1flyer

I'm still sort of confused. I have a rental coming up as well. I booked group D/standard over a weekend. I do have PC (but it's a matched PC status from an airline status).

I rarely get rental cars and am fairly unfamiliar with the American car market. Any ideas what I should expect and look for (single person, just hand luggage)?

radiolarian

I'm going to LAS next week and just changed res to a G-class. Taking a chance since last August, G-class was a washout.

Hz needs to buy a boatload more Maxima SV and SLs.

Cymro

What would you actually choose if given free rein? You can be confident of getting at least a full size sedan (think Ford Mondeo) or a small SUV. You might get lucky and get a Mustang or Camaro or, less likely, a Mercedes SLC. It's quite likely there will be a small selection of premium or luxury cars to choose from (but "off brand" - generally Chrysler/Cadillac/Infinit, maybe Lincoln, rather than Mercedes or Maserati). A midsize or fullsize SUV is also a possibility. When I was there in January, the weekend after CES, I took a Volvo S90, which I think was at the top end of the choices.

What NOT to expect: V8 Mustangs, real sports cars such a Corvettes, Mercedes E/S Classes, luxury SUVs.

As for what you *should* get - I rather like the Cadillac CTS but it is a big car by European standards. (I'm European but I have probably driven well over 20k miles in the US). Other good choices would probably be something like a Jaguar XE/XF (allegedly quite common), an Infiniti Q50/Q60, a Nissan Maxima, etc. A Chrysler 300 is rather common - even bigger than the Cadillac but pleasant enough to drive though not as sporty.

FlyinHawaiian

A few suggestions for you...

First, if you truly have President's Circle status, then I encourage you to look at the rates for all car categories other than an Economy (A) or Compact (B) car. Any car, truck, or SUV from a class other than A or B is eligible for Ultimate Choice; simply book the cheapest rate you can find for a car other than A or B. This is the same advice given to others in this thread,

Here's the chart of US car classes from Hertz' website - https://www.hertz.com/rentacar/vehic...ory=Car/Sedan#

When you get to the LAS lot, just walk to a find a car in the President's Circle spaces (you can also look in the Five Star, Mid-Size, and Full-Size sections). There's a very nice photo upthread of the lot showing what you can expect to see. You can at least get an idea of car sizes and shapes without knowing the exact models. Just look for a car that looks interesting to you in the section and drive it out.

nldogbert

Hi,

I will be in a couple of weeks time picking up a car at the LAS station. Anyone knows how's the selection on a Saturday evening? I am rather afraid that evening time selection on a weekend will be rather weak in the PC area.
If the selection is bad, will it be a possibility to go back the next morning to switch cars?

Thanks in advance,
Cheers!

radiolarian

Just got into town and no G-class were available. I spotted an Avalon, a couple Q50s, and the standard F-class sedans. The usual C63 AMG was parked in front of the Gold Desk. The most unique car on the lot was a 485HP Challenger 6.4L "Scat Pack."

I drove away with a Q60 3.0T.

sfmman2000

Was there Saturday evening (3/10/18) and the selection was rather slim for PC. Fine if you want a sedan (300/Impala/Avalon) but nothing on the lot larger than full size -- no minivans or SUVs.

Schweden

Was assigned a Chrysler 300S on an I reservation.

Lots of Mustang GTs, Q50 3.0Ts, Charger R/Ts, and V6 Camaro convertibles.

Also available were Tahoes, a QX80, lots of Mercedes C and CLAs, a few Discoveries, and the Charger Scat Pack.

spencertimm

Hi all,

We are planning a National Park road trip in August to Death Valley, Joshua Tree, Zion, and Grand Canyon. We are flying in to LAS and renting a car from there. I would like to get a 4Runner, Grand Cherokee, or some SUV of the sort. Has anyone seen these around the Ultimate Choice area or have any tips on securing one? I will be renting with Hertz. I know I can rent the large 4WD SUV category, but I don't think I need that much size. According to the US Fleet List, the 4Runner/Grand Cherokee type fall under the Standard SUV category, but I could also just end up with a Hyundai Santa Fe.

Any advice is appreciated. Thanks!

jackal

My last rental in LAS was a minivan (needed to haul 6 people for a short trip around town), and I was in a bit of a time crunch so didn't really get a chance to check out the UC area. If you're not PC, I would not really expect to find any SUVs in the Gold or 5* rows; I've seen them elsewhere in the PC rows, though.

FWIW, I've driven all over the area you'll be covering and a regular car is 100% fine. There are a couple of 4x4 tracks that are very scenic ways to enter Death Valley, but they wouldn't be approved for rental car use (even an SUV), and I think some are closed right now due to damage from flooding. The normal routes in and through all these parks are paved and perfectly fine for a regular car (and even gravel is fine for a regular car). Of course, an SUV is roomy and sits up higher, so it may be preferable, but it isn't required by any stretch.

AutoSlash

The last few times I've been in LAS and renting as a PC has been pretty underwhelming. I've never seen an SUV in the PC section like I often do at other locations. You might be able to score one as an upgrade, but in my limited experience at LAS with UC, I've found them to be pretty stingy.

If you want an SUV, then pre-reserve one. You could also reserve an intermediate car and an SUV and then cancel the res you won't be using. I'd recommend making your pickup time a couple of hours later than you expect to arrive. There is basically no downside to doing this, and the reason is that once your pickup time passes, you can no longer cancel online and/or with the mobile app, so this ensure you have the flexibility to cancel one and avoids problems/confusion at the exit gate.

spencertimm

That's good to know. I was thinking we may be happier in the end with some premium/luxury class vehicle since we will be spending so much time on the freeway in it. Plus better fuel economy as well. Thanks for letting me know!

nldogbert

Hi,

Arrived Sat evening during the Easter weekend and the PC lot was full but with the usual F-size cars, Camry's, 300S, Sonata's, Impala, Malibu, etc. There was 1 Infinity Q50 parked there, but sadly it had no key. I asked one of the associate around about it, and I was told that yes, it was there since the day before because they could not find the key to it. He did try and still get me to buy up but with a rather good offer (which I was too cheap to take up), ~10$ /day.
I just picked the 300S for a night and did return the next day to try and check my luck out and still not that lucky. I went to the Gold booth and this time the rep was nice enough to just assign me a Q50 for no additional cost for the few days I needed the car. It was a brand new 2018 model with just 200+ miles on the teller and had the new car smell.

After returning it a couple of days later to pick up my next one-way rental (which I was surprised to still be allowed to pick from the PC section), it had again the same F-class cars with the exception of now a Grand Cherokee among the choices (and the lost key Q50). I was split between getting the Impala or the Jeep, in the end I went for the Impala (which was a Premium model) - turned out not too be too bad of a car except the must slower pick up (especially after driving around in the Q50).

All in all, from my experience has been slightly above average at this location.

Cheers!

dabee69

Are Hertz unlimited miles (in LAS) fully unlimited without geographical limitations within continental US?

Some other car rental companies allow unlimited miles in the originating and neighboring states only.

AutoSlash

Yes with a couple of caveats:

1. You'll always have unlimited miles on a roundtrip rental of all "standard" vehicles like economy through premium cars, intermediate or standard SUVs, minivans, etc. Higher-end vehicles and larger SUVs could have limited mileage, but it's on a case-by-case basis.

2. In some cases you could have limited mileage on a one-way rental. It depends on the situation.

The terms and conditions should clearly state if the rental includes unlimited mileage. If it does, you can assume it's unlimited in any of the lower 48 states.