New vehicles from Hertz in AU (Mercedes, Lexus, Mini)

[AdMEL]

Slightly off topic ....

Having driven half a dozen C200CGI sedans from Hertz and also having driven a Holden Commodore Series 2 SV6 a few weeks ago with IQ infotainment system and a Holden Calais a couple of years ago, in my opinion, the Holden Calais Series 2 with IQ is, in most ways, a better car than the C200CGI.

My reasons are:
- Calais is larger;
- Calais handles just as well;
- Calais has real leather interior, not imitation leather the Merc has;
- IQ system in Series 2 is far superior to Command system in the Merc, with standard ipod integration, 3.5 mm audio jack, bluetooth music streaming (with steering wheel control) and is very user friendly (Having also driven a few current Audis, the IQ system is also superior to those, and I would guess is probably one of the best systems available);
- Calais is significantly more powerful;
- Calais transmission is far better than the Merc (which has an awful transmission);
- Calais fuel consumption is no worse than Merc;
- Calais is arguably just as good looking.

The only Calais downsides are that it doesn't have a Merc badge and the stereo might not be a good as the Merc (amplifier and speaker wise, but I'm not sure - as already mentioned, IQ interface is far superior) and when hiring, they usually don't come optioned with built in navigation, which the Merc does.

Also, when hiring, Calais is cheaper, has unlimited kms and much lower excess!

Just my opinion ...

 

[herman_aussie]

I love this forum more and more... great positive contribution from the members...

 

[markis10]

Been lucky enough to be given V8 Caprice by Avis a few times, thats a lot of fun to drive .

 

[AdMEL]

Been lucky enough to be given V8 Caprice by Avis a few times, thats a lot of fun to drive .

Don't you usually hire intermediate class? E.g. i30? Were the Caprices upgrades?

Caprice is on my list of cars to drive ...

 

[markis10]

Don't you usually hire intermediate class? E.g. i30? Were the Caprices upgrades?

Caprice is on my list of cars to drive ...

Actually booked Lancers at Fortitude Valley and the manager keeps giving me the Caprice, I will leave the i30s to DRW!

 

[Keith009]

Mercedes C200 has built in GPS which is left on (I have hired a number from Melbourne Downtown), however it appears from the Hertz website that is not the case for the Lexus IS250.

Thanks for that. Looks like I'll have to bring my own Garmin just in case...

 

[ab156]

Thanks for that. Looks like I'll have to bring my own Garmin just in case...

I had an IS250 out of PER last month, GPS working. ymmv

 

[sr81]

My biggest issue is they always seem to be sold out at Melbourne Downtown (and Melbourne Airport), but available everywhere else in the country. Very annoying!

EDIT: Just checked and the C200 sedan is sold out every weekend in Melbourne until the promotion ends, but appears to be available everywhere else!

Agreed. I am lucky and know the agents there so pretty much always get an XR6 but can never seem to book a Sportwagon or any type of prestige. Infact I have rented about six times since January and have never seen a Merc or Lexus in the place.

Downtown Mel does ALOT of one backpacker traffic so maybe they don't want to risk having 1000's of Merc's in Adelaide?

 

[AdMEL]

Agreed. I am lucky and know the agents there so pretty much always get an XR6 but can never seem to book a Sportwagon or any type of prestige. Infact I have rented about six times since January and have never seen a Merc or Lexus in the place.

Downtown Mel does ALOT of one backpacker traffic so maybe they don't want to risk having 1000's of Merc's in Adelaide?

That's what I meant (that Prestige and Sportwagon are always sold out at Melbourne Downtown, not that all cars are sold out)! As a side note, if you want to drive a Sportwagon, Avis have them and seem to have much better availability (although not always available).

I've rented 3 C200CGI's since Jan (one in Jan and two in Feb), all on the weekend for 2-4 days. They seem to have a couple of Mercs everytime I'm there and the odd Lexus and Mini.

By trial and error, I've discovered that Hertz Melbourne Downtown seem to make the Mercs available only a couple of weeks forward and of late, they seem to only be available for a min. of a few days rental, not for 1 or 2 days.

For example, Merc C200 available in two weekends time, but only for a min. of 4 days. Interestingly, the cost for a week is only slightly higher than the cost for 4 days! With the current #1 Club Gold 50% off promotion, a week is about $250, inclusive of all taxes/charges! Of course, that's with a $5,500 excess and an additional SVA excess of $2,200 (My Westpac Plat card cover $5,500 excess and I'm willing to take the risk on the SVA, so no problem for me). Having said that, as I've mentioned above, I think a Series 2 Calais is a better car, especially from a car hire perspective (at least, when they're not giving the Merc's away!). I'm keen to drive the updated C200 to see whether they've improved the shortcomings of the now previous model, primarily the transmission, but also some of the interior appointments (e.g. lack of 3.5mm audio jack). From what I've read, the new 7 speed transmission still isn't that great (though I don't think it could be worse than the 5 spd), but the connectivity issue has been fixed.

It seems that in relation to the prestige vehicles, Hertz Melbourne Downtown (in stark contrast to everywhere else in Australia):

a. have limited supply, or
b. massive demand;

and/or

1. they manage their inventory very well, or
2. they manage their inventory very poorly.

Not likely to get too backpackers driving a Merc from Melbourne to Adelaide, given the $1,000 drop fee! Not to mention the cost of the Merc in the first place and the limited km!

 

[mattemoro]

I'll be in Sydney during the first week of october and we've decided to rent out a C200K. A Mercedes has always been on my list of cars to drive! pretty excited

 

[Moopere]

I'll be in Sydney during the first week of october and we've decided to rent out a C200K. A Mercedes has always been on my list of cars to drive! pretty excited

They are pretty fun - try putting in some 98RON fuel, you'll be glad you did As a 1.8l 4 cylinder they are not going to put a huge grin on your face or anything, but the supercharger makes them a reasonably responsive little town car. Watch for speed cameras, the response from about 2500RPM up to 6000RPM+ is pretty linear.

As for the potential 7700$ excess, seriously Hertz, get a grip. Our company CDP keeps the excess for any car that isn't in the Prestige line <700$, far more realistic. I can't imagine keeping my Mercedes driving smile for very long if something weird and unexpected happened with that level of excess hanging over my head.

 

[mattemoro]

i've got travel insurance that usually covers rental car insurance, would i be right in saying that it wouldnt be applicable for the prestige collection?

 

[Moopere]

i've got travel insurance that usually covers rental car insurance, would i be right in saying that it wouldnt be applicable for the prestige collection?

Always read the PDS of course. My credit card insurance reads that it probably wouldn't cover a 'coupe' though everything else should be ok. Be cautious of upper limits of all insurances. The various credit cards standard insurance, where they cover cars at all, usually are around 3000-5500 in the best cases. "Proper" (if you like) travel insurance of the general kind seem to top out at 4-5K as well. I've not yet found any insurer willing to cover the worst case Hertz scenario of $7700+ (not even talking of 4WD vehicles for off-road use, gets much much worse) which means I'll probably never rent one of these otherwise lovely vehicles. Hertz' own insurance cover essentially doubles the per day cost of the car.

Of course, go overseas, particularly Europe and rent any prestige car you like with far more reasonable insurance and per day rental costs ...

 

[AdMEL]

They are pretty fun - try putting in some 98RON fuel, you'll be glad you did As a 1.8l 4 cylinder they are not going to put a huge grin on your face or anything, but the supercharger makes them a reasonably responsive little town car. Watch for speed cameras, the response from about 2500RPM up to 6000RPM+ is pretty linear.

As for the potential 7700$ excess, seriously Hertz, get a grip. Our company CDP keeps the excess for any car that isn't in the Prestige line <700$, far more realistic. I can't imagine keeping my Mercedes driving smile for very long if something weird and unexpected happened with that level of excess hanging over my head.

Agreed, except for one point: Mercedes C200's are now turbocharged - they haven't been supercharged for a couple of years, hence the change fron K (Kompressor, i.e. supercharged) to CGI (Charged Gasoline Injection, i.e. turbocharged direct injection). All Hertz C200's are CGI's even though the website says K. CLC200 is another story - retained surpercharged engine until the model was discontinued a couple of months ago. Can't wait for Hertz to replace their CLC200's with the new C coupe.

i've got travel insurance that usually covers rental car insurance, would i be right in saying that it wouldnt be applicable for the prestige collection?

It depends on the insurance policy - you'll need to read the product disclosure statement. It's unusual for Australian issued insurance policies to exclude prestige cars, in my experience. They generally don't cover anywhere near $7,700 though (note that if hired from SYD airport, the potential excess is 22% higher, i.e. $9,394, if no other car involved).

 

[Moopere]

Agreed, except for one point: Mercedes C200's are now turbocharged - they haven't been supercharged for a couple of years, hence the change fron K (Kompressor, i.e. supercharged) to CGI (Charged Gasoline Injection, i.e. turbocharged direct injection).

Ahh, yes, read it all too quickly. I saw the C200K and assumed CLC200K because, yes, I realise the 4 door sedan hasn't been a K for a little while as you say.

It depends on the insurance policy - you'll need to read the product disclosure statement. It's unusual for Australian issued insurance policies to exclude prestige cars, in my experience. They generally don't cover anywhere near $7,700 though (note that if hired from SYD airport, the potential excess is 22% higher, i.e. $9,394, if no other car involved).

Yep. Its crazy in my view. Although we might all be careful drivers sometimes you cna just have a bad day and something weird and horrible will happen to you, including the possibility of an SVA. The only realistic option for such insane excess charges is Hertz' own insurance which should reduce the excess to near zero - which then makes the cars uneconomic to hire ... Hertz loss I guess as I can't see too many punters paying for the full damage waiver insurance.

Frankly, I don't know where they are coming from, aside from gouging the customer. My local dealship will give me a brand new Merc for a day, including fuel, for "free" and the excess for any sort of accident is $1000.

 

[AdMEL]

Yep. Its crazy in my view. Although we might all be careful drivers sometimes you cna just have a bad day and something weird and horrible will happen to you, including the possibility of an SVA. The only realistic option for such insane excess charges is Hertz' own insurance which should reduce the excess to near zero - which then makes the cars uneconomic to hire ... Hertz loss I guess as I can't see too many punters paying for the full damage waiver insurance.

Frankly, I don't know where they are coming from, aside from gouging the customer. My local dealship will give me a brand new Merc for a day, including fuel, for "free" and the excess for any sort of accident is $1000.

I assume almost everyone books the car not realising the huge excess, then ends up paying the large excess reduction cost at the counter when they pick up the car. I have only paid the excess reduction fee once, for the benefit of a co-driver. It doubled the cost of the two day hire! As you say, not economic. When I'm the only driver, I rely on my Westpac platinum card excess cover of $5,500 and take the risk on the SVA excess of $2,200. Only works from non-airport locations. Excess is too high for me from airport locations.

 

[lovestotravel]

So almost 2 years later the current Fun and Prestige collections are being phased out of the fleet!

Over the past 6 months it's been close to impossible to book any of these vehicles, the CLC200 is now no longer listed and a conversation I had over the weekend has confirmed that the current range will be gone in the next few months.

I was told a new "fleet" would be replacing it, but time will tell!

I would LOVE BMW's to be included to compete with Europcar's Audi range

 

[AdMEL]

So almost 2 years later the current Fun and Prestige collections are being phased out of the fleet!

Over the past 6 months it's been close to impossible to book any of these vehicles, the CLC200 is now no longer listed and a conversation I had over the weekend has confirmed that the current range will be gone in the next few months.

I was told a new "fleet" would be replacing it, but time will tell!

I would LOVE BMW's to be included to compete with Europcar's Audi range

One the one hand it's a shame, on the other it presents an opportunity for something better! I agree with your BMW comments - they've had them before (many years ago), so maybe again.

On a slightly related topic, I was upgraded from an SV6 to a Caprice V V8 by Avis on the weekend - very nice car ... much nicer than the Audi A6 I had for 5 days a couple of months ago. Only downside is the fuel consumption!

 

[lovestotravel]

I never knew you rented from Avis :shock:

I think Europcar does the Audi range quite well, from small to large

BMW 1 Series, 118i Hatch, 120i Coupe and Convertible
BMW X1
BMW 3 Series 320i Sedan

That's what I would do to cover most levels of vehicles needed