An upgrade that's not really an upgrade

[kookaburra75]

Ours was a car hire experience too. When on a four week adventure we booked a number of cars in different places. We usually get a Corolla/Golf/i30 size vehicle. When we arrived into Glasgow and went up to the Avis desk, they told me they upgraded me to a Fiat 500. Needless to say I had a puzzled look on my face and pointed out that wasn't going to work as we had two suitcases etc. The agent corrected herself,and told me it was a Fiat 500X, the small SVU type thing. However, it was a diesel, and I have driven more comfortable, better performing tractors. It was shocking to drive. Thankfully we only had it a week.

 

[Forg]

Ours was a car hire experience too. When on a four week adventure we booked a number of cars in different places. We usually get a Corolla/Golf/i30 size vehicle. When we arrived into Glasgow and went up to the Avis desk, they told me they upgraded me to a Fiat 500. Needless to say I had a puzzled look on my face and pointed out that wasn't going to work as we had two suitcases etc. The agent corrected herself,and told me it was a Fiat 500X, the small SVU type thing. However, it was a diesel, and I have driven more comfortable, better performing tractors. It was shocking to drive. Thankfully we only had it a week.

Yes, a 500X is some awful Jeep under the covers.

A lot of people have fallen for the marketing & think an SUV is an upgrade, rather than the downgrade it really is; so the rental companies run with that.

 

[k_sheep]

which car company. I'd be making a complaint and say that's not what you booked. Not allowing to change it is just not on

I booked a large van in the UK for 2 weeks because it was the cheapest. When I got there they said do you really want something that big and I said no and they said well give us a call tomorrow and we'll see what we have then and it was all sorted with a swap over

Avis. I have previously refused to use them due to poor service - but this one was booked through work.

That company who arranged that locum stint are also in my bad books (forgot about my placement - though they swear that wasn't the case 0 and expected me to move hotels 4 times in a 3 week placement because they left it too late to book) and I won't use them again either, so seems pointless complaining to anyone.

 

[TheRealTMA]

Yes, a 500X is some awful Jeep under the covers.

A lot of people have fallen for the marketing & think an SUV is an upgrade, rather than the downgrade it really is; so the rental companies run with that.

We got “upgraded” to a 500X some years ago from Milan. It was fine. Not sophisticated but perfectly acceptable.

 

[dairyfloss]

Aside from a few laughable hotel upgrades here and there, which weren’t worth the mention, or in some cases - were worth the effort to downgrade to what you actually wanted… it’s always car rental “upgrades” for me that cause pain. The most recent was an “upgrade” from the Camry [full size] I had booked to a ‘European’ SUV, which turned out to be the woeful MG ZS, which could neither fit 2 suitcases (one went on the back seat), or make it up a hill without embarrassing itself.

Cheers,
Matt.

 

[Brucetiki]

My car ‘upgrade’ fail was hiring a car from Port Lincoln once. I booked for a Mitsubishi ASX and got ‘upgraded’ to a Mitsubishi Pajero Sport.

Cue 2 days of anxiety as I drove this behemoth around, and parking it somewhere where I was not anywhere near any other cars!

I also once foolishly bidded on an upgrade to business class on a MEL-SYD VA flight once. The experience was regrettable all round. The cabin crew made no secret of the contempt they had for me for being successful with an upgrade bid. This was Borghetti era VA though, and I know things have improved with VA cabin crew since.

 

[Forg]

We got “upgraded” to a 500X some years ago from Milan. It was fine. Not sophisticated but perfectly acceptable.

It’s a Cheep Renegade … note that you have to add a Beavis & Butt-head snigger somewhere when you say Cheep Renegade, as they’re a joke even to the likes of Beavis & Butt-head.

If it doesn’t break down (which being a Cheep made by Fiat it might) it’s probably going to get you there, but it’s still an awful vehicle compared to (say) a Fiat 500 or a Japanese Kei Car of some description.

 

[kookaburra75]

It’s a Cheep Renegade … note that you have to add a Beavis & Butt-head snigger somewhere when you say Cheep Renegade, as they’re a joke even to the likes of Beavis & Butt-head.

If it doesn’t break down (which being a Cheep made by Fiat it might) it’s probably going to get you there, but it’s still an awful vehicle compared to (say) a Fiat 500 or a Japanese Kei Car of some description.

It was certainly the low-life of cars - maybe we just got a dud one. I used Avis for that leg, as they have the office in the Heathrow T5 carpark, which meant we just dropped the car off and walked into the terminal.

The other two cars were a lot better. We got upgraded by Hertz in Dublin, to a top of the line Golf, which was a manual and I had heaps of fun on the back roads in Ireland. The other car from Hertz too, in Toulouse France, which wasn't an upgrade was a Renault Captur. That was an excellent car, and I would happily buy one. It got us a lot of places in southern France, including the streets of Monte Carlos.

 

[jase05]

The other car from Hertz too, in Toulouse France, which wasn't an upgrade was a Renault Captur. That was an excellent car, and I would happily buy one. It got us a lot of places in southern France, including the streets of Monte Carlos.

Yeah, we picked up a Captur from FRA and had it for nearly a month through Germany, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia, Slovenia and Austria and loved it. Funny thing was when we got to the Europcar desk they pushed us for a paid upgrade to a luxury car and tried stalling us on our original car we had booked by saying the vehicle hadn’t been returned and all these other excuses. I held my nerve and kept showing them the paperwork that stated luxury cars couldn’t be taken East so it would be no good for us. They eventually relented and less than a minute later a brand new Captur with under 1000 clicks on the clock “magically” appeared for us

 

[Seat0B]

Yeah, we picked up a Captur from FRA and had it for nearly a month through Germany, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia, Slovenia and Austria and loved it. Funny thing was when we got to the Europcar desk they pushed us for a paid upgrade to a luxury car and tried stalling us on our original car we had booked by saying the vehicle hadn’t been returned and all these other excuses. I held my nerve and kept showing them the paperwork that stated luxury cars couldn’t be taken East so it would be no good for us. They eventually relented and less than a minute later a brand new Captur with under 1000 clicks on the clock “magically” appeared for us

You know, this thread has made me think about my experiences renting cars both in Australia and overseas. We also have encountered this resistance to providing the car we booked almost every time we go to collect a rental. It doesnt seem to be a money grab as they usually offer a free “upgrade” - some of which are an upgrade but most of which are not along the lines others have mentioned (gas guzzlers, insufficient luggage space, too big/hard to park for the planned locations). And we have had the same experience of being denied our booked car, holding our ground, and then it suddenly appears.

Why do we think the rental car companies are doing this? If they were trying to make you pay, I’d say money, but I really don’t get it when the car is clearly available. I also don’t get why a pre-booked car would not be available, barring sudden maintenance or an accident, which should not happen every time.

 

[Pushka]

F

You know, this thread has made me think about my experiences renting cars both in Australia and overseas. We also have encountered this resistance to providing the car we booked almost every time we go to collect a rental. It doesnt seem to be a money grab as they usually offer a free “upgrade” - some of which are an upgrade but most of which are not along the lines others have mentioned (gas guzzlers, insufficient luggage space, too big/hard to park for the planned locations). And we have had the same experience of being denied our booked car, holding our ground, and then it suddenly appears.

Why do we think the rental car companies are doing this? If they were trying to make you pay, I’d say money, but I really don’t get it when the car is clearly available. I also don’t get why a pre-booked car would not be available, barring sudden maintenance or an accident, which should not happen every time.

Its all about fleet management. It must be impossible to ensure that a given model is available for a rental at any promised time without impacting their business. However they shouldn't call it an upgrade but simply state the booked car isn't available. And offer some compensation if it's a guzzler.

I booked a certain model because I wanted to test drive it before I purchased one. Of course that tactic failed. I've never received the model I'd booked except I bet, this Christmas.

 

[RooFlyer]

Why do we think the rental car companies are doing this? If they were trying to make you pay, I’d say money, but I really don’t get it when the car is clearly available. I also don’t get why a pre-booked car would not be available, barring sudden maintenance or an accident, which should not happen every time.

The rental place knows they have more demand for car category X than they have supply. So early on, they offer 'upgrades' to every punter - if they can offload some larger cars to punters that don't mind, they can meet demand later on and everyone's happy. But if the punter resists, they give them the car they booked. If you are late in the day, and the rental place hasn't managed to swap out enough vehicles, you'll have tough luck and no choice.

 

[Quickstatus]

But if the punter resists, they give them the car they booked

Or they say unfortunately due to "insert random reason" your vehicle is not available. But we have a (insert "upgraded") car for you. Most people will fall for that. Note also the vehicle category description is always followed by "or similar". Meaning they can insert any vehicle

Most people get the "or similar" car.

 

[dairyfloss]

The rental place knows they have more demand for car category X than they have supply. So early on, they offer 'upgrades' to every punter - if they can offload some larger cars to punters that don't mind, they can meet demand later on and everyone's happy. But if the punter resists, they give them the car they booked. If you are late in the day, and the rental place hasn't managed to swap out enough vehicles, you'll have tough luck and no choice.

I actually don't mind a larger car... so long as it is actually larger and not just taller. i.e. Corolla to Camry, or X-Trail to Pathfinder. By the rental agency categories, it's an upgrade, but I find most standard SUVs have less useable space than a full size sedan, and so it's a downgrade in my view. No thanks.

 

[OZDUCK]

Yeah, we picked up a Captur from FRA and had it for nearly a month through Germany, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia, Slovenia and Austria and loved it. Funny thing was when we got to the Europcar desk they pushed us for a paid upgrade to a luxury car and tried stalling us on our original car we had booked by saying the vehicle hadn’t been returned and all these other excuses. I held my nerve and kept showing them the paperwork that stated luxury cars couldn’t be taken East so it would be no good for us. They eventually relented and less than a minute later a brand new Captur with under 1000 clicks on the clock “magically” appeared for us

In 2013 we had leased a Clio for a month via the French Government backed new car leasing scheme. When we picked up the car at CDG we had been upgraded to a Captur - with 6 km on the clock. Like you we loved it for driving through France and Germany for a month. It was very comfortable and roomy for two and got amazing fuel economy as we weren't in a hurry. The only problem we had was that it was then a brand new model that had only just come onto the market. When we went to obtain our official Umweltplakette (Environmental zone sticker) for German cities it wasn't listed on their database. Happily the stories about unbending German bureaucracy did not apply as they just laughed and gave us one anyway as the diesel engine was the same as the Clio.

 

[RooFlyer]

Most people get the "or similar" car.

That’s fine by me. Rental agreement says it’ll be the one booked or same class.

 

[Quickstatus]

Corolla to Camry,

Agree, Camrys dont have any headroom.

 

[Forg]

Agree, Camrys dont have any headroom.

You do realise it’s allowed to remove your top-hat while driving?
If your monacle is on your licence, you may need to retain that …

 

[Quickstatus]

remove your top-hat

You mean scalped?