Could renting a car suck less for me??? #metafilterfundraiser2023

August 23, 2023 7:32 PM

I have rented cars a few times this summer while traveling for weddings and such. At SFO, at SEA, at ABQ, at DEN. It invariably sucked. Have you figured out any life hacks here?

Car rental people are invariably polite and lovely and i cannot imagine doing their jobs all day because people are jerks. I am never mean to the car rental folks, but i always leave a picking up the rental car experience feeling a twinge of rage.

I have used avis, i have used hertz, I have used thrifty. Invariably whichever one i choose has the longest and slowest moving line at whichever airport i have arrived in. I invariably find myself wishing that I had not made any reservation at all.

I get to the front, (HOURS LATER!) and they want me to buy all manner of insurance,
I have Car insurance and Chase sapphire insurance, but if I'm travelling with a friend, it's often another New Yorker who doesn't have either of those options, so i have to buy the insurance, but i always end up feeling swindled at the end of it.

Please, feel free to tell me about your loyalty plans you love. I am tired of being an an amateur bozo at the car rental counter.

posted by wowenthusiast to Travel & Transportation (21 answers total)

I think all of the big agencies (i've used Avis and Herz) have a loyalty plan that lets you pre-register and make your reservation on-line. when you get there, there is usually a big board that shows the number of parking slot where you car is waiting. You just get in the car and go. They will double check your id and the rental agreement at the gate when you leave so you can't drive off in someone else's rental. The plans are free to join.

There is also usually a service booth so if you get there and there is a problem, you can get taken care of without having to wait in the main line (although there may still be a wait)

I'm pretty sure you can add the second driver when you make the reservation although there may be a charge for that if it is not a co-worker or spouse (but that would be the same at the checkout counter)

Check the small print on your Chase card - I don't think you have to be driving, you just have to be the person who is renting it and use their card but please double check that!
posted by metahawk at 7:42 PM on August 23, 2023 [17 favorites]

My life got a whole lot easier when I registered for Hertz's loyalty program, and started using them exclusively. You can give them all your info via your enrollment, plus your insurance and fuel options. In most cases this means when I arrive I can just go straight to where the cars are and go with just minimal checks.

Note that I am not a very frequent traveler, so I'm not qualifying for the ultra gold level or whatever. This is just the straight up "enroll in the loyalty program" thing.
posted by BlahLaLa at 7:48 PM on August 23, 2023 [4 favorites]

Also, to make the cost less painful, try Costco - their prices are nearly always waaayyy cheaper than the direct sites. In some cities, if it’s easy to get downtown, renting there can be both cheaper (not paying the airport charges, which can be substantial) and faster. That was my experience renting in Boston from Enterprise.
posted by dbmcd at 7:51 PM on August 23, 2023 [9 favorites]

I generally like Enterprise, except for when I made the mistake recently of renting from them using a debit card. When you use a debit card, it's apparently corporate policy to treat you like a criminal, wanting to see a bill for proof of address and not letting you rent certain cars they otherwise would. And when you rent in the New York City area, they also require a $300 deposit that they refund when you return the car. Apparently they've been doing all of that for a long time, and I've just managed to avoid it so far.

Usually I've also been lucky enough to get good customer-service reps there who don't give me a lot of hassle about not getting the optional insurance. But most recently, I got a manager who tried to trick me into getting their insurance on top of my own, even though it wasn't required. That's never happened before, but it's something to watch out for, I guess. Next time I have to rent a car I'm going to still rent from them, but I'm considering going to the location that's less convenient for me so I don't have to deal with the jerks at my local one.

Long story short, I guess this is a recommendation for Enterprise, but I didn't have the best experience on my most recent rental from them, so...your mileage may vary.

At least they only mildly treat you like a criminal at Enterprise. Hertz just settled a lawsuit because they really treated more than 300 of their customers like car thieves.
posted by limeonaire at 8:07 PM on August 23, 2023 [2 favorites]

Even with a loyalty program (yes, do that) you may have to check in at a counter the 1st time to show your ID. It depends on the airport and the rental car agency. But after that it is so so so much better. Last time I did my entire rental experience from my app, just headed straight for the space and car I was assigned.
posted by gryphonlover at 8:29 PM on August 23, 2023 [4 favorites]

Your employer might have a corporate discount code for certain agencies, check with your HR department. They usually describe if the code is good for leisure travel. I've never had a code that was business only.

I've been using Hertz lately, for a lot of the reasons above. The skip-the-line-and-go is pretty nice.

Also, Enterprise has been taking away unlimited miles on rentals. That used to be their selling point. I had a van rented for a college move-in and almost got burned on that one. Cancelled my Enterprise res and went back to Hertz.
posted by JoeZydeco at 8:38 PM on August 23, 2023 [3 favorites]

When I have used Turo, it has been a minimal hassle. Take an Uber to where the car is, pick up the car, done.

If there is Zipcar where you are going, that is also an option.
posted by blnkfrnk at 9:30 PM on August 23, 2023

NEVER Dollar.
posted by augustimagination at 10:00 PM on August 23, 2023 [1 favorite]

Seconding Zipcar. It's the only car-rental experience I've ever had that hasn't sucked. In case you're not familiar with Zipcar, you book the car you want, go find it, and get access to the car with a card (or maybe it's an app nowadays; I haven't used it in a long time). You literally get in and off you go.
posted by Conrad Cornelius o'Donald o'Dell at 10:34 PM on August 23, 2023

Budget's Fastbreak program almost always works painlessly for me. Show ID and go, no hard sell pitches, and you bypass most of the lines.

Seconding Costco for cheap prices but it's still worth comparing. The car that I rented tonight for two weeks was over $300 cheaper going to Budget's site than Costco travel, even though I used the Costco membership code at Budget's site. At some levels of membership, it also gets you a second driver for free.
posted by Candleman at 10:52 PM on August 23, 2023

I don't rent often enough to warrant long research. Last time I rented at an airport was when I had to attend my sister's wedding, and that's pre-COVID, and the plane was delayed 5+ hours we had to go to her after-party instead. It was... tolerable except for the penchant for toll roads in Texas.

I do have a ZIpCar membership for San Francisco, and I happen to have 2 parked only 2 blocks from me ... if they're available. It's pretty good experience but they now have make you take all-around photos to prove you didn't put a scratch on the car before and after. And it's kinda expensive if you take it for more than a few hours.
posted by kschang at 1:58 AM on August 24, 2023

Seconding Zipcar and turo.
posted by wicked_sassy at 4:46 AM on August 24, 2023

Kyte is a company that delivers cars to you in major cities. It is absolutely seamless: A driver brings the car to you, hands you the keys, and checks your ID; it generally takes about 30 seconds. The rates seem to vary a lot, depending on day: Sometimes they are competitive with or even cheaper than traditional companies, sometimes not. You need to tip: deliveries are a gig job. (I don't care about the delivery but love the guaranteed availability and quick handoff; unfortunately, they don't allow you to pick up at their lot.) If you're going to an airport, I don't know how it would work, so check with them.
posted by Mr.Know-it-some at 6:35 AM on August 24, 2023 [1 favorite]

In most cases, I only use Hertz. I'm a member of their loyalty program and make all my reservations online. At most airports (SFO, EWR, JFK, KOA, LAX, etc.) I literally just walk in and look for my name on the bulletin board which directs me to a row of cars, from which I choose one and drive off. I rarely, like very rarely, need to visit the counter.

Just like painting a wall or cooking a meal, the key to making it easy is preparation. Make your reservation online or through the phone app. Choose your preferred options (insurance, fueling, etc.) in your loyalty program profile so they are automatically applied. Spending a half hour now to figure out and set up your preferences will save you from waiting in the dumb line.

It's never perfect, some small or overseas rental locations require you to go to the desk, etc. but the vast majority of the time, if you set it all up beforehand, you walk in and pick a car.

I also use zipcar for short trips here and there but it is very expensive and extremely limiting in terms of time, since you need to indicate in advance how long you will have the car, and sometimes cannot extend the rental time without a massive overtime fee (because someone else has booked it after you). Also zipcar has screwed me over with filthy cars reeking of weed and cigarettes more than once, or I've gone to return my zipcar and found someone has parked in the designated spot, so I have kind of soured on it lately. YMMV.
posted by niicholas at 8:48 AM on August 24, 2023 [2 favorites]

I have AVIS Preferred, and over the last 10 years I have rented ~100 cars at a dozen airports. At no point have I ever stood in line or talked to an Avis employee, with the exception of at Reno-Tahoe. I just walked to the car I was assigned on the flight over, started the car, and then drove to the exit and showed my exit and then went on my way.

At Reno-Tahoe you have to get your key from the booth out in the parking structure. But, it ends up as a wash since there you don't need to show your ID at the exit.

Anyway, in all ~100 rentals, I spent more time adjusting my mirrors than dealing with people related to AVIS.
posted by Back At It Again At Krispy Kreme at 8:55 AM on August 24, 2023 [1 favorite]

Things are so much easier with the loyalty program. Just beware that some of the smaller locations call themselves Hertz but are really some kind of franchise partner (like the one in Jackson Hole) that can't do the Express option.
posted by mrgoldenbrown at 9:30 AM on August 24, 2023

Response by poster: thank you dear car rental savants!!! you have changed my life.
posted by wowenthusiast at 12:00 PM on August 24, 2023

We rent cars a few times a year, often at airport locations, and always stick with Enterprise. They just seem easier to deal with and very consistent across locations. YMMV though—I always opt for the damage waiver and the supplemental insurance before they even ask about them. And as others have mentioned, you can take care of all that stuff online ahead of time.
posted by Rykey at 12:02 PM on August 24, 2023

Hertz Gold is great in the US. I think it's free. Basically you give them all the info up front and then most of the time when you pick up a rental it's literally grab the keys and go, just an ID check at the exit. Basically you've done all the paperwork up front.
posted by Nelson at 2:04 PM on August 24, 2023

Yes to reserving at Costco if that is an option for the best price then sign up at the rental company's website and preregister completely so you can just go to the car lot upon arrival and bypass the rental counter and all the questions.
posted by RoadScholar at 6:27 PM on August 24, 2023

Loyalty programs, yes. And do the research ahead of time to make sure that whatever airport you're landing at actually has the "skip the line" service for whatever you're planning to rent (Hertz tends to have it.) And if you have to choose between an agency whose desk is onsite vs one you have to take a shuttle to, obviously choose the onsite one. Do all the paperwork stuff online ahead of time.

Nothing feels as good as tootling right on past that giant line, straight out to the car. (With the caveat that everything sometimes sucks in the post-COVID world and once I did have to go to find an attendant out in the lot because all the cars had people in them. But that was one time.)

Use Autoslash for the best rates.
posted by fingersandtoes at 9:37 PM on August 24, 2023