Enterprise Rent-A-Car Rant/Good Review

Lowflynjack

Lowflynjack

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Jack Fleetwood
So I'm posting a rant and a good review at the same time! I'm hoping this helps any of you who plan to travel.

I realized in all of my travels by private plane, I've never picked up a rental car at an airport. I've used the courtesy cars, had someone pick me up, took a cab, and even got a ride into town by the police... but never rented a car.

I called Enterprise in their local office at my destination, thinking this would be easier to explain than talking to someone in a corporate office. Surely they do it occasionally. The lady told me they couldn’t leave a car at the airport for me and hung up on me!

I called the airport to see if any of the local car rental places would do this and the guy says yes, Hertz or Enterprise will! They even have a car there now. I laughed and told him they had just told me they wouldn’t do it. He said sometimes the local office screws it up.

I called the local Enterprise office back and another lady answers and says they do provide that service, but I have to call an 800 number. She gives me the number and I thank her.

I call the 800 number she gave me and it says its Enterprise and if I answer 6 questions I can possibly win a Caribbean Cruise. It doesn’t give me the option to opt out. I press zero, but it doesn’t do anything. So, six questions later it tells me I won a cruise and only have to pay fees of $65 per person and to hit 1 to collect… again, no other options. I finally hit 1 and a cruise-line company answers. I hang up, this time I’m ****ed off.

I call an 800 number I find online and the lady starts asking me questions and I stop her. Before we go on, I’m flying into a General Aviation Airport and want to find out how to pickup the car there. Finally I found someone who can help. She says because they don’t have an office at the airport, I need to join EnterprisePlus. This is because the airport will hold the keys for me, but they won’t take down my driver’s license or credit card info, etc. She gives me a new 800 number to use when booking a car for GA. I register for EnterprisePlus, book my car, and hopefully all goes well!

I've now learned that if you're traveling in GA and want a rental car with them, once your an EnterprisePlus member, you can go to their website and scroll down to the bottom, under the title "Business" you'll see "General Aviation". Click it and you'll be able to enter the airport identifier and your info. If you prefer to call, you can call 800-777-5050.
 
I had National Executive Elite status for a while and one of the perks is that they would deliver a car for free to any FBO within 50 miles of one of their branch locations. It was awesome.

Now I am all about Uber, but have learned if I need a rental car to just coordinate it directly through the FBO even if is a few bucks more. As you have discovered you never know what you are gonna get by blindly calling the underpaid jackwaggon that just got hired last week at the local branch and trying to explain what you need to do.
 
I've had good results booking a rental car through the FBO, if there is one. They generally know the local rental agents and process, and it works a lot smoother than trying to use the rental company's nationwide page.

Oh, and I detest dealing with Enterprise. It's like they go out of their way to make renting from them as painful as possible.
 
slacktide said:
I've had good results booking a rental car through the FBO, if there is one. They generally know the local rental agents and process, and it works a lot smoother than trying to use the rental company's nationwide page.

Oh, and I detest dealing with Enterprise. It's like they go out of their way to make renting from them as painful as possible.
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A lot of FBOs don't seem to want to deal with it. They ask the rental car companies to keep cars there, but only hold the keys. Then again, I mostly go to the smaller towns where the terminal is run by the city or county.
 
slacktide said:
Oh, and I detest dealing with Enterprise. It's like they go out of their way to make renting from them as painful as possible.
Click to expand...


On the rant side...I also hate Enterprise. Company policy is to NOT fill up the tanks for the next rental if it is above 1/4 tank...so you either get a car that is low on fuel and you need to gas up right away or need to make a complete guess how much gas you need/used so you are not buying gas for the next guy.

And their compter system is HORRENDOUS. I have never gotten out of a local branch under 20 min while the moron types away at the screen for 15 min working on the reservation.
 
I hope I don't jinx myself but we've had good service with enterprise. With a phone call they will have a car at KILG waiting for us. Some times we use the courtesy car if our business is under two or three hours. Pick up and drop keys at the FBO desk.

Annual means a reposition to 58M for me and a two hour drive home. I'll drop the plane and rent one way back home. This year I rented for the five days and saved the mileage on my SUV.
 
Lowflynjack said:
It's banned in Austin, so is Lyft. There are other, similar services out there though.
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There are lots of places where it isn't banned, but just doesn't operate. My mother is 85 years old and still occasionally drives. I don't think that's all that good of an idea, and was trying to find an alternative in her hometown of Brooksville, FL, but there really isn't any. It's true of a lot of smaller cities as well.
 
Always had good customer service from Enterprise. That is, until we tried picking up a car at Truckee-Taho. Absolutely horrible experience, coming and going. I don't think that employee will have lasted much longer after that experience. RAR weekend and several customers were quite PO'd.
 
Lowflynjack said:
So I'm posting a rant and a good review at the same time! I'm hoping this helps any of you who plan to travel.

I realized in all of my travels by private plane, I've never picked up a rental car at an airport. I've used the courtesy cars, had someone pick me up, took a cab, and even got a ride into town by the police... but never rented a car.

I called Enterprise in their local office at my destination, thinking this would be easier to explain than talking to someone in a corporate office. Surely they do it occasionally. The lady told me they couldn’t leave a car at the airport for me and hung up on me!

I called the airport to see if any of the local car rental places would do this and the guy says yes, Hertz or Enterprise will! They even have a car there now. I laughed and told him they had just told me they wouldn’t do it. He said sometimes the local office screws it up.

I called the local Enterprise office back and another lady answers and says they do provide that service, but I have to call an 800 number. She gives me the number and I thank her.

I call the 800 number she gave me and it says its Enterprise and if I answer 6 questions I can possibly win a Caribbean Cruise. It doesn’t give me the option to opt out. I press zero, but it doesn’t do anything. So, six questions later it tells me I won a cruise and only have to pay fees of $65 per person and to hit 1 to collect… again, no other options. I finally hit 1 and a cruise-line company answers. I hang up, this time I’m ****ed off.

I call an 800 number I find online and the lady starts asking me questions and I stop her. Before we go on, I’m flying into a General Aviation Airport and want to find out how to pickup the car there. Finally I found someone who can help. She says because they don’t have an office at the airport, I need to join EnterprisePlus. This is because the airport will hold the keys for me, but they won’t take down my driver’s license or credit card info, etc. She gives me a new 800 number to use when booking a car for GA. I register for EnterprisePlus, book my car, and hopefully all goes well!

I've now learned that if you're traveling in GA and want a rental car with them, once your an EnterprisePlus member, you can go to their website and scroll down to the bottom, under the title "Business" you'll see "General Aviation". Click it and you'll be able to enter the airport identifier and your info. If you prefer to call, you can call 800-777-5050.
Click to expand...
is there a local Enterprise office in the town you're flying into? if yes, why not just call them when you land and have them pick you up at the airport? we travel via motorhome and before we started towing a jeep we used Enterprise a lot to rent cars for our stay at the RV park. we would call the local Enterprise office, they'd come pick us up, we'd drive back to the office, complete the paperwork and off we'd go. it was just the reverse when turning the car back in. would that work for you?
 
I just did trip requiring driving a car from the home airport down to Mobile Dowtown Airport to pick up our plane. Local FBO did the reservation and the car and keys for me when I picked it up 0600, we drove to Mobile and dropped the car with the FBO there and it was all done.
 
If I need a rental car, I always start with the FBO. Often times I've gotten a car at the crew rate that is significantly less than the 800 number rate. Either way, the FBO always knows who's best to deal with, and occasionally will hook me up with a local dealership or the like that I otherwise wouldn't have known about. I'm not so worried about status or points so easy is the biggest factor for me.

And yes, I use Uber when available and convenient.The farther into the boonies you go, the less of a chance that Uber will work, though.
 
rk911 said:
is there a local Enterprise office in the town you're flying into? if yes, why not just call them when you land and have them pick you up at the airport? we travel via motorhome and before we started towing a jeep we used Enterprise a lot to rent cars for our stay at the RV park. we would call the local Enterprise office, they'd come pick us up, we'd drive back to the office, complete the paperwork and off we'd go. it was just the reverse when turning the car back in. would that work for you?
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I thought of that, but they close at Noon on Saturday. I'm landing after that.
 
Brad Z said:
And yes, I use Uber when available and convenient.The farther into the boonies you go, the less of a chance that Uber will work, though.
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I think normally Uber or even a taxi would be good for me, but this time I'm taking the wife on a quick 2-day vacation. I want a car so we can venture out of town.
 
Shawn said:
On the rant side...I also hate Enterprise. Company policy is to NOT fill up the tanks for the next rental if it is above 1/4 tank...so you either get a car that is low on fuel and you need to gas up right away or need to make a complete guess how much gas you need/used so you are not buying gas for the next guy.

And their compter system is HORRENDOUS. I have never gotten out of a local branch under 20 min while the moron types away at the screen for 15 min working on the reservation.
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Wow, they used to be among the best. The gas thing is a ripoff.
 
GMascelli said:
I hope I don't jinx myself but we've had good service with enterprise. With a phone call they will have a car at KILG waiting for us. Some times we use the courtesy car if our business is under two or three hours. Pick up and drop keys at the FBO desk.

Annual means a reposition to 58M for me and a two hour drive home. I'll drop the plane and rent one way back home. This year I rented for the five days and saved the mileage on my SUV.
Click to expand...
Why don't you ask an airport pal to fly over and pick you up?
 
Lowflynjack said:
I think normally Uber or even a taxi would be good for me, but this time I'm taking the wife on a quick 2-day vacation. I want a car so we can venture out of town.
Click to expand...
Yep, Uber/Taxis doesn't work very well if you've got a little one in a car seat or you're bringing your dog, either.
 
I think the service you get from rent-a-car companies is entirely dependent on the management of a particular branch. If you are flying in to a GA airport it's more convenient, although possibly more expensive, to have the FBO arrange it.
 
Lowflynjack said:
...Before we go on, I’m flying into a General Aviation Airport and want to find out how to pickup the car there. Finally I found someone who can help. She says because they don’t have an office at the airport, I need to join EnterprisePlus. This is because the airport will hold the keys for me, but they won’t take down my driver’s license or credit card info, etc...
Click to expand...
Hertz has a similar arrangement, except that the first time you do it after you join, they have to take you to their office to do the paperwork. Once that's done, on subsequent trips they can leave the car at the airport for you.
 
paflyer said:
Why don't you ask an airport pal to fly over and pick you up?
Click to expand...

Really quiet here at ocean city md (KOXB) when I do annual (November). Most of the aviation club members are older retirees that just don't fly. Just easier to do it myself.
 
GMascelli said:
Really quiet here at ocean city md (KOXB) when I do annual (November). Most of the aviation club members are older retirees that just don't fly. Just easier to do it myself.
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Too bad. Maybe start working on doing 13 month annuals, eventually you'll move the date into the spring!
 
Given the choice between Enterprise and Hertz, I would have opted for Hertz.

Enterprise is a renter of last resort for me.
 
I used Hertz for a long time until the company made better deals with National/Enterprise/Alamo. Now National is the only company I use, as I can't stand dealing with the Enterprise hoops I'm forced to jump through. I'm an Executive Elite member with National (I rent for a week or so each month on business) which allows me to get in any car on the lot for the same price as the standard car, and I don't have to talk to a single person aside from the booth attendant on the way out to check my ID. Enterprise makes me go inside, wait for an open spot at the counter, issue me the keys, print off the contract on line-feed paper (who uses that anymore?!), and the walk around the damn car looking for dents with their usually-college-educated front desk jockey. Then I get in a car with a 1/2 tank of fuel and am expected to return it at that level. What a crock. Give it to me filled up, I will return it filled up.

Hertz/National are both good in my book. Enterprise can take a hike. The only thing that makes Enterprise convenient is that they aren't airport-based, so they have a lot of "neighborhood" locations which are convenient in distance when you don't live near the local Class B/C airport.

Side note: my father works for Enterprise Holdings and sees the backside of those businesses. The fact that they merged the way they did, accounts for why a lot of the ENA brands operate so differently from each other. They use entirely different software/data systems and management.
 
Everskyward said:
I think the service you get from rent-a-car companies is entirely dependent on the management of a particular branch. If you are flying in to a GA airport it's more convenient, although possibly more expensive, to have the FBO arrange it.
Click to expand...
That's what the Enterprise national office has always said...but it seems like they encourage all the local offices to provide crappy service.
Shawn said:
On the rant side...I also hate Enterprise. Company policy is to NOT fill up the tanks for the next rental if it is above 1/4 tank...so you either get a car that is low on fuel and you need to gas up right away or need to make a complete guess how much gas you need/used so you are not buying gas for the next guy.
Click to expand...
I got one where it was on empty when the guy picked me up at the airport...I asked him to fill it up on the way back to the office, and he refused. I was actually concerned about running out of gas before I got to a gas station.

My copilot didn't think it would be a good idea to lock up the car and leave it running when we dropped it off.
 
MauleSkinner said:
That's what the Enterprise national office has always said...but it seems like they encourage all the local offices to provide crappy service.
Click to expand...
One local office I'm thinking of provided consistently crappy service. Now they are under new management and the service has been great. This has also been true of various Hertz locations. Some are good, some not so much.
 
I use Enterprise quite a bit on GA/business travel & find it superior to the other rental outfits. I use my USAA discount & register online & have never had any problems, this gets a better rate than booking through an FBO but it is functionally identical to booking through the FBO--if that branch does have a policy of leaving a car at the field, they will do so regardless of whether it was booked through the FBO or website. The main reason I love Enterprise is that is was founded by a Navy officer & it shows-the fellow running the branch is always clean cut, a college graduate, and wearing a shirt and tie. I used to use Hertz & Avis but towards the end I was grateful if the clerk spoke English as a first language, a lot of them did not and I found them truculent and surly. Enterprise seems to be run by Mormons, the way they look & present themselves.

Oh yeah the gas thing is a pain, but seriously what pilot cannot estimate fuel usage to within a gallon? The gas gauges are quite accurate.
 
Lowflynjack said:
So I'm posting a rant and a good review at the same time! I'm hoping this helps any of you who plan to travel.

I realized in all of my travels by private plane, I've never picked up a rental car at an airport. I've used the courtesy cars, had someone pick me up, took a cab, and even got a ride into town by the police... but never rented a car.

I called Enterprise in their local office at my destination, thinking this would be easier to explain than talking to someone in a corporate office. Surely they do it occasionally. The lady told me they couldn’t leave a car at the airport for me and hung up on me!

I called the airport to see if any of the local car rental places would do this and the guy says yes, Hertz or Enterprise will! They even have a car there now. I laughed and told him they had just told me they wouldn’t do it. He said sometimes the local office screws it up.

I called the local Enterprise office back and another lady answers and says they do provide that service, but I have to call an 800 number. She gives me the number and I thank her.

I call the 800 number she gave me and it says its Enterprise and if I answer 6 questions I can possibly win a Caribbean Cruise. It doesn’t give me the option to opt out. I press zero, but it doesn’t do anything. So, six questions later it tells me I won a cruise and only have to pay fees of $65 per person and to hit 1 to collect… again, no other options. I finally hit 1 and a cruise-line company answers. I hang up, this time I’m ****ed off.

I call an 800 number I find online and the lady starts asking me questions and I stop her. Before we go on, I’m flying into a General Aviation Airport and want to find out how to pickup the car there. Finally I found someone who can help. She says because they don’t have an office at the airport, I need to join EnterprisePlus. This is because the airport will hold the keys for me, but they won’t take down my driver’s license or credit card info, etc. She gives me a new 800 number to use when booking a car for GA. I register for EnterprisePlus, book my car, and hopefully all goes well!

I've now learned that if you're traveling in GA and want a rental car with them, once your an EnterprisePlus member, you can go to their website and scroll down to the bottom, under the title "Business" you'll see "General Aviation". Click it and you'll be able to enter the airport identifier and your info. If you prefer to call, you can call 800-777-5050.
Click to expand...
Be VERY careful to call and verify the end of the rental, and check the charges on your card after you return the car. Particularly if you drop it back off at the airport for them to pick up later.

My experiences with Enterprise varies greatly with local management. Many here and on the red board have had them continue the rental charges for days before they pick up the car and close out the contract.

Also, they used to play shenanigans with a persistent cookie on your browser after a GA rental, categorizing you as a high net worth customer and raising all subsequent rates for non-GA locations. I will only rent GA from them as a last resort, and using a an "incognito" session. Not sure if they are still pulling this stunt, but I don't like them.
 
SoonerAviator said:
Now National is the only company I use, as I can't stand dealing with the Enterprise hoops I'm forced to jump through. I'm an Executive Elite member with National (I rent for a week or so each month on business) which allows me to get in any car on the lot for the same price as the standard car, and I don't have to talk to a single person aside from the booth attendant on the way out to check my ID. Enterprise makes me go inside, wait for an open spot at the counter, issue me the keys, print off the contract on line-feed paper (who uses that anymore?!), and the walk around the damn car looking for dents with their usually-college-educated front desk jockey. Then I get in a car with a 1/2 tank of fuel and am expected to return it at that level. What a crock. Give it to me filled up, I will return it filled up.

Hertz/National are both good in my book. Enterprise can take a hike. The only thing that makes Enterprise convenient is that they aren't airport-based, so they have a lot of "neighborhood" locations which are convenient in distance when you don't live near the local Class B/C airport.

Side note: my father works for Enterprise Holdings and sees the backside of those businesses. The fact that they merged the way they did, accounts for why a lot of the ENA brands operate so differently from each other. They use entirely different software/data systems and management.
Click to expand...
Since Enterprise owns National, the lady actually told me I had to become an EnterprisePlus or the equivalent with National and with either of those I could get the Enterprise car dropped off.
 
Morgan3820 said:
Why is that?
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Uber is banned in Austin, so is Lyft. They wouldn't conform to the background checks the city required. Most of us believe it was the taxi industry pushing the city council.
 
I have had mixed experiences with Enterprise. Last trip to Annapolis was great though. Car was waiting at the FBO. Offered me the WE special of $9.99/day. Other experiences, not as good but I have always got where I needed to go.

As for Austin, oh well, wasn't planning to go there anyway.
 
hankrausch said:
I use my USAA discount & register online & have never had any problems
Click to expand...

I looked at my USAA discount, and thought that Costco had slightly better discounts...? Let me know if I'm way off here, but check Costco Travel if you're a member.
 
Im disappointed with Enterprise. AOPA have supposedly negotiated a deal that provides access to cars at GA airports through them. The few times I have tried to use it p, I've had difficulty and finally had to agree to an SUV rental last year before it was a sufficiently high class for them to agree to drop at the airport.

At this point I start with the local FBO who usually know best.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
Brad Z said:
If I need a rental car, I always start with the FBO.
Click to expand...

I've tried that. When I was learning to fly at KIXD (New Century, Olathe KS), I rented a car from the FBO after my flight and then drove back to my hotel near KMKC (downtown Kansas City) in the evenings. They suggested the crew car, but I was transparent about how long this would go on and they agreed that Enterprise would be best for my circumstances.

Brad Z said:
And yes, I use Uber when available and convenient.The farther into the boonies you go, the less of a chance that Uber will work, though.
Click to expand...

On the last day, I returned to the airport, returned the car to the FBO. Flew touch-and-gos (touch and goes?) for a couple of hours until the end of the day. When I tried to Uber back to the hotel, no uber would pick me up ( worked at this for an hour).

Then another student, wondering why I was sitting around the FBO when everything else clearly at the end of the day, offered to take me to the hotel. He drove me significantly out of his way; entertaining me with great stories of his own flight training and plans (I think he was working on his multi).

Lotsa fond memories.
 
I have always had luck calling the FBO and arrange it through them. Many of them have agreements with the local franchises.
 
My experience has been quite different. I've rented exclusively from Enterprise for well over 15 years, both GA and commercial (and occasionally when I have my car go in for unexpected maintenance). Other than one particularly obnoxious office on the Texas gulf coast who treated me like some sort of third-class citizen (still got the car, though!!), I've had nothing but professional, prompt and reliable service from them, all over the U.S.
 
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