car hire upgrade, here or there

[trevlad]

where is it best to upgrade the car hire. the car hire site attached to the forum is one of , if not the best place around to hire vehicles from, but sometimes you get them in with a deal already. so,

as an example, the difference between a compact car with full ins to say a convertible for the week is about £70 or say $130.

i know the theorem of,' wait cos you may get an upgrade if they havent got what you ordered', but does anyone know the actual costs at orlando or miami etc

[floridadreamvilla.co.uk]

If you have ordered with us then it's a lot better to upgrade before you go as we can just do it for the incremental price between the old and new car as shown on our site www.uscarhire.co.uk

Obviously I cannot comment for other companies as their deals are often structured differently - e.g. you pay for insurance on arrival (ouch!). The local cost of upgrade is not cheap - we have heard of clients paying 2-3 (or more) times what we charge for the car hire.

[moodyvilla]

I would reiterate what John has said and if you want an upgrade arrange it before you go. In my experience it costs a great deal more to do this on arrival; I once got a good deal offered on a convertible as a ‘special offer’ but it still was not as good as the deals offered on this website. I would definitely sort it out before you go.

[trevlad]

thanks, yes i agree this site is good, but can anyone confirm the actuall upgrades you would pay at the airport pick up

[Val]

100% here, you want to spend as little time as possible at the collection point, you are all tired after a long flight, if you are travelling with children all they want to do is get to their destination, so just give them your voucher and GO.
Val

[florida4sun]

A lot more than upgrading through this site. AT the aiprot you will pay the hire charge, sales tax, tourist tax, difference in insurance, tyre wear fee, battery fee, blah blah blah plus the agent gets his commission.
They have you over a barrel if you upgrade at the counter. It would cost you at least twice the amount.


<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by trevlad
thanks, yes i agree this site is good, but can anyone confirm the actuall upgrades you would pay at the airport pick up
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[trevlad]

<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by trevlad
thanks, yes i agree this site is good, but can anyone confirm the actuall upgrades you would pay at the airport pick up
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[feathersonline]

<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by trevlad
<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by trevlad
thanks, yes i agree this site is good, but can anyone confirm the actuall upgrades you would pay at the airport pick up
[/quote]
[/quote]

Trev
We had to upgrade to the next size up last year, as a flight delay meant a change of plans re taking our stuff to our condo, then returning to the airport to pick up people who should have been arriving later. As we ended up all arriving at the same time, we couldn't all fit in the smaller car. We were charged over $80 for 10 days by Alamo. Hope this helps.

[Andy and Wendy]

Trev, I don't think there is a straight answer to your question unfortunately.

I have had the upgrade line bowled at me several times and always politely refuse. It is normally accompanied by them saying something like -

"we have a special offer on this model this week only......"

"I can do you this at a special rate if you take it now............"

However the rates quoted are normally before all the add-ons of taxes, airport fees, etc, etc

I think to some extent it is supply and demand - if they have a load of cars at an off-peak time they may appear willing to "do deals". If not then it is Hobson's choice re their price.

However just occasionally they don't have your pre-booked model in stock and you end up with something better for no extra dosh (which is why they were trying to get you to upgrade anyway!). We had a Chrysler Neon booked and walked out a Pacifica........

Pre-booking is for me the preferred option and always will be. There are some parts of USA where the local charges are horrific if you haven't pre-paid. Just a tip for those going further afield - the worst I ever saw was at Seattle (we were OK and had pre-paid!).

Andy

[Lyn]

Have to agree with Andy the sales hype in trying to get you to upgrade is awful. The last thing you need after a long flight. I would always arrange the car I wanted, fully paid for here, then you just say 'I am happy with the car I have booked, thank you' and I have then had no more hassle. If you want to upgrade they do have you over a barrel.