Lej en bil i Washington D.C.

Gave me the “Option” of waiting or paying for an upgrade

Fordele: The vehicle itself was fantastic. It rode well, and had updated stereo equipment to use Bluetooth.

Ulemper: I arrived about an hour after my scheduled time to pick up- I purchased a non refundable rental, so Hertz got my money regardless of whether I was late. I was then told that they didn’t have the model available that I rented. This isn’t unusual. However, I was then told that I could either wait around, in a cold parking garage without a waiting area, on the Tuesday evening before Thanksgiving, delaying the 8 hour drive I had to complete, or pay $25/day for a total of $125 extra to upgrade. It was presented as a choice, which was insult to injury. Of course I had to take the upgrade. This practice is unethical as presented to me. How can you make my rental non-refundable but not actually have the car you said, or a free upgrade? I will avoid Hertz from now on.

Lack of Customer Service

Fordele: Arrived at airport car rental to find that no car was reserved at this particular location. Turns out it was a rental that was scheduled for a downtown hotel in DC. Our group of 4 were the only ones in the building, and the only solution that the woman could help with is to get us a taxi - to drive an hour in the opposite direction during DC rush hour to get the car. There was also a monitor on the wall that said cars were available - but she said it always says that. The car was previously paid for, so we lost this money. So we went online and booked a car from another company. She didn't even offer to help us sort that out. Very unpleasant experience.

There was no car

Ulemper: I pre-paid and booked a car but Hertz didn't have any cars. They didn't even contact me to tell me this. I had to call myself and find out, which left me scrambling last minute to find a different way to get to my destination. Unacceptable.

Could have been much better

Fordele: Hertz was the only place in town to have a car for the time we needed. Convenient after hours return.

Ulemper: Check in took 30 minutes as the attendants had to call their manager on how to do things. The attendant charged for the extra protection fees without consulting me. The car smelled of cigarette smoke.

Ulemper: They left me a voicemail at 8:15am saying they had run out of cars for my 10am rental and "can we change it to tomorrow?" I tried calling back 4 times, and the phone rang and rang. So, I showed up at the office (which smelled of mildew). One person working, 10 people in line. They finally did get me a car, but I had to wait longer. Car was filthy - hair everywhere, and the windshield wipers didn't work well (borderline dangerous to see out of the car in the rain). I do not recommend this location, I will not go back.