Ok, let’s take a look at the receipt:

The rental fee was $168 for 3 days…fair enough. And I get the taxes (granted, the airport and the state of Kentucky are bleeding renters, but it’s not like Avis has a choice on charging me this), but what I don’t get are the $5.48/day fee and the 9.89% fee.

The 9.89% fee seems to be a concession recovery fee…in other words, it’s a fee being charged  to help them pay for the cost of their location at the airport…uh, isn’t that what I’m paying for in the rental fee? Isn’t that why the rental fee is higher at say LAX than it is in Richmond, VA?

And the $5.48/day fee is even worse. According to the note there, it’s a property tax license recoupment fee…again, isn’t that, or shouldn’t that be included in the rental fee?

So, in total, the rental fee covers exactly what? Just the car? No way an intermediate class (Avis C-Class) costs them $58/day to have in inventory and staff costs…We’re paying for their taxes and infrastructure as seperate fees, so as to allow them to have a higher margin on their rental.

This strikes me that rental car companies have become like the airlines…fees for this, fees for that.

As M. Thénardier might say:

Charge ‘em for the lice
Extra for the mice
Two percent for looking in the mirror twice
Here a little slice
There a little cut
Three percent for sleeping with the window shut
When it comes to fixing prices
There are a lot of tricks he knows
How it all increases
All those bits and pieces
Jesus! It’s amazing how it grows!

Rate this topic:

(No Ratings Yet)

 Loading ...