many other countries in the world, but you bet it’s true that as long as it’s a public service run by the government in these big cities (which all share similarities) in the United States, they always find a way to [mess] up things.

And no apologies, nobody takes complaints (even if anybody really picks up the phone doesn’t mean anyone would give a damn) and of course no one feels even a little ashamed about one of the worst service in the entire world while everyone from the bus driver to the head of the government got paid a ridiculously high amount salary.

DJ_Iceman

Rented this week in LAS. Reserved a compact car, got a Genesis G70 with active satellite radio (which I like). Easy rental process, then at return I got a quick drive back to the terminal by a friendly, outgoing agent. Good experience overall!

stimpy

Two experiences renting in Lyon France....

At Part Dieu train station, I reserved normal sedan, and had two first time experiences. My first Lync & Co car which was also my first hybrid car. It was an SUV that is electric at low speeds and gasoline or diesel at high speeds. It took me quite a while to figure out how to turn it on until I realized that it was on and I just had to press on the gas pedal. I never even looked if it was gas or diesel because it didn't consume much, and the fuel refinery strikes in France meant there was no fuel to be found on the day I returned to Lyon Airport. At the airport I was driven from the lot to my terminal along with an interesting discussion from the driver about this car and the gas strikes, Ukraine, etc.

My next rental was at the airport and great news there. German cars are back! I saw a white BMW X1 and asked if I could have that. They kindly said yes and I drove it all the way to Paris, after spending a weekend in Burgundy. At Paris I returned to the city Louvre parking garage which wasn't easy to find as there is no garage at the address they listed. It is a shopping mall and you have to circle around and go down an underpass to find the garage and the small Hertz signage there. And the staff left early so zero Platinum experience there. I just dropped the keys in a box.

JohnnyP

Rented a one way at SDF to BNA. Selection was slim when I arrived late at night. Got assigned an X3 with 42,000 miles on it and FL plates — they clearly wanted me to “mule” this southward for them. When I started it up, it became clear there was no CarPlay, which really sucked for my roadtrip.

The station had 15-20 Teslas and I asked if I could have one of those. But the manager declined on a one way.

Overall friendly staff, and if there was a better car, I’m sure they would have given it to me when asked (other than a Tesla!).

mile3

Two experiences in the past month or two:
- Key West: last minute booked full size sedan (F) for a one way via Amex agent one hour before pickup (literally as I was boarding the plane). Amex confirmed the reservation but when I landed the Hertz rep said, sorry no cars available, try Budget and good luck. I mentioned that it's interesting that she didn't even check the reservation and then she did. She mentioned Platinum status, apologized and gave Mustang CV (U). Not entirely sure what her game plan was there but no matter, I got the key and was on my way.

- LAX: booked intermediate (Q4) also very last minute getting while off of the flight via Amex agent, so closer to 30mins prior to pickup. Hertz rep was extremely nice and ran around the parking lot looking for a decent car and came back offering an X5 or Q70. Opted for Q70 but as I was walking out there was a decent looking Porsche Macan (M4) and I went back and inquired. She said it must have just been returned but I could take that. I opted to and got upcharged $60/day which she slipped. It was only a two day rental so I thought that wasn't too unreasonable though a q70 or x5 would have both been better value had I the energy to undo the rental change/upgrade again. Platinum drive back was unavailable (this was in September) so took the bus.

I have two more Hertz rentals this month and will actually book in advance. Will report back with results.

Auto Enthusiast

The high mileage car with FL plates was probably a used lease return. One-ways tend to get the worst car they currently have and want to get rid of. It's likely many of the used ones fit this description.

FlyinHawaiian

My mom and I arrived at SFO within a few hours of each other so I was able to get "Platinum-lite" service (no terminal pick-up or drop-off) for my reservation. I reserved a C and was given a T4 2023 Cadillac XT5 V6 AWD with 2,100 miles on the odometer and working Sirius/XM that was parked in a reserved stall and had just been detailed. My mom was given a Z4 Range Rover Discovery Sport for her F reservation.

DJ_Iceman

Had a nice experience at MCO earlier this week. Reserved a "Mustang GT or equivalent" and was given a Challenger Hemi with under 1k miles on it and active SiriusXM. There was a line at the gold booth, but a platinum-only number in the confirmation e-mail so I called it and a guy came out immediately with my rental agreement and keys. Then he saw I was in a line of cars to get through the exit gate, called me over by name, and opened a gate just for me. I returned almost exactly 24 hours later and the same guy was now working returns. He saw me at the end of a long line of cars that were coming in, again called to me by name, and told me he would personally process my check-in but to go on to the airport. I was a little nervous given all the "people arrested for being falsely accused of stealing Hertz cars" stuff, but by the time I walked to the terminal he had already closed out my rental and I had the e-mail confirmation.

stimpy

IMHO a Platinum member should never have to worry about that.

I just had another LYS rental and another BMW X1. Ho hum.