Silvercar. My most favorite car rental company. I’m a huge fan of so many of the things they do to make renting a car more enjoyable. I’ve never felt they were out to wring every penny out of me when I rented a car from them. Sure, their cars are more expensive than the other guys. However as the saying goes, “You get what you pay for.”
So what makes Silvercar so different than all of the other car rental companies?
Since their formation in 2012, Silvercar only featured one vehicle, the Audi A4, in Silver. No worrying about what car you were going to receive when you arrived. Here was the selection we had when we rented from them at the Dallas Airport. Silver A4, Silver A4 or Silver A4.
It was only this January (2018) that Silvercar started renting a second vehicle at select locations, the larger Audi Q5.
Silvercar started out in a couple of cities but has since expanded to 19 airport locations, and city locations in Miami, San Francisco and NYC where they have outposts in Manhattan and Brooklyn.
- Austin-Bergstrom International Airport
- Charlotte-Douglas International Airport
- Chicago O’Hare International Airport
- Dallas Love Field
- Denver International Airport
- Ft. Lauderdale–Hollywood Intl Airport
- Las Vegas, McCarran International Airport
- Los Angeles International Airport
- Miami International Airport
- Mondrian South Beach Miami
- Newark Liberty International Airport
- Brooklyn, New York: McCarren Hotel & Pool
- Brooklyn Downtown
- Manhattan, New York: River Place at W. 42nd
- Manhattan, New York: Columbus Circle
- Orlando International Airport
- John Wayne Airport, Orange County, CA
- Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport
- Salt Lake City International Airport
- San Diego International Airport
- San Francisco International Airport
- San Francisco – Union Square
- Seattle-Tacoma International Airport
- Tampa International Airport
- Washington-Dulles International Airport
Prices vary between the city you are renting from and if you’re renting on a weekend or weekday but figure on paying $50-$70 per day to rent an A4 from Silvercar (before airport fees and taxes). The Q5 seems to run about $15 – $20 more a day, on average. That’s not cheap by any stretch of the imagination. So how does a cheapskate like me rationally rent from Silvercar? When it comes to the value from a Silvercar rental, like most other things, Your Mileage May Vary.
Your First Rental Is Always The Cheapest
Silvercar runs regular promotions open to first time renters. Right now, they have an offer for 20% off for new renters on their website.
Silvercar also has a $25 bonus available for new sign ups. If it’s your first rental, you can enter our referral code and get a $25 bonus Visa credit once you complete your rental.
- Go to Silvercar online or download the Silvercar app via iOS or Android.
- Sign up for an account. Go to Account > Refer a Friend, then enter JHEGEDUS.
- Reserve your rental car. If you haven’t already, make sure to use referral code when booking.
- Get $25 bonus Visa credit when you complete your ride.
Full Disclosure: Silvercar also pays us a small bonus for everyone who signs up with our link once they complete their rental, so we’d sure appreciate if you use our referral code. It helps pay the bills at YMMV HQ. 🙂
Silvercar Promotions On Facebook And Twitter
Follow Silvercar on Facebook and Twitter. They often list promotions for specific cities.
These sales are stackable with the 20% off first time rental discount.
Say you needed to rent a car for 1 night in Orlando.
After receiving your $25 Visa gift card for using our referral link, the one night rental is costing you $25 for an Audi A4. The cheapest rental for one night from a company I’d rent from onsite at MCO is running $50.
Visa Signature Cardholders Can Save 15%
If you have a Visa Signature card, you can use this webpage to check if you’re eligible for a 15% discount.
Offer valid for U.S.-issued Visa Signature cards. Cardholder must register at https://www.silvercar.com/visa-signature/validate to receive the 15% discount on qualifying Silvercar rentals of two (2) days or more. Cardholder must download the Silvercar app and create a Silvercar account to make a reservation. No blackout dates. Offer not valid with any other offer unless stated otherwise. Discount applies to base rental rate before surcharges and taxes. Your validated U.S.-issued Visa Signature card must be used for the booking. A change to a different card will not receive the discount.
Visa Infinite Cardholders Can Save 30%
When renting for 2 days or more, if you enter code VINFINITE, you can save 30% off the rental price. If you’re using your Sapphire Reserve because it has primary rental coverage, you get a gold star because it’s also a Visa Infinite card.
Off-Site Locations But Personal Service
Silvercar often has rental locations just outside the airport. Don’t let that scare you, there’s no waiting for a shuttle. Here’s how you’ll get picked up at Orlando Airport.
When you arrive at the Orlando Airport, grab your bags and press the “Pick Me Up” button to let us know you’ve arrived.
For both Side A and Side B terminals: Make your way to Level 1 following signs for ground transportation. Exit the terminal and walk to Commercial Lane parking spaces A11-13 for Side A or B11-13 for Side B.
Be on the lookout for a shiny silver Audi. We’ll pick you up curbside, take you to our location, and get you on the road.
Or simply call or text us at (407) 612-6306 to let us know you’ve landed, and we will direct you to our pickup location.
When you return the car, you bring it to the rental location. No worries about how to get there, as Silvercar had already pre-programmed the location into the car’s GPS system. Silvercar will then drive you back to the airport and drop you off at the curb with your luggage.
Silvercar Doesn’t Screw You With Extra Charges
When you rent from Silvercar, they don’t charge you for everything. More importantly, they don’t try to trick you into buying everything. If all car rental companies listed their insurance options like this, I wouldn’t have had to write an article about the main type of insurance and the other insurances other companies try to sell you.
What about filling up the car with gas? Does Silvercar try to sell you a full tank of gas when you rent? Nope. They charge you the current rate for premium fuel plus $5.
Silvercar’s fair fueling promise keeps things simple on your return, whether you refuel yourself or leave it for us to do. If you return your Silvercar with a full tank, you’re good to go. But please, use premium fuel. We care about our Silvercars.
If you’d rather skip refueling to save time and hassle on your return, you’ll be billed at the current local premium fuel rate for exactly what you use, plus a simple $5 fill-up fee. No whole-tank pre-pays, and no exaggerated per-gallon markups.
Crazy toll surcharges, glad you asked.
Don’t forget, we don’t charge you a fee for toll usage, only for the toll itself.
If you write them in advance, they’ll try to get you a car seat for no extra charge.
To request a child seat, provided at no additional charge, please contact us at least one day before the start of your reservation either by emailing support@silvercar.com, or by calling 1-855-FLY-2-CAR (1-855-359-2227). Please indicate the type of child seat requested. We cannot guarantee child seat availability as inventory is limited and provided on a first request basis.
There’s only one thing you can’t do with Silvercar: pay with a debit card.
Silvercar only accepts major credit cards: Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and Discover. At this time, Silvercar does NOT accept debit cards or other methods of payment.
Silvercars are COOL!!!
Come on, there’s something special about renting a cool car. All of the Audis have SiriusXM Radio, Wifi hotspot and navigation included. Sometimes, you just want to have a nice car. Like when you’re going to In-N-Out Burger;
or when you’re staying at the LaQuinta in New Braunfels.
OK, so not the best examples. But you get the idea. It’s not the destination, it’s the trip. Why can’t the trip be a bit of a splurge, if it’s not too much more than you’re paying anyway.
Final Thoughts
I really wish I could use Silvercar more. We haven’t had to rent cars very often recently, as we’ve started using public transportation if available. When we needed a car, it’s in a smaller city where Silvercar just isn’t available yet. I’m not saying that Silvercar is the perfect choice for every rental. However if you’re paying a high price for a rental anyway, it pays to check if Silvercar has any promo pricing available. If you’re renting a luxury car, cause that’s how you roll, then Silvercar will often have competitive prices against the major car rental companies. If you’ve never rented with them before and can stack the $25 rebate from using our code JHEGEDUS with a first time renter discount on top of a special price, Silvercar may be the cheapest rental option available.
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[…] tolls you incur, with no charge for a transponder. Of all the car rental companies out there, Silvercar is our favorite even though we never get to use them […]