 Poster: A snowHead
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Just a warning to others although many of you are probably already aware of this.
I wanted to hire a four wheel drive with winter tyres from Treviso airport. I used Rentalcars.com and booked a four wheel drive via them however couldn’t get winter tyres. After making the booking I checked and found out that the supplier doesn’t have any four wheel drive vehicles. I cancelled the booking and tried again. This time I tried Italianairportguide.com which had four wheel drive and a winter tyres option. Result, made a booking and got exactly what I wanted. After checking with the car provider it turns out they also have no four wheel drive cars and no winter tyres. It also turns out that italianairpirtguide.com is a website belonging to cartrawler.com who have dozens of terrible reviews for scamming customers. I contacted them to cancel the booking and was told that they make it clear that four wheel drive cars and winter tyres are subject to availability. I pointed out that they might as well claim that I will be upgraded to a Rolls Royce if available as the provider does not have any four wheel drive vehicles or winter tyres.
This has all come about because two years ago after booking with Avis and having it in writing I would have a four wheel drive and winter tyres I found out when I went to pick the car up I had neither. It got even better when we arrived at the resort and we’re one hundred yards from our hotel and discovered that the snow chains did not fit.
Back to the drawing board and I will now be booking direct.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Car consolidators don't do due dilligence on the rental cos they only have a view on what rental cos will open for booking.
Which is pretty much everything as they are more than used to the bait and switch or flat out lying to you that a Fiat 500 is a full size family car.
So only by phone with an actual person are you likely to be able to determine which cars a particular location actually has.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Similarly, the Hertz Gold loyalty scheme is free and you get discounts from professional groups, free upgrade if possible and free 2nd driver. I got 20% off Hertz as a member of the Institute of Directors. So it's worth checking if you're a member of anything similar that gets you a car hire discount. When I was working for a multinational, I got discounted rates from our corporate travel agent as a private rental - you just have to be clear that it's not a corporate hire (as this strips off a range of Ts&Cs cover that come with retail rentals). Nevertheless, the savings were substantial (it's all good business for the travel agency).
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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| IainMcT wrote: |
Just a warning to others although many of you are probably already aware of this.
I wanted to hire a four wheel drive with winter tyres from Treviso airport. I used Rentalcars.com and booked a four wheel drive via them however couldn’t get winter tyres. After making the booking I checked and found out that the supplier doesn’t have any four wheel drive vehicles. I cancelled the booking and tried again. This time I tried Italianairportguide.com which had four wheel drive and a winter tyres option. Result, made a booking and got exactly what I wanted. After checking with the car provider it turns out they also have no four wheel drive cars and no winter tyres. It also turns out that italianairpirtguide.com is a website belonging to cartrawler.com who have dozens of terrible reviews for scamming customers. I contacted them to cancel the booking and was told that they make it clear that four wheel drive cars and winter tyres are subject to availability. I pointed out that they might as well claim that I will be upgraded to a Rolls Royce if available as the provider does not have any four wheel drive vehicles or winter tyres.
This has all come about because two years ago after booking with Avis and having it in writing I would have a four wheel drive and winter tyres I found out when I went to pick the car up I had neither. It got even better when we arrived at the resort and we’re one hundred yards from our hotel and discovered that the snow chains did not fit.
Back to the drawing board and I will now be booking direct. |
Sorry to hear that. My strategy is to use Auto Europe (consolidator site) as a price guide, then book through big companies direct, especially in Italy. Actually, I book through Flying Blue and use the FB Amex card, for protection. This year, looking at what's available on the Italian rental car market I think it's basically all Fiat 500Ls or 500Xs, maybe some Tipo station wagons...a few years ago we got an Alfa Romeo Stelvio for something like 450 euros, but very slim pickings right now.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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@IainMcT, subject has been discussed on here several times and no doubt on many other forums and facebook pages. Essentially the whole industry is a fck up and you just have to find the best of a bad lot.
Note: you can argue until the cows come home why that is
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