Cashless payment systems like E-ZPass have helped make highway driving a less irksome experience by speeding up lines. Rental car companies even offer this option so you don’t have to worry about an embarrassing last-minute scrounge for change at the tollbooth, but rental car customers are now realizing that this convenience can come at a huge price. [More]
car rentals
BBB Asks States To Go After Payless Car Rental After Receiving 830 Complaints In 3 Years
By 5.26.17
If you’ve ever shaken your fist at the sky in outrage over getting charged extra fees or higher rates for a rental car, you’re not alone. And while the Better Business Bureau can’t punish companies itself, it’s asking four states to go after the rental car industry after a flood of complaints about one company. [More]
Colorado Family Rents Car, Finds Pot Left Inside After Driving Cross-Country
By 6.18.15
Marijuana is legal for recreational use in Colorado now, sure, but that doesn’t mean that it’s legal on the federal level or everywhere else in the country. This caused a dilemma for a family who rented a car in their home state, then drove across the country before they found 1/8 ounce of pot in one of the backseat pockets. [More]
General Motors Recallapalooza Was Bad News For Rental Car Companies, Too
By 8.20.14
This year’s vehicle Recallapalooza hasn’t just been bad news for General Motors and for nervous vehicle owners waiting for repair kits. Having fewer cars on the roads has been bad for major car rental companies, too, at a time that was supposed to be a renaissance of sorts for that business. [More]
Watch Out For Car Rental Companies’ Convenient Service To Pay Tolls
By 8.19.14
A convenience fee is just that: a fee that you pay to avoid doing something inconvenient. For the convenience of not reading every page of his rental car agreement, reader Dov had to pay an extra $24.75 on his recent car rental. How does that work? He encountered PlatePass, a program where rental car companies charge customers extra for the privilege of breezing through toll gates. [More]
Brilliant Marketing: Car Rental Company Rents Hot Wheels To Kids
By 5.8.14
When families go on vacation, parents get to drive around a shiny and different vehicle, but what do kids get to drive? Nothing! It happened that toy-maker Mattel and car-renter Europcar are clients of the same ad agency, and they formed an interesting idea: what if there were a counter where children could rent cars, too? Pocket-sized cars, that is. Hot Wheels. [More]
Learn From My Stupid Mistake: Ask For Total If Hertz Offers You An Upgrade
By 1.17.13
Jon made a Hertz reservation through Hotwire.com, and his grand total was to be $110. At the counter, they offered him an upgrade, for $123. Here’s the problem, and what he wants to warn the Consumerist community about: he failed to clarify that the upgrade would be for $123 more than the original total, not a grand total of $123 and an upgrade fee of only a few bucks per day. [More]
I’m Glad I Didn’t Call Hertz Roadside Assistance For An Actual Emergency
By 12.27.12
For a recent trip, Michael rented a car from Hertz. It was a hatchback. He had a tiny problem: the key he had opened the doors and started the engine and everything, but didn’t open the hatch. He tried a few different ways to contact customer service, but couldn’t find anyone to help him or didn’t receive an answer. He never needed trunk access during his trip…but what if he had? [More]
5 Major Rental Car Companies Agree To Stop Renting & Leasing Recalled Vehicles
By 9.27.12
You know what’s a scary thought? Renting a vehicle from a car rental company and then finding out that it’s part of a recall, but was never brought in for the necessary repairs. Then there you are, driving a potentially dangerous vehicle. We’re kind of surprised it took this long, but now Enterprise, Hertz, Avis, Dollar Thrifty and National have agreed to stop leasing vehicles under safety recalls. [More]
Hertz On Demand Doesn’t Work If No Cars Are Available
By 6.27.12
Benjamin lives in a major city, so he rents cars when he needs one rather than owning one. This system works well for him, and he’s a loyal customer of Hertz. What he’d really like is to become a customer of Hertz On Demand, a Zipcar-like service that lets customers rent cars by the hour rather than by the day. At least it would if the location nearest Benjamin ever had any cars available. [More]
This Is Why You Should Photograph Your Rental Car
By 6.5.12
Dan and his wife took a vacation in Hawaii, and rented a car for their use while visiting. Only the car that they rented was in pretty rough shape on the outside. They took it, but carefully documented all of the pre-existing damage. This was handy, since Budget proceeded to try to make Dan and Mrs. Dan accountable for the damage that they had done to the car during their supposed accident. When Dan mentioned having extensive photos and even a video of the car’s condition when he picked it up, Budget coincidentally turned up his original paperwork documenting the damage right away. Whew! [More]
Alamo/Enterprise Won't Stop Calling About Phantom Rental Car
By 2.3.12
Andrew is plagued by robocalls.The thing is, they’re not for a political candidate or a shady credit card scam. The calls are coming from Alamo/National Rent-A-Car, and Andrew has no idea why. He’s never rented a car from them, but that hasn’t stopped them from robocalling. A lot. [More]
TSA Agent Retrieves Cellphone From Locked Car, Hands To You At Gate
By 10.4.11
TSA agents get a bad rap here and elsewhere, so when one of them acts like a human being, nay, a super human being, it is our duty to inform you. Alanna had one such experience this morning when a TSA agent went extremely out of her way to help Alanna get her cellphone from the rental car she had locked it in. This was very helpful because the rental office only opened a half-hour before her plane took off. [More]
Need Cheap Wheels? Rent A Rolling Ad From Budget In Atlanta
By 8.1.11
If you want cheap car rentals this summer, Budget Rent a Car in Atlanta might have a deal for you. That is, as long as you don’t mind driving a rented car that seems more like a rolling billboard. [More]
How To Swerve Away From Extra Car Rental Fees
By 6.17.11 — Updated: 9.8.16
Sure, maybe you’re smart enough not to fall for the optional insurance car rental companies like to shill when you borrow one of their fine vehicles. And of course, you’re wise to the astronomical final bill you might get if you opt for their pricey fuel options. But do you know what other gotchas lay in store? [More]
Ex-Hertz Employee Shares 3 Tips On Saving On Your Next Rental
By 3.31.11
A former slinger of keys for rental car company Hertz has stepped forward from the shadows to share his three tips for saving on your next car. [More]
Is This Lost Rental Car Key Penalty Excessive?
By 1.19.11
Have you ever lost the keys to your rental car? D. did this past weekend, and tells Consumerist that she thought that Alamo’s method of issuing a replacement key was a little bit inefficient and expensive. She was instructed to hire a tow truck at her own expense to bring the car back to the lot, then charged a $250 key replacement fee. [More]
Enterprise Wants $300 For Phantom Windshield Crack
By 12.2.10 — Updated: 9.8.16
Kyle writes that he rented a car from Enterprise earlier this year, paid for by his then-employer. When he returned the car to Enterprise, and the rental agent didn’t walk around the car with him to check for damage. He didn’t think much of this at the time, but maybe he should have: the company is now after him for his share of the replacement cost of a cracked windshield. What cracked windshield? [More]
