So, I've been working at Hertz rent-a-car for about 3 months now. It can get really fucking busy, but it's fun overall. The address is 361 N La Brea in Los Angeles, between Beverly and Melrose. Of what I hear from the guys I work with, we are the second busiest location in Southern California. First place goes to Los Angeles International Airport, to put things in perspective.
It took a while for me to get familiar with how things work, but I'm getting the hang of it now. Because we're so busy all the time, there was never really an opportunity for me to stand still and learn how things worked. I learned on the fly, by making mistakes and fucking things up, and then understanding how and why I fucked up, and fixing it next time. So, with that said...
Do you want to rent a car?
On average, compact cars to full size cars would run you about 40 a day. That's without tax and without any kind of coverage on it. Depending on how early you make a reservation and what days you have the rental for, you can get it down to 30 or 35, or it can go as high as 55 to 60. It's your basic supply and demand game. If you just walk up to the counter and ask me for a car, you are subject to whatever is on the lot, minus whatever car doesn't have a reservation made for it. Usually, that'll be a van or SUV, going for about 80 a day.
So that's where I come in. Technically, I have the power to rent out any car on the lot at any price I want. I can rent a crappy economy car for 200 a day, or an Escalade for 5 a day. Of course, the prices would have to be somewhat normal so it won't look suspicious. Obviously, the best thing you can do is make a reservation ahead of time so your starting price is normal.
Example: You want to rent a full size car for two days, and you want to pick it up a month from now. An average rate would be about 40 bucks. I can edit it to where you can get it for 35, or even 30 a day. Do you want the car for a week? I can probably drop the price even lower. A month? Even lower.
Note though, one thing I can't modify are the extra features. If you want to get coverage/insurance on the rental, GPS navigation, XM radio, or pre-paid gas, I can't edit those numbers. They are fixed rates that I can't touch.
HOWEVER, additional features such as these help my numbers (I do get commission based on my sales), so if you do decide to get extras, I can edit the rate of the rental itself even lower.
Example: You want a small SUV for a day. A standard rate is around 60 a day. I can probably knock it down to 55. Oh, but you want to add the coverage that protects the rental 100%? That's 15 bucks and I can't manipulate that, but I'd knock down the SUV to 50. You know... you help me, I help you. I get a tiny bonus because I sold coverage, you get a tiny bonus by saving a few bucks on the rental.
Example: You want to go to ComiCon this year. You want to drive down to San Diego for the weekend and have a blast. If you make a reservation last minute, you know you'll be paying a higher price for a car. So make it now. You want to rent a convertible for you and your best friend for a week. The average rate on a convertible for a day goes from 80 to 130 (depending on the type of car). For this example, we'll say 100. A weekly rate is like buying 6 days, getting the 7th free, so the weekly rate is 600. I can turn that 100 into an 85, and that 600 into 465. Let's say you want full coverage on the rental, because you know there'll be plenty of crazies out there in San Diego (covers the rental, covers liability insurance, covers premium road side service, covers personal accident/injury and personal property). Full coverage is about 50 a day (350 for the week). So your 600 a week is now 950. But my 465 can drop down to 375, which turns into 725.
725 for a convertible for a full week, with absolute full coverage.
NOTE: Let me just throw this out there. If these prices seem kind of high, keep in mind that we are the second busiest location in Southern California. We can EASILY do 50 rentals in a day, with a car lot that only holds 20 cars. But it's not just rentals. It's also people returning cars, cars being returned, cars being washed and gassed up, customers that change cars due to mechanical issues, accidents, or simply preference. Then add in the service where we pick you up from your location, take you to our office, and put you in a car, then do all of that in reverse when you get back (as in dropping you off back home). We do a lot, and this is just half of it.
Anyways! I not only get commission on car coverage, but also on gas and upsells.
You can pre-purchase the gas in the car. This just means you buy it now at our price (fairly competitive prices) and not have to put gas in it when you are done with the car. Buy a full tank, bring it back empty. Oh, you didn't use a full tank of gas? No problem, I'll adjust it to where you'll only be charged for the gas you used.
Upsells are the big one.
Example: Let's say you book a compact car for three days, cause it's cheap at the rate of 25 bucks a day. You come to the office to pick it up, and see something else you wanna drive instead of that tiny football-sized car you were initially going to pick up. That other car would normally go for... oh, let's say 50 bucks. I can put you in it for 12 bucks more than what you agreed to pay with the reservation you made. So it's 37 a day instead of 50.
TL;DR So let's recap!
If you want a fair price on a rental, make a reservation.
If you want a better price, contact me so I can make a reservation for you.
If you want extra features, contact me so I can get you a great price.
If you want to get an idea of what any kind of rental would cost, contact me and I'll get you an estimate.
Note: If you want to make a reservation, you'd be making it for the CLASS OF CAR. Such as, compact, economy, full size, mid size, small SUV, van, truck, so on. We can't make a reservation for specific requests, such as a Toyota Camry, Chevy Cruze, a red SUV, black convertible, a car with a sunroof, so on. We're not a dealership. We just rent cars. You can still put in a request for specifics, but that may cost you a bit more. Also, it'll be much harder for us to find something that specific.
ONE FINAL THING: There's a huge difference between wanting to rent a car, and needing to rent a car.
Want: You are on vacation and don't want to put miles on your car, or you are traveling with friends and no one wants to drive or be responsible for their own car. Or you want to test drive something for a day or two. Or whatever.
Need: Your car is at a mechanic because it has some engine issues. Or your car is at a body shop because you got into an accident. You NEED a car because your own car is unavailable. If this is you, then you fall into a complete separate category of rentals, and your rate already is heavily reduced. That 40 dollar full size is now 25. That 30 dollar compact is now 20. Hertz works with many body shops, mechanics, and insurance companies where we can offer cars at much lower prices, because you NEED a car. When it comes to this, I can't give you a better deal, because you are already getting the best deal possible.
People who NEED to rent a car typically have priority over people who WANT to rent a car, regardless of if there was a reservation made or not.
Example: There are two cars on the lot. One is a mid sized car, and the other is an SUV. There are two customers in the office. One made a reservation a month ago for a mid sized car, and the other customer just got into an accident an hour ago, they obviously don't have a reservation, and needs to rent a car. Their insurance is paying for the rental, and only authorize something cheap. The one who NEEDS a car walked into the office about 5 minutes before the guy who WANTS a car, so they are helped first. We get them that mid-sized car for free (cause the insurance is paying for it). The one who WANTS a car now sees their car leave the lot, and the only thing left is an SUV. They made a reservation for a mid-sized car for 35 bucks, and they don't wanna pay more for the SUV. Well, to day is your lucky day.....
It took a while for me to get familiar with how things work, but I'm getting the hang of it now. Because we're so busy all the time, there was never really an opportunity for me to stand still and learn how things worked. I learned on the fly, by making mistakes and fucking things up, and then understanding how and why I fucked up, and fixing it next time. So, with that said...
Do you want to rent a car?
On average, compact cars to full size cars would run you about 40 a day. That's without tax and without any kind of coverage on it. Depending on how early you make a reservation and what days you have the rental for, you can get it down to 30 or 35, or it can go as high as 55 to 60. It's your basic supply and demand game. If you just walk up to the counter and ask me for a car, you are subject to whatever is on the lot, minus whatever car doesn't have a reservation made for it. Usually, that'll be a van or SUV, going for about 80 a day.
So that's where I come in. Technically, I have the power to rent out any car on the lot at any price I want. I can rent a crappy economy car for 200 a day, or an Escalade for 5 a day. Of course, the prices would have to be somewhat normal so it won't look suspicious. Obviously, the best thing you can do is make a reservation ahead of time so your starting price is normal.
Example: You want to rent a full size car for two days, and you want to pick it up a month from now. An average rate would be about 40 bucks. I can edit it to where you can get it for 35, or even 30 a day. Do you want the car for a week? I can probably drop the price even lower. A month? Even lower.
Note though, one thing I can't modify are the extra features. If you want to get coverage/insurance on the rental, GPS navigation, XM radio, or pre-paid gas, I can't edit those numbers. They are fixed rates that I can't touch.
HOWEVER, additional features such as these help my numbers (I do get commission based on my sales), so if you do decide to get extras, I can edit the rate of the rental itself even lower.
Example: You want a small SUV for a day. A standard rate is around 60 a day. I can probably knock it down to 55. Oh, but you want to add the coverage that protects the rental 100%? That's 15 bucks and I can't manipulate that, but I'd knock down the SUV to 50. You know... you help me, I help you. I get a tiny bonus because I sold coverage, you get a tiny bonus by saving a few bucks on the rental.
Example: You want to go to ComiCon this year. You want to drive down to San Diego for the weekend and have a blast. If you make a reservation last minute, you know you'll be paying a higher price for a car. So make it now. You want to rent a convertible for you and your best friend for a week. The average rate on a convertible for a day goes from 80 to 130 (depending on the type of car). For this example, we'll say 100. A weekly rate is like buying 6 days, getting the 7th free, so the weekly rate is 600. I can turn that 100 into an 85, and that 600 into 465. Let's say you want full coverage on the rental, because you know there'll be plenty of crazies out there in San Diego (covers the rental, covers liability insurance, covers premium road side service, covers personal accident/injury and personal property). Full coverage is about 50 a day (350 for the week). So your 600 a week is now 950. But my 465 can drop down to 375, which turns into 725.
725 for a convertible for a full week, with absolute full coverage.
NOTE: Let me just throw this out there. If these prices seem kind of high, keep in mind that we are the second busiest location in Southern California. We can EASILY do 50 rentals in a day, with a car lot that only holds 20 cars. But it's not just rentals. It's also people returning cars, cars being returned, cars being washed and gassed up, customers that change cars due to mechanical issues, accidents, or simply preference. Then add in the service where we pick you up from your location, take you to our office, and put you in a car, then do all of that in reverse when you get back (as in dropping you off back home). We do a lot, and this is just half of it.
Anyways! I not only get commission on car coverage, but also on gas and upsells.
You can pre-purchase the gas in the car. This just means you buy it now at our price (fairly competitive prices) and not have to put gas in it when you are done with the car. Buy a full tank, bring it back empty. Oh, you didn't use a full tank of gas? No problem, I'll adjust it to where you'll only be charged for the gas you used.
Upsells are the big one.
Example: Let's say you book a compact car for three days, cause it's cheap at the rate of 25 bucks a day. You come to the office to pick it up, and see something else you wanna drive instead of that tiny football-sized car you were initially going to pick up. That other car would normally go for... oh, let's say 50 bucks. I can put you in it for 12 bucks more than what you agreed to pay with the reservation you made. So it's 37 a day instead of 50.
TL;DR So let's recap!
If you want a fair price on a rental, make a reservation.
If you want a better price, contact me so I can make a reservation for you.
If you want extra features, contact me so I can get you a great price.
If you want to get an idea of what any kind of rental would cost, contact me and I'll get you an estimate.
Note: If you want to make a reservation, you'd be making it for the CLASS OF CAR. Such as, compact, economy, full size, mid size, small SUV, van, truck, so on. We can't make a reservation for specific requests, such as a Toyota Camry, Chevy Cruze, a red SUV, black convertible, a car with a sunroof, so on. We're not a dealership. We just rent cars. You can still put in a request for specifics, but that may cost you a bit more. Also, it'll be much harder for us to find something that specific.
ONE FINAL THING: There's a huge difference between wanting to rent a car, and needing to rent a car.
Want: You are on vacation and don't want to put miles on your car, or you are traveling with friends and no one wants to drive or be responsible for their own car. Or you want to test drive something for a day or two. Or whatever.
Need: Your car is at a mechanic because it has some engine issues. Or your car is at a body shop because you got into an accident. You NEED a car because your own car is unavailable. If this is you, then you fall into a complete separate category of rentals, and your rate already is heavily reduced. That 40 dollar full size is now 25. That 30 dollar compact is now 20. Hertz works with many body shops, mechanics, and insurance companies where we can offer cars at much lower prices, because you NEED a car. When it comes to this, I can't give you a better deal, because you are already getting the best deal possible.
People who NEED to rent a car typically have priority over people who WANT to rent a car, regardless of if there was a reservation made or not.
Example: There are two cars on the lot. One is a mid sized car, and the other is an SUV. There are two customers in the office. One made a reservation a month ago for a mid sized car, and the other customer just got into an accident an hour ago, they obviously don't have a reservation, and needs to rent a car. Their insurance is paying for the rental, and only authorize something cheap. The one who NEEDS a car walked into the office about 5 minutes before the guy who WANTS a car, so they are helped first. We get them that mid-sized car for free (cause the insurance is paying for it). The one who WANTS a car now sees their car leave the lot, and the only thing left is an SUV. They made a reservation for a mid-sized car for 35 bucks, and they don't wanna pay more for the SUV. Well, to day is your lucky day.....
VIEW 3 of 3 COMMENTS
If I would rent out an Escalade for 5 a day, I'd lose my job. A normal price for an Escalade can range from 150 to 200 a day. For a random customer, that's most likely the price they would get. In special situations (such as you contacting me to get a discounted rate), I can lower the price of an Escalade without risking my job.
As far as the 20 a day compact car goes, that's about the lowest I've seen them rent out for. Again, I could do 5 a day for a compact if I really wanted to. Would I lose my job over it? Possibly, but no where near as quick as the Escalade scenario. The average price for compacts are 25 to 30 for retail, and 20 to 25 for body shop and insurance replacement. If you want to rent a car for retail (aka for fun), then the average price would be 25 to 30, but I could go down to 20.
Does it make more sense now?