I hate renting cars. Having to go to airport kiosks and waiting in long lines. Only to be told the car of your choice may not be available. This leaves you with one choice, choose the car that is available in the category. Plus, at every single car rental agency pricing is not fixed. Well, keep reading to find out!
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How I Booked
SilverCar has a very good app that can be used to book cars. This app is very important to the experience the day you pick up your car. However, I like booking on the computer so I just went into the website. ‘
SilverCar is primarily available at airports in the US. Since I was flying into Salt Lake City (SLC) I choose this location and was told the location was off-site. The app give instructions on how to get to the pickup spot where SilverCar gives you complimentary transportation to their location.
Next, I was prompted to choose what car I wanted to select. There are only 2-3 choices. SilverCar is owned by Audi and consists of an all-Audi fleet. At my location there was two choices available.
- Audi A4- $59 per day (my car)
- Audi Q5- $69 per day (SUV)
- Audi A5 Cabriolet- Unavailable (at select locations only)
The price includes everything!
- Navigation
- WiFi & Bluetooth
- Free Tolls
- Apple Carplay/Android Auto
- Child seats
- Ski Rack
If you have a Visa Infinite credit card (example: Chase Sapphire Reserve) you can save 30% on the total rental. This is a great way to take advantage of a perk on a travel credit card you may already have! Also, if it is your first time renting from SilverCar you can get $25 off, using a referral. Referral codes can easily be found just by Googling.
The cheapest option for my dates was a compact car from Hertz for $45 per day. With the 30% discount and $25 first time rental discount the price renting an Audi A5 was cheaper.
Here is the three day rental cost comparing average car rental agency versus SilverCar
- Hertz Compact Car: $135
- SilverCar Audi A5: $99 (30% of 177 and an additional $25 off)
Pick-Up Experience
Once at the airport, open the app and follow the directions on screen. Once at the pick up spot follow directions to be picked up. The ride from the airport to the rental spot was about ten minutes. Usually, the car is shared with someone else. The person who shared the car with us was a regular. The employees knew him by name. He asked me if I was aware of the 30% discount and I felt pretty smart when I said yes!
The shuttle drops you off on the side of the building where there are several cars ready for renting. If you are a new renter they go over key details before they let you go.
Driving Experience
Audi’s are very fun to drive and have loads of technology inside. Connecting to the free WiFi was simple. I used an Android phone in the car and it worked great. I sat and drove for pretty good distances and it was comfortable. If you are wondering about specs for the car, well your on the wrong blog! Enjoy the pictures I took of the car at the salt lakes.
Final Thoughts
Wow, being able to rent an Audi is a unique experience. Doing this through a normal car rental agency would have costed hundreds of dollars. I am really happy about renting this for less than $100! However, even taking out all the discounts, $177 is a fair price for 3 days. I would definitely pay the $35 dollar difference to upgrade. Consider SilverCar if you are a family, child seats are free! In Florida (or any state) all the tolls are covered. Free toll passage can save a boatload of money!
My only complaint about SilverCar is the lack of locations across the US. Unlike other rental companies they are still expanding. Also, many locations are offsite. Even though the shuttle was nice it would be more convenient if it was located at the airport.
I really hope you learned something new today. Many of you may not be familiar with SilverCar, but now you know a bargain in the rental car agency. Stay tuned for future posts on the Utah Trip Report.
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