Picking up rental car early

[queso2992]

I booked a prepaid (yes, I know...I shouldn't ever do that...) rental car through Hertz. I appreciate being able to skip the counter and go straight to a car. We're now 9 days out from traveling. We were scheduled to arrive around midnight that night, but I decided today that I should just take the day off work and fly in earlier that day. We'll arrive around 10:30 am now. Got flights taken care of no problem, but now I'm stuck on what to do with the rental. If I modified it today online/over the phone, I would have to pay $120 more (compared to the $80 total I was paying). I was wondering if anyone has ever had success with getting a car earlier than the reservation. I have no problem paying more since I'll have the car longer, but $120 for 12ish hours more seems crazy.

Has anyone been able to go to the counter early and gotten a car without paying an arm or leg more? Or am I better off to use Mears to leave the airport and Uber back close to my original pick up time to get the car? I would just cancel the reservation and be out the deposit amount, but I do need a car for Sunday.

 

[otterlychaotic]

I booked a prepaid (yes, I know...I shouldn't ever do that...) rental car through Hertz. I appreciate being able to skip the counter and go straight to a car. We're now 9 days out from traveling. We were scheduled to arrive around midnight that night, but I decided today that I should just take the day off work and fly in earlier that day. We'll arrive around 10:30 am now. Got flights taken care of no problem, but now I'm stuck on what to do with the rental. If I modified it today online/over the phone, I would have to pay $120 more (compared to the $80 total I was paying). I was wondering if anyone has ever had success with getting a car earlier than the reservation. I have no problem paying more since I'll have the car longer, but $120 for 12ish hours more seems crazy.

Has anyone been able to go to the counter early and gotten a car without paying an arm or leg more? Or am I better off to use Mears to leave the airport and Uber back close to my original pick up time to get the car? I would just cancel the reservation and be out the deposit amount, but I do need a car for Sunday.

I would recommend calling Hertz directly and asking them for guidance. I've personally picked up a rental car early numerous times but it's only been a few hours early most times. It really should not be an issue so long as you are not trying to add time onto your reservation (car rentals generally operate on a 24h clock/per day basis) so if you pick it up earlier than your original time, you'd be expected to return it at an earlier time too. Now if you want to pick it up early but return it at the originally planned time, that is definitely going to lead to an added charge for the extra 12 hours or so.

There is also the potential issue of Hertz not having a car available for you but the risk of that is pretty minimal this time of year. Still, I guess it is a consideration but if anything, it could lead to you not getting the vehicle type you booked and potentially having to upgrade to something else that is on the lot for the early arrival.

TLDR - Hertz is a very good company and should be able to provide you with some assistance in hopes of limiting any potential issues. You already acknowledged the potential issues with it being a prepaid rental so you know the financial ramifications of that.

 

[keishashadow]

I’ve seen rentals vary by just an hour one way or the other when pricing…talking about still keeping it within the same number of days/hours.

don’t do prepaid rentals, do rent often from Hertz.

no idea if they are assigned by car or the OP would pick up off their aisle

two days before Columbus Day this year, there were a whopping three cars on the aisle. We waited a bit for a decent one to show up.

 

[_19disnA]

If their inventory is tight and they quickly turnaround rentals, the problem might be if you arrive early the previous renter may not have yet returned the vehicle. I would generally setup the reservation so it appears I am arriving an hour or so PRIOR to the time I thought I would be arriving to make sure the car was there. Have never had an issue doing that. I believe the clock doesn't start for your rental until you actually drive off the property.

I always prepay for my rental and then don't have to go to the counter upon arrival. Some don't want to prepay, but the price is often lower when you do that. I am not sure what advantage there would be to not prepay. Usually once we have made travel plans they rarely change.

If you want to change your reservation, I think the best approach is to call...........maybe tell them your flight has changed and is arriving earlier then you expected. Seems there are a LOT of flights moving around their departure/arrival times, so that isn't an unusual request. If there is no inventory shortage at your rental location, they might be agreeable to changing your reservation.