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Consolidated "Renting at LAX; What Kind of Cars to Expect?" Thread

Old May 19, 2019, 4:20 pm
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Last edit by: FlyinHawaiian
January 2021 Update, courtesy of CalItalian:

Hertz, Dollar and Thrifty are now permanently combined in the Hertz facility until the move in a couple of years to the under construction consolidated car rental facility/garage a mile to the west on the corner of Arbor Vitae and La Cienega.

Returns do not allow agents to check in cars and provide in-person receipts; it has to be emailed. Contracts will not be closed until the vehicle has been sanitized. Be sure to take a photo of your dashboard (fuel gauge/mileage) and any other photos of the vehicle before you leave it in case there are any issues.
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Consolidated "Renting at LAX; What Kind of Cars to Expect?" Thread

Old Dec 13, 2017, 2:51 am
  #136  
 
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: Bristol, UK
Programs: Hertz Presidents Circle; SPG Lifetime Platinum; Hilton Honors Diamond
Posts: 658
I was at LAX for the first 10 days of the month. Collected a different car almost every day (had 8 in total), picking up around 8 - 8:30am every morning. Some days the place was packed out, but there were a couple of days when they were quite low on cars (Tuesday being the predictable nadir). I managed to get 8 different cars, none of which I had driven before. Some were just taken from the lot, as parked, (I am PC) but for others, I just asked and generally got what I wanted. Had quite a few conversations with the staff there, who in my experience are very friendly and helpful.

They told me that they think the business is changing. Although the patterns are the same, with a lot of cars going on out on Mon and coming back Thurs/Fri for business rentals and then a second peak on Fri evening for the weekend, there are fewer business rentals than there used to be (squeeze on business travel in a lot of big corporates). They were not as busy for Thanksgiving as they used to be. December is the lowest point of the year at LAX, in terms of demand, and also on the available fleet, they said. Older cars have been pulled and not many of the new ones that they will be getting have yet arrived. There are new cars coming: I was told that the list includes the Range Rover Velar, Land-Rover Discovery, a lot more Infiinti (haven't they got enough already), the Rogue Sport and that they will be getting some Altima SL models. The new Camry will also feature. As ever, my sources said that they would only believe it when they see these cars, as sometimes what has been promised does not ever show up on fleet. Also told that the Shelby Mustangs will be gone by January - the few that are left are high mileage and a bit tatty now.

I did ask how Ultimate Choice had bedded in. Initially, it seemed people just took the first car in the first space they found, but now there are lots of people who do walk up and down and are very selective in grabbing the "best" car they can find. The odd car, that no-one wants can sit around for 24 - 48 hours (apart from a Monday morning when more or less everything goes!), and I saw evidence of this with a few that took several days to shift. I know that what is parked up can be a bit hit and miss, but on the whole I think Ultimate Choice is a great program, as it does make it far easier to choose the car you want from what is available..... but if people think that they are get significant upgrades for free all the time (which is the impression you get from some posts in this and the other threads on UC), I think they need to reset their expectations to be you will mostly be choosing within what they have booked, with a nice upgrade being a bonus that you might get but not all the time.
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Red Scorpion is offline  
Old Dec 31, 2017, 12:49 pm
  #137  
 
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: Los Angeles, California
Programs: IHG Diamond Elite, Hilton Diamond, Hertz President's Circle
Posts: 3,531
FYI, there is a CHANGE in the Customer Facility Charge at LAX starting on January 1, 2018. Instead of a flat $10 no matter if you rent for one day or a month, it will now be $7.50 per day up to 5 days (maximum $37.50). Once the consolidated car rental facility is open (or at an earlier date if the LAX board overseeing its future construction deems necessary), it will be $9 per day up to 5 days (maximum $45). The days of dirt cheap car rentals at LAX are over.

The consolidated car rental facility will be built using a public-private partnership, where the construction/engineering team provides much of the up-front financing and then shares in the revenue stream over the first 25 years of the facility’s operation. It should open in 2023 with 23 car rental companies.
CalItalian is offline  
Old Dec 31, 2017, 10:51 pm
  #138  
 
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: melbourne.au
Posts: 200
hi - apparently i'm 5* and can get a good rate on;
  • Fullsize Elite 2 or 4 dr. (Group K) GCAR prestige collection
at LAX, any experiences to report? says S90 or similar... Wiki refers to potentially Merc E250... both a bit gutless but will do at the right price i guess.

Last edited by phat-dave; Dec 31, 2017 at 11:18 pm
phat-dave is offline  
Old Jan 1, 2018, 4:08 pm
  #139  
 
Join Date: Jun 2009
Posts: 95
No E250 in US fleets, no E250 at all in the US for MB W213.

S90 does exist at Hertz, and perhaps an E300.

Originally Posted by phat-dave
hi - apparently i'm 5* and can get a good rate on;
  • Fullsize Elite 2 or 4 dr. (Group K) GCAR prestige collection
at LAX, any experiences to report? says S90 or similar... Wiki refers to potentially Merc E250... both a bit gutless but will do at the right price i guess.
ww88ww is offline  
Old Jan 4, 2018, 1:03 pm
  #140  
 
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: UK
Programs: BA Silver
Posts: 417
I have seen various reports that if an SUV is booked, then a vehicle is assigned. Is this true at LAX?

I am PC and have a small SUV Group Q4 IFAR booked.

If this is correct, am I still allowed to browse the PC section to see if theres anything I prefer?

FWIW, I will not be at the lot until around 9pm on a Tuesday in early March.
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Old Jan 4, 2018, 1:09 pm
  #141  
Company Representative - AutoSlash and HotelSlash
 
Join Date: Jun 2006
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Posts: 5,645
Originally Posted by bernardh
I have seen various reports that if an SUV is booked, then a vehicle is assigned. Is this true at LAX?

I am PC and have a small SUV Group Q4 IFAR booked.

If this is correct, am I still allowed to browse the PC section to see if theres anything I prefer?

FWIW, I will not be at the lot until around 9pm on a Tuesday in early March.
Yes, with an IFAR reservation you will be assigned a vehicle. You have the option of choosing from the PC section if you have PC status. Just take your assigned vehicle or anything from the PC, 5* or Gold area and head to the exit gate.
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Old Jan 4, 2018, 4:01 pm
  #142  
 
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: UK
Programs: BA Silver
Posts: 417
Great. Thanks for the clarification.
bernardh is offline  
Old Jan 5, 2018, 8:44 am
  #143  
 
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: DEN
Programs: UA 1K, Marriott Plat, Hertz PC, Global Entry, CLEAR
Posts: 285
Originally Posted by phat-dave
hi - apparently i'm 5* and can get a good rate on;
  • Fullsize Elite 2 or 4 dr. (Group K) GCAR prestige collection
at LAX, any experiences to report? says S90 or similar... Wiki refers to potentially Merc E250... both a bit gutless but will do at the right price i guess.
I am in a similar boat. Hertz President's Club, booked (Group K) GCAR.

Has this reservation occurred yet? Any insight into what you ended up driving?
GlobalServiced is offline  
Old Jan 5, 2018, 12:19 pm
  #144  
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
 
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: LAX/TPE
Programs: United 1K, JAL Sapphire, SPG Lifetime Platinum, National Executive Elite, Hertz PC, Avis PC
Posts: 42,008
From reading the various threads, it appears that Hertz Presidents Circle is their highest earned tier, and pales badly against National Executive Elite, specifically around car selection. I am a National customer and EE for many years but would like to give Hertz a try so I can diversify a little. I rent mostly in Southern CA and Southern FL, but my usual procedure is to pick up at the airport with one free day and then renew for a week at a time at various in-city locations to avoid airport taxes. I could be in a rental for a month or more at a time, renewing every week to re-use coupons.

My question is two-fold - while National may often put Volvos, Mercedes, BMW, hybrids and other nice cars on the Executive Aisle at LAX, is it correct to assume that Hertz Presidents Circle at LAX will be 99.9% base trim full size models with little to no chance at a nice car even by request? Second, while it's generally easy to take a nice car from National location #1 , and then open new contracts (the weekly renewal) at locations #2 , #3 , etc etc to avoid the back-to-back limitation on earning benefits, how do Hertz locations treat a PC customer showing up in a premium or luxury car, but with a midsize or fullsize reservation when they request to keep the same car they came in with? Are Hertz locations more likely to take the car away and insist the customer take something in-stock from the category they reserved?
bocastephen is offline  
Old Jan 6, 2018, 4:10 am
  #145  
 
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: melbourne.au
Posts: 200
Originally Posted by TexasTea
I am in a similar boat. Hertz President's Club, booked (Group K) GCAR.

Has this reservation occurred yet? Any insight into what you ended up driving?
sadly i'm of no assistance, i'm not travelling until mid April
phat-dave is offline  
Old Jan 6, 2018, 11:46 am
  #146  
 
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: Los Angeles, California
Programs: IHG Diamond Elite, Hilton Diamond, Hertz President's Circle
Posts: 3,531


Customer Facility Charge at LAX was suppposed to change from $10 flat per rental to $7.50 per day up to 5 days ($35 max) on January 1, 2018. On the left are my charges for my 3 week rental that I returned today. $10 is listed. On the right, my new rental for 4 weeks. No Customer Facility Charge AT ALL. VLF did go up .15 cents per day on SUV's.
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CalItalian is offline  
Old Jan 6, 2018, 12:47 pm
  #147  
 
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: Los Angeles, California
Programs: IHG Diamond Elite, Hilton Diamond, Hertz President's Circle
Posts: 3,531
Originally Posted by bocastephen
From reading the various threads, it appears that Hertz Presidents Circle is their highest earned tier, and pales badly against National Executive Elite, specifically around car selection. I am a National customer and EE for many years but would like to give Hertz a try so I can diversify a little. I rent mostly in Southern CA and Southern FL, but my usual procedure is to pick up at the airport with one free day and then renew for a week at a time at various in-city locations to avoid airport taxes. I could be in a rental for a month or more at a time, renewing every week to re-use coupons.

My question is two-fold - while National may often put Volvos, Mercedes, BMW, hybrids and other nice cars on the Executive Aisle at LAX, is it correct to assume that Hertz Presidents Circle at LAX will be 99.9% base trim full size models with little to no chance at a nice car even by request? Second, while it's generally easy to take a nice car from National location #1 , and then open new contracts (the weekly renewal) at locations #2 , #3 , etc etc to avoid the back-to-back limitation on earning benefits, how do Hertz locations treat a PC customer showing up in a premium or luxury car, but with a midsize or fullsize reservation when they request to keep the same car they came in with? Are Hertz locations more likely to take the car away and insist the customer take something in-stock from the category they reserved?
Yes, it is correct to assume that PC at Hertz LAX is full of basic trim FCAR's. Never seen a Mercedes or BMW in PC only in the upgrade (for an additional per day fee) area. Lately, even though it is a slower season, I have been seeing less and less upgraded vehicles in PC at LAX. It was great when they started last April but lately it's been ho-hum at best. In Hertz LAX PC area, I was renting hybrids and Cadillac Escalades for the cheapest rate class offered even during the summer but haven't seen any in PC since.

I can't speak of what Hertz Local Edition locations will do for you if you try to rerent a vehicle that is not in the class you reserved. At LAX, though, they aren't keen on it. With few exceptions, they are too busy to set aside your vehicle as you go to the Gold Office and persuade an agent to give you back an upgraded vehicle that is not in the class you reserved (even if it was in PC). You may wish to ask this question in another thread that isn't so specific as to LAX for a better answer from others who may have an experience that relates to your question.
CalItalian is offline  
Old Jan 15, 2018, 5:21 am
  #148  
 
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Gloucestershire
Programs: BA Gold (ex-GGL, maybe future Silver), Hilton Diamond
Posts: 6,196
Sunday afternoon (yesterday), around 2 p.m.

Was returning so didn't take anything, but not a great selection regardless. $35 upgrades were a couple of Infinitis. PC was one Avalon, one 300S, an Impala LT, a previous-generation Buick Regal (not sure what engines in the GM cars), a Hyundai Santa Fe, and then overwhelmingly full size cars with a few compact SUVs. Nothing really stood out.

Didn't see Gold and 5* sections because i took the bus back to the terminal then.
Cymro is offline  
Old Jan 16, 2018, 1:19 pm
  #149  
 
Join Date: Aug 2017
Posts: 103
Seems inconsistent but was a good selection on Friday 12th at 5/6pm - lots of SUVs and the day before I grabbed Rav4 with 35 miles on the clock. There was a fair few Buicks and the usual array of Rogues but I note there was a few newer ones and not base models too! a few new Chevvy Equinox's. I managed to snag a 2017 Jaguar XF which looked like it should have been in the upgrade section but was parked in PC so I nabbed that. Pretty happy with it as I've got this rental for a month on a great deal.
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Old Jan 22, 2018, 9:38 pm
  #150  
 
Join Date: Nov 2016
Location: SFO
Posts: 70
Picked up yesterday night (Sunday 1/21 at 1130 pm). First time renting at Hertz LAX and PC seemed to be what others have reported, rather disappointing compared to other locations. There were about 10 cars in PC, 4x Nissan Pathfinders, 2x base Nissan Rogues, 1x base Kia Sportage, 1 Hyundai sonata hybrid, and 2-3 other unremarkable cars. Despite not being that busy, they were extremely slow restocking PC. Premium upgrades had 3 Infiniti Q50s which are sometimes in PC at other locations. I waited for a bit and took a Buick Encore SUV they brought out later. Unless UA keeps pushing that targeted promo for 5k+ miles with each rental, looks like I'll be headed back to National when at LAX.
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