Exploring Enterprise Car Rental

Since the beginning of my travel life I have been a loyal customer of Budget car rental. There is no real noteworthy reason for my loyalty other than a comfort zone which has been developed over a number of years. I enjoy the status benefits of “Fast Break” service and the convenience of Budget locations in every airport I visit. I cannot say with any authority that Budget has better service, cars or facilities then the next guy because I don’t believe this to be true. Again, I have simply stayed loyal out of fear of trying someone else and not having any status.


Recently, while preparing for a week long three city trip to the East Coast, I realized I would need a large SUV and Budget simply did not have much selection or availability in this class of rental. After some minor searching I found Enterprise had a great selection of Chevy Tahoe’s, Suburban’s and even an Escalade or two. I have to admit I was a bit nervous, I did not know where the rental locations where located, where their shuttles picked up or how their counter process worked not to mention the fact no one would be greeting me with the phrase “Welcome back Mr. Bush” when I arrived. I know that sounds a bit juvenile but what can I say, it is the little things that make a big difference when you travel.

My trip was laid out in such a way that I would need a two day rental in Chicago, a one day rental in New York and a one day rental in Boston. The following are my observations during this trip.

Chicago:

The rental facility was not on or even close to the airport which required a longer than normal ride in a rental shuttle. Luckily the shuttle arrived quickly and was not at all crowded. I was warmly greeted as I entered and asked my name. As it turns out the name asking is so they can call ahead letting the counter know your arrival is eminent, a nice touch I thought. The ride in the shuttle felt like a carriage ride down a cobblestone street I felt the need to take inventory on my teeth at the end of the lengthy ride. When stepping of the shuttle I was again greeted warmly and given instruction on where to go and who to see. The facility looked somewhat temporary in nature, like I was walking into a work trailer. There was no line and I was able to go directly to an agent who was waiting eagerly to assist me. This agent was quick and very helpful, not to mention extremely hot. Don’t get excited guys this was not a trend that continued throughout my trip. She offered all of the normal car rental paraphernalia of which I declined all but the fast pass. If you ever rent a car in Chicago GET THE FAST PASS. Chi town has more toll booths than New Orleans has strip clubs and if you don’t get a fast pass it will be like going clubbing with no singles. Make sure you know ahead of time whether you will want to take advantage of the insurance and gas options. If you don’t mention it they will hit you up for these add on charges outside during the walkthrough where you are a bit more venerable and the person doing the walkthrough is a bit more of a salesperson. If you know what you want mention it at the counter before the paperwork is finished. My advice is to take the basic coverage if you are not covered by a company policy and only take the gas option if you are in a new town and don’t know your way around. The Expedition performed well and I returned the car two days later without incident. The computer was down when I returned the car and the agent let me know I could go online in two days to retrieve my receipt. I opted for using my original paperwork as a receipt.

New York:

At NY’s JFK airport most of the car rental companies are located at Federal Circle, which is a short air train ride from the American terminal. However, when I say most this did not include Enterprise. In order to reach the Enterprise facility at JFK I had to take the air train to Federal Circle and then hop a shuttle. I have to say, the Shuttle ride was very similar to the ride in Chicago right down to the teeth chattering suspension. I was greeted getting on the shuttle as before, only now I was hip to their game. The facility was in a part of town you would not want to get lost in while returning your car. Let me be clear, Steven Segal would not want to get out of his car in this area to ask directions. While performing my walk through I noticed the drivers rear tire looked a bit low. I asked the agent with me and she assured me it was fine. She said, “If the tire was really low there would be a warning light on the dashboard”. I normally follow my gut, however I was in an unfamiliar rental location and felt a bit awkward which is why I said ok and took her word for it. I am sure you are already seeing the error in my judgment here as half way into my drive the Tire Pressure light illuminated on the dash. From the road I called back to the facility and explained the situation. I was given three options; bring the car back and exchange it, exchange the car at a local enterprise location at my destination provided I could get there before 6pm and finally continue to feed the tire air hoping it does not get any worse before bringing it back. All of these choices seemed suspiciously like easy fixes for Enterprise, but not so much for me. I chose to check with the local location but did not make into town before 6pm which left me the option of keeping air in the tire and hoping it was a slow leak. I filled the tire once and was able to return the car without incident. I did not fill the gas and asked the agent to comp me gas as restitution for the tire. He gladly agreed, I am sure feeling he got off easy. I rented the Ford Explorer at this location and would recommend the Chevy Tahoe instead.

Boston:

The Enterprise rental facility at the Boston Logan Int airport was not on site, but was with the rest of the rental locations which was nice. This location had a more permanent feel and was not in a crazy part of town. Unfortunately I did not escape the ride over and have surmised that Enterprise simply must not put suspension into their shuttles. The experience here with regard to renting the car was the same as the above two encounters. I chose to rent a Suburban at this location based on what I would be hauling and simply fell in love with this vehicle. I returned the car with no problems the next day and took my flight home not realizing I had left my very expensive trench coat in the back of the car. It took me 48 hours to notice the coat was missing and I had no real confidence Enterprise would have my coat when I called. To my surprise not only did they have it the manager had decided to put it in his office for safe keeping. They agreed to send it to me at a reasonable cost and it is scheduled to arrive this Friday. Needless to say I was very pleased and pleasantly surprised at how they handled this situation.

This sums up my Enterprise rental car experience and although I am sure this is only a small sampling of what they have to offer I feel confident in my understanding of their overall rental model. I don’t think the experience was enough to tear me away from Budget, however if I ever need to rent a Suburban I won’t hesitate to use Enterprise as long as I invest in a mouth piece first.

See you at the airport.