Hertz Rental Car Review

Recently I had to drop my car off for collision repair which was scheduled to take about a week. During this time, I got a rental car on site from Hertz. Registration was pretty easy. As expected they needed the basics such as drivers license and a credit card on file. They put a $50 pending charge on the credit card which I would find out later why they do this.

I got one of the basic cars, a late model Nissan Versa hatchback. The car was decent and easy to drive. One interesting thing about it is that it came included with a Hertz navigation system. It was not built into the dash, but more permanently attached as an add on. It turns on when you start the car. Personally I did not use it, but it is a nice feature to have, although I would have liked to have the option to hide it away in the glove compartment so it is not out on display.

Another interesting thing is apparently the navigation has a camera. I did some research and it looks like Hertz is starting to integrate cameras into their cars. It is not clear if they are active right now, but it kind of makes you feel like you are being watched. I could see how that might be a privacy concern.

During the week I did not drive the car much and only ended up using about 1 gallon of fuel. They tell you to fill the tank before you drop it off so you do not have to pay a charge for the refueling. I stopped to fuel it up on the way there, but the gas station was packed and every pump was taken. I waited for a few minutes but it was so crowded and I was more concerned with returning the car safely rather than hanging around in a crowded gas station with cards weaving in an out, so I decided to just take it back without topping it off.

It was near the end of the work day so they did not have anyone at the desk but I was able to drop off the keys. Even though the tank was nearly full, I did get charged for about 1 gallon. They charge nearly $10 a gallon which I think is kind of unreasonable considering gas is only about $2.50 per gallon at the moment. I can understand if they charge a fee for the fill up, but that kind of mark up seems a little outrageous. Note, this is one of the reasons they ask for your credit card ahead of time.

In the end, the rental car was covered by insurance so that was good. Overall the Hertz rental car experience was ok and I would recommend them if you are looking to rent a car, but make sure you are able to fill up the tank before dropping it off otherwise you will end up paying the inflated price on the gas.