Why didn’t I get the same car that I selected online?
Did you pick a Toyota Corolla and the rental company gave you a Kia Forte?
The car you selected during the online reservation process may not be available when you arrive at the rental counter to pick it up. This is because specific cars are mostly not guaranteed by rental companies. Usually, luxury cars are guaranteed like Mercedes, Audi, etc. and there is a “Guaranteed” phrase for the guaranteed models. If you can’t see the “guaranteed” phrase, it is possible that you can receive a similar car to the one you originally selected.
In our example, Toyota Corolla and Kia Forte are two compact car models. Some companies may give you an upper car class without extra charging in case of the car class that you booked is not available.
Here are some examples of different car classes:
Mini:
- Chevrolet Spark
- Renault Twingo
- Citroen C1
Economy
- Ford Fiesta
- Citroen C3
- Volkswagen Polo
- Opel Corsa
Standard
- Peugeot 508
- Volkswagen Passat
- Renault Talisman
Compact
- Ford Focus
- Opel Astra
- Fiat 500 L
- Seat Arena
Intermediate
- Peugeot 3008
- Ford G-Max
- Volkswagen Touran
Fullsize
- BMW series 3
- BMW X1
When you complete a reservation, you’ll receive a confirmation email which includes reservation details and information about the car. There is a special code for each type of car. This code also defines features of the car. You can see what these codes state at the table below from the official website of ACRISS.
Expanded Vehicle Matrix
| CATEGORY | TYPE | TRANSMISSION | FUEL/AIR CONDITION | ||||
| M | Mini | B | 2-3 Door | M | Manual Unspecified Drive | R | Unspecified Fuel/Power With Air |
| N | Mini Elite | C | 2/4 Door | N | Manual 4WD | N | Unspecified Fuel/Power Without Air |
| E | Economy | D | 4-5 Door | C | Manual AWD | D | Diesel Air |
| H | Economy Elite | W | Wagon\Estate | A | Auto Unspecified Drive | Q | Diesel No Air |
| C | Compact | V | Passenger Van | B | Auto 4WD | H | Hybrid Air |
| D | Compact Elite | L | Limousine | D | Auto AWD | I | Hybrid Air |
| I | Intermediate | S | Sport | E | Electric Air | ||
| J | Intermediate Elite | T | Convertible | C | Electric No Air | ||
| S | Standard | F | SUV | L | LPG/Compressed Gas Air | ||
| R | Standard Elite | J | Open Air All Terrain | S | LG/Compressed Gas No Air | ||
| F | Fullsize | X | Special | A | Hydrogen Air | ||
| G | Fullsize Elite | P | Pickup Regular Car | B | Hydrogen No Air | ||
| P | Premium | Q | Pickup Extended Car | M | Multi Fuel/Power Air | ||
| U | Premium Elite | Z | Special Offer Car | F | Multi Fuel/Power No Air | ||
| L | Luxury | E | Coupe | V | Petrol Air | ||
| W | Luxury Elite | M | Monospace | Z | Petrol No-Air | ||
| O | Oversize | R | Recreation alVehicle | U | Ethanol Air | ||
| X | Special | H | Motor Home | X | Ethanol No-Air | ||
| Y | 2 Wheel Vehicle | ||||||
| N | Roadster | ||||||
| G | Crossover | ||||||
| K | Commercial Van\Truck | ||||||
e.g. : CCMN = Compact Car – 2/4 Door – Manual Transmission – Non air-conditioned
The compact, 2/4 door results would include models similar to Ford Focus or Opel Astra for example.