PA42

Rented past 2 weekends. Selection seems to have gotten a lot better lately:

Upgrade line - Camaro, Yukon XL, Taurus Limited, Mini Cooper

ES:

-Kia Optima Hybrid
-Camaro
-300C
-Grand Cherokee Limited 4x4 x 2
-Expedition
-Lacrosse x 2

dwbf11

Times are really changing if the Full Size SUV's are making out onto the ES at BWI...I've only seen that a few times before!

PA42

Been renting here consistently since August 2012 and only in the last 1-2 month noticed an uptick in cars. I used to never see hybrids, Buicks, 300Cs, and GC Limiteds with Nav in the ES...twas a dark time with Impalabus and an occasional badly trimmed SUV.

Coastercameron

Just picked up at BWI at around 12:15am. Apparently weather in NYC resulted in many flights being diverted to BWI.. We got off the PACKED shuttle and I was fearing the worse. Got to the lot and people were lined up 10 deep at the booth trying to pick up cars. I quickly surveyed the ES and saw Altimas, Impalas and some Toyotas. There was a Venza and Flex SEL on the ES. I spotted the nose of a Taurus peeking out so I took a look.

Surprisingly I hit the jackpot! Taurus Limited with 97 miles on it. It is LOADED. Keyless and remote start, heated/cooled leather seats, 4 way power steering wheel and power telescopic petals! A sunroof to top it off! This is the most well equipped Taurus I've seen in the fleet. Are these common?

Drove to the exit and found 5 cars deep in each of the 2 lanes open. Took about 10 minutes to get out. Driving through I noticed a Fusion on the EA that quickly got scooped up. Also saw a 2014 Grand Cherokee in the overflow lanes, but I was too preoccupied with not getting an Impala, not to mention no staff was available to inquire about it.

So, the final word is, not the best selection/service I've seen but FAR better than I expected given the time and circumstance.

drzoidberg

Nicely done! Enjoy the Taurus.

Coastercameron

Dr. Z, have you ever seen a Taurus with cooled seats and power wheel/pedals?

It also has Sony audio.

Coastercameron

I figured out it has equipment group 301a. This means it also has BLIS and cross traffic alerts. I hadn't noticed either feature working in the 5 minute drive from the rental facility to our hotel. :-)

drzoidberg

I have rented one with a 301A Package. They're a bit more rare, but not uncommon. Very nicely loaded sounds like and brand new to boot.

Auto Enthusiast

If all those flights got diverted to BWI, and you saw a lot of people lining up to take out nice cars, maybe those will soon be one-wayed to NYC.

Sunburn644

I've got EA reserved for the upcoming weekend starting at 2 PM on Saturday, from reading through the thread the impression I'm getting is the selection will be decent.

Seems Friday night is terrible
late monday is bad.
Monday morning is good,

I'll take any Fcar I find, I just had a Impala(gasp! the horror! I know you guys aren't big on them) LTZ w/ everything but satellite at MIA last week.

I do have some flexibility, would it be better to rent early in the day on Saturday or later? Or is 2 PM good?




Obviously I'm not ES or EE, but I'll take what advice I can get!

gooselee

Noticed some BMWs and Infinitis in some older posts, but none from this year. Have folks spotted any recently or have they been dropping off?

Headed up on a Saturday around 10am and was hoping to grab something nice for a buddy's bachelor party. Otherwise Avis is offering a guaranteed X5, but for $$$.

dwbf11

Thursday 7:30 PM

EA/ES all standard FCAR fare except for a Silverado pickup, a Taurus, and a Volvo XC60.

Luxury/VIP had a bunch of Challengers, a Mustang convertible, an Infiniti JX35, a BMW 528i (hey gooselee- there is your BMW!) Cadillac XTS, and another XC60.

The BMW was Maryland plated so it probably belongs to the station.

Sunburn644

Saturday at 10 AM

ES/EA All Impalas for the most part, I took the one Altima with 1500 miles on it, and a Charger.

VIP had Mercedes

gooselee

Aha - thanks!

Although I just realized I may have to schlep over to Hertz for this trip, as my rental will end up being 27 hours and that 4 hr grace period is going to come in big...

ElmhurstNick

Picked up this morning as it was going to be $200 more expensive to pick up last night. ES was still mostly full. About 60% boring sedans (a lot of Altimas) and about 40% various SUVs/Crossovers - Highlander, Suburban, Journey, a couple of Equinoxes, and an Acadia - along with a pickup truck.

I tried out both Equinioxes and passed on them - one had heavy cigarette smell, the other had awful brakes. Neither had XM installed. I ended up taking the Acadia, with only 130 miles and full leather, but again no XM installed. (ETA - I did find the XM eventually, the menu system is a little different than the Equinox.)