Enterprise Rent-A-Car Review

Enterprise! Dudes! You TOTALLY ROCK!

I rent cars pretty frequently, and when I do, I almost always turn to "The Big E". Enterprise says, "we'll pick you up", and for me, it's not the promise of a ride over to their office that lures me in, it's the "pick me up" of having a good rental experience. I like their easy web site, I like their friendly people, I like their cars, and I LOVE their prices!

I almost always reserve cars online. The Enterprise web site is clean, fast, and sooooo easy to use. I also like that it's easy to find promotional rates and ongoing sales (I'm a cheapskate at heart, and nothing makes me smile more than the thought of one more picture of George Washington being in my wallet instead of in somebody elses). I don't have to create a profile to make a reservation, and I don't even have to enter credit card numbers. It's a straight-forward, customer-friendly kind of site.

Enterprise seems to have better service than other car rental companies. Their agents are almost always friendly, courteous, and efficient. At most locations, they're very proactive about making sure I have no questions or issues at the time I pick up a car, they highlight their contact phone numbers in case I have any problems with their vehicles, and they follow up to make sure I have issues about returning the car. They've never given me a real hassle about turning down their damage waivers (since, like most mature car renters, I'm already doubly covered by my own auto insurance and then by my major credit card). And while some folks writing car rental reviews seem to constantly have problems with rental companies charging them for hidden damage, I've never experienced such a thing with Enterprise. That could be because I don't try to abuse the system and I drive gently anyway, or it could simply be that Enterprise is basically a decent company to do business with. Either way, I'm usually quite happy with the way I'm treated by Enterprise employees, and that's a large part of the reason why I keep bringing my business back to them.

Most rental cars are good quality, late model vehicles, and I've never gotten a car that I'd consider a "jalopy" or a "lemon" when I've rented from Enterprise. I like that they seem to have a good variety of car makes and models, and the only thing that would make me even happier would be if they'd try to get some genuinely high-end vehicles into their fleet. One reason that Hertz sometimes gets my business instead of Enterprise is because Hertz has some truly upscale cars and some truly cool cars. For a while, you could get Jaguars from Hertz, though the last couple times I've asked for their "prestige" line, I've been offered Infinitis. Not a bad car, just not as prestigious as a Jag. Still, it's a lot better than your basic Lincoln or any SUV, which is about as "premium" as you can go with Enterprise. Good cars, just a weak lineup at the top end.

The prices though, that's the aspect of Enterprise that really keeps my heart beating to the drum of the big green E. When I compare bottom-line prices almost anywhere, more often than not, it's Enterprise that gives me the cheapest rate. I do a ton of weekend getaway trips, so I especially love their 50% off weekend deals. I can pick up a car Friday afternoon and bring it back Monday morning, and the rate is sometimes cheaper than the price of the gas I put in it! For what I pay, it's cheaper to rent than it is to put the miles on my personal car.

Outrageously great prices, friendly people, nice, late model cars....yep, Enterprise TOTALLY ROCKS!