25.5 hour car hire

[turnip666]

Hi all,

Long time lurker, ect.....

I usually take cabs on my regular trips to NQ, but this time I have a few appointments and a hire car would be cheaper.

However I arrive at about 11.45 and depart at 2 pm. Now arriving a bit early on departure means about 25 hours car hire. Entering correct arrv and dep times in the booking engine gives a two day hire charge, which is against my religion.

Will they notice my "late arrival" and charge extra if I just drop it back at 1pm? I would normally go with Hertz, but have nothing locking me in except QFF points.

Cheers

 

[futaris]

Check the T&Cs. Usually every hour late (past the initial 24hrs) is costs an extra 1/3 of a day's rate.

 

[ejb]

Depends on who you are hiring from but I have, when hiring from Avis, noticed that they are a little flexible, normally within 1-2 hours they don't charge.

YMMV

ejb

 

[markis10]

Have you thought about grabbing a cab/bus into town to your hotel at that time, checking in then walking to the Hertz office in town and picking up a car, saves you two days hire and the airport surcharge.

If you are leaving at 2, maybe book a pickup at 1PM the day before from the airport as an alternative, by the time you get of the plane and grab the bags you wont be far off!

 

[Homer]

Realistically you won't be jumping into the car until around 12pm, at best, and both Avis and Hertz allow 24 hours and 59 minutes in their daily rate so I'd be booking a 12pm pickup with a 12:59pm return or variations of this theme.

 

[AdMEL]

Realistically you won't be jumping into the car until around 12pm, at best, and both Avis and Hertz allow 24 hours and 59 minutes in their daily rate so I'd be booking a 12pm pickup with a 12:59pm return or variations of this theme.

Just be aware that if you arrive 1 minute late (i.e. 25 hours 0 min.) and you get a rep who is inflexible or having a bad day, Hertz will charge an extra day anyway, whereas Avis will only charge 1/3 of a day. In my experience, both Hertz and Avis are usually pretty flexible with this, but it does depend on the location (I think corporate locations tend to be less rigid) and the person you deal with on the day.

For further info, I don't think Europcar or Thrifty have a grace period (they both charge 1/3 daily rate per hour for the first three hours then the daily rate).

 

[markis10]

The extra hour is given to Avis Preferred and Hertz 5 star renters only AFAIK, both of which are free to join.

 

[Travel Guru]

Perhaps try Europcar, from memory they tend to quote you for X day/s plus X hours if you're just over.

TG

 

[sr81]

The extra hour is given to Avis Preferred and Hertz 5 star renters only AFAIK, both of which are free to join.

Not just for 5 Star but for #1 Gold Members. 5 Star membership comes from renting 10 or more times in a year and this isn't free to join but #1 Gold is.

I have found Hertz flexible but I would still try and aim for a 24 hour hire.

 

[markis10]

Woops, meant #1 Club Gold!

 

[swylie]

I've used the 59 minute grace period with Hertz before I was a #1 Club member (of any type) - so unless they've changed the rules, the 59 min grace period should apply.

Just book for 24 hours, then you have the extra 59min up your sleeve.

Sometimes when I run < 2 hrs over a day, Hertz charges me 1 or 2 hours, other times an extra day - perhaps you could sweet talk the attendant if you pass the 59 min grace period.

 

[Mal]

I've used the 59 minute grace period with Hertz before I was a #1 Club member (of any type) - so unless they've changed the rules, the 59 min grace period should apply.

I thought Hertz changed the grace period to 30 minutes. Can't find evidence of that to be completely sure though.

Individual depots may have their own policies on when they charge.

For the OP, the suggestion to get a taxi to the hotel, settle then pick up a car is a good one and will easily save quite a bit (as well as avoiding any airport surcharges).

 

[swylie]

Good point Mal - the rules may well differ per location, and could have changed since I last used the grace period. The OP may have some luck calling the location and asking them.

 

[markis10]

I thought Hertz changed the grace period to 30 minutes. Can't find evidence of that to be completely sure though.

It varies by country, 60 mins in NZ but seems to have none for Aust.

https://www.hertz.com.au/rentacar/emember/join/gold/displayTermsAndConditions.do

 

[rwatts]

It varies by country, 60 mins in NZ but seems to have none for Aust.

https://www.hertz.com.au/rentacar/emember/join/gold/displayTermsAndConditions.do

Well it depends who you are - my department's conditions with Hertz provides for a grace period of 59 minutes. Between 1 hour and 1 hour 59 minutes a charge of half the daily rate applies and after that a full day is charged. Whether that happens automatically with the CDP used or whether one has to remind the rental agent I don't know.

Richard.

 

[markis10]

Well it depends who you are - my department's conditions with Hertz provides for a grace period of 59 minutes. Between 1 hour and 1 hour 59 minutes a charge of half the daily rate applies and after that a full day is charged. Whether that happens automatically with the CDP used or whether one has to remind the rental agent I don't know.

Richard.

It sure does, the discussion was around the built in grace period for #1 club members irrespective of CDP conditions.

 

[rwatts]

It sure does, the discussion was around the built in grace period for #1 club members irrespective of CDP conditions.

Fair enough. Although a #1 member (and just about everyone at work is), its really only useful to us for collection convenience - all our other conditions are covered by the departmental agreement.

Richard.