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My First Impression of Silvercar, Plus Save 30%

by Scott Mackenzie
Last updated December 18, 2017

Silvercar is a new rental car service with a fleet entirely composed of silver Audi A4 sedans. Their aim is to make renting a car simpler and more cost-efficient — a goal at which they succeed to some extent. In November, Silvercar’s PR reached out to offer a me a few free rentals for trying out their service. I actually lost the email at first but dug it out soon enough for a trip to San Francisco, where I needed a car to drive to my dad’s house in Sonoma County.

Silvercar

Beyond SFO, Silvercar can also be found at LAX, DFW, Dallas/Love Field, and Austin. I have some mixed impressions of that first rental experience that I hope are limited to the San Francisco location and will report again after trying it at a few other airports. I expect LAX and Austin will be my next two destinations.

San Francisco Needs Work

Before we get to the car, why do I think San Francisco was a unique case? It’s the only obvious location where Silvercar has managed to make renting a car even more difficult than using a traditional competitor like National Car Rental (my usual favorite). I had to take my bag to the airport train, ride to the main car rental facility, take the elevator down to the street, and wait for Silvercar’s shuttle — before we drove five miles in rush hour traffic on US 101 to pick up the car. With National, I walk off the train, pick a car with the keys in the ignition, and drive out of the garage.

I have no doubt my experience is not Silvercar’s goal and that they have some reason, unknown to me, for their operational choices at SFO. At one point trying to make a booking for a future date I was told they were sold out due to “limited beta service,” which is a clue. At other locations they also have shuttles to an off-site facility or to a central rental car facility — LAX and DFW are examples — but so does every other rental car company, so I don’t hold it against them. And at some airports the service is markedly better than the competition; visit Austin and they’ll pick you up at the curb.

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Get a Better Ride for Less

The car itself is pretty nice. It handles better than my Honda Civic and has a nifty GPS. But I can’t convincingly sell you on using Silvercar just because of the car. I am not a car guy. I drive at or below the speed limit. I listen to the same radio station on every trip — or no radio at all. (I once forgot to turn it on during a 400-mile solo trip.) Cars are just there for ground transportation.

Of course, if you are the sort who normally upgrades your rental car or who already has a luxury vehicle at home, Silvercar might make a lot of sense. Their prices are fairly competitive. You won’t be paying a cheap, economy class rate, but doing a few test bookings I was still able to find weekend rentals for around $70 a day.

Silvercar Rate Estimate

That’s not bad. I’ve seen luxury upgrade offers that are $50-75 on top of what I already reserved. Or maybe $100 if I were to book one up front. And I would still get some American car like a Chrysler 300. I’d rather have the Audi.

Get a Better Rental Experience — In Some Ways…

Silvercar does a lot of things besides the car that I do like and which encourage me to give them another shot — just not at SFO.

Silvercar Experience

Start with a simple refueling policy. I hate refueling my rental car before returning it, yet I refuse on principle to let the rental car company do it for me. They either want to (1) charge me double the market rate to replace just the gas I use or (2) charge me the market rate but for a full tank regardless of how much I drive. Silvercar has a flat $5 filling fee and otherwise charges you the market rate for the gas you need. My receipt showed a price of $3.95/gallon, which is about right for premium fuel in that area.

I also like that Silvercar keeps some of the features I enjoy using as an elite member of major rental car agencies. Since all the cars are the same, there’s no concern about getting stuck with a lemon. I was assigned a car at SFO, but this is not much different from picking your own car like I usually do from National’s Emerald Aisle. Usually such privileges require the elite status that comes with being a frequent renter or having a certain credit card, so Silvercar gets some credit for offering a similar experience to everyone.

Third, I’m sure that some of Silvercar’s strategy in keeping a homogenous fleet is to keep costs down and lower the price for a luxury car rental. Kudos. They could do the same with a fleet of Honda Civics and I’d be happy, but it probably wouldn’t grab the same attention. It also means they can offer more complimentary features like in-dash GPS because such things are normally built into luxury cars rather than as some add-on device with its own add-on fee.

Finally, I like the simple toll-tracking system. Like gas, you pay for the tolls you use. There’s no extra fee. It’s not the tolls I mind, but the fact that I’m not used to them, don’t have change, and don’t want to get hit with some massive processing charge for inadvertently using one that requires a transponder. All Silvercars have transponders, and they’re always turned on.

Fancy Apps Don’t Impress Me

I’m not so wild about the other tech-savvy features, but that’s a more personal opinion. Silvercar makes heavy use of its mobile app to do everything from book a rental, tell them you’ve landed, and check your car in and out. I would rather book online (you can). And it’s hard to teach a phone to provide customer service: When the “concierge” arrived to pick me up at SFO, where I was the only person standing at the curb, she sat in the car looking at her phone rather than get out to greet me.

And one feature that confuses me a bit is the free WiFi. The car has it built in, so they give you the password when you pick it up. But I can’t say I’ve ever needed WiFi in a rental car. You shouldn’t be using it when you drive. A passenger could use it, though a lot of people have smart phones, probably an even larger proportion of Silvercar’s target audience. Why not just tether an iPhone to your laptop?

Summary and 30% Discount

So like I said, my first impression is mixed. Silvercar has good potential and may very well work flawlessly at some other airports. I don’t think San Francisco is one of them. I guess it’s good they gave me more than one free rental then, right?! I’m interested to hear if anyone else has tried them, at SFO or elsewhere, and had a different experience.

when you make your booking.

Disclosure: Silvercar provided me with a free rental, though I still had to pay $20 in taxes and for any fuel I used. There was no requirement that I write a review of the service.

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About Scott Mackenzie

Scott is a former scientist and business student who created Travel Codex to unravel the complexity of travel loyalty programs. After 11 years in Seattle, he now lives in Austin with his wife and flies over 100,000 miles every year.

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