Everybody needs a ride now and then, and more and more Americans are finding that the way to quick, affordable temporary wheels is Enterprise. Enterprise seems to be everywhere these days, with locations throughout every neighborhood in just about every city from coast to coast. Enterprise is taking over the whole country! Besides those neighborhood locations, the last few years have also seen them going into airport terminals in a big way (they used to pretty much ignore airport locations), and have also been pushing into more and more car dealerships and service centers. Nowadays when you're getting a transmission overhaul, there's a pretty good chance that someone from Enterprise will be close at hand to set you up with a ride.

Like most folks though, it's the local rentals where Enterprise has gotten to me in the biggest way. And while some of the cars may not be the glitziest things on wheels, they've always been dependable enough for me and equipped well enough to get me where I wanted to go. So let's chat about the wheels that we do tend to get from Enterprise...


The Cars...
One of the things I like about Enterprise is their varied fleet. I'm never quite sure what kind of car I'm going to end up driving when I make a reservation at Enterprise. In the past year, I've gotten a Dodge Stratus, a Mitsubishi Lancer, a Mazda 6, and this past week, a big honkin' GMC Yukon.

All these cars were clean, and varied in age and mileage, with the newest being a 2004 with about 5,000 miles on it, and the oldest (the Mazda) being a 2002 model year with about 30K on it. Last week's rental, the Yukon, was a 2004 with 20K on it (and a very smooth riding, comfortable vehicle --- I ought to write a car review too).

Judging from the cars for sale on the Enterprise web site, it looks like the company tries to sell their cars off once they hit about 34K --- not a bad strategy, since it means that their fleet will almost always be under warranty, and to the customers (that's me and you), it means we'll probably never get a true beater (and I know you don't want to be driving a lemon --- I sure don't either!)

Enterprise does best with basic car types though. If you want an econo-box or a mid-size car, they'll probably always be ready for you. When I've been disappointed with Enterprise, it's been when I really wanted something bigger, more luxurious, or just all around more special. They do offer cars like Lincolns, and SUVs, and mini-vans, and big Buicks --- even convertibles, but they often seem to run out of the larger vehicles, or you have to call and talk to the people at individual locations, since non-basic cars are not always reservable on the web site. I clicked on the FAQ to see their explanation of why you can't reserve these vehicles online and it says that its "due to high demand". Well, if there's so much demand for these cars, why doesn't Enterprise friggin' buy more of 'em? Who knows...

I've never seen Enterprise offer the "super premium" vehicles that you can sometimes snag from Hertz (they call it their "prestige" line): like the Jaguars or BMWs. I've also never seen them offer pickups --- which is pretty much what you want to be driving in Texas if you don't want to be eye-balled as some suspiciously liberal-minded northerner. (Though according to Tex Manners, the GMC Yukon, like I got last week, is always as socially acceptable as boots and a Stetson. So I had respect goin' for me, and that's sure something I wouldn't have gotten with no dinky little Mitsubishi Lancer!)

So anyway, you never know exactly what you'll end up with at Enterprise. They have a nice mix of different cars, but there is some room for improvement in the high end and with pickups.


The People...
If every Enterprise employee is as pleasant, friendly, and enthusiastic as the folks they have working in their location on Westheimer in West Houston, Enterprise would have nothing but happy, satisfied customers. These guys were seriously on the ball! It really makes a difference when you walk into their office and are greeted promptly with a smile. If they're with somebody else or on the phone, they still acknowledge your existence and let you know that they see you and will help you at ASAP.

Of course they try to sell you on add-on insurance extras that you probably don't need (standard operating procedure in the car rental business), but to their credit, they're not obnoxious, insulting, or pandering about it, and they don't imply that you're some kind of derelict if you decline. I hope by now that everyone in the world understands that you should know ahead of time what kind of rental car coverage you already have on your regular car insurance and never, ever pay for expensive coverage that you've already bought (by the way, pretty much every car insurance policy for Texas drivers includes liability coverage while you drive rental cars --- you may still want damage waivers, but if you're a Texan and you go for the liability insurance, ya still might not be a redneck, but ya are an idiot). Also check your credit cards: many American Express and gold/platinum MasterCard and Visas will provide some or all of that damage coverage when you pay for your car rentals on their cards.

I also like that Enterprise's traditional stronghold isn't those airport rental counters, which seem to be the backbone of most big rental companies. The strong point of Enterprise is a big network of smaller, neighborhood locations throughout the city. Nowadays, you also find a lot of Enterprise locations inside car dealer service departments and in major auto shops. (In fact, the last time I had my Land Rover in for routine service, I wasn't given a dealer loaner car --- I was passed off to an Enterprise employee who had a desk right in the service department, and they set me up with a rental that was paid for by the dealer. Kind of makes sense --- the dealer's core business isn't temporary wheels, but that's exactly the core competency of a rental company.)

These days, Enterprise does have locations in or near a lot of major airports, so folks can use 'em when traveling, but most people seem to deal with Enterprise for local rentals. That's sure been my experience.

Service has always been a hallmark of Enterprise though, after all, this is the company that got famous on its claims of "we'll pick you up". (And they do --- well, usually, I did try to rent from them once when they never showed up, but other times, they've been very good about picking me up or dropping me off after I return a car). It does save some hassle.

Any areas where service can be improved? Sure. After hours drop-off would be very nice. I'm the kind of person who does tend to use this (especially when traveling, since I always prefer "first flight out in the morning").


The Prices....
I call myself "The World's Cheapest Traveler(tm)". There's a reason for that. I never, ever pay too much for anything when I travel. That goes for rental cars too.

Aside from good cars and good people, there's another reason I like to do business with Enterprise: good rates.

Enterprise is nicely aggressive about keeping the prices low, and when I use the Total Price comparison tool on Travelocity, Enterprise consistently comes out among the lower-priced companies (without sacrificing service or quality cars).

So, this past week I rented a larger vehicle. Why? Well, price, of course! I checked out the discounts I had (corporate discount, AAA, Entertainment book, etc.), and searched Travelocity's total price comparison to see who was best, then I went to the company web sites of each potential company to see if there were special offers I should know about. In the end, the best overall price I got for a large car was from Enterprise, and as a bonus, they had a neighborhood location close to my office (so I'd be in and out and motoring ASAP).

When I check rates at airports, they also often come in among the lower priced offerings. As I write this, I'm verifying with Travelocity to see how their rates stack up at airports that I use often, using a 1-week period in September 2004. At BWI, Enterprise offers a weekly rate that is $5 cheaper than Dollar or Thrifty, and of course, a good $50 cheaper than Hertz or Avis. In MSP, Enterprise shows $131 with the next cheapest deal being Thrifty at $142 (Hertz, as usual, is most expensive at $190 for the same car class). At DFW, Enterprise gets whomped by $20 by an outfit called EZ Rent-a-Car (but of course, Enterprise still whomps Hertz, Avis, and National). Similarly, Enterprise does get whomped to the tune of $8 a week in LAX by a company called Fox (never heard of 'em...anybody here rented from Fox?), and of course, Hertz comes in at the most expensive spot with a rate that's almost exactly twice the price of dealing with Enterprise.

Bargain hunters will love doing business with Enterprise when they have one of their weekend specials going. Every so often you can snag a nice, late model car for a weekend for under $10 a day! (Out Friday afternoon, in Monday morning). Now that's my idea of cheap motoring!

One caveat on those weekend deals: read the fine print. Here in Texas, the low rate is only good if you keep the car within the state of Texas. Head into neighboring Louisiana, Oklahoma, or New Mexico, and the rate stays the same, but suddenly you lose that "unlimited mileage" and start getting charged by the mile!! You could end up paying a LOT more than you would by getting a weekend deal at Avis, or another competitor with a slightly higher rate but with HONEST unlimited mileage. Read before you drive!


The Web Site...
I like the very clean, simple, uncluttered look of Enterprise's web site (www.enterprise.com). They really understand and focus on their core business with that big, very obvious, simple to use interface to find rates quickly. It's almost as straightforward and clean as using Google.

Down side to the web site? You bet! It's nigh on impossible to find "deals" or promotions anywhere. You need to know about 'em from other sources. The site does have a feature to let you sign up for email alerts to special deals, but I don't like giving my email address to marketers any more because they all abuse it, regardless of "privacy" claims. I would like a simple link to promotions and deals.

Listen up Enterprise! You got one big flaw on this web site: I don't want no STINKIN' email, and I don't want to create no STINKIN' profiles!!!! I want a simple, easy web page that shows deals! NOTHING ELSE! This is the one and only area where I see you guys as "customer hostile". Okay, back to the review...


The Company...
Enterprise has been around for over 40 years. Today, they claim to be the country's biggest car rental company. Are they? Yeah, probably. They sure have a boatload of locations, and with their increased presence in airport terminals too, they're now covering pretty much every segment of the rental car market...at least from the provincial viewpoint.

If you're an international traveler, you'll quickly find that one of the big weak spots for Enterprise is their lack of non-U.S. locations or affiliates. They have locations in Canada (though I'm not even really sure that Canada is still considered "non-U.S.") and they have some locations in the U.K., but that's it! They're not a company that you can do business with anywhere else, which is a shame, because I'm always after good deals no matter what part of the world I may want to motor around in.

The Bottom Line...
Overall, Enterprise is a pretty decent choice for most folks. While I would like to see more international locations, and I would like to see a web page that shows current promotions, for the most part, I'm pretty happy with the bang for the buck that I get when I rent from Enterprise. They've always done a decent job for me, and I've yet to get a real junker from them or have a truly bad experience with them. My recommendation: Let Enterprise pick you up. I think you'll be happy with 'em...



Recommended: Yes