Rent a car from National? Not me

Not that I expect National to even acknowledge my complaint, but I draw the line at stupidly throwing away $250. I'll walk before I call them again.





Dear Sir or Madam:

My Emerald Club number is 4*******6. Please take a moment to review my customer history. Over the last 20 years, I don’t think it is an understatement to say I’ve probably rented from National, oh, what, 500 times?

While I enjoy Emerald Aisle service that allows me to avoid stopping at the counter, choosing a car of my choice and leaving the airport grounds in a fast and convenient manner, this does not mean I will accept being gouged.

If you look up reservation number 5*******4, you will see that the total cost of this rental, including all taxes and fees, was approximately $184. When I called National to inquire about picking up the car about 10 hours earlier, I was quoted a new price in excess of $400. I certainly expected to pay for the additional day this reservation would have now included.

While there may be a perfectly good reason for this, it escapes me in this moment of ire. (As an aside, please don’t try to justify this price increase to something such as supply and demand, or market conditions. I found a rate for the same make and model of car I had reserved from National and it actually was noticeably less than the original $184 rate I had, so, actually, something good came from your inane policies.)

If this is how you believe your preferred customers deserve to be treated, that’s fine; it’s your business and you can run it however you see fit. I’ll go elsewhere for my rental car needs; there is no shortage of options. I want National to know that effective immediately, it stands no chance of ever getting my business again. Not one dime. (If you don’t think I’m serious, go ask United Airlines. Would you like to know how many times I flew with them in the ‘80s and early '90s and how often since?)

Sincerely,

 

Nice bitchslap. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it.

 

So they charged you an extra $250 for one day's rental?

I was kind of confused after reading your rant, to be honest.

 

Outstanding rant... and just when I got my Emerald Club card too...

 

Priceline.com

Rented a car for $11 a day in September.

 

I booked a Budget rental car for my trip to Halifax last weekend.

$79.00 --pick up Saturday morning, return Monday at noon.

Of course, the insurance coverage was an additional $110.00 for the three days.

 

did you have to wind the rubber band, too?

 

Never rented a car from National, but I've bought my last two cars from them, and have no complaints. If you're buying a car, you really should consider the rental companies - at least you know they've been maintained regularly.

 

No, just provide the squirrels with enough acorns. And those are cheap.

 

Yes, but you also know people have driven them like they didn't have to worry about fixing them. I think it's about a push, but I'm glad your cars have worked out.

I never rent from National anyway . . . it seems like they're always the most expensive of the big four.

 

However, since they fix their own cars, they don't have to report if it's been in an accident. So when you run a Carfax (or whomever) report, it doesnt show. My car was like that; previous owner was Enterprise and they bought it at auction. Took it back to the dealer three days later for a rattle in the door -- pieces of glass.....

 

If you get a good warranty, though, it's worthwhile - I usually get it up to 100,000 miles. My first National car developed an oil leak about six months after I bought it, and between the fix and the loaner, the coverage pretty much paid for itself right there.