HoratioXXXXblower

yeah, they let it go well past that line.
there are also things you didn't include like detailing ---- they have to spend money to get cars detailed, and when they stop spending that money the fleet degrades.

also, when you ruin your corporate credit rating financing a new fleet becomes more problematic and less desirable.

as mentioned, the entire culture at hertz has been about cutting every possible cost to make the company look more profitable in the short term than it really is to boost the stock, as the decision makers were sitting on a mountain of it.

http://www.news-press.com/story/mone...lary/70090928/

Olli1

My current rental, a Chevy Impala, out of RIC has 52346!!! miles and has an strange odor to it. The good news - it's in the 70s in VA, so I can drive with my windows down. Forgot to mention that this is my 5th year Presidents Circle with 60 plus rentals per year. Just 3 weeks ago I had another 50,000 plus mile vehicle. Not very happy. Same goes for the "guaranteed automatic" upgrades. For my last 3 rentals I had to go back to the counter and ask for it. Rented from Avis last week - Chevy Malibu 780 miles and CLEAN inside out. Kinda wonder, if this is how Hertz treats their frequent customers.... Luckily my company gives me an option, when it comes to rental cars and based on my recent rental experiences it's goodbye Hertz for me.

HoratioXXXXblower

just another note --- a lot of you guys who fly are probably very airport-centric, but over the last 10 years hertz has made a big push to compete with enterprise for the very large off airport market

http://www.autorentalnews.com/fileviewer/2014.aspx

a big chunk of that market is insurance replacement rentals where people might be in the car for a couple weeks, and generally speaking, the local business is many times rougher on the interior of these cars than the typical business traveler.
also, the product cost is basically the depreciation of the cars, and those 50k cars carry a lower cost than the brand new ones, which is fairly significant when you're getting a $15/day insurance replacement rate.

basically, this entire side of the market calls for the cheapest, crappiest cars possible to turn a buck, and hertz shares fleet amongst all locations, so airport travelers end up footing the bill on some of this off airport expansion.

in theory, hertz would be separating out this fleet, but that requires labor, which has been cut, and organization, which is also in short supply

hedoman

It's endemic in the travel industry. Car rental companies, hotels, cruise lines, airlines all have old glory names that have become bad actors. I'm pretty successful at identifying them during their early stages of decay, but it seems to be a rare talent. How many times can a company hit their customers in the head before they walk?

I will say that over a five month period in AU and NZ, my Hertz rentals were quite good. However, not one of the rentals has registered on my Hertz statement for points.

wbowles

You obviously have your answer. I've been doing a lot with Hertz long and short term both, had a 50K+ mileage Passat out of DCA, my current upgrade 50K+ Rogue out of DCA. Some of these cars are a bit beat up, had one with windshield crack that started to grow so changed it out. The Passat had a gas door that would not open, almost stranded on the turnpike at the gas station, I was finally able to pry it open with the handy windshield plastic scraper before road service had to send out a wrecker.

Two recent rentals in MLB and MCO were very new 200s, despite the abysmal customer service at MCO. They have a bunch of almost new Civics here at DCA as well that are quite nice, or you could get a really sad Elantra with mushy transmission, it's just all over the map.

driggity

This is so true. My last two rentals were a Nissan Rogue with 4 miles on it and a beat up Dodge Avenger with 49,000 miles on it. Talk about a contrast.

kilowatt

Had a 2013 (?!) Cadillac SRX with 40K+ miles on it at SJC today...also had problems with the transmission juddering . Previous rental at a Portland HLE was a 200 with 36K on it. It truly is all over the map - at YVR I had a 300S with 5000km (~3100mi) on it.

Originally got an Impala Limited with 50K+, didn't like it, saw a Fusion with 61K on it too

I'm convinced SJC is the dumping ground for cars that SFO doesn't want.

Exchanged the SRX for a 2015 GLK350 with 2.5K on it ^

CMK10

A friend of mine picked up an Altima from a HLE in Manhattan yesterday, 55,000 miles on it

GW McLintock

Doesn't compare to most of these, but more than I've had in a while: got a 2013 F-150 in ANC Friday evening with a little under 33,000 miles on it.

-J.

SixAlpha

Nissan Altima at PDX w/ 42,000 miles on it. Picked it out of Gold Choice to replace the 38K Impala that was in my spot. At least saved me a few bucks on gas.

caymancanuck

Received an Infinity Q56 at TPA with 51K miles and the rear tailgate did not work.

CrazyOne

Not my highest I don't think (I didn't look at my previous posts in here) but a recent high was a 49k Sentra I was assigned on Friday at the HLE here. 2013 it said on the keytag!

It drove, well, like a Sentra, but didn't seem unsafe and looked clean enough. But the HLE is now very close to my office and my first drive was pretty short just to go back there. After a couple hours, I left to drive home, and I decided I couldn't bear the smell for the weekend. They were still open so I went back, and they got me a 2015 Jetta within a few minutes which was pretty nice although no USB/Bluetooth. (Had sat radio active and the newest AlwaysLost in there though, paid for neither.)

cestmoi123

I didn't think you could GET a 2015 Jetta without Bluetooth... I thought even the most basic models had it...

CrazyOne

Hm, well, I could have been wrong actually. Come to think of it, I didn't actually try to pair my phone, so it may have worked after all if I had looked. It did not have the video screen based infotainment setup though but instead the standard one that is the same or similar to previous year Jettas I've driven. And it still appears to still have that old iPod interface with outdated 30-pin cord! I also thought I didn't find phone-related buttons on the steering wheel (a usual hallmark of Bluetooth connectivity) but I may not have been paying close attention. I did like the standard D-shaped wheel, very unusual on a moderate car (D-shaped and no leather wrap, such an unusual combo, haha).

I used my iPhone with the Aux jack to play music, using the sat radio very little.

The car had SE and TSi badges but I'm not up on the VW trim levels. I figured it was pretty base for the Jetta which is nonetheless pretty decent. It's a nice car overall, just weird not to plug in with USB in a 2015, even with the base audio unit.

FriendlySkies

Did the managers special rate for a day rate today at IAD.

Was assigned a 2014 Nissan Sentra with close to 33,000 miles. Looks ok on the outside, though doesn't drive the best.