Prepay for gas for rental car. What's the scam?

[Paul_Heery]

We arrived at the Fort Myers airport yesterday. While we were picking up our rental car, the agent at the desk pushed hard for us to prepay for them to top off the tank when we return the car. The rate that they would charge was about 10 cents per gallon less than the average street price in this area according to gas buddy.

Not knowing what they are up to, I declined. I actually had to decline about 5 times as he was insisting that I should 'take advantage' of such a great deal. That made me even more leery.

I am trying to figure out why they are pushing this so hard. I can only think of two things. Either they plan to charge for more gallons then they actually put in the car upon return. Or they are betting gas prices will drop dramatically in the next 10 days.

Anyone have any idea what the rental car company is up to? It is Alamo BTW.

[Porchdog]

You prepay for a full tank - every drop of capacity.

Every gallon still in the car when you return it is money out of your pocket. They've been running this scam for over a decade.

I used to travel a lot. I'm pretty sure it's a conspiracy with the rental car companies that there are so few gas stations near most airports. Those that are near airports have sky high prices.

I also always get a reciept when I fill a rental. I've had the rental car companies dispute that I returned it full - Sometimes by tacking a charge on my credit card after I have left.

[stomachmonkey]

The counter people are "incentivised" to upsell.

With the gas as noted you pay for what you don't use.

Was out of town this weekend and had a rental car.

Declined every upsell.

Then she asked "do you want the premium coverage for $60 per day or just the standard coverage?"

Standard is fine.

Reviewing the bill and there is an extra $30 a day tacked on for the standard coverage.

Told her to remove it and that I did not appreciate the deceptive manner in which she presented that option.

[jcommin]

Unless you expect to use every gallon and are late to depart and don't have time to re-fuel, it is ok. I have done it but that is the exception. I travel allot and I think I have used that service once or twice. Both times, I was in a pinch.

[911SauCy]

Paul, this is funny as I was heckled extra hard, this past March, at the Ft Meyers airport for the same thing.

It's a, you pay for a full tank now thing, like Porchdog said. In their pushing the "value" I'm sure they have data confirming that most renters don't use a full tank and it's almost always $ in their pocket.

[onewhippedpuppy]

Even if you return your car partly empty and have them fill it at a higher rate, it's still cheaper than pre-paying for an entire tank.

[gshase]

If you come back with a 1/2 tank and say it holds 12 gallons.......if they fill it up or not the next renter is charged @ 1/2 at the least and you just bought 6 gallons of gas that will never be used.

[dave 911]

We rented a car for Thanksgiving travel, and Hertz tried this on me also (I declined). The car they gave us was 1/2 full, so I had to return it half full....which also seems like a bit of a 'scam', as it's difficult to know when you have filled the tank to 1/2, and you want to err on the high side vs. run the risk of them claiming it was less than 1/2 full. I ended up turning it in w/ a little more than 5/8's, which is just a couple of gallons more, but if they do this w/ many customers, again, they are making money off of us....

On the plus side, they didn't have the subcompact SUV we reserved, so we were given a brand new minivan at the same rate...so overall I'm not complaining, because it was a more comfortable ride than we would have had ....

[wdfifteen]

The last time I rented a car the deal was you buy 10 gallons up front from them at about 10 cents lower than the going rate and bring it back empty. If you don't pay and it isn't full, you pay them the going rate +about a dollar. The car was a VW Golf, which doesn't have much more than a 10 gallon tank, so the deal sucked. Still, I brought it back with 7/8 of a tank and got dinged for $16 worth of gas.
Consumers have beaten the cost of any kind of travel down so low that even formerly reputable companies are destroying their credibility to make a buck. Just booked a flight on United and they wanted an extra $25 to check THE FIRST bag.

[stomachmonkey]

Originally Posted by wdfifteen

...Just booked a flight on United and they wanted an extra $25 to check THE FIRST bag.

Try living in Dallas where 90% of your flight options are AA. They charge for every checked bag and an additional fee if the bag weighs more than 50 pounds.

The one that really chaps my ass lately is the "desirable seat" up charge. Aisle seats cost extra as well as some other seats with extra legroom like exit rows that also recline.

What bugs me about it is when we go places I often fly in later than the wife and kids or leave earlier than them.

Which means when it's just the 3 of them the only way for my wife to sit with our children is to pay extra for one of the seats.

There should be an exception for parents flying with minors.

[legion]

I have stopped flying unless my boss absolutely demands it and do not fly personally, ever. I drive my own vehicle everywhere whenever possible. Between having to consent to be molested at the airport, having all of my belongings searched, and the games the airlines, hotels, and rental car companies play, I can no longer stomach flying. Even when gas is $4 a gallon, it usually ends up being much cheaper and less of a hassle, it just takes more time.

[porsche4life]

Originally Posted by stomachmonkey

Try living in Dallas where 90% of your flight options are AA. They charge for every checked bag and an additional fee if the bag weighs more than 50 pounds.

The one that really chaps my ass lately is the "desirable seat" up charge. Aisle seats cost extra as well as some other seats with extra legroom like exit rows that also recline.

What bugs me about it is when we go places I often fly in later than the wife and kids or leave earlier than them.

Which means when it's just the 3 of them the only way for my wife to sit with our children is to pay extra for one of the seats.

There should be an exception for parents flying with minors.

Lots of SW flights out of Dallas, depending on where you are going.

[stomachmonkey]

Originally Posted by porsche4life

Lots of SW flights out of Dallas, depending on where you are going.

They are all out of Love Field which is an additional 20 minutes of driving each way.

Not the greatest area either.

And until the Wright Amendment was finally lifted last month non stop flights to anywhere I needed to go were non existent.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wright_Amendment

SW are building out non stop routes now but what I need is not available yet.

[sammyg2]

It make sense if when you pull up to return the car, it sputters and stalls because it just ran out of gas.

[nostatic]

Originally Posted by legion

I have stopped flying unless my boss absolutely demands it and do not fly personally, ever.

^^^ this

I travel for work if there is a gun to my head. I'm now scheduling IPRs at our location, which actually proves to be an easy sell to east coast people in the winter (we're 10 min from LAX and 5 min from the ocean ). My wife heads to HK and Malaysia for xmas with her siblings - I'm staying home. I also was supposed to do a keynote at a conference in Australia next June that I passed to a colleague. Love the idea of visiting Aus/NZ, hate the reality of it.

As for rental cars, I decline everything. My work travel card has insurance. I deal with the gas.

One interesting side note. My son's Ford has the typical startup chime. I find that I actually get a bit of an anxiety reaction when the car starts - my mind thinks I'm on work travel (most of the rentals end up being Fords). Yes, I hate traveling that much...

[stomachmonkey]

Why travel if you don't have to.

I have clients in 5 time zones and Skype on my desktop, laptop, tablet and cell phone.

I'm way more productive sitting around in my pajamas all day getting work done while conferencing with people.

Can't tell you how many conference calls I've taken while grocery shopping.

So much more efficient.

[Hugh R]

The only time I did it was last week in Brisbane, AU, right hand drive car, lots of rain, and totally unfamiliar city to me. I brought it back with about 1/8 of a tank. Company paid for it anyway.

[fintstone]

I use Hertz. I don't know if it is because I am in the "Gold Club" or if it is the same for everyone, but for my last few trips, they have been offering a better deal. You sign up for the low price prepaid option...but if you bring it back full, they drop the charge. I was skeptical and made them repeat themselves several time to ensure I understood before I left. It is exactly how it worked. I filled up as usual and paid nothing.

[Bill Douglas]

Originally Posted by nostatic

Love the idea of visiting Aus/NZ, hate the reality of it.

You what?

Us Kiwi/Aussies had it all planned for you. Free loan car, the best pinot noirs in the world/jazz/guns/trout/king prawns on BBQ...

[sammyg2]

Originally Posted by Bill Douglas

You what?

Us Kiwi/Aussies had it all planned for you. Free loan car, the best pinot noirs in the world/jazz/guns/trout/king prawns on BBQ...

I think what he is trying to say is, you guys talk funny.