Hertz v Thrifty rental

sue and paul · Post by **sue and paul** » Wed 29 Jan 2014 18:33

We are looking at a future car rental at Seville airport for one week. Hertz can offer e.g. Seat Ibiza-type for about 154€, Thrifty offer same car-type for 84€ or thereabouts. Both appear to have same details e.g. CDW, location tax, etc, and both have obligatory full tank out/empty tank back policy. Does anyone have any observations to make re: the difference between these 2 companies, or any caveats? I can see that Thrifty don't allow return to different place from pick-up which won't affect us. Am I missing something? We do have separate insurance to cover the excess amount, and I can't seem to find where it tells me how much that would be for each company. There must be a catch.....

Owens88 · Post by **Owens88** » Wed 29 Jan 2014 20:40

Any add-ons for second driver?

Are both 'on-airport' or is one in some shack near the airport (e.g. My Madeira rental).

I would probably take the cheaper, especially if not on a 'business' schedule.

As always check the car well before leaving.

Nigel and Karen · Post by **Nigel and Karen** » Wed 29 Jan 2014 20:42

We used holiday autos in the summer at Perp airport and it was a thrifty and we collected it from herts.

we had a problem see http://forum.anglophone-direct.com/setopic_12949-.html

and it just occurred to me that when i phoned i phoned herts and not thrifty and they quickly sorted me out so I guess they are one and the same.

Owens88 · Post by **Owens88** » Wed 29 Jan 2014 22:01

Most 'branches' are franchises so what happens at Perpignan may stay in Perpignan

But in this case...
http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2012/08/26/ ... blogs&_r=0

rogb · Post by **rogb** » Thu 30 Jan 2014 00:18

Thrifty and Firefly are low-cost brands of Hertz.

Based on the worst rental experience we have ever had (at Cagliari airport from Firefly, booked with the broker Holiday Autos), the downsides to going low-cost could be : off-airport location; half an hour wait for a shuttle to take you to that location, with space only for the main driver to go in the shuttle; surly staff; old, high mileage car, dirty inside and out; no explanation of the car's quirks; and various faults (including a missing rear wiper blade).

I'm sure others have had and will have good experiences with these Hertz franchises but we didn't with Firefly. They are presumably cheaper to rent because they drive their costs down and that can have serious service and safety implications.

neil mitchell · Post by **neil mitchell** » Thu 30 Jan 2014 08:25

It may be that the more expensive car has a zero excess on the cdw. I would never hire a car without it as the damage excess is often Eur 600+ and you don't need to do much damage to cost that

blackduff · Post by **blackduff** » Thu 30 Jan 2014 11:10

S&P
I worked in Sevilla for three years and often I had Hertz cars. Here's a few tips worked for me.

First, Hertz had a parking lot outside of the Sevilla "Santa Justa" train station. This was free for Hertz cars and I put mine often. My office used to be walkable from there. This is close for good shopping nearby this station.

Second, you could put your car within the airport parking area for Hertz. I had people arriving and leaving so having a close park (free again) to the terminal.

Third, was the fact that Hertz people will be at the counter whereas other companies are empty between flights.

Sevilla will be a great place for your trip. The spring time is best, to me. There's a big feria each spring and it runs 24 hrs per day for 7 days.

Blackduff

sue and paul · Post by **sue and paul** » Thu 30 Jan 2014 14:35

Thanks for all replies.

There are so many differing tariffs, but at least the penny has now dropped about avoiding the 'no excess' offers. Previously we have always rented a) in UK and b) with Hertz via Ryanair, so the 'no excess' option has never cropped up - we have always known the maximum excess which we might be liable for in case of damage/write off etc. In any case we have separate insurance covering any excess we would need to pay, so it's taken care of. I think we'll just go for Hertz - the devil you know, and all that jazz

Allan · Post by **Allan** » Thu 30 Jan 2014 17:41

About 15 years ago, I stood in a queue at Nice Airport for nearly 3 hours waiting to get a car from Europcar, booked through Holiday Autos. I watched with envy the succession of people going into the Hertz office and leaving soon after with their car keys.

As a result of that I joined (at no cost) what was then the Hertz No 1 Club, now when I pick up a hire car I'm the one envied by the people in the queue.

Over the years I've learnt a few tricks with car hire, particularly from Hertz so here are a few tips.

1) Get an annual insurance policy (as Sue and Paul have) which covers the excess that is normal with car rental even if you have collision damage waiver http://www.insurance4carhire.com/. The annual cost is generally less than you will pay the rental companies to remove the excess on 4 days rental. It also covers tyres, windscreens and a host of other things that rental companies will bill you for.

2) Join the AA if you need more than one person to drive - They give you a code that you enter on your account with Hertz that entitles you to a free additional driver. Once entered the code stays there so you don't need to renew with the AA. Additional drivers normally cost about £8 a day.
http://www.theaa.com/travel/car-hire.html

3) Join the Hertz Gold Plus Rewards scheme https://www.hertz.co.uk/rentacar/member/enrollment
They keep your details on file so no form filling at the airport, just grab the keys and go. It costs nothing, lets you jump the queue and gets you discounts and more often than not, free upgrades.

4) If you don't like the price on the web, phone them and tell them - I regularly get better prices with a quick call.

5) Check the prices on Hertz UK site, I looked up a rental at Seville Airport on Hertz.co.uk and Hertz.es - the UK was significantly cheaper

Hertz may own Thrifty but that doesn't make them the same. I am sure that every car rental company has its share of horror stories but I have been delighted with Hertz, generally they have the best locations at the airport, decent cars and fair prices.

sue and paul · Post by **sue and paul** » Thu 30 Jan 2014 18:21

Thanks Allan. That's very clear and helpful. As you say, we do have the excess reimbursement insurance, which is very cost-effective. I can vouch from a recent rental that it even covers tyres!!

Paul is also in the Gold Cub rewards program, but we are confused by just what benefits there are. When booking, there is nowhere to enter the membership number. Do Hertz just work from the name on the rental to include him in the deal?

alan · Post by **alan** » Thu 30 Jan 2014 21:22

I invariably book on the Herz UK site and pre-pay getting a 10% discount because I am a retired member of a professional organisation. Because I have an insurance with insurance4carhire, I always decline extras offered on picking up the vehicle and always return with a full tank.

This Christmas, I collected the vehicle from Herz at Barcelona irport and returned it on time where it was was checked and all was OK.

However, I have just received my credit card statement which shows that I have been charged an additional £22.20 and I don't know why. I have looked at my copy of the agreement and it doesn't help.

Before I take it up with Herz, has anyone had a similar experience. It is sometime since I last used Barcelona airport but I haven't had a similar experience with hiring from Montpellier nor from Carcassone.

Anthea & Tim · Post by **Anthea & Tim** » Fri 31 Jan 2014 10:37

Hertz appears to be no longer an option when flying to/from Girona.

I have just tried to book a car for April only to discover that Hertz ceases to be based at Girona from 01 Feb 14.

It appears the Hertz subsidiary Firefly is taking over (and that is what is also now offered on Ryanair website). All bookings have to be made via the Firefly website.

On the plus side the rate is considerably cheaper than Hertz, only time will tell what the collection time, service, car condition etc are like.

However, the small print says that cross border rentals are not permitted!

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