If they don't have the specific car you'd like available ask them when the car you'd like is coming in again (from previous rentals) and you can come back and switch it out.

I don't know about LAX, but recently for XCAR I have seen mostly Audi A6 (PHX, LAS, SFO) and the odd Cadillac XTS. 5-series and E-Class were rare. A friend had booked one and they gave him an X5 instead as they didn't have any XCAR.

Also sometimes, they have your car category and even type available, but may be hesitant to assign it to you if you are taking it one-way or for a long period / lots of miles (expected). Some of the cars may be close to the maximum permitted mileage or end of the lease period and need to be returned to the dealers. YMMV.

Wanted to give a quick update to my long term rental experience at LAX. I had booked a Traverse or Similar for a 40 day road trip in California. I ended up with a brand new Chevrolet Tahoe with 5 miles on it and returned it with 4600 miles on the clock. The experience was great from start to finish and the staff was very friendly. The shuttle was a little annoying though as it was not very frequent and when it arrived almost always full. All in all, will rent from Sixt again at LAX if the price allows. Also, for cool upgrades the A8 and the Range Rover had 50% off signs, not sure if that is just normal.

Recent experience at LAX
 

All positive to say based on my recent 11 day rental at LAX. Pleasant check in, the car I reserved and efficient drop off. No complaints!

I wanted to follow-up with some information. The car I received upon arrival was an 2016 Audi A6 2.0 (base model), which I drove for about 2 weeks. It was the base 2.0 model, which oddly lacked a USB port to power your smartphone. When my flight landed (about 1hr late), I checked the Sixt app and it showed this car already assigned to me. Someone mentioned that the Sixt app would allow me to choose an available car 30 minutes before the pick-up time, but this wasn't the case for me. Perhaps this was because my flight arrived after my original pick up time. When I asked about other cars at the Sixt office, I was told they only had Audi A6s and Cadillacs XTS.

After about 1 week I checked the availability of other cars and was told they had plenty of A6 and Cadillac XTSs, but no E-class or 528i cars.

Today (9/5) I was in the LAX area and was able to exchange for an E-350. I was told they also had A6s.

Overall, I truly enjoy Sixt compared to other car rental agencies. The staff is friendly and efficient, and I don't ever feel they are manipulating me into a deal I don't really want or trying to upsell me.

Is anyone else finding this funny? I rent from Sixt. I appreciate that they offer some nice cars. To say, however, that the Cadillac isn't for you is silly. You would prefer another make, but again, let's be serious...go and rent a similar class at any other company, disregarding the cost....would we be discussing how a particular make wasn't for you? Come on!

First time with Sixt in the US and I am quite disappointed. Indifferent customer service, limited vehicle availability and a very negative experience overall.

TL;DR:
Platinum member, did not get any upgrades (was offered upsell instead), had to visit SIXT LAX four times and spent about eight hours in total to get rid of the XTS. XTS is a bad car, avoid if you can. Beware, XCARs in the US are very lightly equipped. FDAR/LDAR cars in Germany come with much better options.

I am a Platinum member (I have been consistently getting free one/two-tier upgrades with Sixt in Germany and I am very, very happy with SIXT Germany). I knew that in the US Platinums can get a free two-tier upgrade (subject to availability, I know).
My booking was at Sixt Venice Beach for an XCAR (5-series, E-class, XTS). When I showed up for pickup, the Venice Beach station told me that the only car they had available in that class was an XTS. I didn't really want an XTS and I asked the branch manager what can the XTS be upgraded to, given my Platinum status and my willingness to pay extra, if needed. The guy told me to go to SIXT LAX and ask for vehicle exchange, as SIXT LAX would have the largest vehicle selection in town.

SIXT LAX Visit one (Sept 15):
I come to SIXT LAX and start asking about vehicle exchange and an upgrade to my current XCAR. I am given several answers:
- my XCAR is the highest sedan class and is not upgradeable. Had I booked a car two classes lower, I would've gotten a free two-tier upgrade to XCAR.
- vehicle exchange is not possible at the moment, the only car that they can give me is another XTS.
- come back later today, we'll look at what vehicles have been returned.

Sixt LAX visit two (Sept 16).
I drove my XTS around a little and I started hating it. This car does not belong in the same class as BMW 5-Series/E-class. Think of it as an Impala with ventilated seats. Its all-touchscreen infotainment system is slow and unresponsive (think touchscreen Nokia in 2009) and distracts from driving. The engine and the gearbox in this car are in a constant state of disagreement/argument and seem like on the verge of divorcing - response to throttle input is laggy, non-linear and completely unpredictable. In my opinion, the XTS is not a safe car drive, particularly when accelerating/changing lanes on the freeway.

So, as previously agreed with the station, I come to SIXT LAX next afternoon. At the station I explain that I would like to exchange my XTS for something else, preferably a BMW or an Audi (I am more familiar with their navi systems). No vehicles available for exchange. Sorry, only Cadillacs. Now I am getting a little tired of this and ask the manager to explore other classes - I am willing to settle for a smaller vehicle or pay for an upgrade to a larger vehicle. Anything but the Cadillac. The lady (branch manager or branch supervisor, I don't remember. And what is it with SIXT people at LAX not wearing name tags? I wish I could give you names of the staff that I interacted with, but they did not wear name tags) tells me she can put me into a smaller class at the same daily rate (!) or put me in a different class - convertibles/coupes, but at an additional charge. At this stage I am getting a little tired of everything and agree with the convertible. So I am getting an upgrade to an LTAR (BMW 4-Series convertible) for +$40/day. I sign the paperwork and proceed to my new car. I am quite tired by now and don't pay attention to the vehicle's condition. In a few blocks I realize that my car's interior is dirty. And the dirt is not the hard-to-remove kind, but of the kind that comes off easily, no super effort required. So I drive back and hand back the keys for the 4-series and ask the lady (branch manager, I suppose. no name tag on her) to put a hold on the car/prebook me/put an asterisk next to my name/do anything thing that is necessary to make sure that next time I come for vehicle exchange I do get a 5-series/A6/E-class. The lady says that she can't do that, that they don't book specific cars, only specific classes, the usual story. Since I returned my 4-series, they had to give me another car. That car was a brand new... Cadillac XTS, with 20 miles on the odo. By that stage it was getting quite late and I had to leave this wonderful location.

SIXT LAX Visit three (Sept 17, early afternoon):
Before talking to the branch supervisor/manager (different lady this time), I walked around their garage. I approach her and ask about vehicle exchange. Same story - no vehicles available for exchange, only XTSs.
-Are there any other options at other Sixt LA locations?
-No, sorry, can't help you, blah-blah-blah.
-But you have an E350 in the garage, can I take it?
-No, it has been RESERVED for another customer.
-..., your colleague told me that you can't reserve specific vehicles? Was it reserved for me?
- No, it was for a different customer.
- I've indicated that I prefer a BMW in my booking, how come I didn't get what I asked for?
- Sir, we reserve vehicle class but we don't reserve specific vehicles.

I am getting massively frustrated by this. I am determined to ditch the XTS and get something different. I agree to stop by in 3 hours, as another e350 is expected to be dropped off (Can you hold this car for me until either later tonight or tomorrow morning? No, we don't reserve a particular car, we reserve vehicle class).
I call the station in two hours and it turns out a E350 is available. I race to SIXT LAX to get my vehicle exchanged. I can't me to the branch manager and hand her keys from the XTS. She smiles and says that no vehicle exchanges are possible at this moment BECAUSE THEIR SYSTEM IS DOWN! ok, I wait 15 minutes, then another fifteen, then half an hour, another 30 minutes. the que of people is growing, but some customers are getting their cars, even when the system is down! People are becoming quite upset, but SIXT staff ignore them and don't Bother to explain how long will the system reboot last and how come some people are gettnig their cars and some aren't. After about two hours the branch manager lady decided to process vehicle issue/exchange manually. I got my e350 and drove back to my hotel.
Oh, and the E350 was pretty barebones - no navi, no parking assist, no keyless. Still massively better than the XTS.

Conclusion: will stick with Sixt Germany, where I am getting fantastic service and treatment. Will avoid Sixt in the US.

Hi
Next february I´m renting a car to drive for a week in Los Angeles and Las Vegas area. My son wants a convertible.
Is the weather normaly warm enough for a convertible?
Will Sixt even have any convertibles in stock in february?

Happy for any input from you :) as I am from Sweden.

/Nick

I've said it before and I'll say it again. If this were any other rent a car company, you'd be lucky to get the Cadillac. Particularly at the price you're paying. I appreciate the higher end options, but to be moaning and groaning about getting a Cadillac here in the good old USA is absolutely ridiculous.

My complaint about the XTS was not that it was not luxurious enough, but rather that it was not predictable enough when driving. Again, I am not saying it was slow, but rather that it was difficult to predict how the powertrain would respond to changes in throttle input. This made overtaking/changing lanes an unsafe experience.
I have driven Opel Insignia - built on the same GM Epsilon II platform and it was a fine car, even with a far less powerful engine.
You should read the extremely negative reviews that Cadillac's infotainment system has been getting since 2013. Consumer Report had a thoroughly negative article, for example.
It is not fair to say that I was unreasonable as I was willing to take any other car in the same/lower/higher class. Sixt couldn't give me a different car in the same class (took me four visits to exchange the XTS)/would not offer me a discount for taking a lower class, but was perfectly happy to get me into a higher class. I find this behavior very different from what I've been used to in Germany.
P.S. Of the four cars that I've personally looked at SIXT LAX, three had visibly dirty interior. Dirt/stains on seats, mats, door handles. The only clean car was the Cadillac XTS with 10 miles on the odo.

Sixt markets itself to US locals and visiting Germans with German brands. Hence its understandable that a European customer is slightly disappointed when handed the keys of something that came out of Detroit. ;)

A bit unlucky I would say. While I never reserve an XCAR (I stick to LCAR), the most common vehicle in that class at Sixt US during my trips has been the Audi A6 2.0 TFSI with basic trim. Nothing exciting, but a well driving car.

With all the trouble at LAX, it may have been easier to try to negotiate a buy up for some extra insurance options over car class changes to make a Audi, Merc, BMW "appear" as they get commission on those and can make their targets which has worked well for me in such situations and provides some value vs. a (bogus) upgrade fee. YMMV.

I personally worry about that. I have a LAX rental coming up in a week (2 weeks LCAR) and got the pre-paid deal through a European Sixt site with all insurances already included. This means I don't really have any chips to bargain with if I'm assigned a vehicle I don't like. Of course, I could always try to negotiate them on the upsell, but that doesn't work for in-class upgrades I presume. On the other hand, I guess if there is more than one LCAR available I might be able to swap around for the specific model that best suits me.

Curious to see what will happen :) Arriving at about 8PM on a Friday, wonder what the availability will be like.

You can ask for a different car or call back and arrange a swap for when they have something you prefer. They offer this as a service so I know it can definitely be done.

I picked up an XFAR on Friday 9th at 7:30pm and the car choice isn't great to be honest. They ended up giving me a PFAR Range Rover Evoque so I went back on Monday afternoon and picked up a BMW X5.

I will say this though, be prepared to be a waiting a while as they don't have their full Express service setup as of yet.

I am having some real problems renting at US locations as a Sixt Diamond member. You can read my experience in San Jose where I just gave up and cancelled my reservation while at the facility.

I booked a one-way rental, about 3 months in advance, at Sixt LA and wanted a nice car. I booked the Range Rover HSE, then received an email from them a few days later that it isn't available. Then I booked the Mercedes G-Wagon, again received an email it isn't available. Then I booked the Merc S-Class, again got the e-mail not available. How can none of these cars be available 4 months in advance?

I emailed them asking what is available. They got back to me that the Range Rover Sport was available for $750 for 2-days. I book it knowing as a Diamond I am guaranteed a 1-class upgrade, or at least a 1-class category price downgrade.

I show up for my rental and ask about the guaranteed Diamond upgrade. They tell me that this is a "specialty car" and is not upgradeable, whether Diamond or not. Really?! I don't recall seeing such terms in Sixt's Diamond upgrade documentation. I then asked about being charged a class lower since they won't upgrade. They said no, one can't be upgraded to the Range Rover, so if I booked a lower class I would not be able to be upgraded to the Range Rover. Basically, take the Range Rover at full price and receive no benefit for being Diamond, or cancel the reservation. This is the overall same result I got at San Jose. So, again, I canceled my reservation.

It doesn't appear that Diamond status has any relevance here in the US.