Car Rental Question

[chlobo]

I stupidly booked a Hotwire "Hot Rate" for a car on a trip I'm taking. It turns out that I need a bigger car but the reservation isn't modifiable at the moment.

They said that I could upgrade when I get there. This is through Thrifty Rent A Car:

1. Do you think there will actually be bigger cars available?

2. Do you think there will be a huge charge (much bigger than if I booked the larger car ahead of time) upgrading at the counter? They can't tell me a rate because "its subject to change".

Thanks in advance for any thoughts.

[SnuggleBuggles]

Have you reached out to that Thrifty location directly? That’s your best bet. I haven’t booked 3rd Party (except Costco) so you might be limited but I’d talk to a human in that exact location, not the 800 number.


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[khm]

I stupidly booked a Hotwire "Hot Rate" for a car on a trip I'm taking. It turns out that I need a bigger car but the reservation isn't modifiable at the moment.

They said that I could upgrade when I get there. This is through Thrifty Rent A Car:

1. Do you think there will actually be bigger cars available?

2. Do you think there will be a huge charge (much bigger than if I booked the larger car ahead of time) upgrading at the counter? They can't tell me a rate because "its subject to change".

Thanks in advance for any thoughts.

I'm sure it varies by location, but whenever we pick up a rental, we usually end up with a larger car than we ordered. (ie, a larger sedan than we paid for or a mid-size SUV when we ordered a mid-size sedan). So, you might luck out. Last trip to Florida, I stood in line and watched person after person get offered something larger than the Jettas they paid for.

If you are needing something more unusual, like a minivan or a Large SUV you might be out of luck though. But just a "regular" rental type vehicle (Camry, Nissan SUV), you might be OK as-is. Are you going someplace touristy? I'm sure that would help as they'd have more big stuff for tourist travel, etc.

I would think you'd just pay the difference for the larger car. They might sniff because you are a "HotRate", but in the end I'm sure they'll get you whatever they have for the difference in price. Check on Thrify for a few days and see what the level of car you need is going for if you were trying to rent it same day, you'll get an idea how much the difference should be.

[mom2binsd]

It really depends what they have at their lot, sometimes due to an event etc, they are low on cars sometimes they have extra, it's hard to say really. If you are arriving late on Friday at an airport, you may be out of luck. Try to reach out to the actual location, and see what they tell you.

[chlobo]

Thanks everyone. I will reach out directly. I'm renting at the Phoenix airport and arriving at 9am.