Seattle downtown. I am gold which isn't much in terms of status. I am not feeling good especially when I hear people talking about booking CRV and getting X3's.

Luleå (LLA)
Sixt Diamond

Booked MB GLA
Received MB GLK - Sadly, the car absolutely reeks of cigarette smoke. Called the branch the day after I picked it up and told them about it, but they haven't bothered getting back to me. Stuck with a stinky car until Thursday.

Not a very happy first time renter.

Hmm. Seattle downtown is one of my favourite locations - their treatment of me have been completely out of this world. When I booked a compact and requested an E, they called me to apologise when they had to sell it to another client and give me a GLK. You should talk to the manager. I need to find her name, the branch is new and she actually came out to deliver me my car to Westin Seattle, heh.

As a Diamond, you should reach out to customer support. Aren't all their cars supposed to be non-smoking? Or is Europe different?

Yeah, it has non-smoking sticker on the panel. Doesn't seem to have stopped the previous renter from chaining, though.

Completely unacceptable - if only because you don't want to be on the hook for the cleaning fee :P

PM their support here on the forum or call in. They are VERY good (if maybe not the best avenue for *immediate* resolution).

Just got a nice message from Sixt customer support, in their chart GLK IS an upgrade from E-class since it is a bit more expensive.

Car wise, yes E-class is higher/better/more expensive (by $20K or so).

I stand corrected. Thanks for the update. I guess since the GLK is an SUV it's considered "higher" than the "full-size" or whatever the E is. But that's horsecrap, obviously. The Es in Seattle have the high end navi (widescreen/hidef), and are almost new (well they were two months ago). The GLKs are ... just a bit meh. The Es are also much more fun to drive.

When renting cars in France and Spain particularly it is unfortunately the case that a lot of renters are heavy smokers. Even if they do not smoke in the actual vehicle their smelly clothing will leave an unpleasant odour in the vehicle. As a non-smoker I am very sensitive to this and I have to say that most rental vehicles in those countries often have a faint smell of cigarette.

First, the local Sixt branch has resolved the smokey car issue. They offered me a complimentary rent to compensate, and I accepted. Need to haul some stuff, so a van to do so for free is a good deal.

Regarding upgrades:

Berlin Tegel
Sixt Diamond card

Booked: FDMR (Bmw 3er or similar)
Received: FWMR (Audi A4 Avant, 170 hp)

Car wasn't too bad, but I had hoped for a slightly better upgrade. Branch quite sold out due to a fair in the city. Tried to haggle my way to a Jaguar Coupé with no success. Oh well, maybe next time.

Status: Platinum
Location: Erlangen
Booked: CXMR
Received: FFMR VW Tiguan

That's interesting - I haggled my way to a Jag Coupe in Munich, but in Frankfurt, I actually didn't even WANT it - I wanted to try something else, but ended up with one anyway. Kind of #firstworldproblems to complain about it, so I am not complaining at all, but am a bit surprised they gave you a hard time as a Diamond.

Completely awesome car, btw, especially the Type S one.

Sixt San Diego - Reserved FCAR - Camry, Taurus, Altima.
Was upgraded as platinum to Volvo S60 w/ sunroof.
Nice vehicle, but they really need to get their act together with the airport shuttle...

Status: Platinum
Location: LHR
Booked: VW Golf
Received: BMW M4 Coupe (rented only for 12hrs - hence significant upgrade)

Status: Fake Platinum (no upgrade benefit)
Location: MIA
Booked: ICAR
Received: SCAR Toyota Corolla

Status: Fake Platinum (no upgrade benefit)
Location: FLL
Booked: ICAR
Received: IFAR (BMW Mini Countryman) - Only after I complaint that the initial car they assigned, a Nissan Versa is not ICAR due to lack of remote key fob, no power windows, no power side mirror and website showing Versa is CCAR.

Status: Platinum (with upgrade benefit after 10x rentals)
Location: MIA
Booked: ICAR
Received: LCAR BMW 3-series

Check-in at MIA around 2300. Looks like there was a wait for vehicles as the couple in front of me was told to wait in the office while they get them their VW Beetle. Agent was initially going to upgrade me to a "Standard". I take that to mean a SCAR. When she called to confirm a standard card for a "VIP" and was told nothing (immediately) available. She checked her computer again and assigned a LCAR which was that was available.