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Every time I've rented from Alamo or National I've been allowed to choose, once I've checked in at the rental counter, the specific make/model from within the class of car you rented, e.g. "Midsize," depending of course on what they have available at that time. Very rarely do you get to reserve a specific model. The last time I reserved a "Premium" car from Alamo they had Prius' available on the lot within that class, but of course they tend to charge a lot more for a Premium class vs, say a midsize or below.
A fairly safe bet, if you don't need large capacity for passengers or luggage, is a compact or smaller, if available. You'll probably get over 30 mpg depeneding on your driving habits, and you're renting the (generally speaking) cheapest class of rental categories.
If your only concern is the cost of gas, bear in mind that 2500 miles @ 35 mpg = 71 gallons, vs. 30 mpg = 83 gallons, vs 25 mpg = 100 gallons. Multiply by $3 a gallon and factor that into the total rental cost of the car.
pulokk23 said:If your only concern is the cost of gas, bear in mind that 2500 miles @ 35 mpg = 71 gallons, vs. 30 mpg = 83 gallons, vs 25 mpg = 100 gallons. Multiply by $3 a gallon and factor that into the total rental cost of the car.
You bring up a good point - one that really grinds my gears, so to speak.
If I reserve a "Toyota Yaris or similar" what would be a reasonable "similar" car in terms of MPG? The Yaris is rated at 29 city, 36 highway. I don't want a Chevy Malibu rated at 22/30 MPG. Like you said, 2500 miles @ 30 MPG = 83 gallons. But, 2500 miles @ 36 MPG = 69 gallons. At $3 per gallon, and a difference of 14 gallons, that would cost me an additional $42.
No, $42 isn't going to break the bank, but it's the principle that bothers me. The customer shouldn't be punished like this when a rental company fails to provide the car reserved (or a close equivalent).
Has anybody successfully argued this to get a cheaper rate?
runningair said:pulokk23 said:If your only concern is the cost of gas, bear in mind that 2500 miles @ 35 mpg = 71 gallons, vs. 30 mpg = 83 gallons, vs 25 mpg = 100 gallons. Multiply by $3 a gallon and factor that into the total rental cost of the car.
If I reserve a "Toyota Yaris or similar" what would be a reasonable "similar" car in terms of MPG? The Yaris is rated at 29 city, 36 highway. I don't want a Chevy Malibu rated at 22/30 MPG. Like you said, 2500 miles @ 30 MPG = 83 gallons. But, 2500 miles @ 36 MPG = 69 gallons. At $3 per gallon, and a difference of 14 gallons, that would cost me an additional $42.
You will get a car of that size. They are under NO obligation to provide you with a particular model, nor will they. They are NOT going to play the negotiate a new rate deal.
You can rent a Prius from Hertz or something but you'll spend a lot more renting it than you will save in gas.
If $42 is that bid of a deal, modify your itinerary.
jlawrence01 said: If $42 is that bid of a deal, modify your itinerary.
Bid or bad?
Whatever you meant to say, you're missing the point. I already said $42 isn't going to break the bank.
If, like you say, there's no obligation to provide a certain model, I guess you wouldn't mind getting a CARGO VAN instead of the Prius you reserved? I'll bet every dollar to my name you would be angry, and rightfully so.
Sometimes when rental companies must give you a car with worse gas mileage, they will reimburse you a small amount to cover the difference in cost of gas. YMMV, of course.
runningair said:jlawrence01 said: If $42 is that bid of a deal, modify your itinerary.
Bid or bad?
Whatever you meant to say, you're missing the point. I already said $42 isn't going to break the bank.
If, like you say, there's no obligation to provide a certain model, I guess you wouldn't mind getting a CARGO VAN instead of the Prius you reserved? I'll bet every dollar to my name you would be angry, and rightfully so.
You have an interesting way of repaying people who take the time to respond to your posts.
If I reserve a economy car and they give me a Chevy Impala, that is an upgrade. Ditto if they give me a Ford Taurus.
Life is too short to sweat over what king of rental car I get on vacation.
jlawrence01's intention was to help, please refrain from insinuating he's dumb. Priuses are awesome when doing city driving. Your situation is going to be a lot of highway driving, I would pick another car. You might want to factor in comfort for long distance driving too.
makm said:jlawrence01's intention was to help, please refrain from insinuating he's dumb. Priuses are awesome when doing city driving. Your situation is going to be a lot of highway driving, I would pick another car. You might want to factor in comfort for long distance driving too.
Bravo...yes, comfort is a huge factor. I would much rather travel in a Malibu than a Yaris. And i'm as cheap as the next guy.
No guarantees exist. At a larger lot you can always sit and wait for the next car in your class to come in rather than take their upgrade, if time isn't an issue for you. With a typical rental car fleet I'd say look for a Toyota Corolla. It gets excellent gas mileage and rides well over long distances.
This applies mostly outside the USA I'm afraid but may help within as well. Request a diesel! Better mileage, and many RC companies are starting to carry them more frequently, and I've never seen them cost more than their gas counterparts (I may be wrong, please correct me if I am.) If you place a special request for a diesel, and let them know you won't settle for anything else, they will often work to transfer a diesel vehicle to your location and hold that specific vehicle for your reservation - which will limit the chance of receiving a *cough cough* "upgrade." Just like ordering the Kosher meal on flights to make sure it's hot, you get served first, and you know ahead what you are eatting.
HOWEVER, this can go wrong with the upgrade still... In London, thrifty forgot to transfer my vehicle to the lot. The only automatic diesel left for me was a Jag X-type. 45 MPG and just a little bit more comfy than the corolla I had reserved, so I didn't mind that time but it could have EASILY been something like a Land Rover or other unwanted upgrade. I still feel it is safer to demand the diesel than to risk a gasoline upgrade. I've done it 4 times, never in the states, and only had the already mentioned upgrading happen once.
EDIT: Just remembered that not everywhere has comparable gas/diesel costs. If the diesel costs a lot more where you are then this won't decrease how much you are spending of fuel by switching to diesel, it will probably just about break even on the cost per mile, but will still help guarantee your vehicle size.
runningair said: No, $42 isn't going to break the bank, but it's the principle that bothers me. The customer shouldn't be punished like this when a rental company fails to provide the car reserved (or a close equivalent).
i don't disagree, but rental car reservations basically suck. the fact that they don't require a credit card guarantee means people can and do make reservations they don't use, which of course means they accept more reservations than they have cars for. i've had a number of situations where i have had a reservation and they simply don't have any cars at all as more people turned up than expected. i hate the whole process, but really if they can be that crappy they aren't going to back themselves into a corner where you are guaranteed a specific car if they can't even be bothered to guarantee you that there will be anything with wheels in their parking lot.
i would love to see the system change, by the way, and would be happy to put a card number down so i could get the car i want, that's just not the way it is at the minute.
In certain locations you can reserve specific vehicles. For example with Hertz at LAX you can reserve a Prius hybrid or a Camry among other vehicles. With some other rental companies you can specifically reserve a hybrid. You will certainly pay extra for this privilege. The general rule is, the bigger the location, the more options you will have for specific vehicles. Also, you will need to reserve these as early as possible as they do sell out. One thing to look out for is some of the specialty vehicles do not have unlimited miles.
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