I have been renting cars for
personal and business purpose for the last 3 years. By most people’s standard
that might not be a long time, but long enough for me to be able to try all the
well-established car rental agencies. After 3 years of regular usage, I can
confidently say that Hertz is the best car rental company out there. This is
not to say I have not had the occasional “bad experience” with them, but in the
larger scheme of things, they are the best. Here’s why I like them over others:
1. Ease
of booking: the first and foremost thing. After all, to get car you need to
book it. And that’s where Hertz scores over the others. Their website is user
friendly and intuitive. Doesn’t take long to make your booking and it’s easy to
modify it from any stage of the process. They have an app also, that provides
similar ease of booking. So even if I am on the road and want to make a car
reservation for pick up, I can do it. The only issue, sometimes it doesn’t let
me book car for the very hour I want it. Thankfully, the on the spot rates at
the Hertz locations aren’t all that bad.
2. Rates:
To me, this is the most important part of the rental. I am very cost conscious.
I always look for the cheapest deals. My
loyalty is to my wallet first and then to any car rental agencies. This
is where Hertz almost never disappoints. Their rates are always very
competitive against any car rental company. Best of all, they always have some
great discounts listed on their website. Find the one which suits you and you
are on your way to saving money. And if you want to find more, there are some
more at website like flyertalk. Find the coupon codes that works for you and
suddenly the good rate Hertz was giving you becomes the lowest rate available.
Voila, you are in business. And best of all, they don’t have slimy charges not
mentioned on their contract. No extension charges or the likes. The only charge
I probably don’t like in US- The daily rate for using EZPass is atrocious.
3. Quality
of cars: Now that I have booked it easily at the cheapest rate possible, I want
the best possible car for myself in that category, or may be better. And hertz
never disappoints here either. Their car classes usually have the best cars in
each category and most are new. I can hardly remember ever getting a car that
had more than 20000 miles on the meter. But I can surely remember cars having
below a 1000 miles. And atleast 2 instances where the cars were brand new –
less than 100 miles. And if I don’t like the car they offer me I simply ask
what else they got- they are more than happy to help me switch. That allows me
to try all sorts of car – from the Chevy Cruze to the Rav 4, the VM Passat to
the Ford Fusion, the Kia Optima to the Audi, I have driven them all.
 |
| One of my more recent rentals with Hertz |
4. Customer
Service – This is the icing on the already delicious cake. Most of the hertz
customer reps at the local editions are well behaved and willing to help out.
Any issue, any request, you can rest assured they will hear you out and try to
help you as much as possible. As is true for any customer service, sometimes
they are unable to help or you bump into that occasional person who doesn’t
want to help. But that’s more of an exception than the rule. In case they can’t
help you and/or your issue can be handled after the rental, just email them.
They will take some time to respond, but they will solve it for you. My
personal experience ranges from getting $400 damage charges removed from my CC
to renting a car and returning after 30 minutes to return it due to sudden
change in plan and not being charged for it. If they can, they will help you.
5. Miles
and Points: You got the cake, you got the icing. All that is left is the
cherry. Here’ it comes. Hertz has a great membership program (Hertz Gold Plus).
Earn points as you rent and once you get to 500 points, you can get a free car
for yourself for a weekday day. The always have some promotion or the other
going on, increasing the rate at which you earn your points, so that you get to
the free car-FASTER. And if you are the occasional renter, then you can always
get credit for your rentals to your choice of Airline or Hotel Miles. Their
hotel list is tiny, but their airlines miles partner is looonngg. From American
to Skymiles to Flying Blue to Miles and More to United. They got it all
covered. They help you rake up those stray miles that convert 58000 miles to
60000 miles in your FFP account and get you the ticket you want. I used to
initially take all my points on my airlines program, but once I discovered the
benefits of taking them on Hertz Gold Plus, I switched and I don’t regret it
one bit. I have enough points to cover my car rental for almost a month. That’s
more than $1000 in value.
No matter how good a company is,
there is always that random incidence that leaves your with a bad memory of the
company you are dealing with. I have had my share and then some. The extra rude
agent at a local HLE in London, the damage charge that I thought was plain wrong,
the upgrade that never came and so on. But you gotta look at the bad ones
alongside the good incidences and see which is more. In my case, my good experiences
with Hertz far outnumber the bad ones.
So, which is your preferred
rental company and why? Have you had a good experience with Hertz that made you
a loyalist? Or did you have a very bad experience with them and vowed never to
rent with them again? How do you decide on your car rental ????
