Rental Upgrades Not So Great

khallgeisler — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 00:00:00 -0400

Recently, my friend Andrew, a travel writer, was on the job in Ohio (I don't know why, either). He had reserved a compact car to drive from the airport to various cities and towns across the state to report on its vacation hotspots. But when he got to the rental counter, he was cheerfully offered an upgrade to a Jeep Grand Cherokee.The best mileage this model can get, with the smallest 3-liter engine and two-wheel-drive, is 18 city/23 highway.

Andrew had been expecting something more like a Ford Focus, or maybe even a slightly larger Toyota Camry. Certainly not an SUV with a 21-gallon tank. Luckily for him, gas in the Midwest has been hovering right around $4, so a fill-up would have cost a mere $84. Even luckier, in order to sweeten this upgrade deal, the rental company threw in a tank of gas.

Andrew isn't the only one having large cars foisted on him at the rental counter. Car rental companies don't have the compact-car inventory to keep up with demand and so have to convince customers to take the larger car. This didn't used to be a problem; if they could afford it, Americans would gladly take the roomier full-size sedan or SUV. With gas averaging $4.09 a gallon across the country, though, the extra room isn't worth it.

Most car rental companies do have hybrids on the lot, but if you think compact cars are in short supply, Priuses and Escape Hybrids are rare as the Pinta Island tortoise. They're often more expensive, too, thanks to the pesky rules of supply and demand.

What can you do if you're stuck with an upgrade this summer? Here are a few tips:

Threaten to take your business across the lot to another company, but only if you mean it. Small cars are likely scarce over there, too.

Negotiate. I've heard several stories from recent renters about getting a free fill-up for accepting the larger vehicle.

If you have to go big, do it in style. If you're going to pay out the wazoo for gas anyway, see what you can do to get a convertible or luxury car.

Drive that boat of a car from the rental lot to the nearest gas station and check that the tires are properly inflated. This will save you at least a few dollars on fill-up.

Use all the gas-saving tips we've shared here on RiverWired.com, including hypermiling techniques.

Photo by Justin Russell.

Enterprise-ing Eco Rentals

khallgeisler — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0400

Responding to the consumer clamor for cleaner-running vehicles, Enterprise Rent-A-Car has opened four "Green Branches" -- in Atlanta. Only. Not San Francisco, not Portland or Seattle or or any other city with a high interest in hybrids. According to a press release, this will make "renting more convenient." For people in Atlanta. Granted, they do have an awful commute down there.

One-third of the cars offered at the Green Branches will be hybrids, with another third being cars with high fuel efficiency -- above 28 mpg. The last third will presumably be cars rating closer to the national average of 20 mpg. Nationwide, Enterprise and its sister companies National Car Rental and Alamo Rent A Car own 4,000 hybrids and 73,000 E85-compatible cars.

Folks who live in or visit cities with E85 fueling stations can take advantage of Enterprise's partnership with GM on the Flex Fuel front. Last year, Enterprise opened eight "E85/FlexFuel" branches in the U.S., in places like Washington D.C., Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and the latest in Grapevine, Texas. Flex-Fuel renters get E85 educational materials and -- most importantly for the greenie on the go -- a map to local E85 filling stations.

Presumably, as E85 pumps make their way across the country, Enterprise will follow suit with Flex-Fuel branches. The way to get a Green Branch, though, seems to be to make some noise. Do so at Enterprise.com's contact page.

Photo by Pam C!

rentals

Rental Upgrades Not So Great

Enterprise-ing Eco Rentals