Hertz - Pay at location

[Matt..]

I have been quoted $550 to rent a Challenger RT for 4 days to drive down the PCH. The prepay cost is double the pay at location cost of $550! Is it likely that there will be extra fees to pay, or will it just be the $550? I won't get charged a cost similar to the prepay cost (eg. double) will i?


Thanks

[Matt..]

Hmmmm... If i go to Hertz.co.uk it tells me £609 ($1,000), if i go to Hertz.com it tells me £320 ($530). What's going on there?

They both look exactly the same on the confirm screen, and both include the following:
Total Approximate Charge includes
Airport Concession Fee Recovery On Flight Arrivals
Loss Damage Waiver
Tax and other charges
Liability Insurance Supplement
Vehicle Licensing Cost Recovery
TRANSPORTATION AND FACILITIES FEE
California Tourism Commission Assessment



I don't understand why it's giving wildly different prices? Can anyone help?

[Nickyboy]

Check what your country of residence is selected as, i've found certain cars are cheaper if you are a US resident.

[steveo3002]

not unheard of for differant countrys to get better rates , although i understood u.s customers tend to have thier own insurance so that would bring up a cheaper rate?

if it says all the insurance is included then it sounds good , they have a 7 day period to cancel anyhow

you can go through quidco for 10% back too , and join thier goldclub for free so you can jump any lines at the desk

[Matt..]

Through the European sites i think we get CDW don't we? This is what i've heard, but i can't see anything about that on the actual website. Even if that's true, £300 for 4 days CDW insurance is a little steep isn't it?

[F i F]

He's got loss damage waiver on both which is better than CDW.
I've always assumed the difference is due to 3rd party liability insurance which is quite expensive, and Americans often have on their home/personal/business cover.

However I get something slightly different, both on hertz.co.uk

This was just a guess on dates and 5 days duration, one way rental SFO>LAX
No extras, eg neverlost, extar drivers etc. Both rate code WOW
Both include LDW and LIS

I get two options to click and book.

Pre-Pay online in GBP 762.15
Pay at Location USD 744 (approx GBP 451,68)

Also the pre-pay online, which they claim in the pop up box to be cheaper, you also have a cancellation fee after 7 days from the date of booking. No cancellation fee for pay at location.

Of course pre-pay online allows you to budget in advance and they shouldn't in theory block off the huge amount of credit on your card that will happen with the pay at location option. Also the exchange rate is guaranteed. But hell something stupid has to happen to GBP/USD rates in the meantime, eg GBP has to drop below 1:1.

Very Strange.

[fatandwheezing]

With budget, we found the opposite. Booking through the UK site was much cheaper than the US site, as all insurances were included. they charge you on collection, but give you a maximum amount you will pay, in the end it was a few quid less.

Only trouble is their "premium" range isn't always that premium.

[Reardy Mister]

Im just struggling with this now. Trying to hire from Chicago O'Hare for 4 days. Have so far been in touch with US central booking and the service desk at O'Hare. When speaking to the service desk on a number issued by budget, the girl had to exit her AVIS system when I gave her a budget discount code.

Booking on the net is much cheaper than over the phone, the central desk showed no Camaros or 'stangs at that location, yet the service desk said there are plenty, you wouldnt even have to book one - BUT you cant book one of those via the service desk, it has to be via the international booking number. Price for Camaro Hardtop for 4 days - £378.00

For the main part though, seeing much higher prices as soon as I book from the UK site, even over listing the UK as my residence on the US site. Seems to be much cheaper on budget than Avis or Hertz. BUT, when you go to pay, the added fees and taxes take it up to almost the same. Im tempted to just bowl up and book and pay for something at the time. She said upgrading at the service desk was very straight forward.

Anyone done that? Or is that suicide?

[Matt..]

I have just booked a Challenger RT for 4 days from SFO to LAX in September. The cost was $530 (~£330) through Hertz.co.uk with pay at location. As default on the .co.uk site it was selecting prepay, which is twice the price, but you can change it to pay at location. It's not cheap, and probably a crazy car for someone like myself. It's a bit of fun though, and i can always cancel if i get to scared

[F i F]

Reardy Mister said:

Im tempted to just bowl up and book and pay for something at the time. She said upgrading at the service desk was very straight forward.

Anyone done that? Or is that suicide?

It's easy to physically do, it's also easy to get carried away as the upgrade charges are per day, and the other charges can also go up, per day.

But you aren't hiring for a long trip so the damage can be limited.

Mostly when I'm in USA I just get given a car from the garage and 90% of the time it's either a Crown Vic or a Monster SUV, but anytime I've upgraded it's almost always because they don't have the quipmnt I've booked, so the upgrade has been free or very very heavily discounted due to a negotiation on a higher upgrade than offered and agreeing to pay a couple of bucks towards the cost.

In short you can do it easily but need to have your wits about you imo.