Jarrret

After several horrible experiences at IND and ORD on Sundays, I decided to rent on a different day. What day does National have a better collection of luxury cars? (Audi A5, Mercedes, etc.)

Brandinho1

Just happening to find one on the EA or ES? My travel patterns mostly put me in places on Sundays and I like to arrive early. Currently driving a Mercedes GLC300 that I picked up this time on Monday ( holiday ) from ORD. This is definitely a YMMV situation as I don’t believe their is any rhyme or reason but I have often found a nice selection at various Nationals in different cities on Sunday mornings

Jarrret

GLC without an upcharge? That's awesome! At IND, they try to charge you for every luxury car even the GLA, XT4, XTS, A5, S90. They almost run out of cars recently at weekends. I wish to see something fancy on the ES. Do you know when should I go?

Brandinho1

ORD has been pretty good to me pre Covid even with taking cars from the premium selection but the GLC was on the ES so no haggling lol. My best times are Sunday mornings.

Miles Ahead

I'm still not clear on the question. Are you hoping to find a Mercedes or similar on the ES aisle for a midsize price? I think that's very unlikely. It's happened exactly once, and that wasn't even an aisle location: I had a one-way between ISP and LGA and they needed to move a BMW 430 back to NYC.

If I am willing to pay for it, I have gotten some very nice cars at ORD. Got a great deal on an A6 once. Availability seems best over weekends. Clients drive them all week, drop them off on Friday afternoon, and National has reservations for Monday.

Jarrret

I’m willing to pay extra only for luxury elite cars like 7 series, X7, etc. Never spot a Mercedes S Class or even an E Class in the Premier Selection though.

ORD had a solid collection before the pandemic, I picked up a couple of Q5 from the ES. However, I couldn’t find an executive car at ORD and IND at weekends recently. Especially at IND, they run out of cars at weekends but the cars are much better on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

I’m considering changing my rental to a weekday. Not sure if that would work.

m907

Keep in mind that National sold or returned many of their high-end cars because of the Wuhan virus. And I have never seen any Mercedes at National, except for barebones GLC300s and maybe some exotic Mercedes models at insane upgrade prices in Florida. I did see a 7 Series in ES in Pittsburgh once, but that was a fluke.

​​​​​​TL;DR - Don't get your hopes up. (And I would not be so obsessed with getting a "luxury" car. I'd take a Jeep Grand Cherokee or even a Ford Edge over a barebones GLC300 or Q3 any day - far more luxurious. The Q3 was one of the most unimpressive cars I've ever driven...)

aww3583

In my experience, holidays and super late Monday nights are best for luxury vehicles.

I frequently rent from the same non-aisle location. You can’t even book a luxury class vehicle here. But, on holidays (Christmas, specifically) I’ve gotten a 7 series on a mid-size reservation. May have been just Christmas generosity.

Monday nights are good because most business and government travelers who are forced into midsize cars have arrived and departed with their reserved vehicles.

On late night Monday pickups, I’ve gotten Platinum Navigators, Q7, and XC90s. I had a 300C a few weeks ago on a midsize reservation. Crap car, but notable upgrade.

I learned the hard way, though. Any entry level luxury car is substandard compared to highly optioned domestic cars. A Fusion Titanium is better in almost every way than a 330i.

Jarrret

Thank you for your advice. I picked up a Q60 this Monday. Cool ride! Love it!

Jarrret

Q3 is pretty crappy. But GLC is just fine, at least it is better than a Ford Edge. National also has CLA250 and I rented a Mercedes C300 and a Mercedes GLA250 from them early this year. I don't think they have anything better than the GLC or C Class tho.