

Ask HN: What do you hate most about renting a car? - zoltar92

Personally, I hate:<p>- Over Priced Insurance<p>- Rip-off Airport Prices<p>- Sweaty Shuttle Bus<p>- Long Lines at Counter<p>- Poor UI&#x2F;UX when booking<p>We&#x27;re trying to fix this and want to hear HN&#x27;s opinions.
======
milspec
The words "or similar" are what I hate most.

On the web site, cars are listed by class. I care about models, not classes. I
see the example car, google it to determine if I like it, choose it, and
then... show up at the place and find I'm given some horrid substitute that I
don't know much about. Oh, it's a "full size sedan" and all such cars are
interchangable? No, really, they are not.

It is super-important that I know exactly what I will end up driving. I'd like
to know the options, trim level, and ideally even the color.

Best would probably be that I check a box for every acceptable model, with a
minor discount if I check lots of boxes. (being non-picky makes my order easy
to fulfill) This way I can exclude models that I hate, and I have plenty of
time to research all the different choices in advance.

~~~
jasonkester
You win. This is the correct answer.

Our car was in the shop for the better part of a month this summer and I was
considering just buying a new one. I'd heard lots of good thing about the BMW
3 Series but hadn't ever driven one. Hey, since I need to rent a car anyway,
why not grab one o' those for a week to see it I like it?

So I find a national chain that advertises them. I get my rental confirmation
with a big picture and the words BMW 3 Series on it. I call the local office
just to make sure they'll have one ready for me. The answer? We don't rent
BMWs.

Yes, they have a couple. But no, you can't have one. They're reserved for a
special program exclusively for bmw owners. No BMW, no BMW rental.

But that doesn't stop them putting a picture of one one the homepage of their
site or 'renting' one to you.

Awesome.

~~~
aaronpeck
To solve this, the rental company could show a picture of the worst thing you
could end up with in that class. Leaves the disappointment out with a
statistically high chance you ending up with something better.

------
76357632477
Not being able to pick it up at any time.

Not being able to return it at any time.

Getting charged for a full two days when only renting for a day and an hour.

Reserving the vehicle online weeks before, then getting to the rental office
and finding that the requested vehicle won't be available for an hour or more
until it's returned by the previous renter or sent over from another rental
office.

Getting a vehicle that's damaged in some way that isn't visible, like grinding
in the tranny, which only becomes obvious after having started one's journey.

The fear involved with reporting problems like the aforementioned problem with
the tranny, out of fear of being blamed for causing the pre-existing problem,
and then getting charged for it.

~~~
zoltar92
Reserving and finding they oversold is one i've heard a bunch. deff working to
change that. As for the tranny, was this something that happened at one of the
"main brands" (hertz, avis) or a second tier one? and could the fear be solved
by automatic free insurance?

~~~
JOHN_JOHN_JOHN
It's even worse when the vehicle you reserved days before isn't there, but
there are several equivalent vehicles on the lot, and no other customers
obviously waiting for them, yet the rental agents insist those vehicles aren't
available. I've had problems with a well known national brand. The problem I
had wasn't obvious unless going at freeway speeds. A replacement may have been
available, but that would have cut into the rental time, which just isn't an
option when there are places to be and things to do on a tight deadline. And I
just can't trust these companies to honor whatever damage waivers or insurance
they might offer. I don't want to waste my time arguing this crap with the
foreigners who often work as agents at the rental counters.

------
pedalpete
Dealing with the staff is often the worst part of the rental car experience
for me.

I book online, declined insurance, chose the car I wanted, I don't need your
upsell and you telling me that I really should have insurance, which is a
bunch of BS as I already have a ton.

As some have already mentioned the shuttle bus is a slight annoyance, you
calling them 'sweaty shuttle buses' is leading the conversation. I've never
been on a shuttle bus that I felt was sweaty.

I've always thought a curb-side service would be amazing, but haven't figured
out how to make that work.

The fuel pricing hasn't been a massive issue, with the exception that again,
the rental car companies try to up sell you on their hair-brained and over-
priced 'pre-purchase' options.

~~~
zoltar92
Can you elaborate on 'dealing with staff'\- as in they're rude? Or having to
wait?

You mention you book online. Do you find that process tedious? I agree overall
it always had a godaddy vibe where I feel as if they're trying to upsell me on
everything- but find that more annoying from a UX point.

~~~
JOHN_JOHN_JOHN
I've never liked dealing with the staff either. Many of the times I've done it
in the US I've had to deal with foreigners who speak very poor English, and
just don't seem to care at all about giving even a basic level of customer
service. I don't expect much when renting a car, but being able to understand
the agent does matter to me, as does them showing even a slight amount of
interest in making it a tolerable experience for the customers.

------
eduardordm
I think Orlando International Airport, FL is probably one the worst places in
the world to rent a car. What they do in that airport is immoral and also
illegal in pretty much everywhere I've been. This is what usually happens:

\- You rent a car online, the website gives you a price and reservation You
are not charged, when you get there, you are charged at least two times the
original amount you saw on the website even when the reservation clearly
states the amount will not change. (That happens in all reservation websites)

\- They know you are probably coming from a long flight and use that as a tool
to make you pay and go away; That said, I saw them purposely making lines
longer at every rental booth, at the same time. When I asked why they were
doing that they said '... we are closing some unneeded booths at this time'.
They want you to be tired. They even had one employee, not using an uniform,
which clearly worked for all companies, he was the one coordinating the lines.

\- All car rentals practice the EXACT same price. They created some gimmicks
(GPS/insurance/amenities) to change the bottom line a little bit, but the
price is exactly the same, they even share the parking space and employees,
it's all a big lie.

\- Somehow there is not a single car rental near those airports every time, I
think that's intentional;

\- I've been to some of the worst airports in Africa and was better treated in
those countries than in that airport while renting a car;

\- They will try to push you into the crappiest car they have, they will give
you a better car if you complain. They somehow thought I would put my family
to travel around florida in a 10y/o crown victoria.

I don't have a doubt the Orlando Airport car rental is some kind of cartel.

~~~
zoltar92
I think I just found my favorite beta tester. Can you add me on Skype?
Avizolty (Or avi@beatdeck.com)

------
rdl
The number one thing which annoys me is when I'm in Europe and I do something
stupid like rent from Sixt and they promise me a BMW 3-series Automatic
SATNAV, and then when I show up, it's a Golf manual.

I drove it in first/second to another station, on the clutch a fair bit to get
the special smell, and then ended the rental early, walked upstairs to Avis,
and got a suitable Audi. (I don't like driving manuals in cities, I especially
hate vw clutches and golfs in general, and I don't like driving without satnav
in foreign countries where I have no data coverage and where the car has no
good place to put my phone for google maps use.)

------
MalcolmDiggs
I hate the surprises. I just wish sites would give greater transparency to all
the various nickel-and-dime charges that will inevitably make the rate I'm
paying at the counter higher than what I thought I signed up for.

I usually book on priceline and have just come to expect that I'll end up
swiping my card for upwards of 100% more money than the prices I was quoted.
(Airport fees, taxes of all kinds, insurance, other fees I've never heard of,
etc...)

------
fragmede
I hate the _feeling_ that I'm getting ripped off. That if I'd come in via the
right web-search or with the right coupon code, I'd get the car for $10/day
cheaper or whatever.

Have the major credit card agreements on file and _don 't_ offer me lucrative
(for you) insurance that I absolutely don't need - my credit card provides it.

In the UI, the _total_ price should be highlighted so I know how much it will
cost me in total. The per-day cost is good to know too, but I really just care
about how much it's going to cost at the end of the day.

The shuttle bus is, imo, unavoidable (though it'd better have air
conditioning/heating).

Hertz is copying the airlines by having kiosks so you can avoid long lines at
the counter.

------
rdl
I rent from Hertz and Avis and Silvercar exclusively, and have elite status
with each.

What I hate is when I get a car which is dirty, especially the side mirrors or
glass in general (safety issue). I do not fucking want to have to wash the car
when I get off a plane at 11pm to not have massive internal glare.

Insurance is only an issue for morons.

Counter lines are solved for elites.

Prices at Hertz and Avis are sometimes high, but not usually out of the realm
of reasonableness for at least one of them.

Silvercar is the correct solution to all car rentals, but it's not in enough
cities yet. Consistently "ok" prices (if a little high), great cars, great
service. No need for anything other than this, IMO.

~~~
JOHN_JOHN_JOHN
"Elite" status is a slap in the face to all customers. If the rental company
is capable of offering that level of service, then that level of service
should be the norm, at the non-elite price, and available to all customers.
Elite members shouldn't have to pay extra for it. And non-elite customers
shouldn't be subjected to inferior service just because they don't have elite
status.

~~~
rdl
Hertz Gold is pretty easy to get for free through various sources, or it's
$50/yr or a minimum number of rentals. All it really means is you've
substantially pre-registed so they can totally automate the pickup process, as
they have your identity/license/etc. info on file.

------
DanBC
There's a problem with the way fuel is charged.

[http://www.theguardian.com/money/2013/jun/22/car-hire-
fuel-h...](http://www.theguardian.com/money/2013/jun/22/car-hire-fuel-
holidaymakers)

> Holidaymakers hiring a car abroad this summer are being warned about a
> worsening car rental rip-off – firms that make you pay up front for a full
> tank of fuel, then insist you return the car empty.

------
erichurkman
No matter what car rental I choose, I feel like I'm not getting the best deal.
Prices are never clear – just like telecom companies, you'll rarely see the
full (price + taxes + fees + "convenience" charges + mystery airport fees + …)
price listed. Suddenly your $50/day rental is $75/day rental. If you search
online, you'll find a dozen different prices – heck, even calling the place to
get rates won't always get you the same results.

------
jordanpg
I smell someone trying to dream up the Uber of car rentals.

It's a good comparison. The obnoxious thing about taxis has always been the
uncertainty, the wait, the unpleasantness, and of course the stress of the
thing.

Turn it into a trivial exercise in using an app and you can eliminate all of
these things, although I imagine liability will be a significantly larger
problem.

~~~
zoltar92
Uber of car rentals is zipcar though or Relay Rides. But close :)

I agree on the taxi thing but I think the use case of a car rental and a taxi
are quite different.

------
morkfromork
Dealing with the people at the counter. They keep asking questions and waste
your time trying to up-sell you. It's a pop-quiz math test to determine which
random options to go with after a 5+ hour flight and you just want to get to
your hotel. All that could have been determined when you made the reservation
online.

------
joshvm
Hidden fees. It's never as cheap as the websites. Car rental firms need to go
the way of the airlines and be up front about what you're actually going to
pay.

~~~
zoltar92
Hotwire shows you "total" price. I think this comes from a) insurance/
underage driver fee b) no clarity on 'taxes' c) messy UX... thoughts?

~~~
joshvm
Underage fees are one thing, but policies like extremely large deposits if you
won't pay for their insurance, paying surpluses for diesel models if petrol is
unavailable (and they never are), having to pay for the first tank of fuel as
well as the one you return it with, etc.

This, I think, is the biggest problem. You get told your rental costs 100
Euros on a website, you do that and turn up and suddenly you're looking at
paying two or three times that on top of a deposit which must be paid by a
credit card and may well be above your limit.

I think this is largely a problem with holiday destinations trying to fleece
unwary tourists, I've had good experiences with local van hire companies who
make things straightforward.

------
mindcrime
At most airports, the walk / shuttle / train / whatever, from my gate, to the
rental car facility. The worst ones are the shuttle-bus rides when it's cold,
raining, after midnight, and I get stuck standing on the sidewalk for 15
minutes waiting for the next $VENDOR shuttle-bus, while freezing my balls off.
If you can walk (indoors) from the gate to the rental cars, that's not _too_
bad, and if there's a train, the wait is usually indoors. But man, I freaking
hate waiting for those goddamn shuttles at night, in the cold. Brrrrrrrr.....

~~~
zwieback
To me that's really the only bad part. Everything else is pretty smooth these
days. I usually don't even deal with any paperwork or tricky waiver situations
any more.

~~~
zoltar92
How do you accomplish that? Through their loyalty program?

~~~
zwieback
Yeah, signed up a long time ago and I never saw any drawbacks and it didn't
cost me anything. I did initially get Hertz Gold through work but was free to
use it privately. I signed up for the other ones myself.

------
dthakur
Opaque pricing.

~~~
zoltar92
Like hotwire? As in not telling you which car company you're booking from? Or
adding hidden costs after? Can you elaborate?

------
bob917
Semen on the stick shift

