What tips or tricks can you use to get an upgraded/better hire car?
- By
- Aparna Patel
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- 5 Aug, 2023
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In these days of internet bookings, it’s easy to forget that most of the big companies have teams of people paid to take sales calls. Most of these people have quite a lot of discretion about giving you discounts, freebies, upgrades and other goodies. So, after you’ve found the car you want, you should call their sales line, and get a quote. Then ask them if they can help you out, if there’s any way they can give you a discount etc. Remember, it’s in the salesperson’s interest to make that sale, as they have to hit their sales targets. They’re not allowed offer discounts, until you ask them for one. So, a little bit of negotiation can win you some goodies. Make sure you get on the preferred customers programmes too.
The other trick was already mentioned – book the cheapest car, and then arrive late in the day at the lot. 4 times out of 5, you’ll get a bigger car. One time I even got an automatic (rare here in Europe). Of course, you should bear in mind that bigger cars use more fuel, so you might end up spending more money in the end.
The most usual case when the rental companies will upgrade your car to the next better class is when there are no cars of your class available, so if you rent from an off airport office you’re more likely to get a better car then when you rent from a larger office like the ones at major airports.
I once booked a compact (i.e. cheapest available) car at Avis in Germany via Internet, and included a satnav option. Because they didn’t have (or didn’t want to bother with) a portable satnav, I got a Ford S-Max with a builtin one.
Credit:stackoverflow.com‘