USA Car Hire - guaranteed vehicle
Discussion
You're right to be looking for this, couple of times i've been let down by rental outfits at SFO with completely different cars to those I chose at the time of booking. Car rental companies really are the worst of them all.
Have you looked at Turo? Not sure if it'll work for your use case and i've never used it but it's like an AirBnB for rental cars, so you'll get the car you choose at the very least.
Have you looked at Turo? Not sure if it'll work for your use case and i've never used it but it's like an AirBnB for rental cars, so you'll get the car you choose at the very least.
bad company said:
Absolutely right. I paid extra to guarantee a Mustang at LAX, when I got there all they had was a Chrysler Sebring which was an absolute dog.
The exact same thing happened to me at SFO, ended up in a Sebring... then it happened again in LA a couple of years later but they at least gave me a Camaro that time. Such a lottery.We drove across the Rockies a few years ago from Vancouver to Calgary. I'd always fancied a massive SUV for a few days so booked a 'guaranteed' Suburban. We ended up with a Tahoe. Was a bit miffed at airport but Tahoe was huge anyway. Totally ridiculous for me, Mrs E and a couple of canvas bags but totally awesome too. We booked with Hertz.
bad company said:
8.4L 154 said:
The word Guaranteed has a different meaning to car rental companies than the rest of us.
Absolutely right. I paid extra to guarantee a Mustang at LAX, when I got there all they had was a Chrysler Sebring which was an absolute dog.The "guarantee" was, when you read the small print, to supply the car requested, "or an upgraded vehicle at no extra cost".
8.4L 154 said:
The word Guaranteed has a different meaning to car rental companies than the rest of us.
I've always received the car I picked when booking the Hertz guaranteed model thing but obviously people can be late returning cars, they can be crashed/out of service etc so it's probably not a 100% guarantee.But if you just want a massive SUV I would just pick that size category, no need to pay extra unless you want an Escalade or something. There's loads of them in the USA!
Fifty said:
Yes, something like a Tahoe, as opposed to something like a Rav4.
I’ll take a look at Truro.
But a Tahoe is the class size up compared to a Rav4 , so highly unlikely they would give you a Rav4 unless something went quite wrong.I’ll take a look at Truro.
I used to care alot about what car IO got, but ow, as long as I get the zize I ordered then I'm happy.
We came back from Orlando in January. We ordered a 'Chevy Tahoe or similar. I had a choice of four. I chose the Ford Expedition as I've never had one before. I was happy with that. I left as someone was arguing about the size of car he ordered not having parking sensors. His family looked very embarrassed.
Nissan Arcadia was offer but in the premium category. Looked very ugly compared to everything else, but rental guy said, people like the V8!
Fifty said:
That's a fair point - maybe I should just book that group of car and see what we get.
If you book an extra capacity 7 seat suv you should get something with two zip codes assigned to it. Most likely a suburban XL, Yukon or Tahoe XL as choices are limited for the rental co in that category. You will have plenty of bag space and 7 seats if you need them or somewhere to sleep with the third row down and you will have to climb aboard to get a suitcase from the very back of the trunk.If you go for the large SUV you will likely get something with a decent trunk and usable 7 seats but might not get a huge trunk with the 7 seats available but your still looking in the tahoe and small suburban in terms of model. If you go down to the L4 SUV there is much more range in what they can supply and i have been palmed off with some pretty small SUV's which technically had 7 seats. But if there is 2-4 of you then you will probably get something pretty big by UK standards and still have space for bags with the third row down, but you wont be the big car in the lot by any means, just big by UK standards.
Ezra said:
We drove across the Rockies a few years ago from Vancouver to Calgary. I'd always fancied a massive SUV for a few days so booked a 'guaranteed' Suburban. We ended up with a Tahoe. Was a bit miffed at airport but Tahoe was huge anyway. Totally ridiculous for me, Mrs E and a couple of canvas bags but totally awesome too. We booked with Hertz.
Interesting, we did a roadtrip around Vancouver Island and I also wanted a Suburban, When I got to YVR to pick it up they said it's only just come in, you can wait an hour for it to be valeted or take a Tahoe, I waited, then proceeded to drive to my hotel where it would not fit in the underground car park, Very kind Manager said I could use his parking spot as it was just a one night stay. When we hired in Boston I rexerved a Mondeo sized car and was given the option of one class smaller or one bigger at collection at no extra charge as they had no Mondeo class in. I opted obviously to go bigger and was given a Mercury Grand Marquis which was enjoyable. On the flip in California I got a Hyundai Sonata.
Fifty said:
There will be 4 of us, each with a suitcase - and I just fancied something 'big' (relatively speaking) for the journey and a week in LA.
Overkill? Probably. Care factor? Zero
Not a bad choice with that many people and cases. I just drove across the US in an Expedition Max on my own why a duffel bag…Overkill? Probably. Care factor? Zero
I would just book a large SUV myself, I’ve never been downgraded from that class. It might not be a Tahoe but it will be big and nice.
Fifty said:
There will be 4 of us, each with a suitcase - and I just fancied something 'big' (relatively speaking) for the journey and a week in LA.
Overkill? Probably. Care factor? Zero
Good choice, it won't even feel that big over there either. I had one of those Yukon things last time, it handled like a boat as you would expect but it was great for just cruising around with 5 people who can all stretch their legs out.Overkill? Probably. Care factor? Zero
It's also quite amusing to see things like an ML/X5 parked in a "Compact" parking space
Thanks chaps - seems like large SUV is the way to go.
Next question - if I booked through one of the rental screenscrapers with Company A as it's £100 cheaper than going direct with Company A - is there any disadvantage to this? i.e. might I be more likely to get an upgrade if I go direct?
Next question - if I booked through one of the rental screenscrapers with Company A as it's £100 cheaper than going direct with Company A - is there any disadvantage to this? i.e. might I be more likely to get an upgrade if I go direct?
Fifty said:
Thanks chaps - seems like large SUV is the way to go.
Next question - if I booked through one of the rental screenscrapers with Company A as it's £100 cheaper than going direct with Company A - is there any disadvantage to this? i.e. might I be more likely to get an upgrade if I go direct?
If you’re already booking a large SUV then just about the only upgrade is a bigger SUV which is invariably the exact same car with an extra foot or so glued to the back so not really worth sweating over upgrades.Next question - if I booked through one of the rental screenscrapers with Company A as it's £100 cheaper than going direct with Company A - is there any disadvantage to this? i.e. might I be more likely to get an upgrade if I go direct?
I can recommend the ford expedition (max) and the jeep (grand) wagoneer
Avoid the 4 runner and armada imho
We had a 2024 expedition max with 18 miles on it this year not often have I increased a hire cars odo many many multiples of times before
It even had the peelable protective plastic on some of the trims still
Avoid the 4 runner and armada imho
We had a 2024 expedition max with 18 miles on it this year not often have I increased a hire cars odo many many multiples of times before
It even had the peelable protective plastic on some of the trims still
Gassing Station | Holidays & Travel | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff