One Thing I Like About Avis and National Over Hertz

Over the last couple of years, I have rented more cars than I used to and I have come to appreciate car rental elite status more than I ever thought I would. Since it is so easy to get and keep with various credit cards, I have elite status with Avis, National, and Hertz (among others) and it is worth it!

One Thing I Like About Avis and National Over Hertz

Along with elite status, I have also accrued free days and points with all three programs so I have been using them all recently. Since I had the opportunity to rent from each company multiple times and in multiple locations over the past few months, something was highlighted for me that I had noticed before and it just reinforces why I prefer to rent from Avis and National over Hertz.

Lower Mileage vs Higher Mileage Cars

There are many things that I look for in a rental car but one of the things I like to have is a rental car with low miles. I know they service the cars and even a rental car with “high” miles is still lower than most of the vehicles I have owned over the years but I do like having a car with fewer miles, if I have the choice.

I have noticed that many of the rental cars I have had from Hertz (in the US – not in Europe) over the last couple of years have had quite a few miles on them – most of the time, it is over 30,000 miles. I think the highest mileage car I had this year was at 38,000 miles when I pulled out! That is quite a lot for a rental car from a major company!

A Rental Vehicle with Only 4 Miles On It!

With Avis and National, I consistently get vehicles with very low miles – most of the time with under 1,000 miles. In fact, I recently had a minivan from Avis that only had 4 miles on it when I got in! That is, by far, the least miles I have ever had on a rental car! While the other cars from Avis weren’t that low, they were still pretty low. Only once did I get a car from Avis that had over 20,000 miles on it.

I have experienced the same thing with National. I rented a Chevy Suburban (actually rented a minivan but was upgraded to the Suburban with my elite status) and it only had 600 miles on it. When I returned it, it had close to 5,000 miles on it. 🙂 But, each car I have had from National has come with very few miles and they almost always have that new car smell and feel.

There are some nice things about renting from Hertz – like getting some pretty good upgrade options if you are excited about those things. But, when it comes to cars having lower mileage, I have found that Avis and National are much better at that than Hertz.

Of course, I fully realize that if I had higher elite status with Hertz that my cars I get may have fewer miles but the status I have is fairly similar to status I have with Avis and have had with National in the past so that is the best comparison I have.

What car rental company have you found to have higher mileage vehicles? Has your experience with Hertz been the same.