10 Differences Between Hertz VS Enterprise Car Rental Services (Overview, Price & Other Factors)

Last Updated on December 28, 2022 by Leepu Da Maxim

There are some significant differences between Hertz and Enterprise Car Rental Service. Hertz offers more competitive and convenient pricing compared to Enterprise Car Rental Service. When it comes to compact and economical vehicles, Hertz will be the ideal option. On the other hand, Enterprise is mostly intended for business people.

Key Takeaways

  • Hertz was founded in 1918, while Enterprise was founded in 1957
  • Hertz is a larger company with more than 600,000 vehicles, while Enterprise is a smaller company with 1.4 million vehicles
  • Hertz has rental locations in more than 150 countries, while Enterprise has rental locations in more than 90 countries
  • Both Hertz and Enterprise Car Rental Service have daily, weekly, and monthly rental options
  • Hertz has a loyalty program known as the Hertz Gold Plus Rewards program while the loyalty program of Enterprise is known as the Enterprise Plus program

Hertz Car Rental Overview

Over the past years, many international car rental companies have been establishing corporate offices in the US; Hertz is one of these providers. Hertz is one of the world’s largest car rental companies, with over 1 billion rentals per year. One of their slogans is “no surprises,” but that doesn’t mean there aren’t any hidden costs or fees that can appear when you’re renting from them. For example, late nights come with an additional fee as do one-way trips, so read your contract thoroughly before signing up for anything.

Hertz Rent-A-Car has been operating since 1918 when Walter L. Jacobs, Sr., stepped out of his father’s horse-drawn carriage business to create the first vehicle rental enterprise in Oklahoma City. The founders of Hertz believed that driving should be available to everyone, no matter their budget, so they created an affordable service for everyone to enjoy better services at a comparatively lower cost.

Enterprise Car Rental Overview

Enterprise Car Rental is a subsidiary of Enterprise Holdings. The company has been in business for more than 60 years and operates in over 100 countries and territories. The company offers hourly, daily, weekend, weekly and monthly rates, as well as mileage plans.

It has more than 2 million cars at its branch offices located across the United States. It also provides an online booking system to customers so they can get a car at their doorsteps. The rental car company has branches all over the US. The company’s headquarters are in St. Louis, Missouri, US. The head office is located at 8501 Olive Blvd., St. Louis, MO 63132-1500.

The company was established in 1957 and then it was acquired by the current owner of the enterprise, Goldman Sachs in 1985. Enterprise currently operates out of 900 locations in the country and employs around 67000 people all over the world with a fleet size of 50000 cars across the USA.

10 Differences Between Hertz VS Enterprise Car Rental Services

Hertz VS Enterprise
  1. Enterprise car rental is usually more expensive than Hertz car rental because it offers additional features that are not available in Hertz. However, these features may not be necessary for every person, so the option of renting a car from Hertz is still beneficial.
  2. Enterprise Car Rental provides insurance to its customers.
  3. Hertz offers a free full tank of gasoline when you rent a car. You pay for all your fuel when you rent with Hertz, while with Enterprise you pay for the gas you use on your trip.
  4. With both companies, if your car breaks down within the first 24 hours of the rental, they will come to pick up the vehicle and deliver another one to you at no cost. However, only Enterprise will give you credit card payment facilities.
  5. One of the major differences between Hertz and Enterprise is that they each offer different types of vehicles. Hertz offers several types of cars, including economy, luxury, and sports; whereas Enterprise only offers a select few varieties including economy and luxury models.
  6. Another difference between these two car rental companies is in the cost of their services. Hertz charges significantly higher rates than Enterprise does for their service packages; however, if you book in advance or if you are willing to make a reservation for a premium service package, then it is possible to get these rates lowered significantly.
  7. Enterprise and Hertz offer different levels of insurance coverage, which can affect the price that you pay for your rental.
  8. The number of days that you rent the car will affect the total cost of your rental bill with both companies, but it will also affect what type of vehicle you get from Enterprise and Hertz.
  9. Hertz offers a fast and easy check-in process, which is why Enterprise customers often spend more time waiting in line. But with the introduction of their latest app, they’ve made it easier than ever to rent a car.
  10. Both are very expensive. If you have other choices such as Alamo or Dollar I’d go that route. Both are very good. The two rental car companies, Hearts, and Enterprise, both are very expensive compared to Alamo and Dollar. The biggest difference between the two is that Alamo only offers fixed-rate rentals at a much higher price. Dollar offers the chance to rent a car at a flexible rate for a lower daily cost.

Pricing Comparison Between Hertz and Enterprise

Brand NameDurationPrice
Hertz8 Days$160
Enterprise7 Days$187
Car Rental Comparison Hertz vs Enterprise

Enterprise Rent-a-Car, Pros & Cons

ProsCons
1. Many locations throughout the United States
2. High-end international locations
3. The agency picks up the user at home or the hotel and transports him/her to the rental office
4. Users between 21 and 24 years old pay $20 per day
5. Many discounts
6. The wide availability of vehicles
1. For each additional driver, you need to pay $12
2. For more than a week of renting other companies offer better deals
3. A somewhat deficient point reward system
4. Low vehicle availability at certain times of the year 

Is Hertz A Good Car Rental Company?

One of the best companies to rent a vehicle is Hertz. A lot of users have mentioned that this company has the easiest and most comfortable application and website to use. Of course, along with this, this company also has a lot of additional advantages. People who need to make long trips can take advantage of this company’s benefits.

In principle, this option can provide rental offices in more than 150 countries. Even in the United States alone, there are 3,700 different locations. One of the most popular uses is the airport. So, in these locations, people tend to rent a lot of vehicles.

At the same time, it is necessary to take into account that the prices of these locations have an additional 10% cost. Also, it is still one of the best services available in the market. 

Which Is Better Enterprise Or Budget Car Rental?

In the first place, the Budget has the advantage of offering a large number of offers and promotions to users. Therefore, people who only take this aspect into account think that it is a superior company.

However, this is not the only good feature we can take into account among all car rental agencies. On the other hand, the Enterprise option has a great variety of car models and vehicles in general.

Along with this, most people also feel that Enterprise provides superior customer service. That’s why this last option is one of the most chosen by businessmen and women in many parts of the world.

The Enterprise car rental agency is only one part of the parent company that controls everything. As a result, thousands and thousands of users each year prefer to opt for Enterprise over other companies. 

Why Is Hertz Car Rental So Expensive?

In principle, Hertz is one of the companies whose main objective is to orient its services toward business people. To do this, it is necessary to increase costs and of course, provide a differential service compared to other companies that are available in the market.

In this case, this company can provide a wide variety of cars and vehicles at a high level. The majority of the clients are people who seek to optimize time instead of money.

Another company that seeks to target business people is Enterprise. Some additional details of the Enterprise service seek to meet the needs of business people.

People with the right budget can afford to rent a high-end vehicle. On the other hand, Hertz can offer some particular services such as applications for smartphones and websites of optimal performance.

Is Hertz Owned By Enterprise?

Here, it is necessary to take into account that the parent company that controls several companies is an Enterprise holding. However, this parent company is only because it is National Enterprise and Alamo.

So, Hertz Global Holdings are the parent company that owns Thrifty, Hertz, and Dollar. You can see that each of these companies has the objective of targeting business people around the world. So, the added value is of a high level.

People with the right budget give much more importance to time. So, someone else is not usually looking for a budget that fits a certain amount of money. On the other hand, in these times there are a lot of agencies that rent vehicles.

However, not all of these options are the most appropriate to obtain one of the highest services. A large number of users have complained that many companies are simply scams. This is why a lot of people consult about these two main companies.

Who Is The Biggest Car Rental Company in the USA?

Today, we can mention that one of the biggest car rental companies is Enterprise Rent-a-Car. Here, it is necessary to consider that it is a company of American origin and has about 419 locations in different airports. Together with this, in different cities of origin, there are more than 9,000 locations.

Year after year, this car rental agency manages to monopolize a greater part of the market. At the same time, it is necessary to consider that Enterprise Rent-a-Car is only one of the companies that belong to Enterprise Holdings Inc.

In this case, this last parent company has three other companies under its control: National, Alamo, and Enterprise CarShare. Different companies have been created under the same parent company since there is no single target audience.

On the contrary, a large number of people need to rent a vehicle when they are on vacation or simply in some leisure time. On the other hand, nowadays many business people want to optimize their time. In this case, the service is sensibly superior and considered the most important aspect of a business person. 

How Can I Save Money On A Rental Car?

Today, some important tips will allow you to save some money when renting a car. In principle, you must join one of the rewards and loyalty programs offered by the companies.

Besides, check out the available discounts as well as coupons to be able to save a lot of money on the rental. However, some additional aspects are important to consider.

  1. At the time of rental, it is preferable to pay by credit card.
  2. Compare prices and search for discounts online.
  3. Paying in advance allows you to get a significant discount on your rent.
  4. Please read each contract carefully for rates and taxes.
  5. Check the cost of rentals near an airport.

Each of these keys will allow you to optimize your expenses on your next trip. Of course, if you want to get high quality in the next vehicle some of these tips might not be so important.

In turn, when you need to look for some of these secrets and keys the availability of vehicles could decrease. Even some offers usually apply only to standard-size vehicles that are not very chosen. 

Frequently Asked Questions

How Clean Do You Have To Leave A Rental Car?

Before leaving a rental car and returning it, it is necessary to clean its entire interior. The vast majority of terms and conditions at many agencies require users to return the vehicle in good condition.

Therefore, food scraps, dirt, and general trash inside the vehicle must be cleaned. So, if the cleaning is done by the car rental agency it will surely be an additional cost that you will have to pay.

That is why it is also important to consider that you should not forget any object inside a rental vehicle. Otherwise, it would be quite difficult to get those lost objects returned to the owner.

Of course, it is also very important that users avoid damaging the functionality of the vehicle. When your situation is too serious, then you must pay for all the years that the vehicle has been in use. 

Will Hertz Go Out Of Business?

A few weeks ago, it became known that Hertz had filed for bankruptcy to acquire some protection. This company had 700,000 vehicles for rent that were completely inactive.

So, because of the global pandemic, this company has also collected about $19 billion in debt. So all of these financial setbacks have resulted in one of the biggest bankruptcies of the last pandemic in 2020.

Who Is The CEO Of Enterprise Rent-A-Car?

On December 11, 2019, Enterprise Holdings Inc. promoted Chrissy Taylor to CEO. Previously, she was the company’s chief operating officer and president but has held the position of CEO since January 1, 2020.

In turn, these changes do not compare to the consequences suffered by other car rental agencies. In particular, the Hertz company has filed for bankruptcy since it has been unable to pay the nineteen billion dollars in debts.

Does Enterprise Check Credit?

For a person to rent a car with a debit card, Enterprise needs a credit check. Along with this, a deposit can also be requested and the exact amount varies by location. So, the deposit can start at $350 and go up to 15% of the total rental cost.

References:

https://carrental.deals/blog/differences-between-avis-budget-hertz-enterprise-dollar/

https://www.creditdonkey.com/rent-car.html