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Just two weeks ago, in a post about rental car upgrades, I mentioned how some car rental agencies will first try to upsell you. Then, if you decline the extra charge, they give you the higher-class car anyway, at no extra charge.

Well, it happened to me again. The scene of the crime: Dollar Rent-a-Car. San Antonio Airport. March 14.:

Agent: I see you’ve reserved a compact. We’ve got a 2-door Suzuki Forenza.

me: That’s fine, thanks.

Agent: The Forenza doesn’t have power windows, power locks, or power steering. For only $45 more for the duration of the rental, we can put you into a nice new Nissan Sentra, that’s a midsize.

me: (incredulously) The Forenza doesn’t have power steering?!!?

Agent: No, it doesn’t. We buy them with no options for $8000, that’s how we can rent them out so cheap.

me: (skeptically) But no power steering?? I’ll still take the compact, thanks.

Agent: You’re sure? It’s not much more for the Sentra!

me: I’m sure.

[type type type]

Fact Check, upon returning home:

1) The Suzuki Forenza doesn’t come in a 2-door.
2) All Suzuki Forenzas (sedans and wagons) come with power steering.

Here, have a review.

Back to the bamboozlement!

Agent: We recommend that everyone take our Loss Damage Waiver [I started tuning out for a bit here]… and we charge for loss of use, which your insurance doesn’t cover.

me: I know all about loss of use. I’m covered. I’m declining all coverage.

I love how the agent knows all about my personal auto insurance and the coverage provided by my Visa card. Nice.

After more typing, and some harrumphing by the agent, I get the contract, get on the shuttle bus, and get dropped off at my car…

A 2007 Nissan Sentra.

I looked around the lot, and how many Suzuki Forenzas — especially the mythical 2-door model without power steering — did I see? None.

On a previous post, commenter Jason wrote about attempts like this to upsell the customer when a free upgrade was pending. Jason said such practices were a fire-able offense at Alamo/National. Apparently not the case at Dollar…

In the end, I was fine receiving this upgrade, since it’s a decent ride with solid fuel economy. It’s not like they gave me a minivan.

But the outright lies that were told to me at the desk were atrocious.

Related:
- Reader mail: Why would I want to upgrade my rental car?
- Loss of use? Get lost.

The fine folks at the Consumerist got a tell-all e-mail from a former (and presumably disgruntled) employee of Enterprise Rent-a-Car. Included: some info on how to negotiate better rates.

Some are unethical, such as claiming to be an insurance adjustor for State Farm. Don’t do that.

But other tips are helpful, such as:

1. Enterprise doesn’t have any set prices. […] the agent manually types out how much you pay per day and he has authority to make it pretty much whatever he thinks you should pay.
[…]
6. For the best weekend deal call up on Friday sometime before 2pm and say, “I have all my info, drivers license and credit card, can I get a rental all setup so I don’t have to do anything but sign the ticket when I come in?”

The extent to which Enterprise’s rates are negotiable is particularly striking, and potentially useful, if you’re in the market for a rental car and aren’t afraid to haggle.

The whole post is here.

Reader Tanya writes:

I know you’re all about the upgrade, but what about the rental car upgrade? I was offered a free upgrade to an SUV last week. I had reserved an economy or a compact, like I do every other week, and I was happy to drive my fuel-efficient Hyundai Accent or whatever. They wanted to upgrade me to a Ford Explorer. I didn’t want one. I don’t like SUVs, for environmental reasons, as well as the additional cost of gas. (I own my own business, so I care about the bill.) So what’s your take on car upgrades?

I’m with you, Tanya. Like you, I care about the environment — and my wallet — and would rather burn less fuel. Car rentals are the one type of free upgrade that actually end up costing you more, since the upgraded vehicle is typically a gas guzzler.

I’m admittedly pretty spartan with my rental car needs. I like a nice bed and a cushy seat on the plane, but I’m less demanding with my vehicles. Reasonably comfortable (no Kia Rio!), fuel efficient, reliable, and clean? Consider it rented.

Others may have different demands. They may need to transport clients, or a large number of family members, so greater comfort may be an issue. But in that case, they should be reserving an appropriate vehicle in the first place.

Still others might want to satisfy their aspirational fantasies at the rental car counter, so an upgrade might be welcome if they can get a car they’d never buy (or afford.) I can see this argument, especially if the car being offered is genuinely exotic.

There might be other sensible upgrades, for special circumstances, like getting bumped up to a convertible when you’re on vacation in Hawaii. (That’s an upgrade I’ve accepted.)

Remember that upgrades aren’t always a recognition of you as a valued customer. They’re often for the convenience of the agency. I’ve experienced this scenario several times, and in fact, I’ve declined an upgrade more than once.

In those instances, the upgrade is a function of vehicle supply. They upgrade you because they’ve run out of the vehicle category you actually reserved. First they try to upsell you to the higher category, but if you refuse they give you the car anyway. It goes like this:

Them: “Would you like to upgrade to an SUV for only $13.95 extra per day?”
Me: “No thank you, the compact will be fine.”
Them: “It’ll be a much more comfortable ride! Lots more space!”
Me: “No thank you, I prefer the compact.”
Them: “Ok, here are your keys… sign here, etc. etc.”
Me: (looking at the keys or the contract details) “Hey, this is an SUV!”
Them: “Yes, I upgraded you for free.”
Me: “I just told you I didn’t want the SUV. I didn’t want it for $13.95, and I don’t want it free. Thanks, but no thanks. May I please have the compact?”
Them: “Sorry, sir, we’re out of compacts.”

Lucky me…

Love the car upgrade? Hate it? Wish you’d get one? Sound off in comments!

A reminder: Reader mail is always welcome. Just use the “contact” form at the top right of the blog to send a secure e-mail. Don’t forget to indicate how you’d like to be referred to, and if you have a blog or website of your own to which you’d like a linkback.

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Chris Elliott slams a decision by the United States District Court in Newark, NJ, which ruled that car rental companies are within their rights to charge $5.99 per gallon of gas, if you fail to return the car at the specified fuel level.

I’m not as riled up by this as Chris. I think the markup is absurd, of course, but it’s no more ridiculous than any other late charge. (Consider the difference between the hourly rate and daily rate for late returns. That’s pretty remarkable, too.)

As much as I advocate for consumer rights, it’s the customer’s job to bring the car back with gas, so I don’t have a big problem with these penalty fees.

And besides, the fees are limited by the size of the gas tank. The greater your laziness, the greater your bill.

But if we’re going to talk about gasoline and rental cars, let’s have at it:
What ticks me off more is when the car rental attendants are too lazy to actually fill the tank from the last lazy customer before handing the vehicle off to the me.

Getting a car with the fuel level hovering somewhere between 1/2 and 3/4 is a major pet peeve of mine. And the rental agent’s quip of “Oh, just bring it back at that level” ? That doesn’t cut it.

As I’ve said before, it’s nearly impossible to approximate the proper gas level if it’s not full when you start. If you’re trying to be a good citizen, and trying to avoid the gouging fees of $5.99/gallon gas, you’ll always end up over-filling, thereby giving the company a gift of a gallon or two. And that’s not acceptable. I want a car with a full fuel tank, so I can return it full, without pulling out a calculator.

So how about this: Any car rental company that charges double the market rate for gasoline agrees to actually fill the tank for the next customer? Deal? Don’t make us come after you with a renters’ bill of rights!

(By the way, I realize that my European readers, in particular, may be guffawing at my insistence that $5.99 for a gallon of gasoline is expensive. So yes, yes, I know, Americans have cheap fuel, compared to the rest of the world.)

Related:
- Low mileage, high surcharges

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Ed Perkins points to the deceitful but unfortunately effective practice of insurance upselling by front-desk employees at car rental agencies.

Agents told [customers] that although their [credit] cards covered damage to the vehicle, they didn’t cover the additional “loss of use” fee the car company would collect for the rental revenue lost while a damaged car was out of service. That statement is a flat-out lie.

Loss of use is included in the CDW (collision damage waiver) provision of credit card coverage. If your card has rental car insurance built in, then you should be fine. (Check your card’s fine print to see if you have the coverage in the first place, of course. If you don’t have the rules governing your card’s benefits, call your bank and have them send it. If you don’t have the coverage, get a card that does.)

This “loss of use” story is a sales pitch I’ve gotten before at the time of rental, most memorably and insistently from a desk agent at Advantage Rent-a-Car at the Phoenix airport. I’ll never forget that guy. He kept telling me over and over again how much Advantage charges for “loss of use,” and how neither my own auto insurance nor my credit card would cover it. It was his aggressive hard-sell, and the snotty attitude he copped after I declined his coverage again and again, which cemented my policy to never rent from Advantage ever again.

Bottom line: Never trust a car rental agent to tell you what your existing insurance covers. Not when they try to tell you about the insurance provided by a credit card, and not when they try to tell you about your own policy.

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Some shameless self-promotion:
I have a piece published in the March 2007 issue of FastCompany on new and forthcoming improvements to the car rental experience.

While you’ll obviously want to buy dozens of copies of the magazine to share with your friends and family, you can also read the text online here. You’ll miss out on the snappy layout and artwork by reading it online, though!

Reader Larry H. writes:

I know I’m heading to Jackson Hole, Wyoming, in September. How far in advance should I reserve my rental car?

Larry, it’s never too soon to start. Find the lowest rate you can, make a reservation now, and keep checking back for lower rates. I’m assuming you don’t have a preference as to rental car provider.

Unlike buying airline tickets, you’re generally not paying any money up front when you reserve a rental car. And if prices go down, you can always make a new reservation and then cancel the old one. (Note, on some airlines, you can get a refund on your airfare when the price drops, too, but unless you’re buying higher-priced refundable fares, you can’t just cancel your old reservations and make fresh ones willy-nilly without paying fees.)

So you should always revisit your old reservations and try to whittle that price down. As the date creeps closer, you’d also do well to check with Hotwire or Priceline, to try to beat the rate you’ve got reserved. Remember, though, that Hotwire and Priceline reservations are fully prepaid and nonrefundable. They don’t earn any points, either.

Related:
- Hotwire rental cars (affiliate)
- Priceline rental cars (affiliate)

Thanks to Dr. Vino for the photo of the label on his rental car dashboard in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands.

“Blow horn frequently” ??! Perhaps the countryside is riddled with signs that read “Honk if you like rum!”

Speaking of rum, the good doctor reports that American citizens can bring a whopping five liters of booze back to the mainland from the U.S. Virgin Islands — six liters if one of those bottles is produced in the USVI. Stock up and save! Just don’t pack the booze in your carry-ons.

But, having never been to the Virgin Islands, I was perhaps most surprised to learn that there were customs limitations on travel within American territory!

Upgraded: Electric power at JFK Airport
More power, Scotty! Through an agreement with the Port Authority, Samsung will be installing electrical charging stations in each terminal of New York’s JFK Airport. Each of the 50 8.5-foot poles will have four separate outlets, suitable for charging your laptop or cellphone. (via NewYorkology)

Downgraded: Hilton Suites Phoenix
Opera soprano Alison Trainer is suing Hilton Hotels for subjecting her to a week of bedbugs at the Hilton Suites in Phoenix. “She looks like a piece of wood that has been attacked by termites,” said Trainer’s attorney, Kenneth J. Glassman. But why would she stay in the hotel — or even in the room — for a full week once she started noticing she had multiple bites in the morning?

Ms. Trainer’s roommate at the Hilton Suites Phoenix

Downgraded: Loyalty card kickbacks
Ron Lieber of the Wall Street Journal runs the numbers for his 2006 spending and loyalty point earnings. He values his rewards at $4,850. And that’s DOWN 78% from his previous year’s earnings? Yowza, nice work! But the takeaway: In the past year, it’s gotten harder to get a solid “return” on your credit cards, with banks less and less likely to give 5% rebates on everyday purchases.

Upgraded, I guess: Palmdale, California
Palmdale, 70 miles from Los Angeles, it has added “LA” to its airport name. I always think this renaming of airports to employ the big city’s name amounts to deceptive practice. (”Chicago Rockford International Airport”? Sorry, folks, Rockford isn’t Chicago. It’s 90 miles away.) But the plan seems to have worked, if the goal was to attract airline service and/or reduce load on LAX. (See here for a skeptical account of Palmdale’s chances.) Delta and United are both hoping to start service to the airport.

Upgraded: Avis rental cars; Downgraded: Private time
Avis is working with Autonet Mobile to create in-car mobile wireless hotspots. For $10.95 a day, a unit in the car creates a local hotspot for use with regular wi-fi cards. The signal, in turn, is transmitted along a cellular network to hit the big pipes on the internet. It’s a nice service, if you’re going to be using your laptop from your car. But jeez, do we really need to be THAT accessible?

Downgraded: Snowglobes
Sure, liquids are prohibited. But don’t forget, that includes snowglobes. Sigh.

Downgraded: Flour, sugar, eggs, Philadelphia
Hot tip: If you really need to transport flour through airports, don’t carry it in a condom. But if you DO arrest someone for carrying flour through an airport in condoms, don’t keep her in jail for three weeks, like Philadelphia did. The flour “mule” will sue. And you’ll pay her handsomely. (Thanks to Benet Wilson)

Upgraded: This blog?
Voting for the Bloggies is open. Vote early and often for your favorite blogs, as long as you vote by January 10. Shameless self-promotion aside: May the best blogs win!

The self check-in kiosk is already taken for granted by most airline passengers, and increasingly, for better or worse, by hotel guests. Car rental companies have been slow to adopt self-serve machines, though. (In part, this likely has to do with the distribution of keys, though you get around this by simply putting the keys in the ignition in the secured parking lot. Anyway…)

Alamo and National (both belong to the same company, Vanguard) are introducing kiosks nationally, after successful testing in Las Vegas, Dallas, and Jacksonville.

I’m all for it. I can say “no” to collision damage waiver, etc., as quickly and easily to a person as I could to a machine.

While some companies, like Hertz and Alamo, make it easy for their frequent renters to get in and out quickly, the “masses” are generally stuck waiting in line. I remember waiting for over an hour — at midnight! — at the Budget desk at LAX. Awful. I would have gladly used a kiosk.

Perhaps this will improve the companies’ ratings for customer satisfaction. As Chris Elliott points out, the industry essentially gets a grade of “C.” Maybe the kiosks can bump it up to a B-.

Hertz is rolling out a “Green Collection” of rental vehicles, with some fanfare, but I’m not impressed.

The company is touting models with EPA highway ratings of 28 or more miles per gallon, with models like Toyota Camry, Ford Fusion, Buick LaCrosse, and Hyundai Sonata on the list.

Where are the hybrids? Heck, where are the non-hybrid cars with really decent gas mileage, like a Honda Civic?

The Buick LaCrosse gets 19 mpg in the city, and 27 on the highway, according to the EPA’s own site, FuelEconomy.gov. 19. Nine-frickin’-teen miles per gallon is not green.

This is a pathetic attempt to appeal to Americans’ increasing unease about the price of gas. A real green offering would be welcome, but this isn’t it.

Related:
- Incentives for adding hybrid cars to your travel plans

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Tough day in the mosh pit?
Leave the mud people behind and retire to your tent room. Travelodge’s UK division is renting “Travelpods” — tents equipped with real beds, running water, and somewhat greater comfort — at European music festivals. And no slamming doors.

Waiting for a reply to your e-mail?
US Airways is so backlogged with customer service complaints… (”How backlogged are they?…”) They’re SO backlogged, they’re hiring dozens of temporary workers, at $8.50 an hour, to pick up the slack. (Sorry, there’s no attempt at humor in the answer, though some flyers may find the solution a joke.) Hey, at least they’re trying. …Unlike Technorati, the blog indexing service, who should try hiring some of those folks, too. They haven’t indexed or ranked this site in over a month, and my e-mails to tech support have gone unanswered. Grrr. The fact that I’m not alone is little consolation. If anyone has any bright ideas on how to escalate “[Support] Link count problem #36661,” I’m all ears. (sorry for the rant)

Renting a car in Croatia?
Be careful not to damage the vehicle. The rental car companies are NOT your problem. The Croatian government is: Even if no one is hurt, if no other cars are involved, and if the scrape is really minor, you’ll be required to head to court.

Traveling to France?
Dr. Vino, freshly back from a trip to Gaul, has some tips to make your trip a little smoother. Included: shortest American Airlines check-in line at CDG.

Dream of emulating CNN’s Candy Crowley?
The luxurious life of a CNN campaign reporter includes putting toothpaste on your toothbrush and unwrapping hotel soap before going to bed, to maximize the early morning jump-start. Sweet. That’s why Candy Crowley’s train runs on time. Katie Couric, on the other hand…

tags: travel | Technorati is broken