Hi all, I've done some Googling & searching, and learned about a few companies that do offer customers (usually at a "Gold Level" or a yearly membership plan) the option to pick the make/model of car they wish to rent from a currently available list. When trying to book online, I'm shown cars I do NOT want to drive; and typically when I arrive at the airport or wherever I'm renting from, that's what I end up with…an auto I don't want. What I'm after: I wanna rent a Volkswagen (or a Fiat or something different than the usual Ford Focus, Chrysler or Chevy) for a 4-day conference I'm going to in October. I can't seem to pin down which major rental companies even offer a VW as an option. No offense to anyone intended, but the last few times I asked for something else at the counter I ended up with a tinny Chevy Cobalt, a Chrysler 300 with a broken radio/audio system, and a Nissan Altima with broken cigarette lighter ports (for powering my iPhone, etc.). I get that rental companies "can't always guarantee" that the car I want to drive will be on site when I arrive; but I'd at least like to know that if I go with a particular rental company they'll possibly have a car I want to drive in the first place. Any tips anyone might have would be welcome!
I checked Hertz, Avis, National, Thrifty and Enterprise. None offer any model VW. In some US cities,USA Car Rental: Cheap deals with Sixt rent a car You can rent a VW Sixt Car Rental Fleet - Trucks, Cars, Vans, Convertibles, Suv's and more. - SIXT I had never heard of these guy in my life. I think they are European, mostly.
VW? Nope, not gonna happen. You will have the rent from the dealership which is on a dealer-by-dealer basis and obviously not located on the Airport grounds. Hertz is what I use and we travel frequently. The #1 Gold which is super cheap, and generally free is completely worth it. I book an "intermediate" car at any Hertz location I show up and see what's in the stall. Generally a Hyundai Elentra, Nissan Altima, that sort of thing. I simply walk past it to any other car in the area that I do like, like a Prius last time, and drive away. No standing at the counter, no changing anything. And as long as it is in the same area, it is the same price. If you want the german feel I rented a brand new Mercedes from them. Again I booked the intermediate, saw the Merc on the lot but in the upgrade section. $20/day more but a very nice car. We had 10+ hours of driving in a 3day long weekend to get from airport to destination. Well worth the splurge. I also routinely see Audi, Porsche, and even some Italian Ferraris available in the Hertz lot. The Audi was about the same price as the Merc. The Ferrari had no price on it... If you have to ask, well... Just got back from another routine weekend trip to California. 3 day rental, for a total cost of $45 including the airport fees and taxes and everything. Drove a Nissan Altima with 47 miles on the clock. I signed up for the Hertz thing for free (they are ALWAYS running a promotion somewhere to make it free) because I too was sick of being stuck with domestic cars. I hate driving those Chevy and Ford cars. I refuse. With Hertz, if you book the actual car you want, they can guarantee it. But it is a lot more. I've only done that once because I was flying into hicks-ville and doubted they would have anything on the lot not made by the big 3. I reserved a Merc 2 weeks in advance and it was there when I arrived just as promised. Although that was about $90/day which is ALOT more than I am used to paying for cars.
I would just make a paper cutout badge that says VW or Fiat and then tape it over the Chevy Cobalt badge on the Chevy Cobalt you will inevitably get.
I travel quite a bit, and use Avis exclusively. If you sign up for their Preferred membership(free), you can choose to switch cars at your destination. I always reserve midsize cars, and frequently get SUVs or luxury vehicles from their "SELECT AND GO" sections. I've also driven both a Passat and a Jetta in Atlanta, and a Passat in Boston. They have VWs.
Don't know where your conference is, but you might want to check out zipcar.com. They seem to have a pretty decent selection of cars, depending on where you're located. I saw some VW Golfs in the NYC area, for example.
Thanks all for these GREAT tips! Really appreciate the time. Sounds like I'm going to embark on a web-journey in hopes of joining a Gold-level-type membership. I don't travel very much at all--at a maximum 3 times per calendar year, sometimes just once--but there's nothing worse than arriving at my destination only to find out I'm stuck with a tin can. I've lightly/cheerfully complained in the past & inevitably I either pay for an upgrade or am switched to something else on the lot. I don't want to be "that guy" at the checkout counter, but like 2K1Toaster said I *refuse* to drive a rattling domestic car if it's at all possible to avoid it. LOL--my big "travel" this fall is to the booming town of Peoria, IL (no offense to residents--been there before, it's not all bad). So about a 2.5 hour/3 hour drive. Sure I could take my Prius C 2, but I get paid mileage from work since it's work-related travel, so I'm thinking of totaling up my travel & just renting a car. I do NOT want to spend 6-7 hours of the week in a Chevy Cruze or Ford Focus if I can spare it. I saw a commercial for National Car Rental, they let you "choose a car off the lot." Might look into that, but I like the thought of Avis/Hertz having a Passat or Golf possibly available to choose from (if I join their Gold Club/whatever). I'm about 30 miles from Chicago, so I would hope a location nearby would have a semi-decent selection of automobiles to choose from.
Yeah that's definitely the easiest thing to do. I'm considering a rental only because my workplace provides it at no cost to me, and it's an opportunity to drive a different vehicle for a change. And it saves me from putting more miles on my Prius C--just turned 20,000 miles today.
