Globehopper
Feb 23, 09, 11:45 am
I booked a car at the Buffalo HLE on Pearl Street this past weekend for a 2 day weekend rental.
As I entered the facility, I could see the lone Gold Club envelope--my rental waiting. That was a welcoming sign. According to the friendly staff person, as a Gold member I was given a 1 hour extension free of charge (he said that was Gold policy); my rental time out was shown as 1 hour later than the time I booked. I didn't know this was policy. So far, so good. ^
As a non smoker, I was given a car with a non smoking sticker and an ashtray still with ashes inside. The car smelled of smoke. Normally, I can air it out while driving with windows open at 55+ MPH, and that helps. But with BUF winter weather and snow, that was not comfortable nor desirable.
I asked about changing cars, but was told that I had the only clean car on the lot, so no changes possible. I asked about spraying some air freshener and was told that was ineffective. Thus, I had to breathe a smoky car for the duration of the rental.
After leaving the lot, I noticed the fuel gauge was closer to 3/4 full than 4/4 full, but the contract indicated the car had a full tank. Of course the actual fluid in the tank was likely less than 3/4 given that many fuel gauges are not accurate with needles going past "F." So back to the HLE to take care of this matter. I wanted a full tank as I was driving into Canada and wanted to stock up on cheaper gas. I was given credit for 7/8 of a tank.
As the weather from BUF to Toronto was at times snowing, with plenty of road spray hitting the windshield, I noticed that the windshield fluid quickly ran out. So I refilled the reservoir after purchasing more fluid from a Canadian Tire store.
That's when I noticed that there was some type of blockage that prevented filling of the windshield fluid reservoir. Thus, I could only fill about a cup full of fluid at a time, and had to stop numerous times to refill the reservoir throughout the weekend.
This is always fun to do in cold, snowy weather.
I returned this car at BUF, and was astonished to see "return" staff given that they had fired the return staff. It turns out that they were hostlers/shifters who move the cars about and when available, they help note fuel/mileage levels. You still have to go inside to get a receipt.
The friendly counter staff at BUF did reimburse me for the windshield fluid and gave me a $25 certificate (I didn't know that they could do that!).
He also mentioned that the HLEs do not often refuel or service the cars as he said they lack those facilities.
What is preventing me from a future BUF HLE rental is the choice of one and only one car when things go wrong, as well as the lack of quality control.
As I entered the facility, I could see the lone Gold Club envelope--my rental waiting. That was a welcoming sign. According to the friendly staff person, as a Gold member I was given a 1 hour extension free of charge (he said that was Gold policy); my rental time out was shown as 1 hour later than the time I booked. I didn't know this was policy. So far, so good. ^
As a non smoker, I was given a car with a non smoking sticker and an ashtray still with ashes inside. The car smelled of smoke. Normally, I can air it out while driving with windows open at 55+ MPH, and that helps. But with BUF winter weather and snow, that was not comfortable nor desirable.
I asked about changing cars, but was told that I had the only clean car on the lot, so no changes possible. I asked about spraying some air freshener and was told that was ineffective. Thus, I had to breathe a smoky car for the duration of the rental.
After leaving the lot, I noticed the fuel gauge was closer to 3/4 full than 4/4 full, but the contract indicated the car had a full tank. Of course the actual fluid in the tank was likely less than 3/4 given that many fuel gauges are not accurate with needles going past "F." So back to the HLE to take care of this matter. I wanted a full tank as I was driving into Canada and wanted to stock up on cheaper gas. I was given credit for 7/8 of a tank.
As the weather from BUF to Toronto was at times snowing, with plenty of road spray hitting the windshield, I noticed that the windshield fluid quickly ran out. So I refilled the reservoir after purchasing more fluid from a Canadian Tire store.
That's when I noticed that there was some type of blockage that prevented filling of the windshield fluid reservoir. Thus, I could only fill about a cup full of fluid at a time, and had to stop numerous times to refill the reservoir throughout the weekend.
This is always fun to do in cold, snowy weather.
I returned this car at BUF, and was astonished to see "return" staff given that they had fired the return staff. It turns out that they were hostlers/shifters who move the cars about and when available, they help note fuel/mileage levels. You still have to go inside to get a receipt.
The friendly counter staff at BUF did reimburse me for the windshield fluid and gave me a $25 certificate (I didn't know that they could do that!).
He also mentioned that the HLEs do not often refuel or service the cars as he said they lack those facilities.
What is preventing me from a future BUF HLE rental is the choice of one and only one car when things go wrong, as well as the lack of quality control.