I will be using National at LAX for the first time in a long time next week and wanted to get some advice. I am an Emerald Club member, but have booked a luxury car via the emerald reserve service. I am hoping to be able to select a nice sporty car based on the car selection comments made on this thread. Does anyone have any additional advice for me? Thanks!

 

I picked up yesterday at about 1:30.

Not sure where the "nice" cars were but not really on either EA or Executive! Several Altimas, a few Camry's (including Hybrid) One small SUV (didn't get the brand it left while I was there) etc. I wound up taking a Mazda 6 (STRIPPED) just because I wanted to see how it drove.

I did peek at the Luxury row as I drove out... Mainly Avalons!

 

Picked up Tuesday evening (3/17) around 8:30pm and the Executive Aisle was almost entirely Minivans and SUVs. Since I'm traveling with the family, that's what we were looking for and I didn't look any further. My wife said she noticed a Charger. We got a brand new 2009 Toyota Sienna minivan with 3 miles on it.

 

Thanks. We've got a minivan reservation thru National right now - 'Emerald Reserve' service. It was the best rate I could find at the time and recent Hotwire pricing seems to be on the INCREASE, so we may not be able to do any better -- although I'll probably try a name your own price thru PL soon.

I assume the Emerald Reserve reservation can be canceled anytime, just as an 'Emerald Aisle' or Executive res -- correct?

 

I'm glad you chose the 'Reserve' route...I hope that worked out for you.

I got in last night (Friday 3/20) at 9:00 and both the ES and EA we full of complete crap. ALL stripped / base model, altimas, hyundais, camrys, malibus, etc. I found a malibu with leather & XM on the EA and took that but find the trand of crappy stripped-down cars on the EA/ES unsettling.

 

Avalon in Luxury, bleh...that's horrible. Sorry, an Avalon is premium at best, if they're starting to place them in the Luxury reserve, that is unsettling and representative of class creep.

 

Thanks to all posters responding to my luxury car selection inquiry. However, this info is seriously making me reconsider my choice to return to National after a multiple year break. Hopefully, someone will post something more reassuring in the coming days. Otherwise, I anticipate cancelling my reservation and booking with another comapny.

 

I was told that Avalon is Premium when I got one at SFO back in Sept. Someone reported back earlier that Luxury at LAX is usually Cadillac (DTS, STS, CTS, SRX) with the addition of Mercedes C300 lately.

I will probably be renting with a luxury reservation at the end of April at LAX.

 

Depending on price of course, I would stick with National. An Avalon in luxury probably just means all the good stuff was out on rent and they wanted to fill the spaces. From what I've read, I think National has the best luxury mix. At worst, they have the same as Budget, Avis, and Hertz. I know that Avis regularly gives out Town Cars, as does Budget, and Hertz has the Prestige Collection, but you pay more for that than a "regular" luxury car and that selection is dwindling with Hertz's cutbacks.

Those 4 are the only major players in the luxury segment imho. Dollar/Thrifty generally carry 300 Touring's as Luxury cars, with the occasional 300C. Enterprise generally has base model 300s only. After that, you're into specialty rental places.

 

Minivan for recent rental. Only minivan in that row was a Toyota Sienna. It was an 8 passenger and a brand new van (6 miles on it). I was very pleased to get this van since we did NOT pay the extra for the 8 passenger reservation (didn't need the capacity) vs. 7 pass.

 

Glad to hear it worked out for you. So the pricing ended up being better, or at least comparable to that of PL/Hotwire?

 

Yes, the Hotwire pricing was above the National rate. I tried PL only once -- @ $40 a day, it would have been a bit cheaper all-in than the National rate, but my offer was rejected. PL fees seemed quite a bit higher than the National fees -- don't know if that was real or perceived. Maybe a combination of my National rate waiving some fees and/or PL having more fees than the National rental?

 

Glad to hear the MV rental worked out!

RE. Lux rental - I've had pretty good luck w/ Free Day-based Lux rentals at LAX. They historically have several Caddies and now Merc C-classes in their fleet. Caveat - as previously stated, selection depends on what others have rented before you.

 

Lux - Wed 4/29 10PM - Lincoln Town Cars & Cadillac CTS (including the one that I took which was brand new with 2 miles on the odometer). There were a couple of Mercedes C-Class but they were parked in the "special upsell" area. EA & ES were full but didn't really notice anything remarkable.

 

everything is in aisle (unless you have pre-ordered/reserved a luxury car). Don't make the mistake I did, I found what I thought was a gorgeous Impala with XM radio; only after I pulled out of the gate did I realize I was in a Malibu. What a ditz. But as long as you are an Emerald Club member, it's pick your car, drive to the exit where there are booths (similar to parking booths). They are very efficient, and the car pickup as a whole is fast and expediant.