i have rented a full size car from florida car hire for what was to be a party of four, my daughter is now coming on holiday with us, this now increases the party to 3 x adults and 2 x children (aged 6).
should i upgrade to a seven seater and if so should i do so now or wait until we arrive and when collecting the car request an upgrade or do you think dollar would upgrade us as a matter of course.
Never leave it until you arrive if you're intending to upgrade as it costs an awful lot more than it does from the UK before you leave.
A full size car should be fine with your party size although the boot/trunk space isn't that great so, if you're taking a lot of luggage or it's all hard cases, then bear this in mind.
blott
What Blott says is spot on. We highly recommend upgrading before you go as it will cost much more on arrival. This is not just a sales pitch to get you to go for a larger car with us as we make the same money regardless of the car type we supply, so we have no motive to try to get you to go for one car over another.
When I rented a car the sales clerk at the counter always used to give me the hard sales pitch to sell me an upgrade - thats how they make big commission. They probably don't earn much basic wage.
The pitches include:
You're in America now so why not get a big car? (Cos it will cost more petrol thats why and its 3 bucks a gallon)
Don't you drive a small car at home so get a big car (I have a Range-Rover at home)
The class of car you have booked doesn't have enough engine power to go up hills (there are no big hills in Fl) and run the aircon at the same time (lie)
The car you have booked leaves the luggage exposed and it may get stolen (lie, they don't have any cars like that) so you need to upgrade
The car you booked has only a 4 cylinder motor (but its 2 and a half litres so whats the problem? )
No doubt there are plenty more.
For some reason they don't try this on me any more, when I asked recently why the salesclerk told me I didn't look as though I would go for it - I don't know what that sort of look is though! Maybe a heavy Fl suntan?
Even if you book the tiniest car on most car rental broker's list they wont actually have any on their fleet. The smallest
they can give you I think (from Dollar anyway) is a Chrysler Caliber, OK for 2 adults and 2 kids and 3 suitcases but you will probably have to put at least one suitcase in the passenger compartment as the boot is pretty small.
Great for two adults though, drive well and cheap on gas.
So Roger is absolutely right, if there is a big party of you boook the size car you will actually need for safe comfortable driving, especially if you are going a long way like down to Tampa, the Keys, Gulf Coast etc.
IMHO the only time I got a real big free upgrade is when I didn't actually need one.
The 7 seater would be perfect for your needs so I would go for it[msnsmile2]
I would advise booking at least the level of ar you would find comfortable driving.
I had booked a full size (Dodge Charger)from Dollar at Miami Inernational. When I went to pick it up last week, I found i was given an "upgrade" to a Mercury Grand Marquis. Having looked at it in the car park, I did not feel confortable with it (too low down for the vast size). I went back in asking to be given a Dodge Charger. i was told there were none available nor had they and Pacifica's (next level up in stock). to be fair, I could not see any in the car park. I upgraded to a seven seater at a cost of about 50% more than the upgrade would have cost at the time of booking( However this was negotiated down from about 200% more). I suppose they knew they had the advantage since they knew I was not happy with what I had been allocated.
My two children are not complaining thought. The Town & Country has two reclining armchairs in the rear with full DVD system. and everything imaginable is electric (doors, boot etc).
Ours have never had the DVD systems in them whenever we have had the Town and County [msncry]
Are these appearing as standard - or was this given as a sweetener do you think.
Kenny
We had the 'we think your car will be too small for you as we know most English people drive Ford cars which are larger than you have ordered.' I took great delight in telling him I knew what he meant (smile appeared on his face) because I do drive a Ford but it is a Fiesta so my mid size car would be just fine. He then went on to try and offer upgrades on insurance which I did not need either as I had booked the all singing and dancing package.
It must be a thankless task for them though as their base salary is not very good and the only way to make a decent salary is to try and force extras on people.
Ours have never had the DVD systems in them whenever we have had the Town and County
Are these appearing as standard - or was this given as a sweetener do you think.
Kenny
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The one we have is the Touring model. The fellow on the desk did say he was giving us a special upgrade since I was reluctantly paying the extra money.
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