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I just came across this and had to groan!
My husband and I own an exotic rental car company. But let me tell you, the hoops we put people through before we hand over the car....
When they have to put down a damage deposit before renting one, they tend to take very good car of the car!
I just came across this and had to groan!
My husband and I own an exotic rental car company. But let me tell you, the hoops we put people through before we hand over the car....
When they have to put down a damage deposit before renting one, they tend to take very good car of the car!
Renting an exotic and renting a base line Detroit POS are two completely different things. At least in my mind. It's like comparing the bus to first class air travel. Yes both get you from point a to b, but it's a whole different experience and level of expectation.
Renting an exotic and renting a base line Detroit POS are two completely different things. At least in my mind. It's like comparing the bus to first class air travel. Yes both get you from point a to b, but it's a whole different experience and level of expectation.
Agreed! My husband traveled heavily on business before we started doing the rental cars. Can't say he was always super careful with rental cars. Never abused them, but your right, it's a different expectation....still makes me squirm a bit though
I rent cars all the time. National's emerald isle is the best because you can pick your car.
The non destructive testing I've done is all sorts of sex in the car while travelling with my girlfriend. Now I wonder about upholstery stains.
Destructive testing is usually done on hertz or avis when the trip is stressful, and the car isn't what I reserved. My mid size wasn't available once, and I got an economy car. I accelerated and then skidded the back tires over everything. I hit a set of speed bumps pretty hard with the rears locked, and broke the shock mount in the left rear. Generally brake turns are a lot of fun, but I won't do that in MY car, so I get rid of the urge in a rental.
One time I was testing the continuously variable transmission in a dodge during the highway trip back to the airport by putting it in neutral, at speed, and then floring the accelerator till I hit the rev limiter, and keeping the motor at max revs, dropping it into gear. I was able to get the trans to start making noises.
Generally I return the car with flat spotted tires.
I don't do anything destructive just for the sake of being destructive, but this one time years back, I got stuck with a POS Geo Metro rental car, so on a few occasions after my closing shift was over at my retail job, I would take the car out to a nearby dirt lot and do a few handbrake donuts until I got bored. Another time, I got a pair of cheap plastic trays, put them underneath the rear wheels, and engaged the e-brake. I then proceeded to slide the car gracefully across the parking lot with the rear wheels locked and dragging the plastic trays underneath them. It was great fun, but the trays only lasted like 2 minutes
This wasn't really abuse but someone did travel 6,000 miles in two days!!
They wern't happy when the charges were something like .25 a mile
That's an average of 125 mph over the course of the whole 48 hours. The only way that would be possible is if they rented the car just to drive around a nascar circle all day for 2 days straight.
I rent cars all the time. National's emerald isle is the best because you can pick your car.
Everyplace I've ever rented a car at had that, except for Advantage in Las Vegas, where they tried to give me a black car in the middle of summer. I told them I didn't want it, and they gave me something else, so I kindasorta got to pick. Sometimes I'll call the local office of the rental agency to see what cars they've been stocking. One trip, I for some reason reallly wanted a Yaris so I tried to find one. Never did get it, though.
As for abuse...Every car I've ever rented in Las Vegas has left the garage with tires squealing, except for the Kia Soul that didn't have enough torque. (The Charger 2.7 could barely do it.)
-Have driven flat-out around the LV Strip in a PT Cruiser turbo convertible, which demanded as much gasoline as my full-size truck, and premium at that.
-Done the same in a 300C there on my honeymoon...caught someone red-handed about to break into it in the MGM parking garage.
-The Jetta V I rented from Enterprise didn't feel destined for long life after I was done with it.
-Last car I rented there, the 2.7 Charger had a bad transmission. Didn't report it because I didn't feel like getting another car and I didn't want them thinking I had done it.
Once in Tucson I had a Camry so new it didn't have a plate on it yet...did 110 on the freeway...drove it off a curb another time..must have broken something underneath because I smelled antifreeze as I drove away.
The worse that's happened? I ran over a suicidal rabbit that tried to cross I-5 just north of Mettler. And when I had the 3 for over two weeks, I did wash it. That's about it. It's a karma thing, y'know.
OTOH, my friend did prove that a Geo Metro can go off road ...
i hit another car in 5mph traffic. they never found out.
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