This is like one of those romantic comedies where a couple makes it oh-so-close to the altar only to break up, then spends years realizing that they made a mistake and they should get hitched, have babies and move to Connecticut… Except it’s about two rental car companies, so it’s even sexier. [More]
hertz
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]
How I Got Hertz To Give Me A Free Double-Tow, 1 Day Off My Rental, And A $25 Voucher
By 10.28.11
I was cruising down I-95 to Maryland to see my uncle’s bluegrass band with my step-father in the passenger seat and my wife in the back, when I noticed my Hertz rental wasn’t steering as responsively as before. The tire pressure indicator light went on, then the passenger-side airbag light was on steady, and so was the car temperature gauge. [More]
Hertz Suspends 34 Muslim Employees For Praying On The Clock
By 10.7.11
A group of 34 Hertz employees, all Somali Muslims, at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport have been suspended indefinitely for reportedly not punching the time clock before and after taking a few minutes to pray during the work day. [More]
Not Filling The Tank On Your Rental Car Could Cost You $9 A Gallon
By 5.4.11
Next time you’re running close to the deadline for returning a rental car and have to choose between a late fee or being penalized for not having a full gas tank, be sure that you’re using the right per-gallon dollar amount when figuring out which will cost less. According to a new USA Today survey, the penalty for having to fill up a rental car’s tank can now set you back over $9 per gallon. [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]
Hertz Alienates Longtime Customer With $10 Convenience Fee For 75 Cent Toll
By 8.27.10
It’s pretty convenient to not have to pay tolls when you’re renting a car. Bruce tells Consumerist that he rented a car from Hertz that was enrolled in PlatePass, a service that scans a rental car’s license plate and automatically charges the toll to the renter’s credit card–along with a $10 fee. This fee is probably more convenient and less infuriating if you rack up more than 75 cents in tolls during the course of your rental. [More]
Hertz Ad Violates Rules For Renting Hertz Car
By 7.20.10
Rental car company Hertz has recently begun a massive ad push in cities where its rent-by-the-hour Hertz Connect service is available. The ads I’ve seen here in New York tout the service as a way for us car-less city folk to do things like go shopping in the ‘burbs or drive to a beach where dead bodies are less likely to wash ashore. [More]
Want To Rent A Hybrid? Be Prepared To Pay A Lot More Green
By 6.28.10
When it comes to car rentals, I’ve rarely cared about the make and model of what I’m driving, so long as it’s in my (low) price range, it has a working radio and the driver’s side door operates properly. So it’s a good thing I’ve never tried to rent a hybrid, because the New York Times says I’d be paying anywhere from 30-70% more for the thrill of it all. [More]
Hertz Gobbles Up Dollar Thrifty
By 4.26.10
Consolidation continues to hit the rental car market as Hertz announced today that it has agreed to a $1.2 billion purchase of Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group. [More]
Rent Cars For $3-10 A Day… Just Get Them Out Of Florida
By 3.26.10
For some reason, there are a lot of rental car lots in Florida bursting at the seams with cars they need to distribute to the rest of the country. That’s why several national rental companies are offering dirt-cheap — as little as $3/day — one-way rentals, just so long as you get those cars out of Florida. [More]
Hertz Holds Your Rental Hostage For Cash Deposit, To Be Returned In 2 Weeks
By 3.6.09
Ryan’s wife is currently traveling alone with their 3-month-old son on the way to an unexpected funeral near Salt Lake, Utah. Despite the fact that she paid for the rental up front as part of an Orbitz package, the local Hertz jerks are refusing to give her the car unless she goes to an ATM and brings back $200 cash, which they say they will mail back in check form a few weeks after she returns the car. Even Hertz says this isn’t their policy, but they can’t seem to stay on the phone long enough to help Ryan and his wife.
Retail Management Re-defines Holiday $pirit
By 1.2.09
I’m sure many Consumerist readers either currently or previously had to work as a part-time wage-slave. Now that the holidays are over, what are the ‘best’ sickening sales creeds that management has ever given you?
Car Rental Grace Periods Died Graceless Death
By 4.9.07
You may have missed it, but a number of national car-rental places amended or ended their car-rental grace periods this year. These were rules that said if you returned your car an hour or two late, they wouldn’t charge you for the overtime.
Mexican Hertz Charges $499.48 For A Flat Tire
By 3.14.07
For a pre-paid one month economy car rental for $632.03, on January 16th Hertz rented me a 2007 Blue Chevrolet , Lic#5981AVB in good condition at the Los Cabos airport. I declined to purchase insurance. Late on the night of January 20th, during a rainstorm, a tire blew out on the vehicle; so, after exchanging the tire with the spare the following morning, on January 21st, I returned the vehicle to the agency at their suggestion and wrote a full report. The agency assured me there would be no problem of any charges.
