s0ssos

1-you get what you expected. I expected a long-line when I got to the rental car counter and I got it!

2-you get to use your skills. I heard a hard-sale next to me, offering liability insurance, toll pass, a "V6" so you can get up those mountains. "Normally you would pay $400 more for your 6 day rental, but I can get it to you for $150". I was able to use all my knowledge accumulated and put it to good use in declining. The lady next to me preemptively said "we will fill it up myself". She probably also would say "my credit card covers it", which opens her up to "have you ever tried to claim it? I've heard it is a very difficult process ..." Just say "no" with a smile and that's it.

3-you get unexpected surprises. I rented a compact. I got a mid-sized SUV!

On the other hand, with:

Hertz I got a size smaller than what I booked when what I booked was unavailable (even though I had PC)

Avis I got to wait in a long line, even though all the other rental car companies had no line.

Enterprise I always get exactly what I booked and never an upgrade, even though I have National status.

National the "hassle-free guarantee" stops when there are no cars other than Malibus on the executive aisle, and you have to try to find a manager and convince them to give you something decent (cause some employees on the lot just say "that's it").


To summarize, rent a cheap car via Advantage, read up the reviews, and actually go rent it and enjoy the experience!

strickerj

I guess if they all suck, you might as well go with the cheapest one.

I recall a similar experience at Fox at SNA - I got a Jeep Liberty on an ECAR reservation, and the clerk didn't even try to sell me the upgrade first. That was a pleasant surprise considering the hard sell at Dollar at SFO a few months earlier.

IAHtraveler

Crazy at how inconsistent the sales tactics are. If I need a car locally, Hertz at my home (small) airport is almost always cheapest. I book full size and sometimes I get a HARD sell to upgrade to a Charger or small SUV (Sportage, Escape, etc). Other times, I've received a splattering of SUVs, and most recently a Jaguar.

sdsearch

If you had signed up for the free Avis Preferred, then on your second rental (and onwards) you would not have had to visit the counter at all at most airports.

So how is standing in a long line at Advantage (even if you expect it) superior to going directly to your car (after checking the board for your car's location in the lot) with Avis Preferred?

Meanwhile, if rent a compact and get an SUV, that's what I don't want! (I'm not used to driving an SUV, and it's harder to park, etc, when you're used to only driving compact-to-midsize sedans.) So for that would an unwelcome surprise, since I'd have to request a different car.

So I'm glad you liked what you got at Advantage, but I myself don't see the advantage in Advantage if you know how to better use the other rental companies.

Closingracer

While I agree with most of your points how is it hard to park a compact or Midsize Crossover? If anything it is easier IMHO.

sdsearch

I instictively know what size parallel parking space I can fit into in a car roughly similar to the one I drive every day (2006 Civic). I have no idea how to judge what parking space i can fit into, where to do the turns, etc, on a much bigger vehicle, and I have trouble getting oriented with the view from a completely different (much higher up) perspective in an SUV (or any other kind of high seating vehicle). I once drove an rented SUV from Jackson WY for Grand Teton / Yellowstone, and in the parks it was no problem, but I was a bit uneasy in the tighter spots in the city. (And that, like most of my trips, was a solo trip, so there was one else in the car to help me.)

I'm sure with much more experience in an SUV, I'd have less problems. But having driven an SUV only once (for a few a days and mostly in those parks) in my whole life, it "feels" more difficult to do "tight spaces" things in one compared to a compact or thereabouts.

So my point is from someone who has essentially never ever ever driven an SUV in a "city" before. (And who travels solo, so has no passenger assist.)

(Obviously, I"ve ridden in SUVs, pickup trucks, and vans as a passenger lots of times, usually in the back. But that doesn't help know how to drive any of those in "tight" spaces.)

So I'm sure you're right that for someone familiar with driving both, an SUV may be easier than a compact. But I propose the relative ease depends on what you're used to even more.

s0ssos

So I do have Avis Preferred (I actually have Avis Preferred Plus) and made National Executive Elite already this year, so I know how to skip the line. The post was tongue-in-cheek. But the reason I, and anybody else, uses Advantage or another cheap company with a bad reputation is because the price is lower. Sometimes a magnitude of order lower.

My Advantage rental went fine, though the day when I went to return it I saw a line out the door and wrapping around the building, so that would have been horrible. But if Advantage were $70 and National were $700, is your time worth that much?

And I don't get your issue about parking. Maybe cause you don't rent very much. If you rent a lot you have to get used to driving many different types of vehicles. Most cars have rearview cameras, and SUVs are usually decently equipped compared to "compact" cars, so they would have those. And for big SUVs some of them have this bird's eye view, so parking is actually not that bad.

s0ssos

I returned from a 3 day rental with Payless, supposedly one of the worst. Pickup was a hassle, as it wasn't in the terminal like most of the other agencies. I did get an upsell (and got the prepaid fuel, which I was going to use anyway) and offer to upgrade. The location was a mess with just one person working, many angry customers (some trying to get a receipt upon return, others trying to get a car to leave with), but realistically it was less than an hour to get my car. And I ended up getting a Fusion Hybrid when I rented a mid-sized, and paid $100 after the prepaid fuel for a 3 day rental from Minnesota to Colorado.

So I think it is definitely worth considering these companies, knowing that you will spend a little more time picking up and may have a bit of an upsell.

AutoSlash

Right, but sometimes it isn't just a "little more time" and "a bit of an upsell":

https://www.autoslash.com/blog-and-t...ess-car-rental

We've had acceptable dealings with Advantage, E-Z, Fox, etc., but between our personal experiences and a dataset involving several dozen thousand Payless rentals, we firmly believe Payless is in a category entirely unto itself.

randix

When you choose to rent from Payless, you are rolling the dice because you DON'T KNOW what will happen with your rental experience, based on the HUGE and overwhelming database of negative experience, not only by AutoSlash. The point is not whether you may have a positive or "acceptable" experience, the point is that the odds based on usage is shoving a red flag in your face. If you are inclined to gamble and roll the dice, no one is saying one shouldn't, and we are all glad you got through unscathed. But many (most) of us simply don't have the time or patience to want to roll that dice on that game.

Payless is in that separate room you find in casino's for that high stake player. It may well work and you will leave with a smile on your face, and you can tell your friends and family, "man, I really made out, see, I told ya", but the red light camera on the exit door collecting user experience, has demonstrated in the past that is not the common experience.

I don't need the odds for that $hit in my life. Not to say that someone else can't walk away with an ok experience and a "see, I told ya so". It's not worth it to me...I don't care to shoot for that pay-off when I rent for biz or on vacation.

s0ssos

I read through the link that Autoslash put up. What's the gamble? I had my print out with their terms, after I rented the car. If they didn't have a car I would just use some National free days for the one-way. I made sure to mark all the scratches on the car, and had that handy for the return as well.

What isn't a gamble? There are bad reports with every major company. Rental car companies are the sleaziest companies that still exist today. You just choose less or more.

If you relate this to flying, do you ever fly cheap fares? Did you ever think you can get dragged off a plane?

AutoSlash

Hey, if Payless works for you, go for it. They are often the cheapest option around since most others don't want to rent from them (supply and demand), so if you don't mind the downsides, and are prepared to walk and rent at a different company as a backup if things go south, then more power to you.

randix

You can't be serious. Payless is at the bottom of the bucket. You're the guy at the BBQ that is pounding his chest and letting everyone know. Rental car companies in general are NOT the sleaziest companies that still exist today, but one is. Payless.

Best of luck 2 ya...

rasheed

My issue is ABG just can't operate Payless worse than its flagships. If they do high pressure and can't do kiosk or easier checkouts, then it brings down the whole brand. Older cars are okay, but service can't be negotiable.

In many local airports, I see fleet operations are shared even though the counter is elsewhere.

I think EHI has figured it out with keeping the brands separate, but polite service across the brands. You can even use the kiosk to avoid the upsells.

Rasheed

s0ssos

I feel the locale of a car rental company has more to do with it than anything. In places every agency is horrible even the "better ones" are also horrible. Like Anchorage. No difference.