First time renting a car! (Enterprise)

I've always wanted to rent a car for trips... but I've been iffy about it.
I'm finally getting over it. I'll be heading to Vegas for New Years for 4 nights and wanted to rent a car to get there!

I'll be getting it through Enterprise and was wondering if anyone had any general tips or recommendations.

I was looking at the vehicle classes and was thinking about a Standard, Full-Size, Premium, or Luxury.
Which class would give decent MPG? Or are they all about the same?
Can I request a different make? Because the Standard class it's a VW Jetta or something similar. Bleh.

 

Enterprise is my fave when I'm paying for it, and our travel office likes them too.

If I'm paying for it, I always book an "economy" car, 'cuz that's all I really need. In Las Vegas they have no/few true economy models so I usually get "upgraded" to compact and sometimes mid-size.

General rule is the smaller the vehicle, the better the mileage. Nowadays, however, there don't seem to be any true gas guzzlers.

Enterprise generally lets you choose among what they have available, within reason.

Lines are usually short at the LV Enterprise, and they do have self kiosks, which may or may not be working.

 

Take your phone. Take pictures. Talk to your phone for record keeping. Take a picture of the agent going over the car with you. It will help with any rental company when returning the car and cut out a lot of bs. We rented once from dollar and videoed the whole going over the condition of the car “scene”. It was ez pz once they realized what we were doing (sorta hard to say the agent couldn’t have said that as we don’t do that ......etc). Have fun!!

 

Additionally, you should take a minimum 15 minute video of every part of the car including under the hood for condition. Get a dash cam and record every inch of your trip. Siphon the gas out and measure it to the last drop while video recording that as well. Bring a lawyer to the counter to cover the agreement.

 

You have rented before.

 

The only important thing is to sign up online for the rental club (enterprise plus?) And enter your credit card and preference info So you can avoid waiting in the hour long line at the counter.

The car classes are usually inflated. I usually choose a compact or standard which are usually right around the same price.

I don't think the brand matters that much. Find the best deal. I like dollar thrifty because their cars are already scratched up so they don't worry about the ones I added.

More than half the cost may be tax. You are funding the new stadium and the rental center. However it's still usually a better deal than renting off airport because the rates are so much lower. If you take frequent flier miles on an airline for your rental, that has its own tax also

 

When it comes to renting a car, aim low and you won’t be disappointed. I wouldn’t get hung up on a particular model because sure as shit they most likely won’t have what you’d prefer. Last time we rented from Enterprise at the Westin on Flamingo we were offered a Kia Soul. Not a bad ride for a one day rental to the Grand Canyon Skywalk. But I did wear dark glasses. It was an improvement from about 14 years ago when I was out there for work and my colleague arranged for the rental: a Plymouth PT Cruiser, a real POS.

Maybe you should check out Silvercar and rent an Audi A4.

 

1. I agree with most of the replies already. Definitely take pictures of the entire car to not any damage. The workers will sometimes say "oh those scratches are not a problem" but sometimes they will be when you return the vehicle. I like the suggestion to pop the hood too. Who knows what is under there

2. Make sure the amount they present you to pay is the same as your confirmation amount. They often will sneak in other charges or say that the amount confirmed was just a quote. Bring a copy or the email confirmation and insist they honor the price. Don't budge, they cannot charge you more. They have tried with me many times and one man even said "It is only $5" to which I said "Then take off the $5 that is being wrongfully charged and then another $5 to show that it is not a big deal".

3. Don't be aggressive or obnoxious. Just stand firm and you will be fine.

4. Call to confirm your credit card will provide insurance coverage so you dont pay for the overpriced and lower coverage from Enterprise. These days, I think nearly all credit cards provide coverage of some sort.

5. You might be offered some discount for an upgrade. In my experience, this is often because they do not have the car you reserved and want you to pay for an upgrade you are about to get for free. It has happened to me and I laughed when the woman said "We are just going to upgrade you anyway" as if she were doing me a favor (it was Payless by the way).

6. No matter how sure you are, go over very inch of the car when you return it. I always find something in the glove compartment or one of the other storage areas that I forgot.

 

Maybe I've just been lucky but I've rented all over the world including some poorer Caribbean countries where the likelihood of being scammed increases and I've never had an issue. I just document everything before I leave but I've never had to film or anything like that.

 

Based on your original post - I think you are renting at home and driving to Vegas, so your experience may depend a lot on how your local rental place operates. If you've got a long trip to and from LV, you should rent a vehicle big enough for you to be comfortable, and feel free to go premium if price is no object. Sometimes on the higher end rentals there are so many bells and whistles built in to the vehicles that you can't even figure out how to turn the radio on, let alone figure out how to use the cruise control. We (two of us) usually just rent for driving around LV, and a mid-size or full size is what we are comfortable in. I've got an Altima a home and frequently the full size option in LV has been a Altima as well, so it's not hard to get familiar with the vehicle. The cost for gas over 4 days is immaterial based on size of the vehicle, so I wouldn't consider that as a factor at all. Biggest concern is whether or not to get the CDW and/or LDW, since they usually make up the largest portion of the cost. (Check this out yourself BEFORE you get to the rental counter and don't be shy about letting them know exactly what you need.) Most of the car company profit and agent bonuses come from how much insurance they can sell. Have a good trip and let us know how it turns out!

 

you don't get to request a specific car unless you're going to pay a lot to request something from their fun collection.

It's your money, but unless you intend to spend a ton of time in the car or you really need to haul 17 bags, I'd aim pretty low on what I rented. Also, if you go with someone other than Enterprise, you could "pick any standard car in the aisle" which often means access to small crossovers and the occasional decent sized sedan. Personally, I like that better than getting stuck with someone's lowest tier compact car.

Gas mileage on basic cars is generally good; they're 4 banger sedans. Don't forget to fill the car up before you return it.

 

he says in the original post
" I'll be heading to Vegas for New Years for 4 nights and wanted to rent a car to get there!

 

I rent about a dozen cars a year, not a lot but more than average.
Never an an issue with "surprises" upon return except with Advantage ( once was enough never again) and Enterprise which I find to be a PITA.
I stick with Avis/Budget and sometimes Hertz or Alamo and everything is fine.
If you have AMEX get the supplemental insurance from them for around 20 bucks for the duration of the rental, it's best deal I've seen.

 

also look to see if you have a credit card that provides this benefit.

 

Some may say that the LDW (limited damage waiver) or CDW (collision damage waiver) is a waste of money, but it does waive your liability if your rental gets damaged. For some it's creates less headaches, then having to deal with the insurance companies if you return the rental with any type of damages and have to deal with all of the red tape involved with filing claims and whatnot. Although, LDW/CDW isn't insurance, so you need to review what type of damages will be waive, since it can vary depending on the rental company.

As for the type of car to choose, I think that's going to depend on your budget, as well as what the rental rates will be during your trip. Unless you pay upfront to get a better rate which some companies are starting to offer, you can usually cancel/change your reservation if you find a better deal later on without incurring any charges.

 

Of all the rental car companies I have rented from, Enterprise is the ONE PLACE that finds the slightest dings and scratches and sought to charge me for them. I hope your experience is better than mine.

 

The last time I rented from enterprise ( and possibly the last) the agent did the pre-rental inspection holding a dollar bill.Asked what it was for and she said they look for scratches that are the length of a dollar.Dont know if that is standard practice at enterprise.

 

It's been several years, since I rented from Enterprise, but they always went through that pre-rental inspection. The last agent that I had told me that if I saw any dents larger than a quarter to let him know so he could log them onto the inspection sheet. Of all the car companies that I've used, they are the only ones who do this pre-rental inspection with the customer. I also stopped renting from Enterprise, since several of my colleague has bad experiences with them similar to what @FABismonte mentioned in his post. If you don't opt into for their LDW/CDW, Enterprise seem to be pretty nit-picky about minor damages unlike some of the other rental companies.

 

Thank you very much everyone!
Yes, I'll be driving from home to Vegas.

I'm going to check to see if my CC will provide insurance coverage. I'm pretty sure they do.
I may use them all if possible: CC Insurance, LDW, and CDW.

I'll definitely take a video around the entire car to document anything. And luckily I do have a car camera in my personal car that I can throw into the rental.
Price is nearly no object so I'll be getting all their "bells and whistles."

 

Most important: Inspect car before leaving the rental agency and be sure EVERY mark, dent, scratch, whatever (check back seat and trunk, too) is marked down on their sheet.
Second important: When you do your final gas fill-up just before return take pics of the car from every angle. This is so that when the next renter bangs up the car, and complains that he got it that way, the rental company can't say the damage was done under your watch.