wizze1 said:we are driving from the Bay Area, and I rented it at one of the local offices, not the Airport here in San Francisco. I saw that the airport locations are much more expensive, so I looked for a local office and found these prices. You might want to see what offices are in the area you are going to be in, and check those out instead. The airport fees, and extra fees add up.
Also, join the free Hertz gold membership first, then go through the website, and it gives pretty good deals to "members". I fooled around with several different codes, and also signed up for the free membership to see what types of prices I could find. The free weekend price with AAA membership -10% off was the best price.

If you are having a hard time looking for an office in the area you will be, you can PM me with your itinerary, and I can help you find the office with the best pricing for your needs. Just in case you need help!! I know vacation planning is a pain the NECK sometimes..
Good Luck,
wizze1

Where is an easily accessible location from SFO?

Also, any suggestions on a town to stay in to "base" out of for a day each in the city, up and down the coast? Somewhere with good freeway and BART access. Maybe inland in true FW cheapo manner?

TIA!

Does anybody know which Chicago locations are accepting this coupon?

shank said:While Hertz is offering some great deals, keep in mind that things changed when a private equity group bought the company from Ford in 2005. If you read through various FW threads and online posts, you will find all kinds of horror stories of excessive fees for minor dings, excessive dirt in the vehicle, and issues that are considered normal use by most other car companies. They will also try to upsell, nickel and dime you for EVERYTHING IMAGINABLE at the time of rental.
We took a trip to the tampa area a few weeks back, and ended up renting a car on Priceline (name your own price), and ended wup woth Hertz. We ordered a midsize, the agent claimed that all they had was a Honda Civic in that class, and since I am tall (6'2"), she would "ONLY" charge me another $10 per day for a Chevy Malibu - when I was only paying $13 per day for the midsize. After some haggling, they "found" a Mazda 6 on another lot, but we would have to wait another 30 minutes. Even though we are AAA members, entitling us to a free second driver, they also wanted $10 per day to add a second driver, as it was a Priceline rental. The agent also warned me that they charge 3x the local rate to refill gas (~$7.50 per gallon, when the local price was ~$2.60), and was offering a "special deal" of $2.44 per gallon for the first full tank of gas (how do you return a car with an empty tank). When the car FINALLY arrived (45 minutes later), the agent asked me to sign a form noting multiple scratches and dings on the vehicle. I asked if it would be possible to first insepct the vehicle myself, add any missing notations, and was able to leave without returning the form...

In other words, unless you are an extremely careful driver, plan to avoid parking lots, beaches, kids during your rental, it may be better to avoid such "deals" that end up costing MUCH MORE in the end.I am Hertz Gold and have been for 10+ years. Have had no problems with Hertz AT ALL. Nothing has changed for me in my rental experiences with them on any of my rentals over the last few years. Hertz does not check their vehicles over with a fine tooth comb like other car rental agencies in my view. No upsells, no gas scams. Hertz isn't Alamo, Thrifty or Dollar. Still, I will look any vehicle over and have noted any ding or paint chip.

I just rented in Phoenix weekend before last and everything went as smoothly as normal.