ANALYZE THIS

Here’s an airport riddle-of-the-Sphinx for you. Something is shrinking yet something’s growing at the same time. I know, not much to go on. OK, here’s the answer.

Rent-A-Cars are getting smaller and smaller, but the price tag is getting bigger and bigger.



I reserved an intermediate-sized car for only $207.95 for a week. Good deal, huh? Or was it? When I got to the car lot, my “intermediate” ride was waiting for me. I thought there was a mix-up. Surely my car wasn’t the little Hyundai Accent I was staring at. I had reserved an intermediate not a compact. Aaah, but in this day and age, the intermediate has shrunk to a compact, and the old compact has become the “economy.”

I guess I never got that shrinking rent-a-car memo. The car itself was fine. I had no issues with it. I even told the attendant the little car performed nicely. He thanked me and after checking the mileage, he handed me the bill. Sticker shock! My $208 deal just grew $100. How in the world did that happen, you ask? Taxes of some sort. Hmmm, let’s see. We started at $207.95 and then there was something called AP/Access for $23.10, CF CTX $31.50, Std $7.51, VLS $11.55, and finally Tax of $23.34 for a grand total of $304.95. Goodness knows what all those add-ons really are. All I know is that I paid 50% more for a smaller car. Now that’s what I call a great deal. For the rent-a-car company, that is.