Cars at PHL
Oct 30, 2010, 7:29 am
#16
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Philly
Programs: AA, BA, NH, TP
Posts: 739
I had a Luxury booked using a free day and when I turned up yesterday there wasn't any available.
I went to the counter and a very helpful rep got me a car within 10mins. It was a Cadillac. What was interesting is that he asked how I could of booked a Luxury as the branch has now blocked their availability. He said that demand for Luxury at PHL is not there and that they were due to receive 8 new cars from GM. These are now going to Florida for the winter - It has more demand.
This seems to ring true as often when booking cars at PHL I do not get a Luxury option.
I went to the counter and a very helpful rep got me a car within 10mins. It was a Cadillac. What was interesting is that he asked how I could of booked a Luxury as the branch has now blocked their availability. He said that demand for Luxury at PHL is not there and that they were due to receive 8 new cars from GM. These are now going to Florida for the winter - It has more demand.
This seems to ring true as often when booking cars at PHL I do not get a Luxury option.
Nov 5, 2010, 9:02 am
#17
Join Date: Apr 2010
Programs: Intercontinental Ambassador, Aeroplan, National Executive
Posts: 16
I had a Luxury booked using a free day and when I turned up yesterday there wasn't any available.
I went to the counter and a very helpful rep got me a car within 10mins. It was a Cadillac. What was interesting is that he asked how I could of booked a Luxury as the branch has now blocked their availability. He said that demand for Luxury at PHL is not there and that they were due to receive 8 new cars from GM. These are now going to Florida for the winter - It has more demand.
This seems to ring true as often when booking cars at PHL I do not get a Luxury option.
I went to the counter and a very helpful rep got me a car within 10mins. It was a Cadillac. What was interesting is that he asked how I could of booked a Luxury as the branch has now blocked their availability. He said that demand for Luxury at PHL is not there and that they were due to receive 8 new cars from GM. These are now going to Florida for the winter - It has more demand.
This seems to ring true as often when booking cars at PHL I do not get a Luxury option.
Nov 5, 2010, 9:21 am
#18
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: Atlanta, GA
Programs: Delta-Diamond Medallion, United-Premier 1K, Hilton-Gold, SPG-Gold, National-Executive, Hertz-Preside
Posts: 365
Yeah that is strange. I haven't been able to book a luxury at PHL for several months. They always let me take a luxury though even though I book a Premium. They did have a nice selection of luxuries a couple of weeks ago. I hope they keep the Lexus ES350. I want that next time. lol. BTW: The 2011 Lincoln MKX I had was from Florida and had around 3,300 miles.
Nov 5, 2010, 10:18 pm
#19
Join Date: May 2009
Programs: USAIR Platinum, National EA
Posts: 83
I just picked up from PHL an hour ago. I'm an EA member and reserved a full-size for a one way rental to Orlando. I looked at the EA and there was not much interesting there - Impalas, Chargers, Avengers, Sebrings, Malibus, 1 camry and a Prius. I asked a person where the full size was and said take anything from the EA (this is before i mentioned i was EA) I then said I was EA and doing a one way rental to Florida, she again said take anything from EA. I took the Prius since its a personal trip and thought it would be fun to save on gas and i've wanted to try a hybrid for awhile - I will do a full report when i get back.
The car has 19+ k miles. I sat in a charger just to see if i liked it - nope, still think they are uncomfortable but it have just over 7k miles an working Sirius. The only downside with the Prius is not Sat radio, but thats ok since i have a portable XM I'll take along.
I did a quick glance at ES and I saw a TON of Grand Marquis, 300 Tourings and some Kia SUV's.
a year ago i rented from here and they had rows of cars like most locations for compact, fullsize, prem etc. NOw there seemed to be just EA and ES.
The car has 19+ k miles. I sat in a charger just to see if i liked it - nope, still think they are uncomfortable but it have just over 7k miles an working Sirius. The only downside with the Prius is not Sat radio, but thats ok since i have a portable XM I'll take along.
I did a quick glance at ES and I saw a TON of Grand Marquis, 300 Tourings and some Kia SUV's.
a year ago i rented from here and they had rows of cars like most locations for compact, fullsize, prem etc. NOw there seemed to be just EA and ES.
Nov 6, 2010, 8:57 am
#20
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: New York suburbs
Posts: 4,210
It seems like choosing your own car offers the most value for one-ways. Otherwise, it seems the general policy all around is to cough up the worst car on the lot the location wants to get rid of.
By the way, Dollar is also offering the FL drivein: midsize, PHL to Orlando, for $1/day. But then you wouldn't get your National/Alamo corporate or association rate benefits.
By the way, Dollar is also offering the FL drivein: midsize, PHL to Orlando, for $1/day. But then you wouldn't get your National/Alamo corporate or association rate benefits.
Last edited by Auto Enthusiast; Nov 6, 2010 at 11:43 am
Nov 13, 2010, 12:20 pm
#22
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Somewhere cold - preferably up a mountain
Programs: AC Subhuman (*A silver), NW Barely Alive
Posts: 842
FWIW I picked up Thursday at 4:50 (absolutely unbelievable - flight (UA) arrived at 4:20 and had checked bags and at the EA by 4:50!) - ES was full of Grand Marquis, 300s, a Town and Country, a few new Grand Cherokees.
EA (our res) was mostly Impalas and Malibus, a bunch of HHRs (ugh), a Jeep Liberty, and one Caravan SXT (my pick - travelling with billywife and billyson123 needs as much room as possible). 2010 with 2000 miles on the odometer, Sirius, power sliding doors, stow n go, and PA plates. This car's been driven hard, though, since it grinds a bit when I accelerate and and drive at highway speeds. Billyson123 loves the room inside!
The guys there are great, they'll go get anything you ask for since ES and EA are basically a clump of cars parked together.
ETA - Incidentally there were very limited 2011 Sonatas on the lot - apparently they've been recalled for power steering issues. Too bad, as he told me that's what everyone was looking for! (I'd have loved to try one if it wasn't for the family)
EA (our res) was mostly Impalas and Malibus, a bunch of HHRs (ugh), a Jeep Liberty, and one Caravan SXT (my pick - travelling with billywife and billyson123 needs as much room as possible). 2010 with 2000 miles on the odometer, Sirius, power sliding doors, stow n go, and PA plates. This car's been driven hard, though, since it grinds a bit when I accelerate and and drive at highway speeds. Billyson123 loves the room inside!
The guys there are great, they'll go get anything you ask for since ES and EA are basically a clump of cars parked together.
ETA - Incidentally there were very limited 2011 Sonatas on the lot - apparently they've been recalled for power steering issues. Too bad, as he told me that's what everyone was looking for! (I'd have loved to try one if it wasn't for the family)
Last edited by billybob123; Nov 13, 2010 at 12:31 pm
Dec 28, 2010, 10:56 am
#24
Join Date: May 2008
Posts: 4,396
Dec 28, 2010, 6:06 pm
#25
Join Date: May 2007
Location: Kuala Lumpur
Programs: Ambassador PC, Silver HH, Platinum SPG, SQ Gold, EK Gold, MH Silver, NationalCar Executive Elite
Posts: 22
Seems to me that its not worth paying the extra to get a Premium at PHL when what I've read so far seems to point to a selection off ES.
Jan 2, 2011, 6:52 pm
#26
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Philly
Programs: AA, BA, NH, TP
Posts: 739
Had a Premium booked and all thay had on the ES were Grand Marquis - not my favourite. Spoke to one of the managers to see if they had anything better (he did not like the Grand Marquis as well) and he went off to Enterprise (its across the road) to see if he could get anything better.
He did!!
A Cadillic STS (its a nice car!).
He then called to the gate to ensure I had no problems with taking a Luxury with a Premium booking.
Excellent service!!
I must say the guys at Philly as of late have been very good to me as they now recognise me, as a do rent very often.
He did!!
A Cadillic STS (its a nice car!).
He then called to the gate to ensure I had no problems with taking a Luxury with a Premium booking.
Excellent service!!
I must say the guys at Philly as of late have been very good to me as they now recognise me, as a do rent very often.
May 10, 2011, 12:19 am
#27
Join Date: May 2011
Location: Singapore
Programs: SQ PPS
Posts: 31
Fri, May 6 @ 10am
EA
Sonata
Impala
Camry
VW Tiguan
Fusion
F150
Chevy HHR
Nissan Murano
ES (filled with a ton of SUVs)
Hyundai Tuscon
Hyundai Santa Fe
Jeep Grand Cherokee
GMC Acadia
Tahoe
Equinox
Mazda CX9
Nissan Pathfinder
Toyota Sienna
Lucerne
Charger
Nissan Maxima
Grand Marquis
Lux
Camaro
Mustang Cabrio
STS
DTS
Suburban
Didn't catch a good look upon return (Mon, May 9 @ 8pm, but there were very few cars on the lot)
Sonata
Impala
Camry
VW Tiguan
Fusion
F150
Chevy HHR
Nissan Murano
ES (filled with a ton of SUVs)
Hyundai Tuscon
Hyundai Santa Fe
Jeep Grand Cherokee
GMC Acadia
Tahoe
Equinox
Mazda CX9
Nissan Pathfinder
Toyota Sienna
Lucerne
Charger
Nissan Maxima
Grand Marquis
Lux
Camaro
Mustang Cabrio
STS
DTS
Suburban
Didn't catch a good look upon return (Mon, May 9 @ 8pm, but there were very few cars on the lot)
Jun 23, 2011, 4:10 pm
#28
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: Denver, CO
Programs: American Airlines Executive Platinum; HHonors Diamond;Emerald Club Executive Elite
Posts: 285
I have a reservation for a Luxury car for the weekend of July 4th. Hoping I'll be able to actually get a better car. Last time I was presented with a Grand Marquis which I refused. THey also had a Camaro sitting nearby, but said that wasn't classified as Luxury so I couldn't have it, so I just went back to the ES and picked something out.
Jun 27, 2011, 10:31 am
#29
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: HSV
Programs: HHonors Gold, SPG Gold
Posts: 880
After reading this thread, it looks like I might have just had an isolated bad experience, but I thought PHL had the worst selection of cars out of any emerald aisle I've ever seen.
I got in late (~10:00pm) because of weather delays out of ATL. The Executive aisle had Impalas by the dozen, but not much else. There was a Buick Lucerne with an expired satellite radio. There was a single Camry and a Hyundai Santa Fe which I took for the working satellite.
The regular Emerald Aisle wasn't any better. Again, Impalas by the dozen plus a few odds and ends. (Among the more strange things, a Ford Escape with a driver's seatbelt that had been literally cut in two pieces. Needless to say, I moved on...)
As I said, I might have just had bad luck. For anyone who works for the PHL office, I do have to say: organize the lot better. The way the cars were positioned there were lots of (slightly more) tempting vehicles that were literally boxed in by all the other vehicles (err... Impalas).
I got in late (~10:00pm) because of weather delays out of ATL. The Executive aisle had Impalas by the dozen, but not much else. There was a Buick Lucerne with an expired satellite radio. There was a single Camry and a Hyundai Santa Fe which I took for the working satellite.
The regular Emerald Aisle wasn't any better. Again, Impalas by the dozen plus a few odds and ends. (Among the more strange things, a Ford Escape with a driver's seatbelt that had been literally cut in two pieces. Needless to say, I moved on...)
As I said, I might have just had bad luck. For anyone who works for the PHL office, I do have to say: organize the lot better. The way the cars were positioned there were lots of (slightly more) tempting vehicles that were literally boxed in by all the other vehicles (err... Impalas).
Jun 27, 2011, 12:44 pm
#30
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: Atlanta, GA
Programs: Delta-Diamond Medallion, United-Premier 1K, Hilton-Gold, SPG-Gold, National-Executive, Hertz-Preside
Posts: 365
I've always noticed PHL pus their cars in lines instead of side-by-side but if I see a car I want I just pull the keys from it and ask a lot attendent to move the others, or move them myself.
As far as selection goes, I've had Ford Explorers (new model), Lincoln MXTs, Caddy Devilles there. They have that lot behind the Aisle cars that really isn't marked and just pick one out of there. They've never said a word about it and exit.
Oh and you want to see the worst selection of cars - bar none? Try JFK. Ugh, awful.
As far as selection goes, I've had Ford Explorers (new model), Lincoln MXTs, Caddy Devilles there. They have that lot behind the Aisle cars that really isn't marked and just pick one out of there. They've never said a word about it and exit.
Oh and you want to see the worst selection of cars - bar none? Try JFK. Ugh, awful.