I Hate Enterprise

flyingron

flyingron

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FlyingRon
Dropped the plane off for annual and got a lift over to the Enterprise office and rented a car one way for a five hour drive home.

Today tried to do the reverse and popped into the Enterprise office and "Oh sorry, we have your reservation but we don't have any cars... we tried to email you but it didn't work (odd because I have the email of the confirmation message). Of course, all the other Enterprise offices are closed on Sunday except at CLT. And that one wants three times to pick up a car there. Nobody answers their damned customer support line either.
 
I rented from Enterprise once.

Never again.

I'll walk before renting from Enterprise
 
Yep. I booked a car for a one way out of Fresno just over a year ago. As I boarded the plane out of SeaTac I got a call from them.
"Sorry, we have stopped doing one way rentals until further notice".
I had rented from them for years. No more
 
flyingron said:
Dropped the plane off for annual and got a lift over to the Enterprise office and rented a car one way for a five hour drive home.

Today tried to do the reverse and popped into the Enterprise office and "Oh sorry, we have your reservation but we don't have any cars... we tried to email you but it didn't work (odd because I have the email of the confirmation message). Of course, all the other Enterprise offices are closed on Sunday except at CLT. And that one wants three times to pick up a car there. Nobody answers their damned customer support line either.
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I was in Seattle a few weeks ago and tried to pick up my reserved rental car from Hertz. I get to the counter in the afternoon to pick up my car only to find out at check-out that I'm on the "DNR: DO NOT RENT" list. That was a shock. Apparently it's normally to prevent irresponsible renters (DUIs, arrests in cars, people with excessive billing disputes, etc). None of which describe me.

Anyways, I walk down to the Thrifty counter and I'm blocked there too! (turns out that's owned by hertz too). No one can give me any explanation for why I'm blocked and their rental suspension number phone line closes early so there was no way to get a resolution that day.

I explained my situation to Avis and ended up with a car from them. But the woman told me to be sure to get that taken care of b/c the rental car companies sync up their DNR lists. And if you're on it when it syncs - you can end up getting blocked from ALL of them - even if it's purely a clerical error like in my case. You have no recourse.

Hertz finally got back in touch with me 2 weeks after I called and emailed to get an explanation. Simple error on their end and they confirmed I should not have been blocked and am NOT blocked for future rentals. However, they will not refund me for the rental car I prepaid for in Seattle that I wasn't able to pick up because I got a discount making a non-refundable reservation.

So yeah... Rental car companies are the absolute worst.
 
Hertz will guarantee a vehicle type and then when you arrive tell you they don’t actually have that type. That drives me nuts. I’m considering Touro now.
 
We pretty much only rent from Enterprise and have had ZERO issues. Last time they gave us an S class when we rented a "Jetta or similar" and let us one way it on zero notice. Also let us have our choice of anything on the lot another time when we rented a midsized.

Maybe y'all need to wprk on your salesmanship.
 
what you should hate is a so-called recreational activity where you have to drive 5 hours just to have a conveyance with the complexity of a Sears lawnmower legally signed off in the first place.

Gratuitous snark aside, when we run into rental issues AOG, and we do quite frequently flying these 60+ year old fire breathing contraptions (thanks to Boeing T-7 criminal-underbid pork barrel program), we just get creative and rent a U-haul one way. Done. You can $wing that, life's too short for AOG headaches. :thumbsup:
 
hindsight2020 said:
we just get creative and rent a U-haul one way. Done. You can $wing that, life's too short for AOG headaches. :thumbsup:
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And here I was, a sucker, paying a couple hundred dollars in drop off fees when I could have been cruising in box-truck style for less!
 
I had a project in Bishop, which is about 8 hours of driving but an hour and a half by plane. I would call the local Enterprise office and let them know I needed a car, would pick up the keys at the FBO desk, do my meeting, drop the keys back off at the FBO desk, and would be home by happy hour. This was a while back though.
 
ArrowFlyer86 said:
And here I was, a sucker, paying a couple hundred dollars in drop off fees when I could have been cruising in box-truck style for less!
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Yessir, my username checks. Fact is you're not a real AvIaTOr unless you make it home on a U-haul like the rest of the poors.

The best part was the drop off location, where the clerk sees two guys in wrinkled swamp-[redacted] green flight suits get out, swing up the door to an near-empty 14' truck and just pick up a set of weird looking chaps, darth vader looking helmets and parachute harnesses, then dip out into a sun-faded geo metro with two other dudes in green flight suits heckling and laughing, then all 4 peel out.

Time to spare, go by air indeed. I could push a boat on a trailer at this point and it'd still be cheaper than engine work these days, let alone AOG. Frankly, I'm surprised more people don't think of moving trucks as a legit way to get home when the destination is far away from 121 servicing airports. noobs. :biggrin:
 
I had @ArrowFlyer86 ‘s almost exact experience with Hertz agreeing to rent, then denying me at the counter at the start of a 2-week vacation!
“DNR”
They had no clue why.
Took many phone calls and emails to get their error cleared up so I could rent from them or their affiliates.
I need to test it, just in case I need them but so far I’ve avoided them.
Hertz Hurts.
I haven’t had bad experience with Enterprise but feel it coming.
They’re all the same!
 
The only car rental company I’ve never had a bad experience with was Fox. Otherwise it’s been cancelled reservations, being out of cars and blaming it on covid (in 2023), out of cars and blaming it on a one-night storm a week earlier, only one out of six or so windows being staffed and promptly at 10 PM closing with 20 people in line.

It’d be easier and cheaper to go to a dealer, buy a car, and sell it after a few days.
 
I hate Hertz. I love Enterprise.
I always request Enterprise if they are available.

Sometimes I try other rental car agencies but I have way more problems with others than I do with Enterprise; but not as many as I always have with Hertz.

Enterprise isn't perfect. I have had issues. But they always try to resolve those issues. Hertz tells me to get lost (but in gentler words).

I have heard good things about Turo. I actually reserved a car with them once but I had to cancel because of an emergency. But I will try them again.

The best thing about Enterprise though is that they will almost always deliver the car to the FBO. With Turo you have to find a way to get to the car.

The best thing about Hertz is that sometimes there is no other choice. But the number of invalid charges (eg: fueling when I topped off a mile from the FBO, or a late charge when I delivered the car the the FBO hours before the specified tie) are almost predictable with Hertz.
 
flyingron said:
Dropped the plane off for annual and got a lift over to the Enterprise office and rented a car one way for a five hour drive home.

Today tried to do the reverse and popped into the Enterprise office and "Oh sorry, we have your reservation but we don't have any cars... we tried to email you but it didn't work (odd because I have the email of the confirmation message). Of course, all the other Enterprise offices are closed on Sunday except at CLT. And that one wants three times to pick up a car there. Nobody answers their damned customer support line either.
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Half Fast said:
Are rental car agencies mentioned in the Bible? I'm pretty sure that's what Psalm 14:3 is talking about:

They have all turned aside; together they have become corrupt;​
there is none who does good,​
not even one.​
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I thought that was talking about politicians, but I guess it could apply to rental car companies. And the cable companies.
 
Enterprise of N Illinois charged me for a car I never picked up. Sent it to collection. After it went to collection it was still sitting there at the FBO with the same mileage on it. Unbelievable.

NEVER again. They deserve to NEVER be in business.
 
Funny how people are peeved at one company but not another. They’re interchangeable. What mean by that is, for example I had a reservation with Alamo two weeks ago for a 10 day rental. Alamo counter was empty. The nice lady at the enterprise counter said “They’re gone, I’ll take care of you” (this was at Adams/Bill Clinton airport in Little Rock). She asked my last name and by the time I said, “ I made my reservation through Costco” she said, “Here it is.” She told me the fee which was exactly what I expected, made a copy of my drivers license and I was on my way.

So maybe I should hate Alamo for not being there
 
Beware.

Rented from Enterprise two weeks ago. Checking out car agent says “no pets allowed in our vehicles”. I said what? Agent said “nope. New policy. If you do and we see evidence, $250 cleaning fee.”

If you plan on carrying a pet be prepared to clean the inside before you return the car.

Thanks Enterprise. You already told me no sand or damp seats, and now it’s no pet hair.
 
I always request a sub-compact when I travel. A lot of the times, they're out of sub-compacts and offer me a larger car at the same rate. On one trip, they gave me a Lincoln Continental instead of a sub-compact. Just last month, they offered me a behemoth Jeep Gladiator SUV instead of a Nissan Versa.

The problem is, I'm not just being cheap...I hate to have to drive in unfamiliar areas in a big boat of a vehicle.

Ron Wanttaja
 
The vast majority of the time, I use National for work, except for a few years ago when I was driving from home to a site and it was easier to just use the neighborhood Enterprise office for pickup. The biggest pain I had there was that they VERY rarely threw an upgrade my way, despite repetitive business. At least with National, I can pick any car in the lot which, before COVID, could be a pretty sweet ride if I timed it right. Nowadays, the rental fleets are pretty puny in general with few SUVs and LOTS of minivans.

Had a couple of situations at DFW in the past few months that made my spidey sense tingle, though. On one occasion, I ended up riding with someone else and didn't get around to cancelling my reservation beforehand, yet somehow, about 10pm that night, when I opened up the app to cancel my reservation, I saw that a car had been checked out in my name. It had the license plate, odometer reading, everything. I emailed the site specific email and even though I never got a response from them directly, the car miraculously fell off my reservation. Seemed odd... Either they flubbed something up or someone got caught trying to sneak out a rental on my name. Not sure either way...

In another situation a few weeks later, I got into DFW at 5am after a red-eye from LAX. When I pulled up to the booth to check out, the lady was asleep. I coughed and she startled and apologized profusely. Returned the car a few days later. Usually I get an email receipt before I get on the shuttle bus to the terminal, but this time, nothing. Next day, still nothing. I start looking through app stuff for 'previous reservations', and there's nothing there. So apparently either the sleeping lady forgot to check a box or she felt so bad for being asleep (and happy that I wasn't being an a-- about) that she just didn't charge me for it or something. Not sure what would have happened if I had been pulled over and couldn't pull up any info about the rental agreement though.
 
wanttaja said:
I always request a sub-compact when I travel. A lot of the times, they're out of sub-compacts and offer me a larger car at the same rate. On one trip, they gave me a Lincoln Continental instead of a sub-compact. Just last month, they offered me a behemoth Jeep Gladiator SUV instead of a Nissan Versa.

The problem is, I'm not just being cheap...I hate to have to drive in unfamiliar areas in a big boat of a vehicle.

Ron Wanttaja
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I've had that issue a couple of times as well...if it's not a business rental, and it's just me, I rent a sub-compact because I'm planning to put a few hundred miles on it. I'll arrive at the desk to be told they're out of subcompacts, so I''ve been upgraded three levels to the closest thing they have in stock...some behemoth family truckster.

Many folks would be happy at the multi-level upgrade, I'm just left thinking that I'm now getting 12 mpg instead of the 32 mpg I'd planned on.

I think the most annoying was the time my wife and I got upgraded to a full-size pickup, with no room for our luggage in the cab, so suitcases had to go in back, in the rain, then moved into the cab and locked up every time we left the truck for a meal or whatever.

I guess I'm lucky I haven't yet encountered anything like some of the true horror stories recounted in this thread.
 
I used to rent from National/Enterprise (usually National) 2-3 times per quarter for business travel. Very rarely was I ever inconvenienced unless there was some extenuating circumstances (weather causing mass flight cancellations, etc.). I also used Hertz with good success, and even Avis a time or two. I always liked National due to having higher "status" with them where I was often given luxury upgrades for no cost. I also like being able to walk out and choose whatever car I want, and never have to talk to a lot attendant. Enterprise is still making you walk around the car with a college-age kid on a tablet signing disclosures and logging pre-existing damage, lol. I almost always book a mid-size car, but generally choose a sports car if it's just me, or a full size truck/SUV if I have others or am planning to take a mountain bike or go exploring. Also, don't buy rental cars, as I drive rental cars at "full rental power", lol.
 
SoonerAviator said:
Also, don't buy rental cars, as I drive rental cars at "full rental power", lol.
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There was a wedding in town for some friend quite a few years back. Out of town under-30's rented a car. Bought every insurance upgrade they could on it. Then absolutely trashed the hell out of it. Drove it into concrete barriers, over curbs where they didn't have quite enough ground clearance. Turned the car back in Days Of Thunder style when they go to lunch.
 
wanttaja said:
I always request a sub-compact when I travel. A lot of the times, they're out of sub-compacts and offer me a larger car at the same rate. On one trip, they gave me a Lincoln Continental instead of a sub-compact. Just last month, they offered me a behemoth Jeep Gladiator SUV instead of a Nissan Versa.

The problem is, I'm not just being cheap...I hate to have to drive in unfamiliar areas in a big boat of a vehicle.

Ron Wanttaja
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I'm the same way. I always request the smallest car, even if it is not the cheapest, which happens occasionally. I just hate driving big cars in strange areas and having to park big cars in tight spaces. We never carry much luggage with us and nothing large.
 
EdFred said:
There was a wedding in town for some friend quite a few years back. Out of town under-30's rented a car. Bought every insurance upgrade they could on it. Then absolutely trashed the hell out of it. Drove it into concrete barriers, over curbs where they didn't have quite enough ground clearance. Turned the car back in Days Of Thunder style when they go to lunch.
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I'm not absolutely pounding on my rentals, but I have no reservations about putting the pedal to the floor when getting on the highway. I have taken a few Mustangs/Camaros/etc out on some fun rural roads (especially in PA) and put them through their paces. A 2018 EcoBoost Mustang will top out at 122mph due to electronic limitation, lol. It was still accelerating just fine until it hit the electronic "wall"!
 
StraightnLevel said:
I used to rent from Avis exclusively, but over the past couple of years I've had so many bad experiences with them that I refuse to use them anymore. In particular, I had three experiences at Charlotte within a 90-day period that left me believing that they truly did not want my business. It should NEVER take 45 minutes or more to pick up a reserved car....but that's what happened three times in a row.

Hertz used to be good (a decade or more ago) but stopped maintaining their cars properly; National seems to have gotten their act together a bit better than the other alternatives.
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Avis/Budget are the same parent company. Enterprise/National/Alamo is the same parent company. Hertz/Dollar/Thrifty are the same parent company. Just about any you choose is interconnected with another. I like National a lot, too, but they are typically only available at major airports. The Enterprise brand is their "neighborhood" brand. National, Enterprise, and Alamo operate on completely different reservation systems and business models which normally don't intermix very well (as explained to me from an inside source). It's amazing how dysfunctional these companies can be when they operate under just a handful of umbrella corporations.
 
GLMS_NC said:
Beware.

Rented from Enterprise two weeks ago. Checking out car agent says “no pets allowed in our vehicles”. I said what? Agent said “nope. New policy. If you do and we see evidence, $250 cleaning fee.”

If you plan on carrying a pet be prepared to clean the inside before you return the car.

Thanks Enterprise. You already told me no sand or damp seats, and now it’s no pet hair.
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I once rented a car in Fairbanks, AK. The CSR made sure I read and signed the line about, No offroading, No fish hauling and No red pop...
 
Zeldman said:
I once rented a car in Fairbanks, AK. The CSR made sure I read and signed the line about, No offroading, No fish hauling and No red pop...
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IIRC, car I rented on Kodiak island about 20 years ago merely said the renter was required to clean out any blood before turning the car back in. Didn't know if it meant *mine* or other creatures'....
1715636422087.png

Ron Wanttaja
 
ArrowFlyer86 said:
However, they will not refund me for the rental car I prepaid for in Seattle that I wasn't able to pick up because I got a discount making a non-refundable reservation.

So yeah... Rental car companies are the absolute worst.
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Credit card dispute.
 
I think in some cities, the same franchisee owns most of the available rental agencies.
 
Got into DFW last night, had a car reserved from Thrifty (booked through Priceline). Thrifty counter was closed, sign said "go to the Dollar counter.". At Dollar, was told, "we have no cars and won't for at least two hours, if then.". Grrrr. Of course other agencies are 4X the price. Called Priceline, was told, "get a car from anybody else and we'll refund the difference.". Got a car from Hertz, hopefully the refund will work out.
 
ArrowFlyer86 said:
...However, they will not refund me for the rental car I prepaid for in Seattle that I wasn't able to pick up because I got a discount making a non-refundable reservation....
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Small claims court?
FTC complaint?
 
EdFred said:
There was a wedding in town for some friend quite a few years back. Out of town under-30's rented a car. Bought every insurance upgrade they could on it. Then absolutely trashed the hell out of it. Drove it into concrete barriers, over curbs where they didn't have quite enough ground clearance. Turned the car back in Days Of Thunder style when they go to lunch.
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What's the fastest car around?
What's the best all terrain vehicle?

A rental...
 
Rent a car to drop off a plane?..do you not have flying friends???
 
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