badger2

For a "nice" airport, getting to the rental area in general and Emerald areas in particular can be a challenge. Look at the elevator signs in the parking ramp carefully! The fleet seems to churn quite a bit, even in the EE lanes. Lots of Chrysler products along with the usual Impala and Malibu issues. On the other hand, I've had very good luck over the past year getting nice Volvo full size and station wagons. I own one and it's nice to drive "my own car". Exiting the ramp can take forever when busy. Bring a lunch. Light rail construction makes leaving and returning a routine which is different each time you do it. Lots of switch back turns where you are in the left lane and need to get to the right lane immediately while traffic streams quickly by. All Seattle drivers are wired on too much coffee!

Tuneman1984

What are the reserve aisles like for the Premium and Luxury classes?

I'm wanting to use a free day for my 25th birthday but I'll just as soon stay in Vancouver if the selection isn't any worse. YVR usually has something like an MKS or 300C, any chance of getting those or a G8 at SEA?

HHonorsJunkie06

Are there Minivans / SUVs / Station wagons in the Executive Elite section. I will have 5 people that I am looking to cram into the largest vehicle possible next week. Thursday afternoon.

Should I ask the attendants for a larger car if I don't see one?

3Cforme

They will point you to Nissan Altimas and Chevy Malibus (or maybe an Impala or Dodge Charger) and note these are five-passenger full-size sedans according to National.

sophiegirl

+1. Most complicated situation I have ever seen. Read the signs carefully -there seem to be 2 areas for National - because I took a car, got to the exit booth and realized it had no contract. Then found out it was an Alamo car. (not sure how it got parked in the National section; evidently neither were they) Staff ending up making it ok - so I got to drive an Avalon - but after a long flight and dealing with a time change (3AM my time) it was frustrating.

One truly positive note - staff here is great. They came down to booth, wrote the contract on the spot - and were quite pleasant about the whole thing. On the return; quick check in, helped with luggage, etc.

opus17

Last week on the EA, I got a Nissan Versa with 6 miles on it!

Tuneman1984

I was there on Saturday morning. I actually had a booking with Hertz but I thought I'd swing by and see my first Emerald Aisle. The Aisle was completely empty and they had it set-up where the left side of ES was the Aisle. The "Aisle" side had an Enclave, Traverse, Camry, and two other vehicles that have escaped my memory (nothing fancy). The ES side had two Malibus and a Jeep Wrangler Unlmited (the 4-door one). I noticed down on the ER level that there was no Premium or Luxury stalls, though on the 2nd level there were a few luxury cars, including a Cadillac SRX and a couple of Chrysler 300s with leather (V6 model).

When we returned the Hertz car around 11pm the regular EA was back in operation. The selection was still pretty dismal, as the EA had a couple of Malibus and then a dozen or so minivans, mix of Grand Caravans and Siennas. The ES had a Dodge Avenger, couple Malibus, and another couple minivans. Surprisingly, Alamo had better car selection than National, with all three Cadillac cars present (CTS, DTS, STS). I imagine with a lux booking they'd give you one of those.

So National at SEA looks pretty spartan from what I observed. Avis had a nice complement of cars, including the new Camaro. Hertz also had a Corvette and MB C300, both of which I managed to rent.

FlyinHawaiian

Arrived SEA on a Friday morning around 11 a.m. The EA was open but pretty empty. I saw a few Hyndai and Kia sedans and wagons and various other small cars. Best upgrades were a few Dodge Chargers.

The ES had Camry, Altima, Fusion, Impala, Charger sedans. I also saw a Mazda 6 and a few Buick Lucernes.

I had a Full-Size reserved; the on-site staff directed me to the ES and said everything but the Lucernes would be fine for me to take.

sixthday

Just came back from a 1-week trip in Seattle. The cars in SEA sucks. I arrived about 10:30am and there were only 3 red Chev HHR and 1 blue Toyota Matrix for EA. All well beyond 20,000 miles.

pinniped

If you guys ever start thinking National SEA is bad, go book yourself a Hertz rental. It's well-known on the Hertz forum that SEA is one of the worst major locations for them in the world. (Philly apparently gives them a run for their money...)

Hertz SEA is the primary reason I'm a National renter now. (Although I still like my HLE's...)

opus17

Nearly 100% Korean cars last week. I rented a Sonata, not too bad.

elCheapoDeluxe

Any recent feedback on what SEA is giving as a "Premium" would be appreciated. Debating whether to upgrade my rental to Premium after seeing the not-so-great ES selection (recent ES experiences appreciated also). Just a few bucks a day on the rental period I've got. Thanks to any who can give an update.

elCheapoDeluxe

EA had lots of corollas and HHR's today (wednesday morning around 10am). ES had lots of Impalas, a few suv's and minivans, a Chrysler 300, and an Avalon. I had reserved a premium, and the only vehicles I had to choose from were the 300 and Avalon out of the ES. Not sure why I bothered paying more

bocastephen

Any recent reports from SEA on car availability, cleanliness and their bad habit of giving away the good cars to any Ma/Pa Kettle who shows up at the booth?

opus17

I rent every 3-4 weeks there. The domination of the Korean models continues. My last 3 rentals were Vibe, Sonata & Sonata.