Renting a car: More hassles

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Dealing with airport hassles is tough enough, but if you're renting a car, it's gotten worse, according to a new report.

Car rental satisfaction at airports fell in 2007 from a year ago, according to a survey by research firm J.D. Power and Associates, which examined cars, fees, pick-up and return processes, reservations and shuttle buses and vans.

Overall, car rental satisfaction fell to 750 in 2007 on a 1,000-point scale, from 767 points in 2006.

One major reason for the decline: Picking up a rental car takes longer than other parts of the travel experience, like picking up a boarding pass and checking luggage, the survey found.

Rental car customers said they waited an average of 22 minutes to pick up their vehicle and 14 minutes to return it. This compares to air travelers' wait times of about 13 minutes to get a boarding pass and check baggage, 15 minutes to go through airport security, and 18 minutes to retrieve checked luggage.

Still, pricing remains the top concern for those renting cars at airports, one area where Enterprise Rent-A-Car performs particularly well, according to J.D. Power.

Enterprise ranked highest in customer satisfaction among rental car companies for a fourth consecutive year, receiving an overall index score of 777, followed by Hertz (Charts, Fortune 500) and National.

The 2007 Rental Car Satisfaction Study is based on 5,859 evaluations from business and leisure travelers who rented a vehicle at an airport location between September 2006 and September 2007.

To set themselves apart from their competitors, rental car companies have been adding online booking tools, GPS navigation systems and electronic toll collection services in rental vehicles and hourly rental rates.