Deciding On Rental Car Company

"DanimalHouse" (thrillerwa09)
04/21/2014 at 16:04 • Filed to: None

We all know the absolute fastest car you can drive is a rental car.

However, which rental car company is best for satisfying your obsessive need for speed?

I'm currently looking to drive across parts of Texas this October/November to get to the USGP, and I have a smorgasbord of rental car companies at my disposal.

Previously, I've gone with Hertz, with whom I've had pretty good experiences. They once provided me an Altima with a super-bad brake problem, which I returned about an hour later and was granted a $100 credit for the inconvenience. Hertz has also made the check out / drop off process pretty simple.

For this trip, let's assume prices across all companies are comparable.... which company do I chose? Do I go with an economy-sized car for fuel economy or a mid-sized car for comfort? Do I go for a Fiesta or dread the thought of an Aveo?

Help me, Opponauts! I want to hear your best experiences and recommendations.

DISCUSSION (13)

Flat Six > DanimalHouse
04/21/2014 at 16:12

Well, C7 Stingray is available to rent from Hertz in Austin.

Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. > DanimalHouse
04/21/2014 at 16:13

Well, i don't know about rentals. The last time i rent a car was in UAE 6 month ago, and i got a...

Current gen Chevrolet Caprice SS with 6litre V8. The fastest car in the world. Plus the fuel was only 49 cent per gallon, so that makes the car even faster. It's 60 bucks per day btw.

case-sensitive > DanimalHouse
04/21/2014 at 16:17

I once had a Hyundai Genesis sedan with the 333hp v-6 (for the price of a compact) as a rental from Enterprise. I drove it for several weeks, returned it with bald tires (and 11's running all the way up my road). They didn't even bat an eye.

Now, the Toyota Camry rented from Alamo in Phoenix was a complete shit show. They filled the windshield washer reservoir with water (which froze), it wouldn't drive straight even after making it attend one of those "you're not gay you're confused" seminars, nor was it a full size vehicle as ordered. We wanted a Crown Vic or similar and got stuck with that POS.

DanimalHouse > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW.
04/21/2014 at 16:24

I'll try to remember to make the Abu Dhabi GP next year, instead!

Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. > DanimalHouse
04/21/2014 at 16:31

Yeah, go ahead!

Actually i'm surprised why they don't sell caprice SS outside UAE. The interior might be shitty, but the engine is awesome, and if GM can sell it for less than 25k, it'll be the best car in the wuuurrrllld.

jariten1781 > DanimalHouse
04/21/2014 at 16:32

I rent a lot (my record was 240 days in a calendar year) and Avis are my go-to. Mostly because their airport in-out is the easiest I've experienced. I've found that the key is to get whatever is on the lot, even if it's a 'lesser car', with the lowest mileage. So many weird things break on rental cars at low mileage. I've had ball joints go out, broken tie rods, failed wheel bearings, disconnected anti-roll bars etc all on rentals with <20k miles.

The Avis fleet recently got a whole bunch of 2014 rental spec Beetles which I've found to be really good. They have the old NA engine, some crappy head unit that works fine, and some rental spec seating and trim that isn't available on the consumer models.

Avis and Budget share fleets, but it seems Budget gets the crappier/higher mileage cars when Avis is done with them so I avoid Budget most of the time. I've had fine experiences with Hertz.

Enterprise folks have been real dicks about light scratches and door dings (all of which were there prior to the rental) that no other company even looks at. I don't rent from them anymore.