The "or similar" hire car lottery - how well do you do?

[thetapeworm]

I've just hired a car for an upcoming holiday and selected the "or similar" option on a Ford Focus, I only need it to get us from the airport to a villa and back with some cases so anything suitable for that will be fine, going for a "guaranteed model" (a Golf) was an extra £100 and I like a surprise.

I've had some success and some less favourable selections doing this over the years and was curious how the rest of you get on.

My best upgrade was a "Focus or similar" that ended up being a delivery mileage Mercedes 220d AMG-Line estate that I really enjoyed.

The least successful one was with the same criteria selected and I ended up with a leggy Vauxhall Meriva in beige where someone had stripped all the removal items out of the interior. Once the novelty of suicide doors wore off I found it only managed about 17mpg on a trip from Leeds to London and back again and then the hire company didn't come and collect it until 10 days after the rental ended.

[4Q]

I booked a Skoda Octavia 4x4 Auto (or similar) from Geneva Airport and when I went to pick it up there was none available and the only other 4x4 Auto they had was an Audi Q7. Great for the drive to Tignes but not so good getting it into the hotels underground car park.

[anonymous-user]

Years ago we got to Melbourne airport and my girlfriend had ordered a 'Yaris or similar'. As we got to the counter the lady said they didn't have any Yaris available so they would upgrade us to an SUV free of charge.

My girlfriend was not happy at all, she won't drive anything that is big and when we collected a Captur in Scotland years ago (I did all the driving) she said it was "massive" as we collected it.

So she refused the SUV, demanded a Yaris and we had to wait while they got one that had just been returned and quickly cleaned it.

We don't actually need a hire car when we are there as she could drive her father's Honda Accord, but you guessed it "it's massive".

[8bit]

I was using hire cars a lot with my job last year. Generally always picked Ford Focus (or similar) in automatic transmission format. So far I've had:

• Range Rover Velar
• Volvo XC60 Hybrid
• Hyndai ioniq
• 2x Audi Q2s
• BMW 420i
• BMW 118i
• various Mercedes A/C/CLA etc.

[5lab]

Booked a Yaris or similar, got a hybrid diesel Merc e class
Booked a focus, got a full size Hyundai SUV thing
Booked a 2 series auto, got an X5

Mostly though, booked a panda, got a panda, or in USA, booked a golf, got something entirely forgettable like a sonata

[shirt]

Usually do ok. Best results with sixt’s pot luck option, usually means them telling you everything they have available and you choosing which one to take.

[parabolica]

We booked a ‘RAV4 or similar’ for our Chicago-Oshkosh trip and turns out Chicago Avis are one of those places where you walk into a parking lot and they say ‘pick any car you want’ - we ended up with a Jeep Grand Cherokee with 200 miles on the clock so did well there; they had mid-size sedans and trucks (Rams) too so some interesting options.



Then we had booked a ‘F150 or similar’ with Alamo in Rapid City for our South Dakota leg and we were given the keys to a 20k mile Ram, which ticked the box for us. Only fly in the ointment is someone has stolen the piping for the screen wash so we have to keep a bottle of water on us at all times

[swisstoni]

Good idea for a thread. I’ve always wondered what people end up with.
I was ‘upgraded’ to an Alfa Stelvio on a recent hol.

I pretty soon realised why, as it was too bloody big for the local roads.

[Quhet]

I don't hire cars all that often and am a cheapskate so have never been successful with this game. Turns out 'Corsa or similar' just means a Corsa when up in Scotland

[brillomaster]

last year we had the 'managers special' car hire from Hertz in San Diego. We really didn't care what we got, as long as it had air conditioning, and the 'managers special' was half the price of actually specifying any class of car.

what did we get given the keys to? a convertible mustang

made the next 7 days /1000 miles very enjoyable indeed - aircon and cruise control for the freeways and 40 deg heat, but got the roof down through the sequoia trees and yosemite national park.

despite starting and ending our journey in california, the car had arizona plates on, so looked to have been on a decent tour of the western states of america already.

[normalbloke]

Fist 500 or similar for a few days visiting friends in Spain. It was a Citroen C1. You could have air conditioning or forward motion, but not at the same time.

[jimmytheone]

We'll be visiting Charleston soon - is there any way of guaranteeing a decent car, even if it means paying more?
I need a V8 and seating for 4.

I dont want to order a Camaro and end up with a Camry, or order a Mustang and get a v6 or some ecoboost nonsense.

Or is it just plain luck?

[Missy Charm]

I once hired a VW Golf 'or similar' from Enterprise. I was handed the keys to a brand new, black Vauxhall Astra TURBO. It had a badge on the boot that said 'TURBO' and a load of other needlessly complicated modern car stuff I couldn't be bothered with. Felt quite slow for a TURBO, although not as slow as a Xantia turbo diesel I owned in the distant past.

[Sway]

I travel out to Florida every few months for work. They sort a car through the corporate scheme with Avis. Think it's a 'mid size saloon' category.

First trip - Camaro.

2nd 'we've got a Buick Encore for you'. 'Sounds good' says I. I then learnt a Buick Encore is a last gen Vauxhall Mokka. bks.

3rd - Charger Daytona SRT. Beast.

I've also had a RAM pickup, and a Challenger.

Clearly, Dodge do great deals with Avis. I've learnt I quite like Dodges.

[parabolica]

jimmytheone said:

We'll be visiting Charleston soon - is there any way of guaranteeing a decent car, even if it means paying more?
I need a V8 and seating for 4.

I dont want to order a Camaro and end up with a Camry, or order a Mustang and get a v6 or some ecoboost nonsense.

Or is it just plain luck?

The days of V8 rentals are mostly over. If you want something with a decent engine you have to go SUV or truck really; both of my cars above have the 3.6 V6 which for the most part is a great engine - just missing those 2 final cylinders. Most outfits may still offer “prestige vehicles” in which you might get a V8, but they are mostly convertibles which will be a squeeze for 4.

[jimmytheone]

parabolica said:

The days of V8 rentals are mostly over. If you want something with a decent engine you have to go SUV or truck really; both of my cars above have the 3.6 V6 which for the most part is a great engine - just missing those 2 final cylinders. Most outfits may still offer “prestige vehicles” in which you might get a V8, but they are mostly convertibles which will be a squeeze for 4.

Thanks, but disappointing.
I'll perhaps see what they've got when i get there.
A friend has offered me a day trip in his truck which is 50's/60's Ford perhaps so i should still get to scratch the v8 itch.

i gather SC in summer is hot and sticky so surely its air con and hood up?!

[h0b0]

My flight into Geneva airport was delayed and caused the rental company I had booked with to be closed by the time I got there. Trying to get a car from a counter was proving to be crazy expensive. I was also having a nightmare with mobile signal and 2 very tired kids. I managed to book a small car for a reasonable price. I went to the counter and the guy looked at the large pile of bags and laughed. He said, do not worry, you can have a V-Class. We had no idea what it was.

last gen version of this

[Gad-Westy]

I never win at this game. If I'm getting something similar to a Corsa, I can 100% guarantee I'm getting a bloody Corsa.

The only time I've ever come close to winning hire car roulette is when I was handed the keys to the only K11 Micra in existence that wouldn't start. I have no problem with a K11 Micra now, but I was 18 at the time and this one was metallic turquoise. I could have hugged the guy at Hertz when I was given the keys to a then just released MK4 Astra instead. 1.6 16v no less. Nice!

[mattman]

Always use Avis and typically ask nicely what other cars are available.
Had a few work trips and managed to get free upgrades on the mid sized booked
Camaro 6.3 SS and Camaro RS cabriolet
Mustang 5.0 and Mustang 2.3 cabriolet
Challenger
300c
Explorer long wheelbase thing

Best fun was the Camaro SS - Tyres lit up at the slightest prod of the throttle

[Radec]

When I'm hiring for work, we always have to select compact economy, which usually means some crappy Corsa or equivalent.

Most of the time I'll ask for a diesel and automatic which Enterprise hardly ever have stock of in small cars, so instead just send me whatever they have in.
I've had near enough brand new cars delivered, off the top of my head, the likes of a A4 3.0 TDI S Lines, Merc c220d, Golf GTD, Hyundai Tucson, Skoda SUV.
I still get the occasional white goods hatchback though.

All for around £40 odd a day.