Upgrades at Dusseldorf (DUS) Germany
 

I have an upcoming 3 week trip to Dusseldorf and have booked an Intermediate car. I'm currently 5 star status. I've rented from this location before when I was President's Circle, but they refused to give me any upgrade. Ended up with a Ford CMax. They even stated my Gold status was not in their system. Any tips on getting an upgrade at DUS? I would think at a minimum I should be able to get a full size (3 series, A4, C class) upgrade.

They're a nightmare for upgrades.

I rented a Fiesta from them and they refused to upgrade me into a Focus because that would be a "double upgrade." First they told me that upgrades were discretionary only, and then subject to availability, then strictly one class only - which for a Fiesta meant EcoSport or nothing. I kept the Fiesta. i've been there several times and that was always my experience. Did better as a no-status Avis member.

There are very few "full sizes" in the German fleet. Firstly, the local market is all station wagons, which are another class. As such, even if Fiesta to Focus hatch were a single upgrade... they probably only have wagons. In this case, this probably means a Volvo V60.

The good news is that larger classes tend to be relatively inexpensive, and I don't think I've ever seen a manual group E hatch/sedan. So I'd be fairly confident renting one of those as long as you can drive stick, and expect an upgrade into an automatic wagon.

Unlikely to happen. You would likely get the wagon version of the your booked class which is a separate vehicle class or they will stick you in a Kuga crossover.

Not to say it doesn’t happen. IME 1 in 10 chance you will get an upgrade worth writing about; Was booked in FDMR last month and got assigned a Mercedes S class (not E class). DUS now sends the vehicle inspection report with pictures in email when vehicle is assigned. The report indicated a dozen dings and scratches here and there. I didn’t even bother picking up this vehicle; didn’t want to deal with German car rental agencies scrutinizing every inch when the vehicle is returned.