Buick Rentalcars

[Guest]

Do anyone here know if there's a rentalcompany in the US that has Buick's in their fleet, were are 3 or 4 guys going to Flint for the celebration this summer

Johnny B. Goode

[Guest Reatta1]

Seem to recall that National has GM cars.

[NTX5467]

As a National Car Rental Emerald Isle member, I can say they do have GM cars and BUICKS in their fleet, but it can vary from location to location and even the time of year as to what they have.

Several years ago, Buick partnered with National for their Emerald Isle members to have a access to Regal LS cars with leather, CD players, upgrade suspension, etc. National has also partnered with Pontiac at times too. Most recently, the Buicks down here have included Centurys, some Regals, some LeSabres, and even some Park Avenues in the Luxury section. Similarly, Grand Prix SEs, Grand Prix GTs, Bonnevilles, and Grand Ams too. Sedan DeVilles have also been in the luxury area too. As National and Alamo have merged operations in many areas, their fleet has become more diverse and even has some Saturns and Mopars now. Unfortunately, I don't know of any car rental company that will let you reserve a particular model of car as they typically sell a "size class" of vehicle.

Emerald Isle membership allows renters to choose which car they want from those available in the designated area instead of having the keys to "something" chunked at you by the rental person (gently, of course). Avis also has some GM cars too.

When I got to Indy last summer, about the only larger size car I could find was a Grand Prix SE in a group of Mazdas and Grand Ams. The odds might be better with National, but it's still a crapshoot of sorts to get a GM car specifically.

Hope this helps . . .

NTX5467

[Guest John Chapman]

AVIS has a lot of Buicks in the fleet. I've rented both Centurys and LeSabres all over the US from them. I think they also have some PA/Ultras in the lux fleet.

JMC

[Guest Tom]

In addition to Avis, you might want to try Enterprise. I have rented Park Avenues from them on a couple of occasions.

[Guest COMPACTBC]

I have received the best(lowest)rates from Enterprise and their Service is VERY good as well. They will come and pick you up in your rental car as well as deliver you to the airport in your rental when you are finished. <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />

[NTX5467]

Enterprise can be a viable choice, but I've noticed that their "advertised" rates are for pretty small vehicles and they have been known to try to push their "insurance" on the renters when they can. I got the "hard sell" for a weekend rate on a Neon several years ago and that deal ended up costing me about $100.00 for a weekend rental that would have cost me a good deal less elsewhere. I might be more aware of what other rates are but even with their "shop" rate, they are more expensive for a weekend rental than National or Dollar or others. Yes, I have to drive an hour to the airport locations and such, but I'd rather do that than rent from our local Enterprise franchisee. Yes, they will transport you to their office and such, but I haven't seen that as being a good deal, at least for me. Just my experiences locally.

Key thing is to call the franchisee specifically before you make your rental reservations to see what cars they typically have in the various size classes. These can vary with location to location and even day to day, but there are some general trends--especially if it's a national chain as they generally buy the same types and brands of vehicles each time they turn their fleets. Hertz, for example, might features Ford products, everytime a couple of years ago when I wanted to rent a 4 passenger T-bird (just to check it out), I ended up with Monte Carlos. National might be more inclined to have GM cars, but I've seen Mitsubishis and Nissans there sometimes (even before the combination with Alamo operations in some places).

All things considered, it might be a nice deal to rent a Buick for the Flint activities, but considering how things go, getting a GM car might be an accomplishment in itself.

In the middle '90s, some friends and I were going to the Mopar Nationals in Indy. I flew in on Wednesday and got an Intrepid for a rent car. My associates came in the next day and ended up with a Hyundai sedan (albeit a "full size" class car). They were livid, understandably, as the travel agent had "reserved an Intrepid". I knew that they typically knew when each car was scheduled back into the station so, having done business with these people in prior years, told them to take the car and then I found out when they would have an Intrepid coming back in the next day. I arranged for a car swap to take place for them the next day--same contract rates, just changing cars as if there had been an operational problem with the original car they rented. The station manager at Thrifty was obliging and the swap was made smoothly and everyone was happy.

The station management was careful to state that the return schedule was tentative at best, but from what I suspected it was still the way they planned their reservations and such and that most people had planes to catch so it was probably more accurate than not. Just my experiences and further pointed out that all you are reserving is a class of vehicle instead of a particular vehicle.

Others might have had other experiences with particular rentals and I appreciate that and am just relating my own experiences over the years with rental car activities. I did a lot of weekend rentals when there were more frequent flyer miles to be had with each rental . . .

Enjoy!

NTX5467