Feature Stories
Getting the Most From Your Rental Car Experience
This year, I got my airline tickets for Thanksgiving way in advance, but I just booked my flights for Christmas…and I’m really regretting not doing it sooner. Prices are already going up, up, up as the flights get fuller, and certainly no one’s making the process any easier for the traveler. The problem is that in the mayhem of searching every conceivable airline website and price-compare search engine, buying tickets, and packing, you still might not be done booking everything you need.
For Thanksgiving and Christmas travel, many Americans also need to rent cars to get them from the airport to their ultimate destination. If you’ve already dealt with the drama of two airports and a flight, the car may seem like the thing that deserves the least attention. However, nothing is more infuriating than dealing with the stresses of your flight, only to arrive and be told that the car you reserved is no longer there.
I had two significant experiences with car rentals, and both occurred during my move from New York City to Los Angeles. When I first headed West, I needed a car to drive for four weeks while I scoped the scene and decided whether I wanted to move for good. For this quick month, when I would be working on making connections and plans and not working on making money, I needed to just go for the most economical option. Enter Rent-A-Wreck.
Sure, Rent-A-Wreck has a scary name. Sure it’s not technically at the airport. But the business plan for Rent-A-Wreck is sound. The company rents cars that are slightly dented or imperfect, and therefore they can charge less. If you’re not embarrassed to be seen in a car that’s a little older and a little beat up, then it’s a perfect way to save money.
The problem with this model is that it still makes things seem palatable. “Oh, yeah…I’m totally not shallow. I’m hardcore. Dented bumper? Send it my way!” Well, when I arrived at Rent-A-Wreck, fresh from the LAX tarmac, I experienced momentary coronary failure, coupled with visions of small blonde me stranded on the 405 at midnight. The lot resembled the elephant graveyard where the hyenas live in The Lion King; I had trouble spotting one car that was made more recently than 1983. Furthermore, these cars didn’t just have dents. One was missing a bumper, one had the passenger side smashed in, and one may or may not have been missing three tires, a steering wheel, and its entire back half. Needless to say, I am too shallow to enjoy driving any of those.
I put up with it for a month and then vowed never to return to Rent-A-Wreck. So when I came to LA for good and had to rent a car (just until I bought my own!), I went straight to Enterprise. They were THE nicest people ever. I was renting long-term and they not only had the best rates, but they remembered me every time I came in, and they took care of me quickly and cheerily. It was amazing. For the first month I lived on the West Coast, I think the Enterprise peeps were my best friends.
Thus, I am pleased to report that a recent survey conducted by J.D. Power and Associates ranked Enterprise as the number-one in customer satisfaction for the fifth consecutive year. Hertz and Alamo came in at number two and three respectively. This survey measured overall customer satisfaction of airport car rentals, taking into account costs, fees, pickup and return process, reservations, and service.
Overall, satisfaction with car rental companies was down from last year, but customers stated that they still had relatively few mishaps. Still, holiday travel is the time to be on-the-ball about your car rental process, because just like airline tickets, everyone needs one and there aren’t enough cheap ones to go around. Reserve your car as far in advance as possible; prices increase as availability decreases.
Even if you do reserve, there’s a chance the car you requested won’t be there when you arrive. Most major rental companies promise that they’ll find a car or upgrade you for no additional charge if this happens, but, Travel + Leisure points out, “no contract binds them to it.” The only places that do guarantee your car will be there are Hertz and Travelocity.
Now, if your goal is to be economical, then there are many ways to ensure you’re getting the best price. Rental prices are already getting more and more competitive, thanks to Zipcar and other independent companies. If you only need a car for a short time (say a drive from the airport to grandma’s) then Zipcar’s rent-by-the-hour model is a good option. If you’re doing more driving, then a better choice is to rent a hybrid vehicle. Many companies are transitioning a large percentage of their fleets to hybrids, and Enterprise and others are starting by making “green branches” in areas of dense traffic. In one week, a hybrid can save you enough money in gas to offset the cost of a day’s worth of rental fees…and it’s better for the planet!
Travelers can also use fare-compare sites (I prefer Kayak.com) to find the cheapest option. Or, if you’re very bold (and very accommodating), you can seek the Holy Grail of bargain-hunting: the Priceline Victory. Now, Priceline is not for the faint-of-heart. You can’t take charge of the details. You may end up with a different car than you wanted, but you can name your price. They may not accept it, but you often get close.
My boyfriend discovered Priceline last spring, and it has turned him into a monster…the most helpful monster ever, but a monster, nonetheless. If I just mention that we might need a (insert hotel/rental car/plane ticket/adopted child), he’s on his laptop faster than a speeding bullet, trying to get that item for a starting price of $3. This Thanksgiving, he entered $11 a day as the proposed price for our rental car. With only slight back and forth, I think the final cost was $15/day; not bad at all. With your bargain, you do, of course, give up the right to complain about whatever they stick you with. You can specify categories but not exact goods. So I’ll let you know how that one turns out.
No matter how much money you save on the reservation, there are a couple of expenses that are well worth the extra cost. First, know your insurance. If you’re covered by a personal policy or by your credit card company, then you don’t need to add on any extra coverage through the rental company. If you’re not covered, don’t assume you’ll be fine…if something does go wrong, you’ll wish you had just paid the small fee up front.
The other essential, if you’re in a new or strange city, is a portable GPS system. Bring your own from your car at home to save money, or get one from the rental company. This will save you infinite frustration and time during a weekend when you’ll likely already be feeling stressed. I once tried to “hold out” and prove I-don’t-know-what to I-don’t-know-whom by just Mapquesting (yes, it’s a verb now) things on my Blackberry and then reading that while driving. This lasted about a month (don’t tell the police) and when I finally got a GPS, my life was infinitely better.
As long as you reserve in advance, you should be in great shape. Don’t let anything stand between you and your perfect Thanksgiving: awkward family reunions, biting subtext in your mother’s comments about how many helpings you’ve had, all washed down with a glass of self-loathing and a slice of grandma’s pumpkin pie! Happy Holidays!
