Hertz to good to be true?

Nigel and Karen · Post by **Nigel and Karen** » Sun 10 Jan 2010 17:51

I have just done this for the 2nd time this year.

First book online with them and prepay your rental to get the best price, then just before you leave phone them and ask if there is any way of reducing the cost of your rental, they surch for the best deal and if they find one they will refund you the difference

I just got £29 back but earlyer this year they refunded me £80.

polremy · Post by **polremy** » Sun 10 Jan 2010 19:43

And we bought our (ex-rental) car from them - 18 months old - and have been really pleased with it.
Just a thought - maybe it is the one you hired in the past.

Kathy · Post by **Kathy** » Sun 10 Jan 2010 20:31

Are you a Gold Member Nigel? We already get 10%, if not more, discount on every rental from having this membership.

john · Post by **john** » Sun 10 Jan 2010 20:47

Sounds as if you got a good deal Nige,but,(and this is the cynic coming out in me),if you've already pre-paid,what is there in it for Hertz to reduce the price.? Surely,they've already got your cash?

Nigel and Karen · Post by **Nigel and Karen** » Sun 10 Jan 2010 21:02

john wrote:Sounds as if you got a good deal Nige,but,(and this is the cynic coming out in me),if you've already pre-paid,what is there in it for Hertz to reduce the price.? Surely,they've already got your cash?

I just dont understand why they do it? they have nothing to gain? we already had the Ryanair discount, the gold club price was £240 aprox we booked with Ryanair and paid £190 and today they refunded me £30 so 2.5 weeks for £160.

mpprh · Post by **mpprh** » Sun 10 Jan 2010 23:38

They guess that you are asking because you've found a cheaper deal elsewhere and want to keep your business.

Peter

Serge · Post by **Serge** » Mon 11 Jan 2010 00:00

When you book through Ryanair, don't you have to take the car back with an empty fuel tank?

I can't just understand why you would ring before you set off to haggle when you have already paid ............

Roger O · Post by **Roger O** » Mon 11 Jan 2010 01:21

Souk souk!!
Always haggle - it's the spirit of the business!!

Santiago · Post by **Santiago** » Mon 11 Jan 2010 08:51

Yes, I've found the Ryanair prices fopr Hertz lower than the No 1 club. You have the same fuel options as you would normally. I also find Hertz a lot more pleasant to deal with than Avis. Avis have the Ryanair mentality of always looking for ways to squeeze money out of you.

I got charged a day for being 10 minutes late returning the car - because I was waiting for the return bloke to finish what he was doing (obviously watching the clock

)

Hertz's damage waiver reduces the excess to zero, Avis's only to 250, which they will charge you if at all possible, for slight scuffs on the wheel hubs or bumper etc.

sue and paul · Post by **sue and paul** » Mon 11 Jan 2010 09:10

In our experience...

Hertz through Ryanair is cheaper than the Hertz-own website...

Logging on to Gold club through Ryanair is dearer than not logging on to Gold club through Ryanair...

Hertz give you the option of bringing the car back full....

We have very reasonable annual insurance against paying the damage excess should the worst happen

After our last rental I left something in the car at Luton, and I phoned the nice girl on the desk when we got home. She is posting me the item (it's a rather nice pashmina, and I thought she would just end up wearing it!!!!)[/b]

Serge · Post by **Serge** » Mon 11 Jan 2010 09:38

From our experience you don't get the option to take the car back full if you book through Ryanair ...................... it must go back empty which is virtually impossible, so if you were to add the cost of the fuel left in the tank on to the original hire charge are you still making a large saving?

john · Post by **john** » Mon 11 Jan 2010 09:46

sue and paul wrote:
Logging on to Gold club through Ryanair is dearer than not logging on to Gold club through Ryanair...

)[/b]

Never found that myself,Sue. Always been the same price,but,as Jon says it's pretty much sure that Ryan's price is cheaper than any other Hertz deal.

The only snag is that Ryan/Hertz now only allow you to drop back at a Ryan airport. For example,soon I want to pick up a car at STN and drop it off at Heathrow. I've done that before with no problem,but you cannot now.

Still cannot see why Hertz would want to reduce your prepaid price,other than as a gesture to try and keep your custom in the future.

sue and paul · Post by **sue and paul** » Mon 11 Jan 2010 09:55

Serge: "From our experience you don't get the option to take the car back full if you book through Ryanair"

We rented Hertz through Ryan at Luton in December/Jan and were offered the option to bring it back full (got a car upgrade too). When I was enquiring at the Hertz desk in Girona on our return about my left-behind item, I heard the client in front of me being offered to bring it back full too. How odd.

Serge · Post by **Serge** » Mon 11 Jan 2010 09:59

It is a few years ago ................

We use the Gold card through Hertz all the time now, although having said that we have just bought a car to leave out there now so I am hoping to reduce the annual car hire bill quite considerably ..................

Nigel and Karen · Post by **Nigel and Karen** » Mon 11 Jan 2010 10:11

Just setting off to the airport now, will ask at Girona about bringing the car back with a full tank.

Anita & Peter · Post by **Anita & Peter** » Mon 11 Jan 2010 10:39

As gold club members and regular users of Ryanair into Girona, here's our take on it:

The Ryanair link through to hertz has always been cheaper than a booking on the hertz website.

You can register your gold card when you link through (so clicking up uses for upgrades etc)

Hertz in each country is autonomous so the terms and conditions at Girona are different to France and the UK.

After many rentals we've only had cause to contact customer services twice (in England relating to Girona once) and both times was delighted with their response.

Allan · Post by **Allan** » Mon 11 Jan 2010 11:10

I've just booked a car for later this month and found the following:-

Ryanair £197.55 with or without Gold Login
Hertz #1 Gold Presidents Circle £239.20

So Ryanair is a lot cheaper.

However as a Presidents Circle member I always get an upgrade so the car I expect to get would cost £286.36 on Ryanair, although of course the Presidents circle upgrade might still apply if booked through Ryanair

As someone else mentioned if you hire often then an annual policy for the excess provides huge savings over paying Hertz.

We use http://www.insurance4carhire.com/

They charge £49 a year for any driver and cover tyre damage which is not covered by Hertz - last time I looked this worked out cheaper if you rent for more than 8 days in a year.

I claimed twice in my first month with them and they paid out without argument

admiral · Post by **admiral** » Mon 11 Jan 2010 13:11

I found that 10% cheaper if you, log on to your Goldcard, within Ryanair/Hertz site, than just booking thru Ryanair/Hertz.

This may be because as an AA member get 10% discount on Hertz rentals

Under my gold card profile, have applied my aa discount, so each time I log on to gold card, the extra 10% is applied

john · Post by **john** » Mon 11 Jan 2010 15:39

Allan wrote:I've just booked a car for later this month and found the following:-

Ryanair £197.55 with or without Gold Login
Hertz #1 Gold Presidents Circle £239.20

So Ryanair is a lot cheaper.

I am also a Hertz President's Circle member Allan,and like you I'm often perplexed as to why,as a more "senior" member, the quote is invariably more than with Ryan. Upgrades are all very well,but when all I want is a Focus to pop up from Stansted to Norwich for 3 or 4 days ,frankly I'd rather have a bog standard car at a lower price!

Allan · Post by **Allan** » Mon 11 Jan 2010 15:54

admiral wrote:I found that 10% cheaper if you, log on to your Goldcard, within Ryanair/Hertz site, than just booking thru Ryanair/Hertz.

This may be because as an AA member get 10% discount on Hertz rentals

Under my gold card profile, have applied my aa discount, so each time I log on to gold card, the extra 10% is applied

I'm very interested in the AA discount, their cheapest membership is £28 and they offer the following discounts
Save 30% when booking 60 days or more in advance
Save 25% when booking 21 days or more in advance
Save 10% off the best available rates when booking less than 21 days in advance
Free additional driver, whichever offer you choose

The last benefit alone is well worth the AA membership

john · Post by **john** » Mon 11 Jan 2010 15:59

I'm surprised you can combine both the Ryan discount AND the AA one. Is this definitely the case?

For 28 quid it'd certainly be worth doing. Do you need a UK address though?

Allan · Post by **Allan** » Mon 11 Jan 2010 16:24

john wrote:I'm surprised you can combine both the Ryan discount AND the AA one. Is this definitely the case?

For 28 quid it'd certainly be worth doing. Do you need a UK address though?

I've just spent the £28 and have another car hire to book so I'll let you know how the prices compare.

You do not a UK address but don't need a car.

Hertz seem to have discounts for most large companies and a whole array of members groups, I wonder if it is worth approaching them to see if they would do a deal for members of Anglophone-Direct?

john · Post by **john** » Mon 11 Jan 2010 16:37

Allan wrote: You do not a UK address but don't need a car.

Hertz seem to have discounts for most large companies and a whole array of members groups, I wonder if it is worth approaching them to see if they would do a deal for members of Anglophone-Direct?

Presumably any old UK address will do for the AA. You don't need a utility bill in your name or similar?

As AD is registered for Johnny Foreigner abroad,that no doubt would cut out the AA deal!?

Would be very interested if they DO combine the discounts,as that (not doing so) has always been Hertz's policy in my experience.

Allan · Post by **Allan** » Mon 11 Jan 2010 17:47

john wrote:
Presumably any old UK address will do for the AA. You don't need a utility bill in your name or similar?

As AD is registered for Johnny Foreigner abroad,that no doubt would cut out the AA deal!?

Would be very interested if they DO combine the discounts,as that (not doing so) has always been Hertz's policy in my experience.

Any old UK address will do, I just revisited the booking I tried earlier.

There is no additional discount for being a Gold Member and No additional discount for being an AA member

More worryingly if I look at bookings in the future then none of the quoted AA discounts appear, neither does the free additional driver.

So far it looks a waste of £28 nut I will speak to Hertz and post an update

Archies Beard · Post by **Archies Beard** » Mon 11 Jan 2010 18:17

We booked through Ryan back in December for collection at Gerona this week. I noticed today that the price is now £7 cheaper so I phoned them up but Hertz would not move, telling me that the deal I had was the best one available at the time of booking. Neither would they entertain an AA card as that has to be used at time of booking.

Still a good deal that I was very happy with, until I felt I was missing out on potential discounts.

Santiago · Post by **Santiago** » Mon 11 Jan 2010 23:40

I think that pretty much explains why I am content with the world of good-price-lets-shake-on-it rather than the 3-for-2, BOGOF, search-for-promotional-code-on-Google world of the false bargain.

john · Post by **john** » Tue 12 Jan 2010 08:52

Personally,I think that there is room for both strategies,Jon.

It rather depends on the market we are talking about. There is no doubt that a certain sector reacts well to the" BOGOF"" approach,another to the "low price constantly" one . Even just in groceries,Tesco/Auchan use the former,Lidl/Leader Price use the latter. They are all successful.

It is also the case in car hire. TBH,if it saves me money,I don't much care what deal they have. I think we are all sophisticated enough to check things out.

admiral · Post by **admiral** » Tue 12 Jan 2010 17:23

Booking thru Ryan, does not have an option to invoke the AA discount, the way around this, is
when u register your gold card details/profile, add in the bit re corp discounts, ie AA or similar discount
this means that the aa discount is now linked to your gold card #

sign on to gold card, when u click on hertz link on ryanair, the discount is automatically applied

Allan · Post by **Allan** » Tue 12 Jan 2010 20:14

admiral wrote:Booking thru Ryan, does not have an option to invoke the AA discount, the way around this, is
when u register your gold card details/profile, add in the bit re corp discounts, ie AA or similar discount
this means that the aa discount is now linked to your gold card #

sign on to gold card, when u click on hertz link on ryanair, the discount is automatically applied

I tried that but it didn't work.

In my profile I have:-
Corporate Discount
AA MBR FREE ADD DRIVER

What do you have in yours?

sue and paul · Post by **sue and paul** » Tue 12 Jan 2010 20:58

Just a reminder, last year on one occasion when we booked via the Ryan link and put in our old GOLD number - the price went UP..!!!
So we kept quiet about being members....
Paul.C

Connect with your social network account

Hertz to good to be true?

Hertz to good to be true?