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Car rental companies? — Brooklynian

Car rental companies?

anonymous
anonymous
edited November -1 in Park Slope
We're planning on driving up to Vermont in early August. Has anyone rented a car from a local company and had any good/bad experiences? We were going to go with Enterprise, but we'll be getting back on a Saturday evening and they're closed on Saturdays at noon, and not open Sundays, so we'd be stuck with the car for an extra day and a half.

We're not looking for anything fancy, just something reasonably priced where we won't have a situation when we get there of them not having the car we reserved.

Thanks!

Comments

  • whyfi
    whyfi
    How many miles do you think that you're going to drive over that period of time? If you're under 150 miles/day (average), or close to it, you could always get a zipcar. If you're not familiar with them, do a search in the PH forum.
  • anonymous
    anonymous

    Subject: Local car rental agencies

    We had a recent positive experience with the relatively new Enterprise franchise on Third Ave. and Ninth St. When quoted a rate, I indicated that I had hoped to pay less for a compact...and they lowered the rate. They gave me a free upgrade when my car wasn't fully clean at pick-up time and they waived the interstate surcharge. They were very eager to please and very pleasant to deal with.
  • anonymous
    anonymous
    Thanks - I think we may end up using zipcar. We have an account, but it's pretty pricey for 8 days ($600ish). Of course, since it includes everything, it might be the best way to go....
  • anonymous
    anonymous
    no, no! don't use zipcar! zipcar is economical for limited, recurring use - short trips. it is the opposite of economical for overnight use over several days. i am surprised it's even $600 for 8 days - i doubt it very much. you should take a closer look. if your going soley by what the website estimates i gaurantee you will be surprised at the actual amount you end-up getting charged.
  • steveo
    steveo
    Anonymous wrote: no, no! don't use zipcar! zipcar is economical for limited, recurring use - short trips. it is the opposite of economical for overnight use over several days.
    I use both Zipcar and traditional car rental places. Zipcar is often competitive even for longer trips when you factor in that gas is included (for some number of miles a day.) It's also sometimes worth a little extra to get a car a couple of blocks from home.

    I've had more than one bad experience with Enterprise -- they don't meet the price quote and force me to get insurance I don't need. I never use Enterprise.

    I had a weird thing with the Speedy on Union Street a few years ago -- they made me sign a special "tire waiver" and then, lo and behold, I got a flat and they tried to charge me for it. I called the credit card company and asked if that was covered by the built-in insurance, and I guess they took care of it, because I never heard anything else about it. I can't prove it was intentional, but it was fishy so I don't really rent from them anymore.

    Otherwise, if it's not Zipcar, I usually pick up a car in the city. National/Alamo usually has the best rates.

    Also, if we don't have too much to carry, we'll take a commuter train to Philly or New Haven and get cars there. Usually for about $25 /day. (In Philly it's National/Alamo; in New Haven, there's an Avis in the train station that's more expensive, and has lousy hours and no after-hours return, or walk 10 minutes to the National place.)

    I also see there's a new Avis on Atlantic Ave, near downtown, which I haven't used, but might be a good compromise between price and distance from home.

    Tip: National/Alamo almost always have a weekend internet special, and weekly internet specials, which will give you the cheap rate -- look for those links on their home pages.
  • carnivore
    carnivore

    Subject: Re: Local car rental agencies

    famdoc wrote: We had a recent positive experience with the relatively new Enterprise franchise on Third Ave. and Ninth St. When quoted a rate, I indicated that I had hoped to pay less for a compact...and they lowered the rate. They gave me a free upgrade when my car wasn't fully clean at pick-up time and they waived the interstate surcharge. They were very eager to please and very pleasant to deal with.
    I also had a pretty good experience with this place, although it's the only one I've tried in the area. They did come later than they said they would when they picked me up, but I think it's because the woman got lost coming to Prospect Heights (didn't realize she couldn't just take St. Johns straight here).
    Rates were good, they gave me a free upgrade when they didn't have the initial car I reserved (I didn't have to ask), and honored the insurance with no hassels when I brought the car back with a little ding I got while parked on the street.
  • carnivore
    carnivore
    Of course, the best deal is to take mass transit to Newark and rent a car at the airport. Prices are way cheaper than in NY, even when you take the train fare into account. And you can often return the car in NY. If this is an option for you, you should consider it.
  • livetotravel
    livetotravel
    I'm a loyal user of zipcar but I'd never use them for your planned trip.

    What I do is take Metro North to Darien, CT, where Enterprise will pick you up and drop you off at the train station for free. Their rentals are $15-20 bucks per day weekends and $30's to low $40s weekdays plus tax. No milage charges. They are located in the Darien Jaguar dealership on Post Road.

    call 203-655-7613

    Check it out for yourself - Darien zip code for the Enterprise web site is 06820

    http://www.enterprise.com/car_rental/location.do?transactionId=WebTransaction2&selectedLocationId=24CZ
  • whyfi
    whyfi
    Livetotravel wrote: I'm a loyal user of zipcar but I'd never use them for your planned trip.

    What I do is take Metro North to Darien, CT, where Enterprise will pick you up and drop you off at the train station for free. Their rentals are $15-20 bucks per day weekends and $30's to low $40s weekdays plus tax. No milage charges. They are located in the Darien Jaguar dealership on Post Road.

    call 203-655-7613

    Check it out for yourself - Darien zip code for the Enterprise web site is 06820

    http://www.enterprise.com/car_rental/location.do?transactionId=WebTransaction2&selectedLocationId=24CZ
    :shock: Wow ~ that's cheap! Any other known cheap locations on the outskirts of mass transit?!
  • teppaz
    teppaz
    Someone at work told me of people going to a place in Westchester. Apparently there's something like 4-5 car-rental places right near the Metro North station. Unfortunately she couldn't remember the actual place. White Plains maybe? Anybody can help?
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