Rental Car PSA! (Long Beach, Burbank, Highland: maintenance, live, floor)

[chrishardin]

With apologies to anyone on this forum who may be an employee of the Enterprise Rent-a-car at LAX...

Visitors of this forum planning a trip to LA, do NOT rent from Enterprise if you do not absolutely have to!

On the 3rd day of my trip last August, I went to my car in the garage of the Crowne Plaza Beverly Hills, on my way to an appointment in Burbank, when I noticed a small crack at the base of the windshield on the driver's side. I couldn't be late to Burbank, so I decided to ignore the crack until that evening when I was done.

From the car sitting in the hot sun all day, by the time I returned to it around 6pm, the crack was enormous, and it was safe to say that the car should not be driven. I immediately contacted Enterprise, wondering if I could be picked up and taken to get a new car (or, failing that, if I could return the car to a nearby Enterprise location). The woman I spoke with on the phone told me that I had no choice but to return the car to the LAX location, and that it should be done right away.

Now, I'm not from the area (it was actually my first time in LA), but even I know what an evening commute from Burbank to LAX is like. I very reluctantly drove to LAX, and thankfully no rocks or big bugs hit the windshield on the freeways, because it would have been totally busted.

When I got to the Enterprise, I asked the first person I spoke with to get me the manager, and as it turned out, I was already speaking with the manager. Now the manager was angry with me for not immediately assuming that she might possibly have been the manager, and things just went downhill from there. No one apologized for making me drive from Burbank to LAX in an unsafe car at night in a foreign city, and as such I will never rent from them again.

I only just now thought to write about this because I am planning my next trip out to the area, and I have been looking at other rental car companies and it brought back all of the bad memories.

Similarly, I am wondering if anyone else has had an experience with Enterprise, or another company, that compares to or exceeds the level of customer service I received.

--Chris

[tvpirate05]

I rented from (actually assigned to) Enterprise twice, once following an accident, and again after I took my car to the dealership for scheduled maintenance.

Both times the interior was absolutely filthy, with stains on the seats and floor mats. Unfortunately, I was in a rush, and since I wasn't paying for it, I took the cars given to me.

But I would never voluntarily pay for one of their cars.

[bhcompy]

ive honestly always had success with enterprise, but thats life. if you're looking for a discount rate, alamo and budget work too.

[chrishardin]

Originally Posted by bhcompy

ive honestly always had success with enterprise, but thats life. if you're looking for a discount rate, alamo and budget work too.

I was actually quite pleased with the quality/cleanliness of the car I was given (a Jeep Commander), as well as the car they replaced it with (a Dodge Durango). It was the service - the fact that there were no less than 4 other Enterprise locations between where I was and LAX - and the fact that they had no problem with my driving one of their cars across town with a broken windshield at night (especially when they knew I was from out of town) that bothered me. They 'made up for it' though by not requiring me to return the damaged car with a full tank of gas. Some company.

[msm618]

My wife and I were in L.A. for ten days in early July of last year.

Jet Blue (our carrier) flies out of Long Beach. I had searched rental cars long before we traveled, and settled on Rent4Less. We were glad we did! The Long Beach store is about 5 minutes from the airport, in the 3600 block of E. PCH.

We rented a Toyota Highlander, with 3600 miles on the clock. Interior/exterior clean as a whistle, and a non-smoker to boot. We had elbow room, downright bone-chilling AC (during a record heat wave) and decent fuel economy for a SUV. The elevated platform was a blessing when in freeway traffic.

The rates were much more reasonable than "majors".

We'll definately rent from this outfit next time we're in SoCal!

Mike

[greggd]

Originally Posted by chrishardin

With apologies to anyone on this forum who may be an employee of the Enterprise Rent-a-car at LAX...
-Chris

Enterprise has always been the wholesaler rental company, originally concentrating on body shops, repair shops, and dealerships.

Several of the westside offices have improved their stock since they have contracted with the dealers.. mercedes, jaguar, martin cadillac etc..
However, i would imagine, lax wouldnt have the top picks available.

[dereistic01]

i had to get an enterprise car a few weeks ago after an accident, i basically had no choice, that's where they took me (plus it wasnt costing me anything so i didnt really care). im new here and dont really know anyone, and the guy refused to take me home. i wasnt that far away, 10 miles at most, takes like 20 minutes to get home. you would think someone that just spent $887 on a rental car, they would take them home, but no, i had to call a cab.

the car was great, except the service tire light was on the whole time. i checked all the tires and they were all good.

[greggd]

Originally Posted by dereistic01

i had to get an enterprise car a few weeks ago after an accident, i basically had no choice, that's where they took me (plus it wasnt costing me anything so i didnt really care). im new here and dont really know anyone, and the guy refused to take me home. i wasnt that far away, 10 miles at most, takes like 20 minutes to get home. you would think someone that just spent $887 on a rental car, they would take them home, but no, i had to call a cab.

the car was great, except the service tire light was on the whole time. i checked all the tires and they were all good.

They should have given you a ride home. They have offered me that service in the past.

[dereistic01]

they offered me a ride, but when i told them where i live, they told me it was too far.