Inside: Considering renting a car from Hertz? Read this Hertz review to learn everything you need to know, from payment to pick up.
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One way we save a ton of money is by renting cars for long trips. Does that sound strange? We drive an 11 year old minivan. It’s getting up there in mileage, but I love the monthly payment ($0).
In the past, I might have looked for a reason to upgrade to a newer van. Taking a trip would be the perfect justification!
But the math doesn’t add up. New cars always cost more than you think they will. Then you have to add on extra insurance and tax costs. In the end, you spend thousands trying to avoid a bill of hundreds. That’s what Robert Burton called “Penny wise and pound foolish.”
So it might sound funny, but renting a car for a long trip is actually a money saver if it means you can prolong the life of an elderly (but paid off!) vehicle.
Hertz Review: Our Experience
We were planning a trip with an 11 hour drive time, so we knew we’d need to rent a minivan for our family of seven. I started shopping early for more options. (Sometimes cars book quickly.)
After looking at the companies I typically use, I was discouraged at the high price of renting for a week. So I decided to shop around.
We hadn’t used Hertz before, but I was encouraged by the fact that they were asking hundreds less. Of course, we typically rented Dodge Grand Caravans. Hertz was offering a minivan comparable to a Nissan Quest. I looked up that type of van and found that it was a bit smaller and lacked stow and go. We talked it over and decided the trade off was worth it to save that kind of money.
Imagine my happy surprise when we picked up the car to discover that we were getting a Grand Caravan anyway! The same car (with satellite radio and automatic everything…your mileage may vary though) for a much better price.
The Renting Experience
Pick up and drop off was surprisingly easy. Much simpler than the process we’d been through with other companies. I signed a few papers, we walked around the vehicle to check for damage, and we were on our way.
I declined the Hertz insurance. At $9.99 per day, it was worth taking our chances on dings and dents.
The Hertz return was as easy as filling out a 5 line form and dumping the key into a bin. Check to be sure that your Hertz dealer offers after hours returns. (Many do.)
How Much Did It Cost?
When I scheduled my rental back in January, I was charged in full right away. While that’s not great if you aren’t expecting it, I actually think it’s a nice way to budget for vacation. If you pay for the rental early on, that’s one less thing to pay for at vacation time.
If it helps your budget, we paid $526 for a minivan for 10 days. They did charge an additional $43 for taxes and fees when we dropped the van off. Your price may not be the same, so just consider this an estimate.
How to Save Money
Always check for coupons before you schedule your rental! Here are a few Hertz codes to use:
Learn about Hertz Business Rewards
Another way to save is to shave off days of your trip. It’s handy to have the car a day early so you can pack it and go, but you’ll save by picking up the car on the day you leave.
Also consider the size of the car you need. Smaller is usually cheaper.
Hertz Telephone
Need more help? Call Hertz.
- Customer service: 800-654-4173
- Reservations: 800-704-4473
- Roadside: 800-654-5060
Is Hertz the right rental agency for you? Now you have enough information to help you decide.
We saved a lot of money by using Hertz, and found the whole process very simple. I would rent from Hertz again.
Have you ever rented from Hertz? What was your experience?
Hertz rental car reviews
I'm Jamie, and I want to help you afford a beautiful life with your family. 
Good deal! American Express and other credit cards offer free insurance. We saved quite a bit of money when we rented a car in Austria last summer. It also gave me peace of mind. I didn’t have rental reimbursement on my car insurance policy, and my husband had an accident, his fault, last summer near home. We were looking at having to pay for a rental for 2+ weeks out of pocket, but the general manager of the dealership doing the body work gave us a free rental since we’ve given him out business for the last 15+ years. I was beyond grateful for that kind gesture. I added rental reimbursement to my policy the next day. It doesn’t cost a lot compared to a rental.
When we had old cars we would rent for driving vacations; I’m with you, it is better to have a new car on the road, especially with young kids (but who wants to fool with breakdowns on vacation?) and new cars come with lots of bills besides the sticker price.
I would usually use Hotwire to book the van because that’s where I found the lowest prices.
Wow, that’s super lucky on the model! We recently had a less than great experience with one of Hertz’s competitors, so I’m more than happy to try them next time I need a rental vehicle.