Silvercar is a new car rental outfit that only rents Audi A4s and gives you:
- Free GPS, wifi, and satellite radio
- Free toll tracking (you pay the tolls you consume, with no markup)
- If you don’t refuel the car, you pay a $5 admin fee and the local rate for premium gas.
They’re currently in five locations:
- Austin
- Dallas – DFW
- Dallas – Love
- Los Angeles – LAX
- San Francisco – SFO
The business model isn’t a clear no-brainer, they used to have a Houston Hobby location but that’s been closed.
Lucky noted that discount code AFF-FTD is good for $50 off a rental through June 30.
And since rates start at $59+tax for a weekend day, I thought I’d check them out for a one-day weekend rental I needed coming up.
Entering the promotion code underneath the ‘reserve’ button the price of my rental dropped to $9 for the one day, $13 all-in with taxes.
Creating my account I discovered they have a referral program, if you are referred by an existing customer both of you get $25 after the new account’s first rental.
If anyone has a Silvercar referral code, please leave it in the comments as I believe I can still add the code to my account before my rental. My referral code is GLEFF for anyone who wants to add it to theirs and get a $25 credit after first rental.
An interesting issue was raised in the comments of Lucky‘s post on Silvercar, that credit card collision coverage wouldn’t apply to a luxury car rental. But I Googled pricing for Audi A4s and they seem to start in the low to mid-$30,000s. So I’m not concerned, most card coverages apply to vehicles either below $50,000 or below $75,000. I’ve been upgraded to luxury vehicles for years by Avis, and the title ‘luxury’ alone never concerned me.
I’m looking forward to trying them out.
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Hi Gary,
My referral code is TMINTA. Hope this works! Cheers!
@tommy – added it. Interesting that referral rentals have to be completed by Feb 28 (this one will be)
thanks for the tip Gary, I just added you as a referral
Amex’s premium car rental protection will cover it:
https://www295.americanexpress.com/premium/car-rental-insurance-coverage/home.do
Vehicles Covered by the Plan
The Plan can cover most vehicles typically available from a Rental Company, from smaller economy sizes to large luxury sedans, convertibles, exotic cars (worth more than $50,000), minivans, vans, pickup trucks, and full-sized SUVs. The vehicle must be rented from a Rental Company, which is a commercial rental agency that rents passenger-type motor vehicles, but it does not include a company whose primary business is something other than renting cars, such as an auto body shop or a moving van company. Excluded vehicles include: automobiles that have been customized or modified from the manufacturer’s factory specifications, except for driver’s assistance equipment for the physically challenged; any rented vehicle used for hire or commercial purposes; antique cars (cars over 20 years old or cars that have not been manufactured for over 10 years); limousines; and off-road vehicles, motorcycles, motorbikes, mopeds, recreational vehicles, golf or motorized carts, campers, moving trucks or moving vans, and trailers. Vehicles covered may vary by state. Please see your Plan documents.
I recently used Silvercar at SFO and I was mostly unimpressed. I loved the car and its features. However, there were no signs directing me where to go once I got to the parksfo garage. It was even worse when I returned the car. I stood there for about 10 minutes until the guy finally came over from who knows where (I had to pull into an exit only area for the parksfo garage with no signs).
Also, the taxes and fees on these rentals are really high and they didn’t tell me what I was paying for.
Overall, I’d rent a premium car from a major rental agency, especially at airports like Austin where you have to take a shuttle to Silvercar vas everyone else is in the terminal.
Wow! I needed a car for 1 day on July 12th in LAX. Total incl tax: $11! FYI, the AFF-FTD works after June 30, at least at LAX.
I just tried, $72 a day, WTF!
This looks interesting, I will be in Los Angeles in March and may consider this. I am frustrated with Avis- which brings me to the question , should I be. I rented a car in Nashville recently and drove less than 75 miles, I returned there car with a full tank and they charged me about $15.00 I questioned and they said it is policy, I must bring a receipt showing I filled the car within 5 miles and 30 minutes. I asked , can’t you just look and see the tank is full when you check the miles. They said no !! I rent from Avis on average 3 times a month. I want to choose a new company now. Am I overreacting.
I rented from SilverCar at LAX recently…it was a nice ride and an easy process. I was quite happy with the navigation/tech in the car – including an available wifi hot spot. All and all – well worth it. With a discount code it’s a no brainer…at full retail it might be a push on pricing vs. more established brands.
@Leonard that’s been policy for several years with avis actually, though not universally enforced
I just check the price for the time I will be in California, they wanted $81.00 a day. I will be there a week, that was kind of steep.
@Gary do other care companies charge that much or have similar policies. I prefer to choose a different company than worry about if I drove 70 or 80 miles.
Thanks for the tip got a one night rental at SFO in Feb for $32 AI.
What avis status got you upgrades to luxury cars?
$38 at Dallas-Love before referral credit, way better than the standard rental charge.
My code is JBIXBY, thanks to anyone who uses it!
@Leonard I first ran across this policy in 2005 with Avis, so it’s been around for a while. Though as Gary says, it doesn’t always seem to be enforced.
I have never had this issue with Hertz.
Thanks Gary. This is great timing as I’m planning a trip to SFO and would love to drive around in an Audi vs a standard rental for about the same $.
My referral code is MMILINAZZO
@A: SFO has a lot of mandatory taxes that they do tell you in the receipt. The worst is the mandatory $20 “Airport Transportation Fee.” They also have a 11% “Concession Recovery Fee” on top of state tax and CA tourism commission.
Los Angeles on the other hand only has the state tax and tourism commission.
@Al – even back when I was just a Preferred Select (before introduction of Avis First program) I would use Corporate Awards free rental days on premium cars and get upgrades to luxury
i rented from silvercar and loved it. the personal service was fantastic. i took an airport shuttle to a long term parking lot just off the airport property but my rep picked me up at the shuttle stop in my actual rental car, so once my bags were in the trunk i did not have to move them again til i got to my hotel. the car’s in dash GPS took me right back to their off airport location which i admit is slightly off the beaten path in an industrial area right off the airport property. my personal rep (the same one who picked me up when i rented!) then gave me a ride in my rental car to my curbside dropoff, where i took my bags out of the trunk of my rental car and off i went. try that with avis. i’m a fan!
@Mike Feldman – sounds like Avis Chairman’s status, except for the having to take the shuttle to a long term parking lot 🙂
Looking forward to using the service for the first time in LAX this upcoming weekend. Referral Code below for an additional $25 savings:
NKENNEDY2
Enjoy!
Neil
I entered in my personal information just to price things out to see how much it would cost with the code but it didn’t suit me.
HOWEVER, I think its important that everyone knows – once you enter in your information, there’s no way to delete it. No way to delete your driver’s license information, your birthdate, your address, your credit card information, or your account. I contacted customer service and they indicated there is no way to delete an account once its created. I changed everything to gobbly-gook but there was still no way to change an email to gobbly-gook or delete it. VERY DISCONCERTING.
BYL I used your sign up code. Thanks! If you want $25 of your own use my referral code: JCOSOM
Garry I used ur code……my code is ca1 for anyone who is interested. Thanks
If anyone would like to use my code, it’s MCHEN8
Just rented from SFO Silvercar for 4th of July weekend and my experience was great. I got the car with just 50 miles, drove it to LA, then Vegas, them back. Returned it with 1500 miles and paid just under $300 for a 4 day rental because I used the discount code for first time customers, AFF-FTD, and used a referral code (mine is EESCOBEDO1, feel free to use). I also waived my insurance through Silvercar and paid for the car with my American Express card because insurance was covered if I paid with my Amex (no premium insurance needed because the car value doesn’t exceed the value covered by Amex). Here is the address effective July 8. 2014 of where you can pick up your Silvercar at SFO. Happy traveling! 237 Harbor Way, South San Francisco, CA 94080. If it’s your first time renting make sure you take your drivers license and credit card with you. If you found this information helpful please use my referral code EESCOBEDO1. Weekends are $69 (starting Friday evening) and weekdays $89 per day.
Hey Guys,
Silvercar is changing the game for car rentals at LAX – the professional staff even picked me up curbside because it was raining. Highly Recommended! Referral Code below for an additional $25 savings:
NKENNEDY2
Enjoy!
Neil
If anyone would be so kind as to use my referral code, that’d be great. We both get $25 credit 🙂
GCICALA1