The Consolidated Wild Card Thread

 
Old Mar 11, 2008, 5:33 pm
  #16  
 
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I have done the wild car thing in Downtown San Francisco and I was given a Grand Marquis (NO, I wasn't thrilled) but it was full of scratches so we were given a Dodge Magnum instead. I will be going to SRQ later this month and I was just wondering what to expect, I will arrive 9 P.M.ishhttp://flyertalk.com/forum/images/icons/icon8.gif
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Old Mar 11, 2008, 7:14 pm
  #17  
 
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I have rented a wild car before in downtown San Francisco and all there was left was a Town Car that was full of scratches. They let us exchange it for a Dodge Magnum. Later this month I am going to SRQ and going the wild car. What is usually available at that location? A convertible would be nice, or maybe an Outback.
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Old Mar 11, 2008, 8:46 pm
  #18  
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Welcome (back) to FT, oewdanny!

No one's posted results for SRQ, but maybe someone's had experience. Hope we hear from them. Thanks for the update at SFO!
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Old Mar 18, 2008, 9:41 am
  #19  
 
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Anyone know what I can expect in Hartford (BDL)? I'm flying in through there for the NCAA WBB regionals this weekend...
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Old Mar 20, 2008, 9:11 am
  #20  
 
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IAD Results = Chrysler Sebring (Mid-Size)

Bottom Line Results:

Chrysler Sebring (Mid-Size) at IAD (Washington DC - Dulles).


Details:

I spoke with Thrifty and they indicated that there was no penalty for making a reservation and cancelling it or not following through. So, what I did was booked a full-size vehicle and the Wild Card deal on two separate reservations for the same time.

When I showed up, they told me the Wild Card vehicle was the basic Chrysler Sebring. I played dumb and told them that I wasn't sure what she was referring to - that I reserved a full-size vehicle with an AMEX one-class upgrade to premium. She found that reservation and told me I double booked. I played dumb like it was a mistake.

She then told me they didn't have any premium vehicles (the lot looked like they were going out of business (but apparently they clean the lot on Tuesday nights and move their vehicles over to the Dollar lot down the road). After I told her that I should get an upgrade - she told me they would just put me in a Dodge Grand Caravan for the same price (of the full-size). Not bad $160.08 out the door for a week in a 2008 Dodge Grand Caravan (311 miles on it when we got in it).
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Old Mar 22, 2008, 10:43 am
  #21  
 
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fyi..wildcar is completely random..

i was told a jeep, seabring, etc.

its usually a midsize....
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Old Mar 25, 2008, 8:30 pm
  #22  
 
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3/24/08
SRQ
Car Given: Jeep Compass

Smaller than midsize if you ask me and it doesn't even have power windows or power locks. Last time I do the wild car.
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Old Mar 26, 2008, 12:53 pm
  #23  
 
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Originally Posted by michelle227
Anyone know what I can expect in Hartford (BDL)? I'm flying in through there for the NCAA WBB regionals this weekend...

As an update...I flew in on Saturday afternoon and when I got to the Thrifty location, I was told that it was the SUV class that they had most of. I had a choice between a Jeep Cherokee, a Jeep Liberty and a Subaru Forester. I opted to take the Liberty primarily since I had contemplating purchasing one some time back...
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Old Mar 28, 2008, 12:33 am
  #24  
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Originally Posted by michelle227
As an update...I flew in on Saturday afternoon and when I got to the Thrifty location, I was told that it was the SUV class that they had most of. I had a choice between a Jeep Cherokee, a Jeep Liberty and a Subaru Forester. I opted to take the Liberty primarily since I had contemplating purchasing one some time back...
Thanks for the update. Did you enjoy the Liberty? They're fun and sporty, but they're a hair on the small side (not enough to bother me, but still...). I prefer the Grand Cherokee for road handling, but I think the Liberty would do better in off-road conditions.
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Old Mar 28, 2008, 8:41 am
  #25  
 
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Originally Posted by jackal
Thanks for the update. Did you enjoy the Liberty? They're fun and sporty, but they're a hair on the small side (not enough to bother me, but still...). I prefer the Grand Cherokee for road handling, but I think the Liberty would do better in off-road conditions.
I felt that the 3.7L was underpowered for the vehicle. It held speed OK but it took far longer getting UP TO speed than I would have liked. The lack of power seats was also surprising since I have grown accustomed to having them in almost everything I drive.

For a few days, it wasn't a bad vehicle, but as equipped and lacking the power seats, I would not want to own one. Cannot speak to backseat comfort since it was only me in the vehicle at all times...oh and MPG was about what I expected- I only pulled 18-19 but I also spent A LOT of time running 75 or so (occasionally more depending on flow of traffic- I saw very little of the expected traffic enforcement), which I know probably cost me 2-3 miles per gallon.
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Old Mar 28, 2008, 5:24 pm
  #26  
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Originally Posted by michelle227
I felt that the 3.7L was underpowered for the vehicle. It held speed OK but it took far longer getting UP TO speed than I would have liked. The lack of power seats was also surprising since I have grown accustomed to having them in almost everything I drive.
Really? I think the 3.7 is extremely underpowered in the Grand Cherokee (the one I want to buy is the 4.7L V8...though of course I'd like to go for the 6.1L, 425hp SRT8 model), but in the much lighter Liberty, I thought it was actually quite sporty. If you do end up getting one, I believe they offer a 4.0L that is a substantial improvement over the 3.7L. (Doesn't look like much of a difference in the displacement, but I hear it is quite nice.)

Originally Posted by michelle227
For a few days, it wasn't a bad vehicle, but as equipped and lacking the power seats, I would not want to own one.
I have driven the Limited trim of the Liberty, and it has all of the things you missed, plus a 368-watt (or something like that) Infinity sound system with a 6.5" subwoofer. So, a better-equipped vehicle is out there!

I've long maintained that manufacturers' fleet departments should actually provide top-of-the-line trims for their rental fleets. (Based on the way rental companies' fleet programs work, since they basically get overflow from the manufacturers, they don't control which trim lines they get.) I'd never want to buy the base 2.4L Avenger or Sebring, as they feel cheaply made and are completely gutless. But when I drove the 3.5L Sebring Limited and the 3.5L Dodge Avenger R/T (with heated leather seats, a sunroof, those cool LED dome lights, and the Boston Acoustics sound system), I fell in love with the car and almost bought one. I think having rental cars be decked out would actually increase manufacturers' sales, since people would actually like the cars and might go down to a dealership to look at cars they otherwise wouldn't have considered.

However, things are changing. In the past, the American manufacturers (the Big Three) looked at rental cars both as a way to dump excess inventory and also to expose their product to the general public (again, I maintain putting the best-trimmed cars in rental fleets would have helped this!). But as the American manufacturers try to contain their costs by scaling back production and closing down factories and laying off workers, rental car companies are now having to buy cars outright and sell them. This means two things for the rental car customer: you're going to start to see more Japanese cars in rental fleets, since they tend to hold their value better, and you're going to start seeing a higher percentage of older cars (two to three years old) to brand-new to six-month-old cars. (I rarely used to get cars with over 15,000 miles, and now I often see 25,000 miles.) So, my point is becoming more and more moot...
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Old Mar 28, 2008, 7:13 pm
  #27  
 
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At the risk of further derailing the thread...

Originally Posted by jackal
Really? I think the 3.7 is extremely underpowered in the Grand Cherokee (the one I want to buy is the 4.7L V8...though of course I'd like to go for the 6.1L, 425hp SRT8 model), but in the much lighter Liberty, I thought it was actually quite sporty. If you do end up getting one, I believe they offer a 4.0L that is a substantial improvement over the 3.7L. (Doesn't look like much of a difference in the displacement, but I hear it is quite nice.)

I have driven the Limited trim of the Liberty, and it has all of the things you missed, plus a 368-watt (or something like that) Infinity sound system with a 6.5" subwoofer. So, a better-equipped vehicle is out there!
Looking at the options on the Jeep site, I see where the Liberty Limited has many of the appointments I would have preferred to see. That being said, the Limited would also keep me from getting what I really look for in many purchases- a manual transmission. The manual would probably help with the underpowered feel but I know that rental fleets don't want the masses renting stuff and burning up the clutch by not knowing what they are doing The Sport also has a different rear axle ratio that could be affecting takeoff...something like 3:21 compared to 3:73 in the Limited.

I think having rental cars be decked out would actually increase manufacturers' sales, since people would actually like the cars and might go down to a dealership to look at cars they otherwise wouldn't have considered.
Absolutely no question there, especially since there are also those who look to rent the very vehicles they are considering a purchase of in the foreseeable future. Cheap feel driven for a week does not instill confidence in the future purchase...although admittedly, many of the rentals I have had through Thrifty had options that made the drive bearable (ie. the heated seats in Denver) and I did like that the rental this week had the sunroof.

This means two things for the rental car customer: you're going to start to see more Japanese cars in rental fleets, since they tend to hold their value better, and you're going to start seeing a higher percentage of older cars (two to three years old) to brand-new to six-month-old cars. (I rarely used to get cars with over 15,000 miles, and now I often see 25,000 miles.) So, my point is becoming more and more moot...
I've been fortunate. Rare is the instance where I have gotten a car with more than 7-8K miles, and in fact, this week's rental had not even hit 2K until after I had it a few days.

And, for the SUV class that I have been seeing on the Wild Car option, I can't complain about the cost. They typically are more car than I need, but they are easier for me to adapt to since they are similar in size to my daily drivers...and in strange places, comfort behind the wheel is a good thing.
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Old Mar 28, 2008, 8:04 pm
  #28  
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Originally Posted by michelle227
At the risk of further derailing the thread...
That's OK--I started it, so I can give you permission to derail it!

Originally Posted by michelle227
I've been fortunate. Rare is the instance where I have gotten a car with more than 7-8K miles, and in fact, this week's rental had not even hit 2K until after I had it a few days.
The manufacturers have only recently started to shrink their rental fleet program cars and/or make the programs less lucrative for the rental companies (Chrysler was the last to do it--which is why you saw more Dodges and Chryslers last year at the traditionally Ford and GM rental agencies--and it's only been within the last few months), so it'll be another year before we really start to see the effects.

Last edited by jackal; Mar 28, 2008 at 8:23 pm
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Old Apr 3, 2008, 1:09 am
  #29  
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Guys ,Wild car sounds interesting for me. I will surely give it a little thought later. It seems that we can pick some attractive cars at comparatively cheaper rates. In the process we can also get a middle sized or even a big sized vehicle. Don't you think so?

Last edited by sanjay121; Apr 8, 2008 at 5:40 pm
 
Old Apr 3, 2008, 7:27 am
  #30  
 
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Wow, this is a pretty cool thread! I'll add in my experience.

3/12/08 OGG Jeep Liberty
They gave me the choice of a midsized, an SUV or a Minivan. I took the SUV.
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