LGB Long Beach Midsize Hertz

[jaybone9]

Through Hotwire, I managed to book a midsize for $16.95/day at Hertz, Long Beach Airport. Total came to $157.74 for 7 days. No complaints here so far. $16.95 seemed to be the steady hot rate for the last 2 days and noticed it went up a $1 after I booked. Next best deal I could find elsewhere was in the $230-$250 range.

Now I'm hoping all works out at the check-out counter.

Jay

**EDIT: (typo in title) dates - 9/26/10 to 8/3/10

[thereuare]

Congratulations on your success!

Looks like a nice deal vs. a conventional booking. Can you confirm the dates are Sept 26-Oct 3?

Thank you for sharing your win with the board.

Please use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases.

Enjoy your stay.

[jaybone9]

oops...must have been half a sleep when posting. thanks for fixing the date in the title.

and yes, the dates are 9/26/10 to 10/3/10

[yellowdog]

jaybone9

Thanx for the follow-up!

Drive safe.

Yellowdog.

[jaybone9]

This is my first time ever using Hotwire. Here's my post-booking car rental experience with Hotwire/Hertz LGB.

LGB was a great little airport. Nice alternative to the crazy crowded LAX. So I arrived at the Long Beach Hertz car rental with absolutely no line up. The agent that helped me was very pleasant and hassle free with my Hotwire booking. However initially he didn't offer or suggest options to what I was entitled to, which was a midsized sedan (Mazda6 or equivilant) as stated in my Hotwire itinerary. Instead, the agent went right ahead and processed a Nissan Versa which is I know for a fact is a compact vehicle (I know because my gf owns one). Shortly after, he tried to upsell me a convertable, which I kindly refused.

Being timid and shy, I accepted the Versa and proceeded to the parking lot. As I was walking along, I knew in my mind that I wasn't satified and that I knew I paid for a bigger car. I told my gf who was waiting outside and she too questioned why we got a compact? Low and behold what do we see next to the Versa? A Mazda3 and a Mazda6. Hmm... At this point, I knew I had to put some assertiveness to work. I went back to see the same agent and politely questioned why we got a Versa in the first place and asked why we didn't get a Mazda6 seeing as there was one in the parking lot. He explained that the "newer" Mazda6's were bigger and were for Hertz Gold Members, and that they were no longer a midsize as stated on Hotwire. Hmm, BS maybe? who knows? But being the non-confrontational type, I didn't want to create or cause any problems. I took his word for it, but did say that I paid for a midsize car would would like to get what I'm entitled to. So I told him that I wouldn't accept the Versa asked for the Mazda3 and nothing less. Sure enough, he was good about it and gladly changed the car for me.

During the course of the trip, the Mazda3 was a great clean car with lots of space and served it's purpose. It also helped to have a car with a little more pep, espsecially when driving on those California freeways. So what did I learn from about the Hertz experience? Not to settle for less and to be assertive. But in the end, I realized that the price I paid still justified the best value out there thanks to Hotwire. :)

Would I use Hotwire again? Yes I would, but next time if I want to ensure a bigger car, I'll skip out on the midsize category and go straight for a standard or fullsize vehicle that way there'll be no confusion, if's and's or but's. It just seems that the midsize category can be a potential hit or miss.

Anyways, sorry for the long post. I know that the services provided by the rental company's have nothing to do with Hotwire. So whether the in-depth Hertz experience was relevant or not, I just wanted to share my overall positive experience with everyone. Thumbs up for Hotwire and for saving me money! I look forward to using them again in the future.

Happy deal searching to everyone,

Jaybone9 :)

[thereuare]

Glad to hear it all worked out... i bet you enjoyed the shorter security lines at LGB vs. LAX too :)