AUTOMOBILES Poll: Customers rank low rental prices as key

Increasingly, renters are booking their cars through the Internet.
WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif. -- In a tough year for rental-car companies, Enterprise Rent-A-Car found competitive pricing to be a major factor in satisfying customers, according to a recent survey by the marketing firm J.D. Power and Associates.
Enterprise ranked highest in overall satisfaction among customers, followed by Hertz, in the random sample of 3,400 customers who picked up or dropped off their rental cars at or near airports. National and Avis also finished above the industry average.
"While customer service is still paramount, price is also a key factor in overall satisfaction," said Mike Taylor, director of travel services for J.D. Power. "Respondents indicated that Enterprise's rental rates and overall value were significantly better than any other rental-car company included in the study."
Hertz got high marks for the rental car itself and for the reservation process, while National excelled in the return process.
Among business rental-car customers, Hertz's advantages in the pickup process, the reservation process and the rental car itself were eclipsed by Enterprise's dominance in rates and value.
A growing trade
"Business-rental rates have grown by more than 13 percent in some major markets in the past year," Taylor said. "When you see those kinds of increases, the consumer can become sensitive to price very quickly."
Internet usage continues to expand significantly in the rental-car market, he said. Although only 12 percent of business renters used the Internet to book a reservation in 2001, the study found 28 percent did so in 2002. Among leisure renters, the percentage went from 27 percent in 2001 to 36 percent in 2002.
Included in the study, now in its seventh year, were eight major rental-car companies -- Alamo, Avis, Budget, Dollar, Enterprise, Hertz, National and Thrifty.