hertz rental car observation...free tank of fuel

hertz rental car observation...free tank of fuel

Author
Discussion

steveo3002

Original Poster:

10,545 posts

175 months

Tuesday 22nd January 2013
quotequote all
ive noticed something..might not work on everycar /location

hertz.co.uk booking on internet explorer = no free fuel

same booking on safari or chrome = free tank of fuel

my example is for lax and a dodge challenger /camaro , worth a try if you are booking

Matt Harper

6,623 posts

202 months

Tuesday 22nd January 2013
quotequote all
Are you sure about this?
Is this not a case of pre-paying the fuel, meaning you take the car back empty?
I'd be stunned if Hertz was generous to the point of giving away $80 worth of gasoline to anyone.
I'm Hertz #1 Club and they've never given me so much as an egg-cup full of free gas.

GCH

3,999 posts

203 months

Tuesday 22nd January 2013
quotequote all
Matt Harper said:
I'm Hertz #1 Club and they've never given me so much as an egg-cup full of free gas.
+1
Quite the opposite- I routinely get rinsed for returning it with anything less than a full tank

steveo3002

Original Poster:

10,545 posts

175 months

Tuesday 22nd January 2013
quotequote all
heres my booking made today with google chrome..internet explorer showed same price but no gas...no idea why just saying incase it helps someone

or have i got it wrong? first tank of fuel included -means take it back empty no?



Edited by steveo3002 on Tuesday 22 January 21:12

saleen836

11,137 posts

210 months

Tuesday 22nd January 2013
quotequote all
To me that reads that you pick the car up with a full tank as the price for it has been included in the price.

steveo3002

Original Poster:

10,545 posts

175 months

Tuesday 22nd January 2013
quotequote all
spose id best confirm with hertz..

i read it as first tank is inc/paid for , so i can take it back empty?

Matt Harper

6,623 posts

202 months

Tuesday 22nd January 2013
quotequote all
Margins on car rentals are slim. They all make a lot of profit on their various and creative fuel scams.
However they may couch it, none of 'em give away gasoline, of that you can rest assured.

Thunderace

759 posts

246 months

Wednesday 23rd January 2013
quotequote all
Yes, it means you pick it up full and return it as close to empty as possible. I have frequently had this included with Hertz (and others).

It irritates me slightly that if you book for 2 or 3 weeks you still only get one free tank, have come up with various masterplans for booking multiple weeks separately but in the end it seems like a lot of hassle to keep swapping cars over rolleyes

Have to start estimating how many miles still required and how much fuel needed towards the end of the trip if you need to add fuel again nerd

My record is zero KM left showing on the fuel meter when I hand it back wink

steveo3002

Original Poster:

10,545 posts

175 months

Wednesday 23rd January 2013
quotequote all
Thunderace said:
Yes, it means you pick it up full and return it as close to empty as possible. I have frequently had this included with Hertz (and others).

It irritates me slightly that if you book for 2 or 3 weeks you still only get one free tank, have come up with various masterplans for booking multiple weeks separately but in the end it seems like a lot of hassle to keep swapping cars over rolleyes

Have to start estimating how many miles still required and how much fuel needed towards the end of the trip if you need to add fuel again nerd

My record is zero KM left showing on the fuel meter when I hand it back wink
any idea how you trigger this free tank to appear when making quotes? as i said i got this only on a few cars and with safari , would be handy if theres way to always get it

Matt Harper

6,623 posts

202 months

Wednesday 23rd January 2013
quotequote all
You are pre-paying for the fuel. It's not free.

steveo3002

Original Poster:

10,545 posts

175 months

Wednesday 23rd January 2013
quotequote all
well true it doesnt say free ..its just at the time i could raise a quote for the same price without fuel included

booked now so not to worry...fairly happy with the price and i get 15% back off quidco

Silver993tt

9,064 posts

240 months

Wednesday 23rd January 2013
quotequote all
GCH said:
Matt Harper said:
I'm Hertz #1 Club and they've never given me so much as an egg-cup full of free gas.
+1
Quite the opposite- I routinely get rinsed for returning it with anything less than a full tank
I'm also a member but never use the membership to book a car. It's always cheaper to book anonymously on the Hertz website rather than logging on as a member. I tried explaining this numerous times to Hertz over several years but nothing changed. Always use Avis now.

Thunderace

759 posts

246 months

Wednesday 23rd January 2013
quotequote all
Matt Harper said:
You are pre-paying for the fuel. It's not free.
I know it's not really 'free', but it can still be worthwhile. The most recent Hertz deal I used was in Canada for a 4x4. The 'super-enhanced' deal cost an extra £20 a week but include the 'free' tank and additional drivers versus the bog standard version. Even at Canadian fuel prices the tank of fuel was worth £50 or so. I can comfortably get down to single figure KMs left with a bit of mental arithmetic and sufficient fingers and toes.

h0b0

7,653 posts

197 months

Wednesday 23rd January 2013
quotequote all
Thunderace said:
Yes, it means you pick it up full and return it as close to empty as possible. I have frequently had this included with Hertz (and others).

It irritates me slightly that if you book for 2 or 3 weeks you still only get one free tank, have come up with various masterplans for booking multiple weeks separately but in the end it seems like a lot of hassle to keep swapping cars over rolleyes
In your situation it does seem like a lot of hassle for a free tank of fuel. I once found out from Avis that if you rented a car for the weekend on 3 occasion you got some incentive. I rented a car from them for 3 months straight and inquired if my 12 weekends counted for anything and was told that because it was a single rental I did not qualify. mad

Matt Harper

6,623 posts

202 months

Wednesday 23rd January 2013
quotequote all
In the example in this thread - the renter is paying circa $100 per day for an R/T Challenger - I have a 2 SS Camaro (same class) right now on a 4 day rental from Hertz at Indianapolis Airport. Granted, it's a fairly aggressive corporate rate, secured by my client and I have a supposedly preferential status, but mine works out at a little less than $70 per day. That's a $30 per day difference, which may go some way to accounting for the "free tank of gas" in the example above.

I suspect that very, very few renters return their cars 'on fumes', so the rental companies make some additional bunce on every pre-paid fuel rental. Even if it's only 10 bucks a time, if you multiply that by several hundred per day, it's easy to see why the rental companies get so creative withe their varied fuel rip-offs.

steveo3002

Original Poster:

10,545 posts

175 months

Wednesday 23rd January 2013
quotequote all
i dont get your what gripe is

should i have paid the same for a car with no " tank of gas included" it was the same price , best deal i could find as joe public with a discount code

£130 less say £40 of gas , £19.50 cashback from quidco ..makes it £35 a day

Matt Harper

6,623 posts

202 months

Wednesday 23rd January 2013
quotequote all
No gripe at all - just wanted to reiterate that Hertz don't give away gasoline, as was suggested here. Don't want anyone getting all expectant about a benefit that doesn't exist, is all.
It's marketing/pricing chicanery, rather than a free offer. Have a great vacation!