Randy - Although there are relatively few postings on the car rental threads, I believe this company is now a major player in the industry.
Just rented from them in SAN DIEGO & PHX & the experiences were flawless.

Also, they have a new "Fastlane" program (like Natl Emerald & Alamo Quicksilver) in which you spend NO time at a machine, because the rental agreement is already filled out & available in 5seconds at a special counter.

I guess I also like them because in San Diego I had reserved a compact, which they were out of, and they "made" me use a brand new Chrysler Sebring convert. @ the same price.

I've also found Dollar to be pretty good. They've lost a few marketing people in the last year, but i always count on them for promotions that will give me more than a mile for every dollar i spend. The "Fastlane" is OK, but it's still not where the Emerald Club and others are in that you can't just get in any car and drive away. Yes, paperwork is easier but it's not painless yet.

As for car rentals getting minor number of posts, I think it's because other than the big change last year to miles per dollars spent or per day, none of them have really done anything that warrants FlyerTalkers attention. Having said that, it would be nice if one of them, just one would understand they are lumped together and it's going to take a major iniative to get our attention, but it can be done. Who's brave enough in car rental companies? Seems the sizzle of the Buget golf clubs abd ski stuff is wearing off, maybe they have an idea?

There is a one-class upgrade coupon at: http://www.dollar.com/coupon.html

I have not seen any Dollar promotions. The best I have gotten are from Avis but their rates have been sky high of late. I used to hate Alamo because they would take forever hustling everyone in line to upgrade (for a fee, of course) but they have gotten better. It is a tough old world in the rental car business.

Karen...I've found Dollar to be spotty, at best. Some locations offer good prices and service, others mediocre. I probably use them only about 10-20% of the time, but try to use them to avoid shared buses at DFW & CLE, specifically. The upgrade coupon that can be printed from their site is not always the best deal.

I have used Dollar twice: once in Hawaii and once in Boston. Both times they tried to get me to pay more to upgrade to a bigger car. In Hawaii, they tacked on a $1 gas charge because, they said, the nearest gas station was 9 miles away and it would cost that much in gas to drive there.

In Boston I had the worst car rental experience of my life with Dollar. Picking up the car took 45 minutes while they had me fill out endless forms, tried to get me to buy everything they were selling, tried to get me to upgrade by implying it would be a comp upgrade then telling me it would cost (5 times) more, insulting the car I had rented...

It only takes one customer service experience like that to lose my business forever.

Besides, only Hertz has Neverlost!

QL:

Amen to your Dollar experience you had in BOS. When I first started flying there, I was using Dollar & hated it! The only economy cars they had were Neons (YUK!) and what got me to get rid of them was the AWFUL customer service. FYI...Next time you're in BOS, rent from Budget (but join FastBreak first). They were always terrific to me, very good customer service.

------------------
Regards,
- Anna

Dollar Car Rental is popular in Hawaii, and their quoted rates are often the lowest. Unfortunately the upgrade and the additional insurance sales pitch is seemingly and aggressively pursued by almost all Dollar rental agents in Hawaii. They must have their performance reviews related to it. So if you want to spend part of your vacation waiting in line to hear the pitch given to you and the folks ahead of you, well........ it is your choice.

I rented Dollar in Hawaii and it took longer than I thought it should, but the problem was trying to get my meager miles. It took about 6 phone calls and a fax to both Dollar and AAdvantage. Finally, a very nice AAdvantage agent, who listened to my long story, took pity on me and credited me with the miles. This took 3 months.

AnnaS: I did rent a Jaguar from Budget in Boston when they had their promotion and all went well. As an Amex Platinum Card holder I have elite-level memberships comped in all four major car-rental companies.

Generally I find Avis to have the best combination of cheap rates and good service, especially at Las Vegas... I show up there and my car is already running, waiting for me! The exception to Avis is LAX, where the service is consistently bad and I never get the free double-upgrade I'm supposed to get.

Unfortunately I'm addicted to Neverlost, so I've been renting more from Hertz, which always costs the most.

Dollar lost my patronage when they rented me a minivan at ORD with tires worn down to the steel belts (that I was driving to STL with), then quibbled when I submitted the bill for the tires (...oh, you could have gotten back on these...)