5 Things I Loved About Silvercar

I have read about other people’s experiences with Silvercar and had been looking forward to an opportunity to try them at some point. The time finally came and I walked away from my Silvercar Audi with 5 things I loved about Silvercar! Yes, I know I am late to the Silvercar party! This was my first chance to give them a whirl.

5 Things I Loved About Silvercar

For those that are not familiar with Silvercar, they are a car rental company that keeps things very simple for the customer. This includes one kind of car across their locations – the silver Audi A4. They are currently in 14 cities so there is a chance they will be where you will be at some point!

• Austin, Texas
• Brooklyn, NY
• Chicago, IL
• Dallas Love Field, TX
• Dallas/Ft. Worth, TX
• Denver, CO
• Ft. Lauderdale, FL
• Las Vegas, NV
• Los Angeles, CA
• Miami, FL
• Manhattan, NY
• Newark, NJ (starting May 9)
• Phoenix, AZ
• San Francisco, CA

The Silvercar model is clearly something that keeps it simple for the end-user – and I loved that! Here are 5 things that I loved about Silvercar overall.

If you would like to try Silvercar, there is a 15% discount you can use through September 30 – FTUNI15. Also, you can sign up here and use my referral code –GWBRFHTA – to get $25 cash after completing your first rental. I will receive $50 if you use that – thanks!

Fair Fuel Plan

This is one that I really loved! If you have ever rented from another car rental agency, you know about the cost if you do not bring that car back will full fuel. The cost of fuel that they charge you ends up being like buying gas in some other countries rather than enjoying low fuel prices.

With Silvercar, that is different. If you do not have time to fill up the tank, simply return it and you will be charged market cost plus $5 for the fuel you have used. That is it! I literally had no time to stop a station so this was a welcome benefit and one I did not mind taking advantage of.

Pay local pump prices plus $5 for the fuel fill – big savings over regular rentals.

Communication

I loved how in-touch the Silvercar folks were. They texted me when I had landed (I put my flight info on the reservation) and told me to just text them back when I was ready for pickup. The text also told me where to go at that particular location to wait for the pick up.

On the return, I also received a text from them just asking me to let me know if I was still planning to return the car at the designated time. If I had questions along the way, I only had to text/call them to get it taken care of.

Pertinent communication from Silvercar staff about my pick-up and drop-off made everything easier!

Fair Toll Tracking

How many times have you used a rental car’s toll tag and found a huge bill later on from it? That is because you will pay for the toll plus a fee for using it for each day of the rental. It does not matter if you use a toll road for a total of $.80 on just one day of your 10 day rental – you will pay $3.95 (with Avis, for example) for each day of your rental in addition to the $.80 toll.

With Silvercar, you only pay for the toll that you used. If it was $.80, you will pay $.80. Nothing to worry about and you can leave your regular toll tag at home!

Pay only for the tolls you incur – no transponder fees. Thank you, Silvercar, for doing this right!

Speed

No, not the speed of the car (which it could probably go quite fast being a wonderful car by itself!) but the speed with which Silvercar gets you on your way. The pickup was quick from the airport to their facility and then it was only a matter of scanning the code on the windshield from within my app to register that car for me – and I was gone!

On the return, I drove back to the Silvercar facility (which is easy to find as the return facility is marked as a favorite on the included navigation system) and an agent jumped in the car with me and we were off to the airport! Way faster than trying to use a rental agency’s shuttle bus for pickup or dropoff!

The speed that Silvercar handled the reservation, especially on the return, was the difference between me making my flight or not!

A Great Car for a Fair Price

Every car they carry is an Audi A4. It is a beautiful car that handles very well and is very comfortable to drive. Not only that but it comes with built-in navigation, free WiFi, and free satellite radio. Yes, I said WiFi! If you are going to be doing a lot of driving and are on a limited data plan, it is great to have access to the free WiFi. Or, it can help if you want to do some online work (with someone else driving) while on the road.

The fair price part is going to be completely relative and location based, I’m sure, but it was a fair price for me. In fact, in my case, it was cheaper than regular rental agencies were charging for a compact car – by a lot!

If you like rent premium class vehicles, you will likely find that Silvercar matches or beats those prices in the locations they are in. Plus, with discounts that they run and the referral offers, it can be even cheaper.

Is Silvercar For Everyone or Every Situation?

No, Silvercar is not going to be for everyone. If you are traveling with 5 or more people, you will definitely need a bigger vehicle. Since they only carry one car model, you will need to look elsewhere.

Also, there are certainly going to be times that you can get cars for much cheaper than Silvercar prices and you don’t mind a different vehicle. I do not mind at all renting intermediate class cars (which is what I almost always rent, though I often receive upgrades) and I can normally get them at good prices.

For my case, it comes down to this – if I am in a Silvercar city and need a rental vehicle for a day or two during Monday-Thursday, I will rent from Silvercar. For everything else, I will likely use one of the rental agencies I have status with.

Have you rented from Silvercar? What was your experience like?