Chrysler 300C rental car in Canada?

Hi there!

When visiting Canada as a tourist for a while, I wonder if their might
be a chance to get a Chrysler 300C as a rental car during my stay. Do
you know of any car rental company in Canada having the Chrysler 300C
available? If so, what category will it be: Luxury, Premium?

Thanks a lot!

 

i work with a guy who rented the 300 in toronto a few months ago.
i think he got it from Budget Rent-a-car but i could be wrong.
You could just call and ask..
....thehick

 

I know of people who have rented some 300s here in the US but not 300Cs. I
would think that Chrysler halted fleet sales to rental agencies - if they
ever were selling them 300Cs - in order to fill the very high demand at
their dealerships. I could be wrong.

 

Try Thrifty. By this time I'm thinking that many Thrify locations now
have the 300C.

The best way to garantee renting a 300C is to get the phone number for
the various rental companies at the airport you'll be landing at.

I mean the phone numbers at the airport (not the main rental car
number). Call them and ask if they have the 300C. And double-check
it's the "C" and not the "M".

I wanted to rent a 300C this summer while in Banff. Thrifty said they
had a "C" but turns out it was an M. I then found out that another
company (Hertz or National or maybe even Avis) rented the 300C's but
had none to rent that day (and in fact said that the C's were booked
far in advance).

You'll pay 2 times the daily rate for a Hemi C (if they have one) vs
an ordinary car (Intrepid).

I just looked at Thrify. Renting a 300M for a week from Toronto
Pearson Airport (unlimited milage). With all taxes in, it'll cost
$385 CDN for a week (232 Euros). An intrepid would cost $300 cdn (180
Euros)

 

I will come up with a prepaid reservation for an Alamo all-inclusive
(taxes, insurances) "Full Size" car. Just in case they might have a 300C
available, I wonder how much an upgrade to that one would cost me.

Thanks

 

Ask Alamo!!

http://www.alamo.co.uk/

Click on locations and then follow world map. There is a Toronto airport
location.

Of course no hire company will guarantee you a particular model but are
willing to try. E.g. last summer I asked Avis Verona for a particular Alfa
Romeo, and they supplied it!

(Similarly a year or two ago I asked Hertz NYC for a Ford Mustang and they
reserved one -- but I could not get it because of some issues with my UK
drivng licence -- no such problem with Budget or Avis et al. Ggrrr....)

You have, of course, already established that it is on the fleet.

Yes, why don't you just discuss with the rental location?

DAS

 

If you've made arrangements through an agent in Europe to rent a car
in USA/Canada, you should check your rates to see if you're getting
screwed or not. There are no special arrangements you need to make
with a European agent that you can't do yourself directly with the
rental company either on-line or right at the rental counter when you
land.

If you've made arrangements with an agent, you've probably already had
some sort of deposit or charge made against the rental, which means
you won't be able to back out of the rental once you land and walk up
to the rental counter.

When you get off the plane, you might want to pick up the rental car
courtesy phones at the airport and ask them if they have a 300C
available, and at what rate. You may just end up switching to them
instead of your pre-arranged rental. I make rental arrangements
occasionally and decide at the airport to take a cab instead. Nothing
lost there, no need to inform the rental company.

Also - you don't have to purchase additional insurance (I could be
wrong - there could be fine print stating that residents of over-seas
countries MUST purchase additional insurance, but I doubt it).

I know that renting a car with automatic transmission in Europe
generally needs some advance planning, but for a European coming to
North America no such planning is needed -> you'll get a car with auto
transmission regardless if you want it or not.

I have had my travel agent arrange car rentals in Germany (for example
- Sixt), but I think in general it's easier for a European to walk off
a plane in North America and rent a car than vice-versa. I always get
a chuckle when renting a car in Europe - they always do the
walk-around, noting every scratch, etc. In North America, you can
bring a Grand Am back to the lot all banged up and they don't notice
(don't ask me how I know this)...

 

See below.

DAS
--
For direct contact replace nospam with schmetterling
---

FROM DAS: Disagree. I have rented in North America many times, usually
booking in advance from the UK (usually Avis). The rates are never
significantly higher compared to local rates, usually lower. Nor do I
recall paying any deposit.

I don't know how it's developing in the USA/CA but I have gathered the
impression that Avis (maybe others?) in Europe at least is moving to airline
ticket-pricing concepts, i.e. you may get a lower price if you book long in
advance, especially of you're renting in a seasonally busy place.

DAS: Why?

Anyway, the last thing I want to do after a long flight is to start messing
about with decisions on which car to hire. In fact, I never do...I would
not drive after a long flight, esp a red-eye, on safety grounds. Always
rent the next day or later.

FROM DAS: Of course. (I don't recollect the way my cars were checked in
NA. Don't you sign a 'condition' sheet?)

In North America, you can

DAS: I am really surprised to hear this. Ups maintenance costs or reduces
the resale value substantially

BTW, recently I took out a special insurance covering the reduction in
excess (own participation) to zero. Under normal rental conditions there is
always an excess, i.e. a sum of money to be paid (e.g. USD 1000) if the car
is brought back damaged etc. This sum can normally be reduced by paying an
additional daily insurance premium, which can be as high as, say, USD 15/20.
That is always a significant fraction of the whole rental cost.

Anyway, I took out an annual insurance to cover this. Because I mostly rent
in Europe I have confined cover to this area, but I can tell you that
similar cover for North America (and a couple of the 'far-flung' regions
like AU) costs about double.

 

Have you rented recently? Hertz and National give the cars a good once over
these days when you bring them back now.

 

I rent a car at a US airport about 8 times per year (more in previous
years). Usually Avis. The proceedure is get off the rental bus and
either get dropped off right at the car, or go to the counter, fill
out the paperwork, and walk to the car. Keys already in the car. Get
it, turn it on, drive away. NO ONE is ever there to do a once-over of
the car with you, look for scratches/dents, etc.

Do they still even put those diagrams of the car in the rental
envelope showing where existing dammage is?

When bringing the car back (which is usually an open-air lot,
sometimes it's inside a covered parking garage), you pull up behind
the last car, get out, wait for an agent to scan the car, look at the
milage and gas gauge, and print your receipt on the spot. To me it
seems they barely glance at the rest of the car. And if you're
bringing the car back at night - good luck seeing any dammage.

Maybe the airport rental locations are more lax about this (hmm- lax.)

Maybe if you rent at smaller, low-volume, inner-city or suburban
locations they pay more attention to the cars.

 

Last time at Orlando airport and Islip on Long Island, National and Hertz
took a good look at the car when I returned it. In fact the Taurus had a
ding that I did not notice when I picked it up but I saw it after my first
lunch stop with the car. Don't know if someone hit it with a door in the
parking lot while I ate or if I just missed it. Hertz saw it but did not
try to charge me.

 

I checked with Alamo's website: Taking into account that the "rental
package" offered by my travel agent includes an additional liability
insurance covering up to 1 million Euros I am better off with that.

Yes, I guess I will call or email the airport counter of Alamo a few
days before my arrival to ask them about a 300C.