Picking up smaller car than rented

[mmouse50]

If you rent a car and then decide at the airport that the size you rented is too big can you use a smaller car? Would you still have to pay the difference in price, if the smaller car is more expensive than your price for the larger car?

 

[easyas123]

I would presume if you reserved Car A and a set price, then once there changed your mind as to which car you wanted to rent from Car A to Car B and Car B was at that point listed to rent at a higher cost, then yes you'd have to pay that higher cost.

 

[eticketplease]

This would also depend if it is one of the rental places that lets you pick any from a certain area in that case it would be the same price.

 

[mmouse50]

Current reservation is for a expedition max - i currently drive an Equinox. How much lsrger is an expedition max than an Equinox? Is the max closer to a suburban? I have rented suburbans before and find them hard to park in the resort parking lots.

 

[gottalovepluto]

Some rental companies I wouldn’t be surprised if you got charged more for taking the wrong car! For practical advice you need to be more specific with regards to the company.

 

[Ross Kratter]

Current reservation is for a expedition max - i currently drive an Equinox. How much lsrger is an expedition max than an Equinox? Is the max closer to a suburban? I have rented suburbans before and find them hard to park in the resort parking lots.

Yes, the Expedition Max and Suburban are extremely similar in size.

 

[eticketplease]

Current reservation is for a expedition max - i currently drive an Equinox. How much lsrger is an expedition max than an Equinox? Is the max closer to a suburban? I have rented suburbans before and find them hard to park in the resort parking lots.

Yes Expeditions are on the larger end and is about the same size as the suburban.

Equinox is around the size of an Escape

Explorer is about the size of the traverse is what shows up when googling.

So you personally are used to a small SUV and are skipping a size and going straight to the jumbo size it sounds like for this rental.

 

[EACarlson]

It's going to depend on the company, but generally, if you take a vehicle of your reserved class or lower, you pay your reserved price. If you take a higher class, you pay the difference. In your case, I would expect that if they have one, they will give you a standard SUV while charging you for the Full Size or Premium SUV.

 

[Peaseblossom36]

You could stop at a Ford dealership if there's one near you and look at the size to see if it seems too big.

 

[Mikey15]

In terms of size:
Chevy - Ford
Trailblazer - Bronco Sport
Equinox - Escape
Blazer - Edge
Traverse - Explorer
Tahoe - Expedition
Suburban - Expedition Max

 

[LuvOrlando]

Usually counter agents are all about the upsell, it is rare they will give a discount.

Best thing to do is to try and create another reservation with a smaller vehicle before you go. When I modify they never honor the prior price structure anymore so it is easier to just make a new reservation unless you paid in advance. Sometimes the rental businesses give discounts on the big bulky cars and the smaller cars become more desirable and more expensive so smaller isn't always cheaper.