ng1265

this could potentially be good news for their European branch, people trying to rent once this is over (prices are incredibly cheap at Hertz near me, it's like 15€ per DAY for a Standard, aka C-class), almost cheaper than buying a new car

btonkid12345

Europe is even worse than the US for deceptive fees - making the base rate meaningless.

Can’t put into words how angry it makes me to see “Premium Location Fee (50%)” added on to the fees section of many European rentals...

Dave Noble

When I book on the European sites, the highlighted price listed for the car on the 1st screem is the actual price to pay. The rate shown is the final price. Seems a lot more meaningful than US bookings where the highlighted price is nothing like the final price

rbAA

Margin calls are a ...... Just look what they did to closed end fund prices.

btonkid12345

I’m not faulting the sites. I’m faulting the rental agencies for their junk fees.

Dave Noble

What matters to me is the overall cost - Most sites that I use display the total price as the highlighted price on first screen , not highlight a price excluding taxes

Since the total price is quoted, doesn't really matter how the company wants to break down the components - there is no real need for them even to be displayed

GW McLintock

This is one of the biggest reasons I like sites such as AutoSlash.com. The prices shown are the final amounts, with all fees included.

-J.

RedChili

I'm totally with Dave Noble on this one. In Europe, all fees are always included in the price that you see immediately upon searching. Over the past year, I've booked rentals on the web sites of Hertz, Avis, Sixt, and Expedia (for Enterprise), and I've never paid a penny more than the price listed immediately upon searching. I don't care how that price breaks down into taxes, airport fees, winterization fees, location fees, etc.

LondonElite

Completely agree. Same thing goes for sales taxes in North America. Just put the final price on the sticker!

xienon

Yeah, Hertz is paying the price for their terrible balance sheet that left no room for error. Avis bonds are pretty distressed too (trading in the 60's) but ERAC bonds are still trading at par.

sullim4

This is just fascinating to me - it's 100% true.

There is so much bang-for-the-buck in keeping 1-2 year old cars well maintained and on the road for longer. I have zero issues with driving a 4-5 year old vehicle that's got new tires, wiper blades, brake pads, etc. It is such a cheap thing for these companies to do at scale. They never do this, though. They let the brakes go bad, the tires go bald, and anytime I get an older car, I cringe.

National was actually the most recent company to do this to me - I ended up getting a 33k mile beater car at KOA a few years ago. 33k is a lot for a car on an island, even a big island. It was maintained poorly with wipers that barely functioned and balding tires. I marginally felt safe in it. National refunded me over 50% of the cost... Hertz never did that for me and I've had plenty of similar Hertz beaters in the past.

Thrifty/Dollar is, in theory, supposed to be the outlet for these cars as mentioned previously. But instead of maintaining the cars, they rebadge them as Thrifty or Dollar and do nothing but change the oil. At the same time, those brands make the customer experience as painful as possible so that customers identify the 'value' in being a Hertz Gold customer that can bypass the counter.

The rental industry needs to change with the times. Cars last longer than they did in the 1980s and 1990s - there is no need to buy huge fleets every year and cycle out 1-2 year old cars. There are a few locations (like Hawaii) that wear out vehicles more quickly than the average location. But HLEs that serve the auto repair/collision markets do not need to have huge inventories of new cars on their lots.

rbAA

Add to that the millions in "retention" bonus Hertz recently paid for a job well done. Don't think those exec's were able to go anywhere else at close to their salaries and abilities.

radiolarian

Hz was only successful in restoring the executives’ salaries to normal levels ASAP, a little over a month later.

I was thinking the sell-off of the Corvette ZO6s were their bonuses, but 20 ZO6s at ~70k apiece is only 1.4M. The executive bonuses were reported to be 16M.

rylan

Well maybe Hertz rental prices will drop in the near term if people end up canceling and booking elsewhere.

I do wonder though, isn't Avis circling the drain also? Hertz just happened to go first, but I don't think will be the last.

xienon

That's pretty typical for bankruptcies. It's not like shareholders will have a say and can vote to kick out management now that the shares will be cancelled.

Whether Avis files for bankruptcy is still up in the air. If demand continues to rebound and they can defleet, they should able to make it.