Dugernaut

Any more horror stories for Enterprise? I've used them locally when my car has been at the dealer for repairs, and they have been fine. My wife is headed to JAX in February with the kids and her mother, and Hertz/Avis is twice as much as Alamo/Thrifty/Enterprise. I've had not so good service from Alamo and Thrifty, but wondering if my positive Enterprise experience is valid in JAX and other parts of Florida?

Fredd

FWIW my only experience with Enterprise was a satisfactory one at MSP a couple of years ago, a fair distance from JAX.

eric_packer

I abandoned a C class Mercedes from Hertz at the last fueling plaza in NL, on the way from Rotterdam to Antwerpen, after it sputtered and died a wee bit up the road. I'd rented from Schipol and had I crossed into Belgium I really would have been screwed.

Upon calling Roadside Assistance, I was told that the wait for a tow truck would be one hour from the time the truck was contacted, and that the agent "had no idea" where the truck was and that it was consequently out of contact. I then told the agent that I would be leaving the car locked and would mail the keys back to Hertz, since I would continue my journey with a colleague. They could pick up their junk whenever they wished. Turns out the surly Dutch lad servicing cars at the "#1 Gold" counter put regular fuel in the Merc's diesel tank. Must have been the language barrier.

Fredd

We have been lucky never to have a major mechanical problem with a rental, however...

Last year our cruise ship stopped at St. Martin for a few hours and we reserved a car through Avis online to drive around the island.

On arrival, we were driven to a dusty unpaved parking a lot up a hill and issued a thoroughly dented and dinged Kia. After viewing island driving habits I soon realized it would be impossible for anybody to rent an undented car there.

I wasn't as worried about the driver's-side door panel coming loose every time I tried to shut the door as I was about the habit the Kia developed about halfway across the island of stalling unpredictably, for example when trying to drive through an intersection after stopping.

To the franchise's credit, when I returned the car they apolized and knocked a few bucks off the rate. On a more recent stop in St. Martin for some strange reason we did our sightseeing by foot and ferry only.

pinniped

I've had 2 rentals from Enterprise - both downtown locations - both rentals were fine. Enterprise has fairly antiquated paper-driven processes in some places, but I know a lot of people who have rented from them and I have never heard a story about them trying to do something dishonest or unethical to a renter.

As for airport locations: my only word of caution is that, depending on the location, their level of service may not be the same as the majors. At MCI (where Enterprise has a sort-of-near-airport location), I see their small white-and-green buses far less frequently than I see Hertz, Avis, and National/Alamo buses. See if you can find someone who knows JAX and can give you insight on the rental car logistics for that airport.

If Alamo was one of the ones offering a low rate, see if they've consolidated ops with National at JAX. National in Florida always seems to have a big operation, and that might carry over to a better-than-usual Alamo experience. I know a lot of FT'ers avoid Alamo like the plague, but when I've used them in a last-minute pinch they've been okay. I always always always call directly to the location to make sure the Quicksilver kiosks are working. For some reason, they have problems keeping these things functioning correctly.

aisleorwindow

Havana, Cuba December 2002

Rented a car from Havanautos at the HAV airport. We had made a reservation prior and they new which flight we were arriving in.
We were told it would be a 30 minute wait for the car. Ok, "island time" we thought. For the next 3 and a half hours, there was a 30 minute wait for our car. All other rental agencies were booked. What can you do? We waited.
Finally the Renault comes which is a total piece of you-know-what.
Besides being dinged and dented, the car had the following problems:
-Antenna had been stolen, so radio didn't work.
-Interior lights didn't work - including dashboard lights.
-Turn signals did not work
-Only one high beam worked, and it was angled about 45 degrees off the road.
-Only one brake light
-On the second day, the trunk latch broke so we had to tie it closed with a string - and of course this meant it wouldn't lock.

Other than that it was perfect

But, its all relative: we were still driving one of the nicest cars we saw the entire time we were in Cuba.

------------------
"I just wanna wish you good luck, we're all counting on you"
-Dr. Rumack

murrayhill

I usually make Dollar my last choice after an experience I had a couple of years back returning a car to the Pittsburgh airport. Despite the posted sign, there was no Dollar representative in the garage. I bring back the keys to the rental counter, and start getting grilled on where I gassed up the car when I said it was full. Because it wasn't a business trip I hadn't printed out a receipt (won't make that mistake again). Only when I got home did I realize they had charged me an extra $7 for an 1/8 tank. After being ignored by e-mail, a Dollar rep credited me the difference. But how annoying!
On top of that, I have found the Fastlane program to be absolutely useless. Instead of having the keys waiting, I'm asked the usual questions. One time I asked the counter dude in San Antonio whether he had heard of Fastlane. His reply: "No. They didn't cover that in training."
And off I went in my purple Kia.
For those who've mentioned Alamo, what had been a reliable company has gotten shakier. When I rented from them in PHX in October, the Quicksilver machines had been pulled out totally. A month later in Kauai they were down. Fortunately, the counter rep took pity on me and let me jump the line. We'll cross our fingers next week in TPA. Could be a case of three strikes, yer out.

Pismocrab

A few years ago I rented a car at the Alamo located in the Seattle Hilton. I waited TWO HOURS in line. I won't even go into details about the rest of the experience, but vowed on that day never to rent from the company again. Haven't since, never will.

Fredd

We just returned from Mallorca and rented a car from Budget that actually turned out to be Avis. Prior to that, rented a mini-van from Budget at MCO. Both times, no problem... Hurray!

Anyway, on our return we found a check in the mail for $54 from PAYLESS, a refund for that entire one day rental in MIA that I started this thread with. That probably brings my hourly pay up to about $3 an hour, not bad for a retired guy.

The way Payless interprets their policy, if you show up ONE MINUTE after your scheduled rental reservation time, they reserve the right to rent the car out from under you.

Caveat Emptor... Latin for "Don't you feel the need to take a shower after dealing with car rental outfits."

Cheers,
Fredd

johnep1

Be sure to post back here when that check clears. Hopefully you didn't speak too soon.