Driving California - Car Hire

[bad company]

Mrs BC are flying to San Francisco in a couple of weeks. We will stay in town for a couple of days then take to the road.

We will hire a car to be dropped off at Los Angeles airpor. We like convertibles but last time all we were offered was a Chrysler Sebring (dog). Another time we hired a Ford Mustang which was just about ok. The problem is that the car hire firms will not guarantee what they can offer.

Does anybody know where we can hire a decent convertible?

[steveo3002]

hertz will gaurentee a mustang at a price , possibly a corvette

otherwise its a gamble on the sebrings lol

Edited by steveo3002 on Thursday 31st March 12:51

[bad company]

The Sebring is truly awful, like driving a boat!!

[steveo3002]

yeah we had one once lol ..g/f still raves about it lol

they also have pt cruiser converts too

[The_Doc]

I paid for a convertible for our three week Cali tour last year.
Booked through Holiday Autos who gave a quote from Alamo, selected the "Convertible" class which quotes Chrysler Sebring or similar.

Got to San Fran to pick up our dream convertible car for the tour, had to queue for 2 hours despite turning up at the office 30mins early.

Get to the front of the queue....... no more convertibles in the city. 6 bookings allocated, 4 cars in the garage last night.

Given some enormous Ford Explorer piece of American cr4p, NOT a nice convertible for a three week driving holiday.

6 hours later and having visited 4 more rental offices over about 70miles, got myself a Jeep Wrangler. Note that I found it myself, Alamo did precisely fk all to help.

Had a great three weeks in the Jeep, strange car with a 4.3ltr engine making 150bhp...

Complained to Alamo/HolidayAutos/My travel agent fully, immediately, and with all paperwork when I got back.....

got zip. no apology, nothing, and they stiffed me for a tank of gas when I dropped it off.

BE WARNED abut the national car hire firms, they DO NOT CARE ABOUT YOU, ONLY YOUR WALLET.

[/rant]

[Reardy Mister]

The_Doc said:

I paid for a convertible for our three week Cali tour last year.
Booked through Holiday Autos who gave a quote from Alamo, selected the "Convertible" class which quotes Chrysler Sebring or similar.

Got to San Fran to pick up our dream convertible car for the tour, had to queue for 2 hours despite turning up at the office 30mins early.

Get to the front of the queue....... no more convertibles in the city. 6 bookings allocated, 4 cars in the garage last night.

Given some enormous Ford Explorer piece of American cr4p, NOT a nice convertible for a three week driving holiday.

6 hours later and having visited 4 more rental offices over about 70miles, got myself a Jeep Wrangler. Note that I found it myself, Alamo did precisely fk all to help.

Had a great three weeks in the Jeep, strange car with a 4.3ltr engine making 150bhp...

Complained to Alamo/HolidayAutos/My travel agent fully, immediately, and with all paperwork when I got back.....

got zip. no apology, nothing, and they stiffed me for a tank of gas when I dropped it off.

BE WARNED abut the national car hire firms, they DO NOT CARE ABOUT YOU, ONLY YOUR WALLET.

[/rant]

Crappy situation. Petty as it sounds, getting the wrong hire car could easily ruin my whole holiday.


But Im inclined to think your issue lies more with Holiday Autos than Alamo?

[steveo3002]

the rental sites are carefull to state that its a car of that size such as a xyz or "similar" if they put you in the next one up thats a upgrade and theyve sorted you out in thier book

just beacuse the site shows a mondeo , you might get a kia or hyundai when you get there

if that did happen and you really need that car , call back the next day or after the weekend and see if they have any of the ones you wanted in

Edited by steveo3002 on Thursday 31st March 17:03

[steveo3002]

im picking a from dollar tommorow , half expecting a kia or other tripe, not that the charger is awesome but i like american car while im there

[Deva Link]

steveo3002 said:

im picking a from dollar tommorow , half expecting a kia or other tripe, not that the charger is awesome but i like american car while im there

I've found that if you stress that you want an American car then they're usually accommodating.

I've had a convertible in Ca but I didn't particularly enjoy it - it's bloody boiling as soon as you slow down and in traffic you get choked with fumes. Boot space is a real issue too. Personally I'd rather have a big SUV for touring - they're much more relaxing to drive. Last trip to Florida Hertz messed up the reservation and gave me an Escalade for keeping me waiting which was fantastic.

Edited by Deva Link on Thursday 31st March 18:23

[steveo3002]

yeah im done with convertibles , either cold or sunburn in them

the deal on got on the "charger" is dirt cheap so as long as its clean and drives ok its good enough

[rcspeirs]

As mentioned above, the main rental companies always include an "or similar" clause in their car groups. That's why I've have a Kia C'eed masquerading as equivalent to a Mondeo and a Meriva masquerading as equivalent to a Focus.

If you really really really want a particular model, it can be done, but expect to pay more (because the rental company has much less freedom on their inventory, so have to up the rates to cover that).
With Hertz, look at "fun collection". With Avis, look at "Select Series". In these car groups, you are guaranteed the exact model that you order. I've mentioned Avis and Hertz because I use them, I suspect the other majors will have similar schemes.

[bad company]

Well having booked a Mustang convertible from San Francisco to LA Hertz decided that a Toyota Corollar was 'similar'.

Managed to swop a few days later for a Chrysler Sebring which is a pile is s**t!

[Matt..]

I want a Challenger or maybe a Mustang for a few days at the end of September to drive down the PCH but can't find anything at all! Is this to far ahead, or are they always this hard to get hold of?

I have tried the Hertz website, and it's odd because if i use the UK site to search for SFO to LAX i get a basic Mustang as an option, yet if i try the same on their US site i get no Mustang... Ideally i want the Mustang GT though and not the boring V6 model.

Is it worth waiting to book, or is there just nothing around?

[Matt..]

After another look on the US Hertz site it appears you can't do one way rentals with the 'Adrenaline' collection, and they don't have them in San Francisco

[American iv]

Try http://www.carhire3000.com - I went through them for my booking in October. By ringing they were able to put a note on the account saying the exact car I wanted rather than "similar". They couldn't say for certain I'd get it, but he said chances were good.

Obviously, I can't say if I got the 2dr Charger or not yet

[steveo3002]

just got back from my cali trip...booked with carhire3000 and dollar was the agent

full size showed a charger on the website and i had choice of chargers , crown victoria or an impala , they were all scruffy except one crown vic

dollar just give you the section number and take whatever you fancy

[American iv]

uhoh - I've booked with Dollar too.

[steveo3002]

if you get the chance take a charger over a crown vic , although though the crown vic is v8 its sluggish and a juicey bugger

[Matt..]

Am i correct in my assumption that Hertz and Avis are the preferred options with rentals in the US?

Fox Rentals look like a good option on first look as they do Challengers and Camaros but they also work out to be extremely expensive once way way chargs are added! (2x the price of an Avis 'Mustang or similar').

[steveo3002]

theres not much in any of the companys when it all goes smoothly , hertz does seem to be a tad nicer and the car might be slightly cleaner /better condition but doesnt warrent the extra $$$ if somewhere else has the same for cheaper

worth looking into joining the express or whatever club your decided company offer , should get you through faster

pot luck still..you might pay top money at hertz and get a car on its last rental before being sold on , or use el cheapo and get a brand new spanker

Edited by steveo3002 on Saturday 30th April 22:50