There is no advantage to renting from Advantage
by - Written: Jun 20 '05 (Updated Jun 21 '05)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Takes Debit Cards, New Cars
Cons: Nickel and Dimes you to Death, Poor Customer Service, Few Locations
The Bottom Line: There is much better companies out their for they price.
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| jdornoff's Full Review: Advantage Rent-A-Car |
Background:
I have rented from Advantage twice and this review will go over the company and the experiences.
My first experience with Advantage was my fathers death and Advantage made the experience even worse. I had talked to my parents in the morning before heading off to work. That night the phone rang and the caller ID said it was my parents and I knew it was bad and it was: my father had passed away. I was planning a trip to visit them in just a couple of weeks but I quickly made a car reservation so my wife and I could make the trip up to Spokane.
The second time I rented from them was in order to drive to Las Vegas to attend a family reunion.
Just to give some disclosure I did work in the rental car field for 5 years so I know the ins and outs and some of the games some will try to play.
Both of the times I rented from Advantage I made reservations on their site after checking rates at the websites of the major rental car companies and at the major travel sites such as orbitz. The Advantage website was somewhat easy to use but had a lot of glitches. In the first case I booked a compact car for one week at the rate of $149.99 per week. The second time I booked a full size car for the weekend rate of $34.99 per day.
I will go over the company history, detail my experiences, then give some additional information.
The Company:
The company now know as Advantage started by a family in Texas in 1963 and it was expanded. In 1985 they consolidated all of their operations and renamed them Advantage. They now franchise locations that are currently independent rental companies.
Advantage is located in the following cities: Salt Lake City, Phoenix, Los Angeles, Orange County, San Diego, Ontario, Denver, Colorado Springs, Fort Collins, Reno, Corpus Christi, Dallas, Fort Worth, El Paso, Houston, San Antonio, Tyler, Waco, Seattle, Montreal, and Toronto. Plus they have locations in several other parts of the world.
They also have a frequent renter program and they are a member of the Continental Frequent Flyer Program.
Rental 1:
For this rental I picked up the car at the Salt Lake International Airport. I went to their rental counter which is across the walkway from the rest of the rental car counters. The girl at the counter was named Stacy and without looking up from her computer screen said “Yes?” I told her I had a car reservation and she asked for my license and credit card. Without even trying to ice-break (ask how I was doing, how I was enjoying my day, anything to make the customer more comfortable) she says that she will upgrade me to a 4X4 for only $45 more dollars per day! To which I relied and said no. Then she says that Salt Lake is going to have blizzards for the next three days so I will need it (boy she was the salesperson wasn’t she…oh by the way I had checked the weather report before leaving home and it said it was to be sunny for the next 6 days!).
Once I was done being mistreated by the princess, some people behind me where in for the same treatment despite being extremely well dressed. In addition Advantage did not have their cars at the airport so you have to travel a couple of miles in order to get them. My wife drove me down to the Advantage location to pick up the car. After waiting in line for a few minutes I was given a pair of keys and told to go inspect the car but its fine I was told. I went out and found a couple of scratches on the Dodge Neon, had them note it which they weren’t happy about and went on my way to work.
Later that evening as my wife and I left town we stopped at the car pick up location again in order to add her as an extra driver. I was shocked to find out that they charged $5.00 per day to add her. While I know there is additional driver charges I have never heard of charging for a spouse but it looks like this company tries to get every dime out of you. I will have to say that the people working at night where a lot nicer than the people working during the day.
Returning the car wasn’t much fun either. I filled the car up just before arriving at the car lot and proceeded to wait in line. They where in the process of trying to get every dime out of some poor couple who was renting a car for their honeymoon. I had waited about ten minutes with no one in sight to help me when I heard some laughter so I went over to the smoke glassed office and looked into the door and saw three guys having a good old’ time. After a minute or so the big guy behind the desk saw me looking in and told one of the two people in front of the desk to get rid of me (not joking). The guy came up to me and goes “what do you want?” to which I replied I wanted to turn my car in. He took the keys to the counter and someone comes up and asks if he is Russ or something like that. He says yes and the guy says his car is broken down, so he wants another one and Russ goes out the door never to return. After a half hour another lady came in and finally checked me out.
Rental 2:
I must have been glutting for punishment because I rented from Advantage again. Actually I did want to see if renting from their suburban location (in this case Sandy, Utah) was going to be the same dreadful experience, plus our water pump was starting to go out and we where making our heading to Vegas for my family’s annual reunion.
My wife was at work so I took the light rail system and connected to a bus in order to pick up the car. Their Sandy location was in a strip mall only a small walk from the bus stop. On the way by I look at their line of rental cars and went inside where I was greeted by an empty area. After a couple of minutes a guy comes out from the back to help me so told him I have a reservation. He proceeds to tell me that he doesn’t have the car I reserved but could upgrade for just $10.00 more per day to a Jeep Liberty. I reserved a full size car and the Liberty was smaller than that.
While walking through I noticed two Impala’s sitting just across the parking lot. I asked, “So you’re giving me a free upgrade because you don’t have my car?” The guy answers, “No you have to pay more for it.” I then proceed to tell him I will not and then asked him what those two Impala’s where across the way. He then had someone get one of the Impala’s ready but did a poor job as it was still dirty on the inside.
He then made up the contract and when I looked at it, the rate was $49.99 per day and I told him it was $34.99. He then proceeded to say no. I then pulled out my copy of the reservation and he remade the contract. It took him 3 times but he finally got the contract and I was on my way. The car ran well and check in was much easier than at the airport. Within a couple of minutes I was on my way and charged the proper amount. He also put on their Roadside Assistance plan without even asking.
Fleet:
Advantage uses the following cars as examples of ones you might get. However their locations are franchised so you could end up with just about anything.
Subcompact-Kia Rio
Compact-Dodge Neon
Midsize-Chrysler Sebring
Standard-Dodge Stratus
Full-Size-Chevrolet Impala
Premium-Dodge Magnum
Luxury-Chrysler Pacifica
Convertibe-Chrysler Sebring
Intermediate SUV-Jeep Liberty
Standard SUV-Jeep Grand Cherokee
Full Size SUV-Dodge Durango
Premium SUV-Chevrolet Suburban
Minivan-Dodge Caravan
Full Size Van-Chevrolet Express
Premium Vacation Van-Chrysler Town and Country
Luxury Wagon-Chrysler Pacifica
Pick Up-Dodge Ram
Note that they actually list their mid size as a 2 door car. Also, after driving both the Impala and the Stratus I consider the Stratus more comfortable and roomier than the Impala. (maybe that’s why every time I checked the rates it was more expensive than the Impala).
Extras:
Like all companies Advantage offers their extras.
Loss Damage Waiver, Personal Accident Protection, Personal Property Protection, Supplemental Liability Insurance, Rental Liability Insurance and Highway Helpers 24-Hour Roadside Assistance.
I have taken the LDW on short rentals but never take the other coverage’s. Their coverage rates are also some they highest I have encountered and are different depending on what area you are renting in.
They also have several gas options but the cheapest option is usually to fill it up yourself (however when gas prices are going up sometimes you can find bargains with their option however they bet you will not need a full tank when returning but you have already paid for it).
Other Information:
Advantage does accept Debit Cards at the beginning of rentals for subcompact through Full-Size Cars. However they do charge a $300.00 fee at the start of the rental. They don’t get the authorization; they actually charge that amount so beware if you are on a tight budget.
Helpful Hints:
When renting any car here is some helpful hints:
1. Always read before signing the contract. While it goes without saying-just because they person says you are declining coverage don't trust them, read for yourself so you know what coverages you will have.
2. Always check the rates. Just like my experience the rate I reserved was different from the contract so I refused to sign until they changed it.
3. Do not pay for an upgrade unless you want one. If they claim they don't have your car you are entitled to an upgrade for free. Its not your fault that they do not have the car reserved after all you reserved in good faith.
4. Find out before renting on what happens if you break down. Will they help you are leave you stranded. When I worked for one company in Spokane we had a car break down in Hamilton, Montana. The Missoula location would not help the customer since it wasn't their car. Customer was stuck for 36 hours.
Conclusion:
I have rented twice from Advantage but would not do it again unless they where the only option. There are much better companies out there providing good rates and even better service. While some other companies may play some of the same games that Advantage does, it has to be one of the worse offenders I have ever encountered.
Also, I emailed them after each experience and never received the courtesy of even a form letter. This tells me that they do not care how their customers are being treated so let the buyer beware.
There is no advantage of renting from Advantage. They will try to nickel and dime you to death.
Recommended:
No
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