Rental Cars - How do you know what you are getting

CarPark

Hi There,
Not sure if this belongs here or in travel forum, but here goes.....
I am travelling to South Africa for honeymoon at the end of September.
We are doing a good bit of travelling, so we will be renting a car in Cape Town.
We have two big suitcases, so boot space is important.

I don't have much experience with renting cars, but i feel that i must be missing something in my understanding, because the websites seem very unclear.

1. Choice of cars. (ballpark, €1 = ZAR10)
For example, Budget offer the following options:

1. 2 or 4 door intermediate (e.g., Toyota Corolla 1.6L, 4Door/5 Passenger) ZAR:3438
2. 4 door intermediate (e.g., Honda Jazz 5 Door/4 Passenger) ZAR: 3768
3. 4 door intermediate (e.g., Toyota Avanza, 1.5L, 5Door/5 Passenger) ZAR: 3768
4. 4 door Standard (e.g., Ford Focus 2L, 4 door, 5 passenger) ZAR: 5508
5. Full size 2 or 4 door (e.g., BMW 320, 4 Door, 5 Passenger) ZAR: 5758

For instance, if i book the first option above, i might get a 4 door 1.6L Corolla for ~€100 less than a 2L Focus. However, i might also get a 2 door car of a different make and engine size?
If i picked the last option, i might get a 4 door BMW 3 series, or i might get a 2 door car of a different make?
As the cars they mention are only examples, it is very hard to know what to expect. The Corolla is an intermediate, but the Focus is a standard? The BMW 3 series is a full size? Is there that much difference between the inside space of those three cars?
If not, it seems that by going more expensive, you might get a bigger car OR a more powerful car OR a higher spec car. But you won't know which until you turn up.

Avis and HERTZ are even worse.
For instance, Avis offer:
Compact (e.g., VW Polo, 4/5 doors, Manual): €352
Intermediate (e.g., Toyota Corolla, 4/5 doors, Air Con, Manual): €460
Intermediate (e.g., VW Polo, 4/5 doors, Air Con, Automatic): €494

In that case, what makes one polo "compact" and one "intermediate". They are both 4/5 doors. So is it the air con and automatic that make it more expensive? I can see why that would make one more expensive than the other, but i don't see how they can be in different size brackets.

So the question is, without booking the top of the range car, how can you have an idea of what size you will get from the descriptions?

2. Insurance Excess.
Budget's website gives the standard excess that is included in the car insurance (it can be around €2000 for an average car). They also say that you can pay a supplement to reduce this, but that can only be paid when you collect the car, and they don't/won't give any estimation of how much that will cost.
Avis don't give any information on how much the excess is, or if it can be reduced, or how much it will cost to reduce it.

Question: with so little information available until you collect the car, how do you make genuine price comparisons between the different companies?

Thanks in advance for your help, and sorry if the post is really long. Hopefully my question is clear.

maidhc

I don't know about SA, but generally Hertz and Avis are pretty clear as to what you might expect.

Oddly enough the last time I booked a car with Hertz (a month or so ago) a Zafira was cheaper than an Astra.

Is driving a car in SA safe? I'd say you would want to keep the doors locked!

useless

on the insurance excess- if I were you, I'd buy a car hire excess policy online before you go, and not bother with the rip off 10-15 euro a DAY 'Super CDW' or 'reduce your excess to zero" policy that the car hire company will try to sell you when you pick the car up.

http://www.axacarhireexcess.ie/
http://www.carhireexcess.com/

Frustrates the hell out of me too that you can't book an exact make/model from a car hire company. I've always ended up with something different to what I've reserved (about 5 reservations over the last 2-3 years).

Wishbone Ash

useless wrote: »

I've always ended up with something different to what I've reserved

Same here!

Don't take it lying down though. Always express annoyance or disappointment and they will usually give a free upgrade, tank of fuel, add additional driver etc.

Prenderb

Have a look at Avis' south africa website here - they outline the classes available (generally) in SA.

http://avis.co.za/main.aspx?ID=367

CarPark wrote: »

Avis and HERTZ are even worse.
For instance, Avis offer:
Compact (e.g., VW Polo, 4/5 doors, Manual): €352
Intermediate (e.g., Toyota Corolla, 4/5 doors, Air Con, Manual): €460
Intermediate (e.g., VW Polo, 4/5 doors, Air Con, Automatic): €494

In that case, what makes one polo "compact" and one "intermediate". They are both 4/5 doors. So is it the air con and automatic that make it more expensive? I can see why that would make one more expensive than the other, but i don't see how they can be in different size brackets.

So the question is, without booking the top of the range car, how can you have an idea of what size you will get from the descriptions?

Bear in mind that models of cars differ around the world - I hired a car in SA, a VW Polo - it came in a saloon version, with a 1.6litre petrol (lovely). We also had an Opel Corsa for 2 days - this was no power steering, 3 door model. Very basic!

From the description you've mentioned above, the premium does seem to be for air con and auto 'box. Both would cost more as options when buying a car, so when selling

To be fair to the hire companies, they only use certain makes and models as example cars at that price point for their pricing on web/brochures, then they'll buy or lease cars as they're needed. Then, getting the best deal they can for the product means they usually end up buying different models to the "samples" if you know what I mean, but you will get a car of the same size, roughly or bigger.

CarPark wrote: »

The Corolla is an intermediate, but the Focus is a standard? The BMW 3 series is a full size? Is there that much difference between the inside space of those three cars?

Yeah, there is. BMW would be slightly bigger, and is a very different car generally.

PS - when you drive in SA, beware of speed cameras, you'll not know you've been snapped (they hide them on the back side of signs etc) and will see the charge on your credit card afterwards..

Berty

The fact of the matter is that you will never know what vehicle you will get until you arrive.

I only use Avis and sometimes they have completely different cars in the same group. In Paris they have a BMW 1 series and a VW Gold Plus in the same group.

Their websites normally tell you what the similar cars in the group would be but expect that you may receive a car not listed depending on region.

You could also be upgraded and mostly they will not even tell you that they have done this. I once hired a Fiesta in Manchester and was given an Audi A6.

dudara

I've booked a Ford Mondeo in the past and got a free upgrade to a Saab 95 turbo. Or when I went to the states, I thought that I had booked a medium saloon - turns out that the American definition of medium is different to ours. I had a massive Ford saloon with V6 engine.

whiterebel

I arrived in Girona 3 weeks ago and there was a cock-up with the Europcar booking. Went to Avis and they gave me a 159 JTD for 2 days. Always wanted to drive an Alfa, so pretty sweet......


Back on point, Hertz tried to tell me that a Mazda 6 and a PT cruiser were the same size when we went o orlando last year. She pointed to THEIR chart which said they would both take 2 mid size suitcases. I told her that Hertz Ireland showed the 6 taking 2 large and 1 medium, but she wouldn't have it. She helpfully suggested I go up a class and get a bigger car, for an extra €200....until my wife pointed out, that according to THEIR chart it took 2 mid size suitcases......She went all quiet after that. Twice in a row going to the Uk I booked a Focus, and was apologetically given Vectra TDi SRi's 1 saloon, and 1 estate. I wasn't complaining. True for what others have said, you won't know whats there until you arrive.

Berty

dudara wrote: »

I've booked a Ford Mondeo in the past and got a free upgrade to a Saab 95 turbo. Or when I went to the states, I thought that I had booked a medium saloon - turns out that the American definition of medium is different to ours. I had a massive Ford saloon with V6 engine.

I booked a Mid Size in the US expecting a Dodge Sh*tbox and was given a Chrysler 300C 3.5 V6. Nice!

Big Nasty

Berty wrote: »

I booked a Mid Size in the US expecting a Dodge Sh*tbox and was given a Chrysler 300C 3.5 V6. Nice!

But essentially it is a Dodge! Well a Mopar anyway!

Marlow

Upgrades are common. I used to travel a lot for the company i worked for and they always booked "compact cars": golf, corolla, that kindda size.

In the US Hertz upgraded me to Mustang Convertible .. in Belgium I got an upgrade to a Volvo S40.

In Ireland they usually try to screw you

/M

Heroditas

We booked a car in SA in Cape Town in May through africancarhire.com - they're an affiliate of Hertz.
We went for the "Toyota Corolla or similar" and got a automatic Nissan Tiida. They tell you what you'll get when you book it. It did the job - plenty of room but not exactly the fastest car out there. However, in SA, cars will pull over into the hard shoulder and let you overtake them if you're travelling faster.
They were great. They delivered the car to our hotel, we used it for a few days and then they collected it from the other hotel we were staying at.
We also got Sat Nav through them - that was also delivered from the local Vodacom retail outlet and we left the sat nav in the glove compartment and they then returned it to the shop for us. It was very hassle free and the experience was far better than the US.
Also, we didn't have to fill the tank before it was returned. They simply charged us the going rate for a full tank. I asked about this when I was signing for the car and their rep said "hey you're not in the USA! We don't charge you over the odds for putting a bit of petrol in it"

Laphroaig52

If a rental car company offers a 'special offer' upgrade when you are collecting the car, I suggest that you should refuse it.

Usually they offer this when the don't have the car type that you booked.

Several times, its happened to me in the UK when collecting the car they offered me a better car (e.g. Alfa Romeo when I had booked a Focus or similar) for ~£15 a day more. When I refused, the clerk muttered and went clickety clickety click on the computer............and handed me the keys to the better car.

maidhc

Flyer28 wrote: »

If a rental car company offers a 'special offer' upgrade when you are collecting the car, I suggest that you should refuse it.

Usually they offer this when the don't have the car type that you booked.

Several times, its happened to me in the UK when collecting the car they offered me a better car (e.g. Alfa Romeo when I had booked a Focus or similar) for ~£15 a day more. When I refused, the clerk muttered and went clickety clickety click on the computer............and handed me the keys to the better car.

Same here. Even with Hertz it has happened.

rebel.ranter

Do you really want to be driving a stand-out car in SA?

Heroditas

rebel.ranter wrote: »

Do you really want to be driving a stand-out car in SA?

It depends where they are.
If they're in Cape Town and the surrounding winelands they certainly won't be in the plushest car on the road.
I lost count of the number of very plush cars and supercars on the road there - Ferraris, Audi R8s, Porsches, BMW 7 series, top of the range Mercs etc. It was a real eye opener.

J-blk

CarPark wrote: »

Intermediate (e.g., VW Polo, 4/5 doors, Air Con, Automatic): €494

I was in Cape Town in March and booked with Avis - I wanted an auto and booked the above, that's exactly what I ended up with (1.6 saloon BTW). I'd say that only happened because it's an auto, there's probably a greater variety with the manuals so going for an auto might help with knowing what you'll get (though I'm only guessing).

standardtoaster

To be honest you're better off just going with the Corrolla option as in my experience you always seem to end up getting a bigger/better car than you actually rent.

E.g. the last two times I've rented abroad:

1. Booked an Opel Astra 1.4
I was given a Peugeot 807

2. Booked a Mondeo 1.6
Was given a 4x4 Chrysler Dodge 2.8

Both of these were with Hertz.

Reckon you should be grand especially if you are using a reputable car rental company.

fonda

They sometimes have a few different cars there to choose from. I went to scotland recently there was 5 of us and 2 suitcases and they offered me a seat ibiza 2 door, I asked had they any 4 doors and they did but would have to wait half an hour as it was only back and was being inspected. So could have waited but just took the 2 door as we were only there for 2 days.

Also went to the states about a year ago and rented the cheapest class with avis and when i got to the desk to pick it up the lady asked me would I like a 2 door, 4 door or suv so i took the suv, it was a lovely brand new Hyundai santa fe!

dudara

You'll be fine along the Coast route in SA - might not want to stop at traffic lights at night in Jo'burg though.

Bluefoam

standardtoaster wrote: »

E.g. the last two times I've rented abroad:

1. Booked an Opel Astra 1.4
I was given a Peugeot 807

2. Booked a Mondeo 1.6
Was given a 4x4 Chrysler Dodge 2.8

I gather the reason they are doing this is because more people are booking smaller, more fuel efficient cars... I know some people who refuse to accept the upgrade as it costs more if travelling long distances...