leland@joevax.UUCP (Lee Woodbury) (09/12/85)
Friends and fellow travellers,
This is a topic which has probably been batted around in
net.travel before, but do net people have some information about
good -- dare I say, even *special* -- car rental companies?
I don't think I'm talking about #1, #2, or even #3.
A national (note I said "national" not "National")
car rental company would be nice, although since I'm basically a
selfish person, I'd settle for information about companies in the
New York metropolitan area.
Aside from the obvious desirables (like reasonable prices, convenience,
availability, etc.), I'm looking for a few special features that I
haven't yet found anywhere. Specifically:
- Availability of cars with manual transmission. I assume the
reason that this is rare (if not non-existent) is that a significant
part of the population doesn't know how to drive a stick, but
there must be somebody who has 'em.
- Some control over getting particular models. For instance,
I drive a Toyota Corolla at home, and I like it a lot and I like
it a *lot* better than any of the crap that Avis et.al. dish out.
Now I know that Avis, for instance, will take *requests* for
a particular model (and the Corolla is among their available
cars), but under no obligation to honor those requests; I haven't
hit yet.
- Cars in good repair! I'm so sick of getting dogs.
- Anything else?
Well, what about it, folks? Any recommendations? Thanks in advance
for any information you can offer. Feel free to mail to me,
but please post your response if you think it's of general interest.
--
Lee Woodbury
Bell Communications Research (Bellcore)
435 South Street, MRE 2D-290
Morristown, NJ 07960
201-829-4535
..!{allegra,ihnp4}!bellcore!joevax!lelandcb@hlwpc.UUCP (Carl Blesch) (09/16/85)
> Friends and fellow travellers, > > This is a topic which has probably been batted around in > net.travel before, but do net people have some information about > good -- dare I say, even *special* -- car rental companies? . . . > Aside from the obvious desirables (like reasonable prices, convenience, > availability, etc.), I'm looking for a few special features that I > haven't yet found anywhere. Specifically: > > - Availability of cars with manual transmission. I assume the > reason that this is rare (if not non-existent) is that a significant > part of the population doesn't know how to drive a stick, but > there must be somebody who has 'em. In the past, I have asked for manual transmissions, but as you note, they are as scarce as hen's teeth. Imagine my surprise when last week, an Avis agent in Boston asked me if I could drive a five-speed, and if so, would I like to rent one! I said, "sure"! I told him how I had given up asking for stick-shifts, because it's usually a futile request. He said that they get a lot of foreigners renting cars at his location, and these foreigners don't know how to drive all-American automatics! He also explained that the reason most rental places don't stock manuals is because people rent them to LEARN how to drive a stick, and they chew up a lot of clutches and gears in the process! Carl Blesch
prem@eagle.UUCP (Swami Devanbu) (09/17/85)
I have usually found that Honda/Toyota dealerships are great places to rent a manual transmission, small, well maintained car at excellent rates. Just find a phone book for the area you will be at (libraries, or your local phone company, or even your local Honda dealership should be able to give you some phone numbers). Make some phone calls, and you're set. I've had very good luck with this. Depending on my needs, I like a late model Accord, or a Toyota Wagon. AVIS/National corporate rates (No insuarance necessary if on business) are usually unbeatable. Prem Devanbu
ajs@hpfcla.UUCP (09/19/85)
> - Availability of cars with manual transmission. I assume the > reason that this is rare (if not non-existent) is that a significant > part of the population doesn't know how to drive a stick, but > there must be somebody who has 'em. Some do have a few. Watch out for the bait-and-switch scam, though. Say you reserve a stick shift vehicle XXX, but when you arrive they tell you "sorry, we don't have one on the lot, you'll have to take YYY instead". The catch is that YYY costs $ZZZ more. This happened to me, but I got the XXX rental rate by being insistent. When pressed, the clerk admitted that the agency got far more reservations for the smaller vehicle (due to the lower price) than they actually had available. Classic bait-and-switch. Alan Silverstein
wcs@ho95e.UUCP (Bill.Stewart.4K435.x0705) (09/19/85)
... > In the past, I have asked for manual transmissions, but as you note, > they are as scarce as hen's teeth. Imagine my surprise when last week, > an Avis agent in Boston asked me if I could drive a five-speed, and if so, > would I like to rent one! I said, "sure"! > I told him how I had given up asking for stick-shifts, > because it's usually a futile request. He said that > they get a lot of foreigners renting cars at his location, > and these foreigners don't know how to drive all-American automatics! > He also explained that the reason most rental places don't stock manuals > is because people rent them to LEARN how to drive a stick, > and they chew up a lot of clutches and gears in the process! > > Carl Blesch I once rented an Avis car at O'Hare. They asked if I minded a stick, and I replied with my normal "No problem, it's *your* clutch." When I returned the car, they attempted to charge my $51/day+$51c/mile for it (a Chevette!), including $5 for "extra equipment" - the manual transmission. (This wasn't the ONE time that Avis actually charged me the amount on the contract.) Rental cars in Hawaii are almost all subcompacts, and about half of them are manual transmission. Partly this is economics, partly it's the large percentage of Japanese tourists. -- ## Bill Stewart, AT&T Bell Labs, Holmdel NJ 1-201-949-0705 ihnp4!ho95c!wcs