Airport car rental issues

Let'sgoflying!

Let'sgoflying!

Touchdown! Greaser!
Joined
Feb 23, 2005
Messages
21,872
Location
west Texas
Display Name
Dave Taylor
Home Airfield
KMRF
So I am used to most of them hiking charges after the fact in the hopes no one will notice (or take action upon discovery), the last one being a few weeks ago in the amount of $120 (charged for a week when I had it for 4 days) or adding gas to an already full car, etc etc.

What do you think is a reasonable premium for delivery to an fbo? The terminal was 2 miles away and less than 5 minutes, local traffic is quiet. I had reserved and advised that I was coming in by private a/c and given a rate. Arriving at fbo, no car (got too busy to call ahead as I usually have to) so I call the office and they get it over to me. No mention of a different rate which is unbusiness-like, imo. Noticed the rated at first stop and called to find out that they DOUBLE the daily rate for the full rental period if you pick it up at the fbo vs the terminal.
 
Enterprise is notorious for clocking cars in when they get around to running the paperwork as opposed to when they were actually returned. It's by no means isolated to the ones rented/returned from the airport, I've had them do similar shenanigans with ones picked up at car dealership. Watch your bills, but they have always "fixed" it as soon as I complained. I suspect they get away with this fraud a lot on insurance rentals when the renter isn't the one who sees the bills.

I've also found that the FBO rate is usually THE WORST rental rate available. I always book it in advance to secure the optimum rate. Enterprise is full of all sorts of shenanigans.
 
This annoys me to no end. I find myself always having to haggle to get the price down when I rent cars from most FBOs, and then my haggling price is still usually always substantially more than if I had gotten the car from the office which is typically only minutes away. I'm fine with paying a little more for some convenience, but usually the rate hike is substantially higher than it should be, IMO. One of the only places I've actually seen cheap rental cars at an FBO, was from AeroPremier Jet Center, where I got a Hertz rental at KNEW (Lakefront, New Orleans). I believe my daily rate for a car from them was only about $20.00.

Also, there was a discussion on here a while ago about Enterprise's website. When you indicate that you're a pilot, the rates for most of their rentals nearly double. Additionally, they store that information in a cookie, so unless you manually delete the cookie from your browser, you won't see the normal rates again.
 
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If you'll notice, the counter staff at many a car rental outfit are not the sharpest pencils in the box, nor are they highly paid or motivated. You simply need to manage your affairs accordingly. E.g.
-- call ahead to the FBO to confirm they offer a courtesy car run
-- get the FBO lift to the car rental area, on- or off-airport, after arrival and taking care of fueling/tie-down; you'll get the rate available to the commercial passenger
-- print the rental quote and carry it with you
-- don't assume; review the quote when picking up the car; review it again when turning in the car
-- verify with your insurer that your personal car insurance covers 'loss of use' as well as collision when renting; companies like USAA and c/c companies like AmEx offer this coverage
-- check the charges when placed on your statement; you did keep the printed quote, right?

Jack
 
We had a long thread about being screwed by Hertz and their local fleet insurance company Purco around a year ago. I rented a car at the Hertz franchise in Rapid City and they tried to scam me for $1200 of false damage claims- you can find the thread, and a search or Purco will show this to be a common practice. So, be careful.

Like other places, the FBO rental price was $50 a day higher than at the main terminal. I gave the line guy $20 to drive me to the terminal and it saved us hundreds of dollars (except for the Purco scam).
 
If I read the thread correctly, the terminal was only minutes from the FBO? Is it possible to make a reservation, and then cab it, or catch a ride over to the terminal as though you came in some other way? Sounds like cheaper than a standard rate hike. But then again, I'm new to all of this so I could be way out in left field.
 
I'm thinking that my experiences must be unusual in that I have rented cars several times and it's been enterprise and the rates have been cheaper then the hertz rates. At ISP it was 50.00 a day while my brother was paying 80 at the terminal. At Montpelier they did not have commcerial service or rental cars to compare to but as I recall it was about the same amount 50 a day. In talking to the people at the FBO at ISP I was told their rates were lower because Enterprise did not maintain a presence on the field and so did not have to pay the higher fees charged for that.
 
I photograph the cars beforehand (digital cameras, hooray!) and keep the paperwork I sign. No one has yet tried any of these shenanigans on me.
 
Is it possible to make a reservation, and then cab it, or catch a ride over to the terminal as though you came in some other way? .
Click to expand...

Sure; that is the moral of the story here. The big complaint is their failure to inform.
 
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