Bikes & Cars...

Green Car Report Jul 4, 2008

Rental Upgrades Not So Great

There Aren't Enough Small Cars on the Lot to Meet Rental Demands

Recently, my friend Andrew, a travel writer, was on the job in Ohio (I don't know why, either). He had reserved a compact car to drive from the airport to various cities and towns across the state to report on its vacation hotspots. But when he got to the rental counter, he was cheerfully offered an upgrade to a Jeep Grand Cherokee.The best mileage this model can get, with the smallest 3-liter engine and two-wheel-drive, is 18 city/23 highway.

Andrew had been expecting something more like a Ford Focus, or maybe even a slightly larger Toyota Camry. Certainly not an SUV with a 21-gallon tank. Luckily for him, gas in the Midwest has been hovering right around $4, so a fill-up would have cost a mere $84. Even luckier, in order to sweeten this upgrade deal, the rental company threw in a tank of gas.

Andrew isn't the only one having large cars foisted on him at the rental counter. Car rental companies don't have the compact-car inventory to keep up with demand and so have to convince customers to take the larger car. This didn't used to be a problem; if they could afford it, Americans would gladly take the roomier full-size sedan or SUV. With gas averaging $4.09 a gallon across the country, though, the extra room isn't worth it.

Most car rental companies do have hybrids on the lot, but if you think compact cars are in short supply, Priuses and Escape Hybrids are rare as the Pinta Island tortoise. They're often more expensive, too, thanks to the pesky rules of supply and demand.

What can you do if you're stuck with an upgrade this summer? Here are a few tips:

Threaten to take your business across the lot to another company, but only if you mean it. Small cars are likely scarce over there, too.

Negotiate. I've heard several stories from recent renters about getting a free fill-up for accepting the larger vehicle.

If you have to go big, do it in style. If you're going to pay out the wazoo for gas anyway, see what you can do to get a convertible or luxury car.

Drive that boat of a car from the rental lot to the nearest gas station and check that the tires are properly inflated. This will save you at least a few dollars on fill-up.