Have rental cars ever "sold out"?

[mikehn]

Have you ever made a reservation, arrived to pick it up, then told they were completely sold out?

 

[hodgieha]

Happened to my parents. They rented a car in Orlando only to have them not have what they reserved. The rental company had them wait about an hour to see if one showed up. They only upgraded them after my mom kept pestering them to get her a car. She said it wasn't her fault they did not have what she rented and she wanted a car so that she could leave the airport.

 

[DebbieB]

One time a few years ago I had a National EA reservation and there were no cars in the aisle. There were a couple other people ahead of me waiting and they pulled cars up one at a time, so you didn't have a choice of cars.

 

[Halle]

Happened to me in Savannah GA, had to wait 45 minutes for a car to be turned in.

 

[Gigi22]

Yes, happened to me in my hometown on a Friday morning in the summer. We were going to pick up a car at Hertz and drive it to DSis's place in the country so that we could be at my niece's rehearsal dinner--the wedding was the following day. There were no available rental cars at all. Everyone who had a rental car due back that morning kept it longer. We got the car so late we pulled the plug on attending the rehearsal dinner. We did get to the wedding.

 

[Captain Blue Sky]

Yes, definitely. At peak travel times of the year car rentals can easily sell-out. Always best to plan ahead, shop for price, then lock-in that rate with a reservation.

 

[phred52]

Yes, definitely. At peak travel times of the year car rentals can easily sell-out. Always best to plan ahead, shop for price, then lock-in that rate with a reservation.

I've HAD a reservation and then been told "sorry, no car to give you". I'm thinking that what happened to the pp's above, too.

 

[dawnn12]

when we were on our honeymoon my ils gave a trip to disney(with the rental car) when we arrived at mco we went to get the car they told me the only one we have right now was a kia(a compact). we were supposed to have a (middle of the pack kinda cars) this was so small it didnt have a back seat. the stering wheel didnt even move up and down i couldnt even get my legs in and i am 5'6" nevermind my dh whos 6'4". after telling him i wasnt going to take that car i wanted the car we had on order. the clerk told me i should be that picky since im not the one who paid for it. i said for a manager was told nope im not allowed to talk to one(yup i was pissed). so i went over and picked up one of the phones(they hook to the 800 number for the company) told them where i was and i wanted a manager now. within two mins a manager came out asked what the problem was we gave him the run down. needless to say we got a aztak(pretty weird looking car but i liked driving it..but we did have to wait about 15 mins for it to get fueled and ran thru the car wash)and my ils got their money back for the rental

 

[ccudmore]

Jerry Seinfeld on "Reservations"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A7uvttu8ct0

 

[bande]

this reminds me of the Seinfeld episode where Jerry rented a car and it wasn't available. He got into a dispute with the salesperson and explained that she could "take" the reservation, but she had problems "holding" the reservation which was really the most important part! Your post made me think of this one wondering if it ever actually happens. Now I know based on the replies.

 

[herdtoDisney]

This is very scary to read! I have a 8 passenger Suburban booked for our trip in Feb. It will be me, dh, 4 kids and my parents-it's not like we can fit in a sedan!

Goodness, that thing better be there. I do have a reservation but they didn't take my credit card info, even though I offered it (Hertz).

 

[OrangeCountyCommuter]

A couple of suggestions..

This is actually more likely to happen at PEAK times. For Orlando that is the Christmas week os be aware. And it's more likely to happen if you booked a midsize or compact. The Suburbans probably are not as risky as they aren't high demand. The truth is that they have "cars" just not cars they want to give you at the price you paid. I think only ONCE have I had a rental car company COMPLETLY out of cars.

1. Do not move away from the counter regardless of what they tell you.
2. Do not scream or yell. Cursing is also not allowed. Acting like a 2 year old being told no does not help
3. Explain that THEY took the reservation and they have a commitment to get you a car that is at LEAST the car class you reserved. If they continue to stall ask for a manager. Still do NOT walk away. You may however turn around and tell the people in line behind you LOUDLY that "they don't have any cars"
4. If you see the person next to you getting a car point that out.
5. Be polite, but stand your ground. If anyone else is getting keys they have cars.....

I do like the idea above about calling the 800# for a manager. However do NOT leave the counter. Use your cell phone.

Eventually to get rid of you they will find a car. I once made Hertz "sublease" me a car from another company

The only time this has not worked for me was L&M. They have a unique method where they "upgrade" the cars depending on demand. So they claimed they were giving me what I reserved when in fact it was several classes below (even by rental car standards) Luckily they had made me so nervous I had a back up reservation with Hertz. Walked over got the car and drove off. So if you have "low cost"

 

[OrangeCountyCommuter]

Duplicate post system is not behaving!

 

[disneyeveryyear]

We have only had this problem once. It was Thanksgiving Day 6 weeks after 9/11/01. People had driven the cars home when they couldn't fly after 9/11 and they had been dropped all over the country and weren't back to MCO yet.

We had reserved a full size. When we got there, all they had were compacts. No was is my DH fitting in a compact, let alone our kids, luggage, etc. After arguing with them, we finally got a midsize that had just come in, and I made them reduce the price since it was a smaller car.