Did any else have trouble with Enterprise?

I don't know about Germany, but there are issues with global supply chains and low inventories of rental cars, which means that there aren't a lot of substitutes out there to be picked from. When I rented a car at LAX this May, there were literally 2 cars in the class I wanted left on the lot. Many other people were complaining because the type of vehicle they wanted/ ordered wasn't available. I don't think there are a lot of automatics in Europe to choose from to begin with and perhaps there was an over-selling issue on your booking date....who knows.

jaeson, except for the automatic/manual thing, yeah, this happens all the time even in the US. The cars available at any given time depend on what people have just brought back, sometimes just that day. Most people in Europe can and do drive manual cars so it is normally what they stock, and automatics are the exception. So what few automatics they had out, just hadn't come back yet. Sure its annoying but its the nature of the business.

It’s not unprofessional. There will be something in your T&Cs saying they reserve the right to offer you another car. Most of the hire companies across Europe shed most of their vehicles during lockdown and haven’t replaced all their stock as yet, just in case travel restrictions are reintroduced.

We are often given a different car to what we booked - it depends on availability. Everybody in Europe can drive a manual and as automatic cars usually cost more to purchase, these won’t be the first to be bought to replenish their stock. 99% of their customers aren’t going to have any issue with a manual. It’s a risk you take when hiring in Europe.

The “or similar” mentioned on pretty much any rental car agency website is generally the norm. Very seldom do I ever get exactly what I reserved. Since one pays extra for an automatic the company is obligated to get you an automatic. Once, while on a business trip arriving at Heathrow, the agency got it from another company for us. On our trip to Scotland the company didn’t have the compact we reserved and we were given a full sized van instead. It was an automatic. Other than the UK, I always get a manual. The “or similars” we’ve gotten have all been upgrades from what we reserved.

Not sure I would use an American company for a European rental, but whatever. What you experienced as "unprofessional" is an industry norm, and especially so since the pandemic hit and most companies shed a good percentage of their vehicle inventory. Just be glad you're getting something similar to what you ordered tomorrow.

I think this is in a different category of whether it's "professional" or not or what was in the contract. Perhaps it was the attempt to tell him that he would be fine with driving whatever it was they had on the lot when he, knowing himself better than they, knew he would not!
I remember the time our flight was canceled out of Frankfurt flying into Newark, NJ where our car was. The people at the Lufthansa desk tried to route us into JFK which is on Long Island. We told them that our car was in Newark so we couldn't do that. The Germans (who had likely never been in Long Island) then tried to tell us that it would be easy for us to get from JFK to our car in Newark! Hello! Have you ever tried to get off Long Island without your car to get TO YOUR CAR IN NEWARK!

"Professional" would have been:
'I am sorry sir, we do not have your class of car available today. I can give you a BIG VAN today, or if you can wait until tomorrow I can provide what you reserved'

My dislike of ERAC is the microscopic inspection they do when you return the car. When you check it out in the dark part of the garage its 'that's no big deal' ; when you return it it the well lighted area, 2 or 3 staff swarm over it.

The one time I rented (Italy) the AT I reserved was provided without any fuss.( Hertz)

We've had issues with almost all car rental agencies we ever rented from, Alamo, Avis, Hertz... all of them. So we have given up hoping for one that is all-over satisfactory. We had always booked the whole package from home, insurances and all, so really they should have just given us the keys and be done with it.

The first couple of times they kept pushing an upgrade we didn't want, plus extra insurances we didn't want, and they knew exactly that we - totally jetlagged - might not have the energy to stand their hour-long discussions at the counter.

The worst one was at Chicago airport. When they realized they weren't successful trying to push that expensive upgrade on us, they tried giving us a wreck. I'm not exaggerating. I knew exactly what the sound meant as I was driving a few feet on their parking lot: The brake linings were not simply worn out, they were gone. I'm not kidding. It would have been suicidal to drive this car.

During our last vacation, we had to use their service hotline once because the car wouldn't start. That was another catastrophe. I was passed on from one staff member to the next, each one more incompetent than the previous one. I really don't know what we would have done if the car hadn't decided to restart voluntarily after taking a small break.

In Spain, we tried to rent a car for one day only. The lady tried to convince us that we wouldn't need any insurance: "You're Triple A members, you've got insurance." I guess she thought all Germans were members of the related association (ADAC). Umm... no... in the first place, we're not members, and even if we were, belonging to an automobile club does not mean we have insurance for a rental car!

I don't know if these stories are any comfort to you, but as for "very unprofessional" - yes, you are not alone. As for "I've never had this happen anywhere"... unfortunately, all the time with car rental.

To balance that out, we did have a couple of really good experiences and very generous rental agencies. A rental car that got stuck in knee-deep mud on a Greek island... and the agency just took the keys without batting an eye, without charging us an extra cent, even though it was obviously our fault. Same thing with a rented RV I had managed to get a long scratch into.

Here's hoping you get a different vehicle tomorrow.

Your experience reminds me of an Enterprise experience in Syracuse, NY a few years back. My work travel coordinator reserved a compact car. Upon arrival, the only vehicle available was a 15 passenger bus/van. I negotiated a discount for the extra fuel it would take to drive that to/around my destination (Ithaca) and back to the airport and off I went. I nicknamed it my Party for One bus.

Actually, only good experience with Enterprise -- dropped my phone in the front seat when getting out at CDG, and by the time we walked back to the rental location they had my phone and were trying to email me. Weekend rentals locally when our car was undriveable, so satisfied we bought a used one from their fleet.

jaeson1992 - It’s a day later. How did things play out? Hope it went well and you’re on your way.

We did end up getting a car the next day (just in case anyone wants to still know). It wasn't the SUV we had rented, that was still not transferred, and I would have had to wait several more hours for it to arrive, despite the man at the desk telling me it would be ready the next day in the morning. Instead we were offered a station wagon OR the monster sized 7 passenger van (again). So we took the station wagon. It ended up being a nice little (mostly) car to drive around, and worked out well for some of the more compact parking garages in terms of car width (we won't mention length). I'm def taking note though for next time to plop my money down in advance to this doesn't happen again if I rent a car.

Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences!

Hi jaeson,

I know that multiple members have stated that the car company is allowed to do this to you, but I happen to agree that it isn't professional. It may be true that they are following the letter of the terms of service. But what else can you do if you want to rent a car? It isn't like we as consumers can negotiate the terms of service.

I realize that the internet is full of consumers ranting and raving against a service provider when the problem was caused by their own short sightedness. This is a different situation. I hope it didn't cause you too much anxiety and that you enjoy the rest of your trip!