On a recent work trip I had to rent a car one-way for one-day. I jumped at the one option that was by far the cheapest. However, the car I got wasn’t quite the car I’d reserved.
I’ve rented cars a good number of times, and am used to getting a Nissan Versa or Ford Focus when I reserve a compact (SEE: Why you’re foolish to rent a “standard” car). I’m also prone to some rental car issues…(SEE: The ONE rental car mistake I often make).
More often than not, though, my rentals go smoothly and I tend end up with something a class or two above. This is the first time I’ve been given something smaller.
Picking up my car
When I arrived at the airport, the National car rental counter was pseudo-closed. I’d called to let them know I’d be late, even giving the agent an approximate arrival time. But he was still gone. There wasn’t a sign indicating when he’d be back either, so I just awkwardly stood there for about 10 minutes. There *is* a sign saying they’ll charge you $1,200 if you return your car rented from their location somewhere else without prior authorization.
When I finally got my key and walked to the lot, my first thought was, “man, this thing is tiny.” I’d reserved a compact, which are definitely small, but this had to be the smallest car I’d ever been given. Honestly, when Expedia pulled up a $105 one-way rental to Sacramento, my one and only thought was “BOOK IT!!!!” This was even without using my favorite go-to for rentals (SEE: Using Autoslash to save a ton on your next rental car). The size of the car was an afterthought, but I did notice that I’d reserved a compact.
Wait….you *did* downgrade me!
When I took a look at the contract the next day, I realized that the car class was indeed different than what I’d reserved! It’s written right at the top. The receipt showed the same. I double checked using the class abbreviations.
So apparently the guy at the counter figured he could give me whatever car he wanted and I either wouldn’t care or wouldn’t notice. In this instance, he was right on the first count. I really didn’t care. But I did notice. If he would have told me up front, I would not have balked at the change.
The tin can with wheels he gave got me safely to the Sacramento airport, so all’s well that ends well. The only frustrating issue was not having cruise control, but that is a crapshoot anyway when I reserve a compact, in my experience.
Now…I could call National and ask them for some money back, but given that the rest of the rental went without a hitch and it would probably only net me $5-$10, there isn’t an incentive for me. Honestly, I’d mainly be calling to complain to corporate that their franchise location isn’t being up front with customers.
Conclusion
In this particular situation, I really didn’t care that National downgraded my without explanation. My only use for the car was to transport myself and my bag to the Sacramento Airport. But had I been with my family and with a particular car type reserved, this sort of change could have been a complete deal breaker.
Have you ever had an experience where a car rental company has downgraded you without explanation?
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Dan Miller travels with his wife and 6 (SIX!) children. He loves to help families travel for free / cheap, especially larger families. If you are looking for help, drop him an email at 
Wow you broke so many rules. At least you didn’t rent from enterprise. First always use “your” applicable corporate code that has better one way and local rates. Second rent the intermediate car so you can access the aisle cars and pick your own. Although some locations dont have that feature (thank you very much SLC)
Haha…I think everything is relative. The Enterprise in downtown Eureka is *the* place to rent, in terms of service and quality. We don’t have a lot of options up here. They also just started being open on Sundays, a fact I was not aware of when I booked (and didn’t come up in any searches I did).
Our company only has negotiated rates with National and Enterprise. No other car rental companies. Hertz is my go-to, but they wanted oodles of money for a car. Picking your own is also probably not a real option here, due to the limited stock and the fact that the National is locally owned and a major pain in the neck (did I mention the sign that says “A $1,200 fee will be assessed if any of our cars are returned to another location without prior authorization”?
I am willing to bet that they gave you the car they didn’t want to have on their lot or didn’t care about leaving its stable of vehicles. They don’t like sending “good” cars one-way if they’re going a decent distance, if they can avoid it.
I would have complained. Any other car would have been ok, but if I’m gonna be stuck with a Mirage, I will pay the Mirage rate and not 1 Zimbabwe Dollar more.
Hell, I’d take a Morris Marina with a leaky roof over a Mirage.
That stinks. My guess, they wanted to get that vehicle off their books and at another location. I had to drive SFO to LAX once when the Asiana crash happened at SFO and my flight was cancelled and United said they couldn’t get me home for 3 days. I was happy to get any car, so when Enterprise gave me a Versa I wasn’t surprised and I took it. Then I actually got in it and saw it had like 35k miles on it. I am convinced they wanted to get it out of their rotation so they gave it to me so it would be at LAX.