Mercedes C250 from Enterprise. But I paid the extra $16/day from the standard insurance replacement rate.
Best rental car upgrades
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France-Rented a POS Ford Ka. Got an incredible 2004 Honda Accord Estate(aka Acura TSX wagon) diesel with manual transmission. Honda is a kick [censored] motor company and there diesel is only better!
Italy-Rented Ford CMAX and got a MB C220 diesel. Incredibly nice car but odd with its cloth interior and turned out to be a little large of a car in some streets we had to negotiate in Tuscany.
Italy-Rented Ford CMAX and got a MB C220 diesel. Incredibly nice car but odd with its cloth interior and turned out to be a little large of a car in some streets we had to negotiate in Tuscany.
I have two that stand out. I tend to rent mid-size cars and once was upgraded to an Olds 98, and the other a Ford Thunderbird (the older, larger coupe, not the last iteration).
Other cars that stand out but weren't necessarily upgrades are a Ford Mustang and a Pontiac 6000 SE that had all of 50 miles on it. Avis received a properly broken-in car with almost 1300 miles on it when I gave it back.
Other cars that stand out but weren't necessarily upgrades are a Ford Mustang and a Pontiac 6000 SE that had all of 50 miles on it. Avis received a properly broken-in car with almost 1300 miles on it when I gave it back.
Originally Posted By: jimbrewer
The rental Challenger, even though it was the old 3.5 v6, was what convinced me that the chassis was orders of magnitude above the competition and led directly to my owning the SRT now.
440 Magnum your screen name and all five cars in your signature are Chryslers! This is us you are talking to. You are driven to buy only Chryslers. [/quote]
I have owned Chevrolets, Fords, and various species of Chrysler over the years, and I'm working on my wife to get into a hybrid (probably a Volt or C-max) next new car for her. I tend to like the quirkiness of older Mopars and that's where my hobby tends to revolve, but I'm pretty open-minded when it comes to engineering evaluation of modern cars. Except for Toyota...
The rental Challenger, even though it was the old 3.5 v6, was what convinced me that the chassis was orders of magnitude above the competition and led directly to my owning the SRT now.
440 Magnum your screen name and all five cars in your signature are Chryslers! This is us you are talking to. You are driven to buy only Chryslers. [/quote]
I have owned Chevrolets, Fords, and various species of Chrysler over the years, and I'm working on my wife to get into a hybrid (probably a Volt or C-max) next new car for her. I tend to like the quirkiness of older Mopars and that's where my hobby tends to revolve, but I'm pretty open-minded when it comes to engineering evaluation of modern cars. Except for Toyota...
We arrived in Phoenix for our daughters 1st year at ASU.
Prior to our arrival in the August 118 degs F tempurature, our hometown good friends had just relocated to Mesa, AZ for his new job and they were good enough to take 6 toats of our daughter's belongings with them on their 30 ft. moving truck several months before.
After leaving Sun Harbor Airport and taking a shuttle over to the rental car blvd., we stepped into a small air conditioned building where, waiting for us was a red Dodge Neon. Signed all papers, took the keys and went to the car that would not start(dead battery from the heat).
With the rental car agents being super bussy and frustrated and after trying to get into similar small cars as the Neon, with keys locked in them, we were offered(for the economy price of the Neon), a nearly new Chrysler Town & Country Mini Van for our 2 week stay in Phoenix and our trip to the Red Rock, the Grand Canyon and Las Vegas.
This mini van made dorm moving and picking up our daughter's stuff from our friends a breeze! Otherwise we would have had to make many, many trips with the small car(s).
During "Moving In Week" at colleges, rental car prices are up with few discounts to be had. We did well on this trip in the almost 120 deg AZ heat in August!
IIRC, the total rental car bill for the Chrysler T&C was around $200 for 2 weeks. Yeah, we did very well! And the mini-van MPG was no worst than some other NEON's that we rented in the past...nother surprise!(No, not Surprise, AZ).
Prior to our arrival in the August 118 degs F tempurature, our hometown good friends had just relocated to Mesa, AZ for his new job and they were good enough to take 6 toats of our daughter's belongings with them on their 30 ft. moving truck several months before.
After leaving Sun Harbor Airport and taking a shuttle over to the rental car blvd., we stepped into a small air conditioned building where, waiting for us was a red Dodge Neon. Signed all papers, took the keys and went to the car that would not start(dead battery from the heat).
With the rental car agents being super bussy and frustrated and after trying to get into similar small cars as the Neon, with keys locked in them, we were offered(for the economy price of the Neon), a nearly new Chrysler Town & Country Mini Van for our 2 week stay in Phoenix and our trip to the Red Rock, the Grand Canyon and Las Vegas.
This mini van made dorm moving and picking up our daughter's stuff from our friends a breeze! Otherwise we would have had to make many, many trips with the small car(s).
During "Moving In Week" at colleges, rental car prices are up with few discounts to be had. We did well on this trip in the almost 120 deg AZ heat in August!
IIRC, the total rental car bill for the Chrysler T&C was around $200 for 2 weeks. Yeah, we did very well! And the mini-van MPG was no worst than some other NEON's that we rented in the past...nother surprise!(No, not Surprise, AZ).
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When my last car was in the auto body shop I was upgraded from a Hyundai Accent to a brand new ( 8 miles on it) Dodge Charger by Enterprise because it was my birthday.
Been a loyal customer since and they've never let me down.
That was a few years ago when it had the 3.5 HO motor, fast for a V6! Drove one with the new 3.6 Pentastar and I like the 3.5 better, more low end grunt.
When I book a rental I always book a standard car and 90% of the time get upgraded for free or just a few $$ more just by asking once we get out to the rental. Just act like you don't like the car you are provided, they usually offer to swap.
Been a loyal customer since and they've never let me down.
That was a few years ago when it had the 3.5 HO motor, fast for a V6! Drove one with the new 3.6 Pentastar and I like the 3.5 better, more low end grunt.
When I book a rental I always book a standard car and 90% of the time get upgraded for free or just a few $$ more just by asking once we get out to the rental. Just act like you don't like the car you are provided, they usually offer to swap.
I've been upgraded to the PCAR & LCAR (premium/luxury) classes with Hertz tons of times. I am a Five-Star member so it's pretty easy to get that. Never gotten an upgrade to a Prestige or Adrenaline vehicle, but I do occasionally get base model Camaros, Mustangs, and Challengers.
Have gotten an MKS, Avalon, Maxima, Lucerne, and CTS.
Have gotten an MKS, Avalon, Maxima, Lucerne, and CTS.
Got a Sebring convertable in ATL one time when I was due a Neon. That's about it. Occasionally a Crown Vic from Thrifty in Baltimore when I was due a Neon or similar.
Now for some here, that would be an upgrade, but I preferred the Neon to the CV.
Now for some here, that would be an upgrade, but I preferred the Neon to the CV.
Originally Posted By: javacontour
Got a Sebring convertable in ATL one time when I was due a Neon. That's about it. Occasionally a Crown Vic from Thrifty in Baltimore when I was due a Neon or similar.
Now for some here, that would be an upgrade, but I preferred the Neon to the CV.
Most rental places are very top-heavy -- that is, they have way more "big" cars than small ones. No one wants to reserve a Crown Vic and be told "oh sorry we only have Focuses left", but a person renting the Focus would gladly take the Crown Vic.
So yes, upgrades are quite common.
Got a Sebring convertable in ATL one time when I was due a Neon. That's about it. Occasionally a Crown Vic from Thrifty in Baltimore when I was due a Neon or similar.
Now for some here, that would be an upgrade, but I preferred the Neon to the CV.
Most rental places are very top-heavy -- that is, they have way more "big" cars than small ones. No one wants to reserve a Crown Vic and be told "oh sorry we only have Focuses left", but a person renting the Focus would gladly take the Crown Vic.
So yes, upgrades are quite common.
Years ago we used to travel to Florida a lot on pleasure, and I always rented from Alamo because they were the cheapest. But -every- time we got to the counter they would go through this long diatribe about how spartan and uncomfortable my car was going to be. They would try and upsell you to something better for a fee. But after declining everything, they would then say that they were out of that car and they would have to upgrade me for free. At first I was annoyed but later it became funny how they would do this with every rental.
Originally Posted By: Huie83
When my last car was in the auto body shop I was upgraded from a Hyundai Accent to a brand new ( 8 miles on it) Dodge Charger by Enterprise because it was my birthday.
Been a loyal customer since and they've never let me down.
That was a few years ago when it had the 3.5 HO motor, fast for a V6! Drove one with the new 3.6 Pentastar and I like the 3.5 better, more low end grunt.
When I book a rental I always book a standard car and 90% of the time get upgraded for free or just a few $$ more just by asking once we get out to the rental. Just act like you don't like the car you are provided, they usually offer to swap.
YES! We always book the standard car and enter the rental agency with a huge smile hoping for the best! Sometimes the agent is having a terrable day and we always have a nice smile/demeanor/empathy. We've gotten several upgrades over time(not many but, several) in 30+ years of renting. Worst comes to worst, we got the standard car. It's usually enough for our running around!
When my last car was in the auto body shop I was upgraded from a Hyundai Accent to a brand new ( 8 miles on it) Dodge Charger by Enterprise because it was my birthday.
Been a loyal customer since and they've never let me down.
That was a few years ago when it had the 3.5 HO motor, fast for a V6! Drove one with the new 3.6 Pentastar and I like the 3.5 better, more low end grunt.
When I book a rental I always book a standard car and 90% of the time get upgraded for free or just a few $$ more just by asking once we get out to the rental. Just act like you don't like the car you are provided, they usually offer to swap.
YES! We always book the standard car and enter the rental agency with a huge smile hoping for the best! Sometimes the agent is having a terrable day and we always have a nice smile/demeanor/empathy. We've gotten several upgrades over time(not many but, several) in 30+ years of renting. Worst comes to worst, we got the standard car. It's usually enough for our running around!
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Through one of my credit cards I get upgrades with Avis.
Anyway last summer I was in Orlando, rented a full size car for myself and a coworker to get around. Ended up with a Hyundai Genesis sedan, it had 1500 miles on it, really nice, and the 3.8 V6 was a lot of fun on the highway.
In Colorado last year (haven't had the chance to rent anything this year) instead of a full size car I got upgraded to a pretty Pathfinder, that was actually a pretty nice vehicle too, but huge.
Got to drive a Lincoln MKS as a one way rental from atlanta back to NJ. Comfortable car, better than expected gas mileage and more fun to drive than I was expecting but wouldn't want one as a daily driver. Great road trip vehicle though.
Anyway last summer I was in Orlando, rented a full size car for myself and a coworker to get around. Ended up with a Hyundai Genesis sedan, it had 1500 miles on it, really nice, and the 3.8 V6 was a lot of fun on the highway.
In Colorado last year (haven't had the chance to rent anything this year) instead of a full size car I got upgraded to a pretty Pathfinder, that was actually a pretty nice vehicle too, but huge.
Got to drive a Lincoln MKS as a one way rental from atlanta back to NJ. Comfortable car, better than expected gas mileage and more fun to drive than I was expecting but wouldn't want one as a daily driver. Great road trip vehicle though.
Just last week in Boston with the family, I reserved a "Full Size - Taurus or similar" with Dollar. When I got to the desk they said their full size was a Camry / Fusion, not Taurus. I was PO'd. They managed to upsell me on a full size SUV (Explorer / Traverse) for $11 a day.
Only one left was a '12 Traverse that was trashed. 39k miles, huge scratches and dents in the side, 1 new / 3 original tires, and filthy interior. Again, I was outwardly annoyed but the lot attendent couldn't do anything. After a day of driving wiht a bad wheel vibration I finally took it back to exchange it.
No full size SUV's in stock so wound up with a fully loaded brand new Enclave (considered Premium class to Dollar) with 1800 miles on it, dual panel glass roof, etc. Despite being only one model year newer and essentially the same car, it was a world of difference.
Only one left was a '12 Traverse that was trashed. 39k miles, huge scratches and dents in the side, 1 new / 3 original tires, and filthy interior. Again, I was outwardly annoyed but the lot attendent couldn't do anything. After a day of driving wiht a bad wheel vibration I finally took it back to exchange it.
No full size SUV's in stock so wound up with a fully loaded brand new Enclave (considered Premium class to Dollar) with 1800 miles on it, dual panel glass roof, etc. Despite being only one model year newer and essentially the same car, it was a world of difference.
Now that I think about it, I got one that I didn't like...reserved a compact, all they had when I got there was a Quad Cab Ram 4x4. It was a nice truck, plenty of power (4.7HO, not a Hemi), very nice inside...but WOW, what a gas hog! Only got about 13MPG!
What if they DON'T upgrade you
DUN...DUN...Dun...
DUN...DUN...Dun...
I've been upgraded to about everything. One nice one was getting a Buick Lucerne with a V8, another was a hard-loaded Ford Mustang convertible with leather.
One time I intentionally *downgraded* myself to get a Prius, just to see what one was like.
There's so many that I've forgotten, but to me, the brand new ones are the best. Once got a brand new '11 Town and Country with 10 miles on the odometer, when I was taking 5 other friends on a road trip. Another, a Monte Carlo (this was a few years back), that still had the window sticker in it, and the plastic on the seats. I took it back three days later with over 1500 miles on the odometer.
The unexpected surprise was the '12 Hyundai Sonata, when I was expecting something like an Impala. I had to drive 900 miles in one day, and was a little miffed when the Hyundai was the best that they had on the lot. After driving 900 miles without developing a backache, and getting 36 mpg at 80mph with the A/C on, I ended up liking that Sonata a whole lot.
900 miles is the best that I've ever done on a 24 hour rental. The lady at the rental counter thought that I'd made a big mistake with the odometer reading when I returned it.
One time I intentionally *downgraded* myself to get a Prius, just to see what one was like.
There's so many that I've forgotten, but to me, the brand new ones are the best. Once got a brand new '11 Town and Country with 10 miles on the odometer, when I was taking 5 other friends on a road trip. Another, a Monte Carlo (this was a few years back), that still had the window sticker in it, and the plastic on the seats. I took it back three days later with over 1500 miles on the odometer.
The unexpected surprise was the '12 Hyundai Sonata, when I was expecting something like an Impala. I had to drive 900 miles in one day, and was a little miffed when the Hyundai was the best that they had on the lot. After driving 900 miles without developing a backache, and getting 36 mpg at 80mph with the A/C on, I ended up liking that Sonata a whole lot.
900 miles is the best that I've ever done on a 24 hour rental. The lady at the rental counter thought that I'd made a big mistake with the odometer reading when I returned it.
Easy way to get upgraded is just tell them you don;t like the selection of cars. When i was getting my car in Vegas, all they had was American cars and I wanted a Japanese or Korean car. i had paid for a intermediate.
i told the guy at the counter and he said just grab anything 1 or 2 grades higher and it GTG. Unfortunately none of the higher models were to my liking either. So ended up getting a Altima.
i told the guy at the counter and he said just grab anything 1 or 2 grades higher and it GTG. Unfortunately none of the higher models were to my liking either. So ended up getting a Altima.
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