
New LAX car rental company offers only Audi A4s – and no clerks - digisth
http://www.dailybreeze.com/general-news/20131006/new-lax-car-rental-company-offers-only-audi-a4s-x2014-and-no-clerks
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PaulHoule
Just so you kids in SF know, the car rental situation at LAX is head and
shoulders better than at SFO.

At SFO I rode the train out, once stood in line for 45 minutes to get a car,
went down and found the car in the space wasn't the car I was supposed to get
(and the key didn't work), waited in line another 45 minutes, then got in the
car to find out that it wanted an oil change, got a cell phone call from the
police because my wife (who threw up twice on the plane) didn't know what
happened to me, and then I remembered that I forgot to get a child seat in all
the confusion for my two year old.

I drove the car perhaps 1000 miles in the next week, down to San Luis Obispo
and out to the Sierra Nevada and around the Central Coast region. I never
changed the oil (I was too traumatized to want to call Hertz.) This is why you
don't want to buy a used rental car. On the way back we had some trouble with
the brakes but we got back alive.

At LAX on the other hand, I got a ride on a shuttle bus to Hertz, spent about
5 minutes in line and drove out with a decent car.

(The mistake we made there was thinking we could drive north on the 405 at 5pm
on a Friday, I really should have driven up La Cienga, but I can't blame Hertz
for that.)

~~~
objclxt
I think it's much of a muchness. I've had some pretty crappy experiences at
LAX and SFO, and some good ones too. I've had some long waits at both, I think
it really depends when you're arriving and what flights got in the same time
as you.

BTW, tip for Hertz next time you're in SFO: if you're a gold member (which is
free) you can bypass the counters, and just go straight to the car.

~~~
durin42
When that works, anyway. For me the success rate on actually walking into a
car at SFO (with Hertz Gold) is below 50%. No idea why, but my coworkers have
had similar experiences at SFO.

------
haberman
"“You never worry that you will get a minivan or an orange Dodge Charger or,
God forbid, a PT cruiser"

Oh my god, the PT cruiser is my exact nightmare every time I rent a car, and
it's happened to me toooo many times.

~~~
seszett
You can't at least choose a car category in the US? Here you don't know which
exact model you'll have, but you know that it will be among a list of similar
models of different brands, or a higher end model if none of them are
available.

Also... what car rental company would ever buy orange cars? That seems
completely stupid, I have never had a rental car that wasn't black or grey.

I don't know how car rental works in the US, but reading this article it sure
looks quite broken compared to the places I have rented cars (France, Japan,
Taiwan).

~~~
plg
Sure you can choose your category. There's just no relying on it coming true
when you arrive at the counter.

them-> "Here are the keys to your Dodge Durango"

you-> "no, actually I reserved a 4-door sedan"

them-> "I know sir but we don't have any left"

you-> "huh? I reserved one. what does a reservation mean?"

them-> "it's subject to availability sir"

In other words, (like many restaurants, like many airlines, hotels, etc), you
can "reserve" anything you like, it doesn't mean it has been set aside for
you.

welcome to the nuthouse

~~~
idiot900
You didn't reserve a car, you reserved a rate along with a minimum standard of
car, for some ordering of cars as determined by the company.

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joshuaellinger
Silver Car rocks. They have had a low key presence in Austin, TX for a while
now.

The story understates how good the experience is. They know they are selling a
premium experience and they deliver.

~~~
dnautics
this is crazy! It's not even that much of a premium! $12/day on weekends? I'd
pay that just to get away from the horrible service I've gotten from the
rental car industry, much less drive an Audi A4. (I'm not really all that car-
crazy).

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brianbreslin
I think this appeals more to the business traveler than the budget conscious
vacationer. In some places (detroit) rental cars are super cheap (sub
$20/day).

I dig the model silvercar is trying to pulloff though. It is the jetblue of
car rentals. Entire fleet is the same, lowers cost of maintenance (fewer spare
parts, fewer training courses for mechanics, etc). They offer a premium
reliable product at a fair price.

Now if only they would hook up with founderscard and setup a deal for its
members...

~~~
dingaling
> It is the jetblue of car rentals. Entire fleet is the same

I think a closer analogue is Southwest Airlines.

JetBlue actually operate two distinct families of aircraft, neither compatible
to _any_ degree. The EMBRAER EMB-180 and the Airbus 320 / 321 series.

No spares compatibility and no pilot rating across those two types. Even the
seats are different widths. The only common factor is that they both burn
kerosene :)

JetBlue have also introduced a second cabin product, Mint, which further
complicates their operations.

~~~
jffry
Before others get knickers in a twist: it's the E190. Also I think they only
have one A321 so far, and I don't know enough to make a statement about part /
training compatibility between the A320s and the A321 line.

Also, JetBlue already has two cabin products - the "Even More" seats, which
you can book for an extra price, and give you additional legroom comparable to
an exit seat, along with boarding first and a special security line with a
smaller wait. On the A320 I flew a few weeks ago, the exit rows as well as the
first 5 rows in the cabin were premium seats. So now you add in Mint and you
basically have three classes of seats on JetBlue

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omegant
As this is becoming a car rental review, I'll point that if you travel to
Spain NEVER rent from Goldcar. They are a scam, prices go as low as 15€/day
but when you get to pickup the car they fight with you to take the insurance
(the original insurance is only covers third party damage). Also they insist
that you return the car with the gas tank empty the. They charge you 120€ to
fill a small car. The cars are far from new, you have to wait long cues... Now
I usually rent with sixt, they offer better price than Avis and Hertz and the
cars and service are top notch. At least by the moment.

~~~
StavrosK
Couldn't you just counter this by not taking the insurance and returning the
car with a full tank? What are they going to do, empty it and then charge you
again to fill it up?

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shoeless
How will they lay blame to a damaged vehicle? Car rental companies have become
viciously aggressive at forcing customers to take responsibility for damage,
and it falls on the last guy to drive it. I'm embroiled in a false claim with
Enterprise now.

Better buy the supplemental insurance if you don't want this monkey on your
back.

~~~
Debugreality
If you have travel insurance and most people do be sure to check if it covers
rental cars as this is often a far cheaper option and already included so no
point paying for insurance twice.

~~~
dionidium
Most people have travel insurance? It seems completely unnecessary for most
trips.

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pithon
I'm all about skipping lines when renting cars, so I like this idea. I have
Avis preferred through work and at most airports I just get on the Avis
shuttle, they ask my name, and drop me right in front of the car - no lines or
signatures required.

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stretchwithme
I love the idea of knowing exactly what I will get. And I could do without the
long lines and the need to get to the counter asap. Who needs it.

And only $5 to refill is a service that is finally priced right.

But the price is a bit high and I am okay with a much cheaper car.

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tomcam
That's awesome, because I almost never rent clerks. Ba dum dum.

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codfrantic
[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b00-c-bk4U0](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b00-c-bk4U0)
Who wouldn't love to do this?! Louis C.K. ^_^

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plg
Was given an Aztec once. Thought it was the most embarrassing thing in the
world to drive around in.

Of course this was before Breaking Bad

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ck2
Imagine one day with self-driving cars, your rental will pick you up at the
airport, no more off-airport stuff.

