s0ssos

I realized the Ford Edge Titanium had more features than the Infiniti QX60, which was a "luxury" car. Because it had blind spot monitoring, a better navigation system, etc.

I haven't had many luxury cars, but it seems they don't have many options added. But the cars in the Executive Aisle usually have lots of options, even if they are cheaper cars (e.g. Malibu, Impala).

Does National carry luxury cars with all the options, and it is just my bad luck?

Now I realize why someone said they liked the Ford Fusion Titanium, even though it isn't a "nice" car.

kxc262

The XT5 comes pretty loaded. National buys a pretty high trim.
The Q7 I had was also pretty highly equipped too. I saw another one at MHT and it had the same package.

ginmqi

Probably depends on the car. But yes sometimes you will find a lower tier vehicle with more options than a mid tier luxury model.

In general I find that National buys mid to lower-mid level trim packages for their luxury cars. For example I've spent a great deal of time in a XTS, Escalade, and Navigator. The XTS are the "Luxury" package, not the "Platinum" trim. Escalades are also "Luxury" trim and not the "Platinum" trim. I think the XT5 is also a Luxury trim and not Platinum.

The couple of Lincoln Navigators I've had were the "Select" trim, a lower mid tier, and not the "Reserve" and not the "Black Label."

In general mid tier luxury cars should be comparable to a well-optioned non-luxury car but sometimes that may not be the case.

You'll probably never find a fully decked out luxury car in the generic rental fleets as those top trim levels (say Platinum for Cadillac or Black Label for Lincoln) include ultra-luxurious features (massaging seats, headrest-mounted in car entertainment, etc.) that I've yet to see in any rental car outside of specialty/exotic rental fleets.

s0ssos

Useful info.
It isn't obvious to me how to tell what trim a luxury car is, compared to a normal car, because it isn't obviously labelled in the back. I guess you have to know what to look for.

ginmqi

Haha, yeah. Lot of times it's not stamped and not as clear to know on the body of the car. If you'a real car nerd/geek like me, you can find a VIN decoder website for the manufacturer and type in the VIN for the car and websites will pull up the full spec for that exact vehicle and you can find the specific trim level that way.

You can also just go to the car manufacturer's website and look at the various trims of the car you're driving and usually you can tell what trim it is by that options it has vs doesn't have.

aww3583

qs933

bigshooter

I was at SFO a couple of weeks ago and found the same thing. Used a free day so I could reserve Luxury car and the two BMW 3/4 series (whatever the sedan is these days) and the Audi they offered were very bare bones. I ended up with a Cadillac XTS which was very comfortable other than the prior renters having a penchant for cheap cigars and weed.

Im on a monthly rental with national due to the mileage I place on cars and am currently in a XT5 which seems about as good as it gets for something off the executive aisle, or even a luxury reservation. I used to enjoy Jeep Grand Cherokee limited 4wd (had one for 14 months before they made me bring it back) which seemed to have more than the standard Limited package options on it.

m907

Curious how you were able to keep a car for 14 months. Did you return to the airport monthly to start a new rental agreement and just kept the same car?

ginmqi

I may be able to chime in. I'm also in a constant rental car since 08/2018 (edit: 08/2017) to now. My company's travel dept has it so that each month the contract renews and I basically can keep the car for as long as I want until they call me back in. Usually I swap out to try diff cars on the aisle so I rarely keep a car more than 3-4 weeks at a time.

I never had to return to the airport location, they just renew the paperwork on their end and I get a monthly email updating my EC rewards and whatnot.

I've had other co workers who do the same thing and sometimes they say if they keep a car for months at a time they may get a call to bring the car back in for maintenance

bigshooter

I actually set the rental up on my own so I can use my credit card for points (and corporate AMEX doesn't have LDW coverage baked in). I like to be covered by both National LDW/company umbrella policy, plus my own insurance and CC since I use it for personal purposes on the weekends. After the fact I also found that I couldn't book a rental in concur for more than 30 days so my way was the only way to keep from having to go back to the airport.

If National books your rental out far enough it will create a new agreement every 30 days. I had to jump through some hoops with the latest contract and rental location, but it's working great now.

If you keep the car long term you can also take it to a Firestone dealership for oil changes every 5-10k miles. They direct bill back to National.

I've only returned a vehicle that I wanted to keep twice... once was when they had a recall on them, and the other was when I thought the tires were a little balder than I liked. Otherwise it's if I get bored or don't feel like cleaning the car or taking it through a car wash.

ginmqi

I mean to correct in saying I've been in a rental car since 08/2017 through my work. Probably will continue for the forseeable future 2-3 years.

But yeah definitely if you have one favorite vehicle, you can keep it for a looong time. Though if you are doing it personally you have to make sure the paperwork is all setup.

I never kept a single car long enough to get it serviced, but I have heard of people getting small items done and either reimbursed from it when they return, interesting to hear you can have it bill it back to national directly though.

MrBewst

Based on my experience, I feel like the domestic branded rentals (in general) have more options than any class comparable import branded rental. Sometimes I avoid the Infinitis and Audis for this reason.

strickerj

ellinj

For me. as long as it has car play I'm good. Not having to fiddle with phone mounts or dashboard GPSs for Navigation is a god send. For this reason I tend to pick GM products, although all new Nissan Rouges have it now as does many of the Hyundai/Kias.