Do not accept upgrades offered when picking up your rental car

[jcsbama]

I had a reservation for a mid size SUV at Alamo to be picked up on April 26th. When checking in, the clerk asked how many bags we had. When I told her she began trying to get me to upgrade to a minivan for $120 more for our 10 days. I declined. She then asked if I had AAA or some other discount. She put in my AAA and then offered $90 for an upgrade. My MIL was with me and said we would be fine with the SUV because we had managed to fit all the luggage in her camry for the drive to the airport. I declined the upgrade.

I had to stop at the attendant's window in the garage so that I could add DH as a driver. He was in baggage claim while I was checking in for the rental car. When the attendant pulled up our reservation he said "uh oh". DH and I looked at each other like what's wrong. The attendant said they were out of SUVs and would be giving us a free upgrade to a minivan. The first lady knew they were out of SUVs and was trying to get me to pay so they wouldn't have it to give it to me for free.

Lesson learned. Never accept an upgrade until you verify they have the vehicle you reserved in stock.

 

[NotUrsula]

This one is the oldest trick in the book. The normal add-on that the counter agents at the major companies MUST try to sell is insurance, not upgrades, so lots of push for upgrades is always suspicious.

If the agent really pushes you to buy an upgrade it is almost a sure bet that they are out of the car class you reserved, and are trying to get out of renting the next-largest available vehicle to you at your original price. They are allowed to do this; if they can get you to to buy an upgrade without revealing what is in the inventory they are within their rights to do so, but if you flat turn it down they have to give you a free upgrade to whatever they have left, starting with the next-largest available class. The only way they can tell you they are out of vehicles is if they really have absolutely nothing left in any size.

If you hold a confirmed rental reservation and are told that all the cars are gone, ask if there is anything being cleaned that you can wait for. If there is, you can have it for your confirmed price, though it may take awhile.

Edited for clarity re: cost.

 

[MickeyMonstersMom]

This happened to me, too: I'd reserved an economy and the counter rep. tried to talk me into a compact. I was the only one in the car, so of course I refused - to find that there were only compacts left in the garage anyway. On a hunch, when I went back over Spring Break I reserved another economy - and drove away with another compact. This time, though, I prepaid to skip the counter and its upgrade/insurance sales pitches.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Yep, I've had similar experiences. First, when the counter agent tries to upsell me I tell them it's JUST me, and my bags and I will fit fine in the small car I reserved. Never a problem.
This last time, I rented from Alamo in Las Vegas. By the time I got out to the lot to pick up my car (after midnight), there were NO compacts. Or subcompacts, or mid-size, or... the lot attendant said "Take this" - which was an SUV... for the compact rate!

 

[n2mm]

I had a hard upsell with Dollar once. We had an intermediate reserved and they were sold out. They wanted us to pay for an upgrade, we refused and surprise to us, we were given a minivan for the same price. Alamo also will try to hard sell you too....pretty much any company will try this when you go to the counter. I had warned my daugther when she used Alamo last week, so she was ready for it. I reserved a mid-size SUV for my recent trip and used QS. All went well and we had a Torrent. It was actually a pretty good car. My daughter had a mid-size SUV last week also. She had about a 15 minute wait in line on a Saturday last morning arrival. She got a Rendevous? It was prefect for her, DH, DS12, DD1 w/car seat and 5 suitcases and stroller.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

You really should modify your advice to, don't accept an upgrade if you have to pay for it.

My husband and I have had car rentals upgraded many times when the car size we reserved was sold out and never once paid extra. If the car size you reserved is not available, it's standard practice to be upgraded to the next larger size for no additional cost.

The OP apparently just happened to be dealing with an espeically sleazy rental agent.

 

[disneymom3]

I have been upgraded twice and they always told me at the counter that that is what they were doing. Once was Dollar in Orlando--ecnomy to compact--and once was Alamo in Los Angeles--midsize to full size.

I agree with the PP--don't agree if they try to get you to pay for it!

 

[sanjoe]

After reading this post it all makes sense now. We went to Los Angeles and rented a car. I had reservations for a certain size that would accomodate our family of 4. The agent kept telling my husband that the car we selected wouldn't hold our luggage. He looked at me like "Oh, I guess we should get a larger car..." I politely told the agent my daughter can hold her small carry on bag on the floorboard for our short ride. Surprise...when we went out to pick out our car, there were none available...We had to get upgraded to a convertible PT cruiser for no additional charge. The kids loved it. Now that I look back, surely the agent knew that they had none of the cars we needed with the advanced inventory checking systems they use with the barcodes and all...Oldest trick in the book. Lesson learned.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

Many savvy frequent car renters book the smallest car available, knowing that it is very likely the rental agency will have none available and they will get a free upgrade.

 

[Michelle2]

Good to know. I think I fell for that once....lesson learned here too!

 

[jbdreamer]

I think your biggest problem was that you were renting from Alamo. We have had and heard so many problems with them - I am honestly surprised they are still in business.

 

[Scottish-Helen]

We just got back and the Dollar rental agent was asking us if we would like to upgrade from the Economy car we had booked which we politely declined. Surprise surprise we got the bigger car.

Only once on my 6 visits have we actually received the economy.

 

[Michael623]

Surprised they're still in business? Let's see they have new cars, a convenient in-terminal location, and low prices. It's a real shocker that they're still in business (I hope you're picking up on my sarcasm because I'm laying it on pretty thick). I have rented from Alamo more than any other agency at MCO and have never had a single issue other than long lines at the counter, but no longer than surrounding agencies. National and Alamo are still my preferred agengies at MCO but I lean towards Alamo due to price.

 

[NotUrsula]

Nah, this isn't unique to Alamo -- they will all do it at one location or another; it largely depends on how hungry the station manager is about bonuses. The car rental industry is pretty cutthroat, and there is a complex bonus structure at most agencies that rewards stations that make higher profits and punishes those that don't. The pressure varies in intensity, but it is always there in some form.

 

[Lewisc]

Many savvy frequent car renters book the smallest car available, knowing that it is very likely the rental agency will have none available and they will get a free upgrade.

That strategy works well in many cities where the rental agencies generally have full size cars and not much else.

The agencies at MCO generally have plenty of compact cars. You might still get your free upgrade from an economy car but the upgraded car might not be large enough for a family and all their luggage.

Several times I saw families trying to fit their luggage in a compact car. I wonder how long they tried before the paid for an upgrade.

Several posters overheard a spouse yelling, saying I though you said we'd get a free upgrade.

 

[Chicago526]

Many savvy frequent car renters book the smallest car available, knowing that it is very likely the rental agency will have none available and they will get a free upgrade.

My dad always did this when traveling on business. He lost count of the number of times his company booked him an economy and he drove off with a Cadilac!

But be carefull to always book at least the minimum size car you need, because the free upgrades aren't always available. Never count on the economy or compact cars being sold out and getting the upgrade when you have 5 people and 20 pieces of luggage! Because you just know that the one time you NEED the upgrade, you won't get it!

 

[dcgrumpy]

Last week Alamo tried to talk us into upgrading from a 7 passenger minivan to an 8 passenger van, we declined and there were plenty of 7 passenger vans to pick from.

 

[seashoreCM]

One caution, you might be upgraded to something that your credit card car rental insurance benefit does not cover, typically "exotic" cars and convertibles are excluded.

One instance stands out in my mind (at Orlando) The agent asked if I wanted to upgrade to a mini-van and I said I would simply take what I reserved. WHen I got out to the lot, the assigned car sure looked like a minivan.

I was meticulous about documenting pre-existing damage and told them the floor carpet was torn. Later I examined it more closely and found that the "padding" that was showing through the "hole" was just some shrink wrapping that had not been fully removed.

Disney hints:
http://members.aol.com/ajaynejr/disney.htm

 

[CarolA]

Many savvy frequent car renters book the smallest car available, knowing that it is very likely the rental agency will have none available and they will get a free upgrade.

This is some of the worst advice for MCO. MCO has some of the largest fleets in the industry and you stand a good chance of getting what you PAID for...

I have told this story before. I was getting into my car on EA at National and I heard a fight going on. Looked around and saw a family at the compact aisle. Mom, Dad, two kids and enough luggage for 10 people....

Dad was attempting to FORCE the luggage in the trunk...

Mom was SCREAMING at Dad. I TOLD you we would not fit in a COMPACT, but NO.. YOU wouldn't book a bigger car.

Dad stopped stuffing luggage (it was NOT going to fit unless Mr. Weasley from Harry Potter dropped by) He yelled back. THE BOOKS ALL SAY THAT THEY never have compacts and you get a FREE upgrade. I AM NOT PAYING WHAT THEY WANT FOR AN UPGRADE....

The man in the car next to me had also wandered over to watch this. (National employees were watching, I think they were afraid to approach)

The fighting kept coming, names were being called etc... The man and I decided to get in our cars and get out of there before blows were thrown....

Let this be a lesson DO NOT rent smaller then you can live with....

(By the way, my bet is that mom won. They could NOT fit in that small car. )

 

[we3disneygo]

we have rented from Alamo before at MCO and never have had any trouble.