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]
Hertz
San Francisco Suing Hertz For Allegedly Ripping Off Car Renters On Golden Gate Bridge
By 3.2.17 — Updated: 5.9.17
If you rent a car from Hertz in San Francisco, it’ll automatically pay the toll for crossing the Golden Gate Bridge. But the city says in a new lawsuit that the rental car company is gouging tourists by fraudulently charging them millions of dollars in extra fees. [More]
Hertz Partnering Up With Uber, Lyft To Supply Drivers With Rental Cars
By 6.30.16
Don’t have a car, but want to work for Lyft or Uber as a driver? Hertz is hoping it can squeeze some extra miles out of its older cars with new deals it’s just announced to supply rentals to the ride-hailing companies. [More]
Pay Tolls Directly When Renting A Car, Or Face Modest Yet Annoying Fees
By 1.6.16
Last year, I rented a car while mine was off having damage fixed. The danger in renting a car and then going about your normal routine is that you may forget that the rental car doesn’t have a toll transponder, and breeze through the EZPass lane as you normally would. I knew what was coming: a $25 bill for my 60¢ toll. Reader Allen didn’t know, and had to pay $35 for a $1 toll. Let these experiences serve as cautionary tales. [More]
Hertz Now Requiring Rental Customers To Provide Refueling Receipt For Trips Under 75 Miles, Or Pay $14
By 7.14.15
In yet another example of why it pays off to make sure you fully understand a company’s terms of service, and pay attention when those policies change, Hertz rental customers should be aware of a new refueling requirement when driving a vehicle less than 75 miles. [More]
Tourists Rent Car, Get Free Snake In The Trunk
By 9.29.14
“Free ball python with every car rental” might appeal to some customers as a promotion, but it would be an expensive one, and most people probably wouldn’t be interested. Two tourists found a free surprise python in the trunk of the car they had rented at Logan airport in Boston and drove to their motel in Maine. The good news? The snake was alive and unharmed, and its owner has already been found. [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]
27 Major Companies That Are Worth Less Than WhatsApp
By 2.20.14
Just how big of a deal is the $19 billion WhatsApp is getting from Facebook in the acquisition announced yesterday? It’s a pretty freaking big deal — especially when you consider that there are a whole lot of major companies –including many that produce physical goods you can reach out and touch — that have been around longer than WhatsApp and are worth a lot less. [More]
Sacramento Airport Car Rental Counters Charged Extra .5% Sales Tax For 2 Months
By 6.6.13 — Updated: 9.8.16
Half of one percent is a very small amount, to state the extremely obvious. It can make a big difference in an annual budget, though, for a city that raises sales tax rates by half a percent. That’s fine, as long as merchants don’t do anything silly like charge higher city tax rates outside of the city limits. Like, for example, the car rental counters at the airport in Sacramento, California. [More]
Hertz Tells Me It Has No Idea How To Read A Fuel Gauge
By 5.13.13
Anyone who has returned a rental car with less fuel than agreed to knows full well that rental company employees understand how to read a fuel gauge, because there is money to be made if you’re coming back light on gas. But one Consumerist reader says it’s a different story when you prepay for fuel and you’re the one looking to be reimbursed. [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]
New Law Would Forbid Rental Car Companies From Renting Recalled Cars
By 8.2.12 — Updated: 9.8.16
For years, consumer advocates have been calling for legislation that would make it illegal for rental car companies to rent out or sell vehicles that are currently under a safety recall. That notion is inching closer to becoming a reality with the introduction of the Raechel and Jacqueline Houck Safe Rental Car Act. [More]
Should Rental Car Companies Be Allowed To Rent Out Recalled Vehicles?
By 2.21.12 — Updated: 9.8.16
Every year, several million cars are recalled for repairs that cover everything from the most minor safety concerns to potential death traps. But some rental companies continue to hire out vehicles that haven’t been repaired, even months or years after the recall announcement. [More]
385 Car Rental Discount Codes
By 7.6.07 — Updated: 9.8.16
Here’s about 385 working discount codes and coupons for National, Enterprise, Budget, AVIS, and HERTZ, courtesy of Fat Wallet. The post says they’re all tested as of 6/30/07. If you have trouble using any of the codes, read through the pages of messages for tips and pointers.
