That's not the car I ordered!

[Skyring]

I'm a little bit nettled about Netflights. I booked a Mustang in Boston next month for a week's jaunt to Chicago via Ottawa. A Mustang convertible or similar, according to the booking page. I checked my booking the other day, and the voucher PDF is only half there, though it gives the important information. what worries me is that the Thrifty reservation, when I plug in the booking number is for "Chrysler Sebring convertible or similar".

Now, I don't particularly want a convertible. I want a Mustang. The current model Mustang gets favourable reviews, and I figure it would be a pleasant, sporty, fun ride.

The Sebring, convertible or coupe, is universally detested. The only people saying nice things about it are Chrysler. Top Gear calls it the worst car in the world. It has horrible fuel efficiency - turning petrol into noise - and the interior fittings are cough. Nothing at all sporty about it, wallowing along the road.

I'm afraid I'm going to turn up at BOS, ask for my car, and they are going to hand me the keys to a Sebring and I am going to thumk them back down on the counter and ask for something better. Like. Anything.

Last October I ordered a Chrysler 300C Touring, the luxo edition of the 300C. I turned up at Midway and they pointed me at a Chevy Suburban. A very nice new top of the range Suburban, to be sure, but I wasn't about to drive around in truck. I protested, they said take your pick of the cars on the ready line, and lacking a Mustang, I chose a lower-spec 300C. Which turned out to be a fun ride, even if it lacked the power of the V8 and a few bells and whistles.

I'm a bit annoyed at Netflights for being absolutely uncontactable about this and for giving me what looks like a bait and switch run.

Then again, the price is hard to beat, so I guess I'll be happy with whatever I get, so long as it isn't a Sebring.

 

[drron]

I have booked a Mustang on line on several occasions.With Hertz I have generally got a Ford Taurus.Apart from being made by Ford and having 4 wheels i have never received an answer on how it is "similiar".
And Thrifty does have the Sebring and as far as i am aware not the Mustang.
The only time I got "similiar"was in the days before the net and got a bright red old Thunderbird from Avis.Turned heads though.

 

[Dave Noble]

I have booked a Mustang on line on several occasions.With Hertz I have generally got a Ford Taurus.Apart from being made by Ford and having 4 wheels i have never received an answer on how it is "similiar".

They are similar in that they are the same class of car

Dave

 

[ejb]

They are similar in that they are the same class of car

Dave

If I had a Mustang and you has a Taurus I would not swap with you so I fail to see how they are similar.

Just because a Astra Convertable and BMW M3 convertable both have soft tops does not make them similar.

Just my thoughts.

ejb

 

[Dave Noble]

If I had a Mustang and you has a Taurus I would not swap with you so I fail to see how they are similar.

As far as the Hertz reservation system goes, a booking is made for a Class of car ( such as F ). Any car in that group would be classed as similar. As far as it goes, if you had a mustang and I had a taurus, I wouldnt swap either but if they are both the same class then they are similar

 

[ejb]

As far as the Hertz reservation system goes, a booking is made for a Class of car ( such as F ). Any car in that group would be classed as similar. As far as it goes, if you had a mustang and I had a taurus, I wouldnt swap either but if they are both the same class then they are similar

I do think however that car rental companies should employ better car classes as they do seem to stretch the imagination a lot.

ejb

 

[Skyring]

As far as the Hertz reservation system goes, a booking is made for a Class of car ( such as F ). Any car in that group would be classed as similar. As far as it goes, if you had a mustang and I had a taurus, I wouldnt swap either but if they are both the same class then they are similar

Mmmmm, same class, I think (say) Commodore and Falcon, Statesman and Fairlane. Substituting a monster SUV for a luxury Chrysler 300C was bizarre, and saying a Sebring is in the same class as a Mustang is pushing things a little too far. It's like sitting down at the four-star restaurant and being given a Big Mac.

American cars are bad enough without the rental companies buying up the absolute worst to fob off on the customers. If US carmakers didn't have the huge captive market, seduced by the giant flags into buying American, they'd go bust.

Oh, wait. They did.

I've gone back to Netflights and printed out everything I can find on cars available. Pretty much everything Thrifty has is in a lower-priced class than the Sebring/Mustang so I guess if they don't have a Mustang and give me a Sebring I can take my pick of the line-up again.

One odd thing is that the relocation charge is more than the week's rental, so it's not the bargain it seems. Still, it's a lot cheaper than the "rack rate" the Thrifty website quotes.

 

[UP4014]

Did you book directly with a car rental company? (they will help if they can and seeing a booking for a specific model helps them plan, booking via third parties for a group F car does not)

 

[Skyring]

Did you book directly with a car rental company? (they will help if they can and seeing a booking for a specific model helps them plan, booking via third parties for a group F car does not)

Netflights is a UK-based subsidiary of Thomas Cook, rather than a rental company. Indeed car rentals is just one of Netflights' sidelines.

The advantage is the excellent prices they offer, including insurance, compared to dealing directly with (say) Thrifty.

I'm just annoyed with Netflights for advertising the car class as Mustang or similar, where Thrifty does a more honest description of Sebring or similar. I thought by booking a Mustang with netflights I'd specifically excluded the Sebring class, but this turned out not to be say.

I may end up getting a Mustang, but I'm no longer sanguine.

 

[Will]

Hertz offers a 'fun collection' (or something like that) with the actual car model guaranteed, not just a class. That's how I made sure I got a Mustang convertible in Key West

 

[markis10]

Hertz offers a 'fun collection' (or something like that) with the actual car model guaranteed, not just a class. That's how I made sure I got a Mustang convertible in Key West

I thought their fun collection was a Yaris, because its fun to book it and never actually get one

 

[Will]

I thought their fun collection was a Yaris, because its fun to book it and never actually get one

But if you actually end up with a Yaris, your holiday may be ruined.

 

[drron]

They are similar in that they are the same class of car

Dave

That has been the case on 2 occasions.On a couple more occasions the Taurus was an"upgrade".This was because the Taurus was a fullsize,the mustang a standard.On one occasion there were at least a dozen Mustangs in the yard but they refused to allow me to refuse the "upgrade".More recently though the Mustang was listed at a higher price than the Taurus.
However on the last 2 occasions in the US Hertz have given me a standard car instead of a fullsize-and guess what the mustang is no longer a standard car.(nor a full size-it is now in the Fun collection).

 

[AdMEL]

Skyring, what car did you end up receiving? Was it the car initially offered?

 

[Skyring]

I actually ended up getting a Volkswagen Golf (instead of the Ford Focus listed) when that pesky volcano made getting across the Atlantic impossible.

My flight was shifted six days, which pretty much ruled out the American roadtrip planned. Instead we gave a lift to a mate, driving him from Amsterdam to Switzerland, along with a couple of Americans likewise stranded. Fitting five people and lots of luggage into a Golf was interesting, especially when illegally parked on a central Amsterdam footpath, but we all had a grand time.

We hired a car (again through Netflights) in Chicago for an abbreviated trip. Instead of the Dodge Charger requested, I got something called a Ford Echo, which turned out to be more of a truck than a coupe.

The GPS had a bit of trouble picking up satellites amongst the skyscrapers, directing us through some rather dodgy neighbourhoods in a Bonfire of the Vanities moment, where the only other white person visible was riding as a passenger in a snow-white Bentley coupe with Florida plates.

 

[Fantic125]

The Sebring, convertible or coupe, is universally detested. The only people saying nice things about it are Chrysler. Top Gear calls it the worst car in the world. It has horrible fuel efficiency - turning petrol into noise - and the interior fittings are cough. Nothing at all sporty about it, wallowing along the road.

I hired a very new Sebring (<2,000 miles) last month for a few days in Cleveland Ohio, and was actually surprised by the quality and comfort of the vehicle. I picked up a Dodge Caliber today from Tampa Airport and so far have found it similar in build quality to the Sebring. A few cheap bits and pieces, but overall, not too bad.

Unfortunately in AU they try to market them as a 'premium' brand, which they're not. Both vehicles are built to price, and for value for money, my initial impression is that both are pretty good compared to the cough the US were pumping out a few years ago.

(FYI, >25 years in quality control/quality assurance in the automotive industry, so I have an understanding of industry expectations, which does not always align with consumer expectations...)

 

[chrisb]

I think this fairly much sums it up...

 

[docjames]

Gold.

10chrmin

 

[Simo]

I was in CBR a few months ago and I booked a Commodore type vehicle(DOn't care if I end up with a Falcon either)....

They upgraded me to a Prius.

I protested loudly and said that is not an upgrade as I booked a commodore class vehicle because I had to pick up 4 other people tonight and do blah blah and said too small.

The girl said a few times but Sir you have been upgraded.

I informed her a Calais is an upgrade a Prius is a downgraded.

 

[straitman]

I was in CBR a few months ago and I booked a Commodore type vehicle(DOn't care if I end up with a Falcon either)....

They upgraded me to a Prius.

I protested loudly and said that is not an upgrade as I booked a commodore class vehicle because I had to pick up 4 other people tonight and do blah blah and said too small.

The girl said a few times but Sir you have been upgraded.

I informed her a Calais is an upgrade a Prius is a downgraded.

.... and the company was?