National - A little tip for when you exchange cars

So I picked up a car Sun. morning in the city and went Sun. night to exchange it at the airport (btw- imho all dodge cars majorly suck). Of course at 11 p.m. there's no one outside so I note the mileage and take the keys to the counter. He tells me to pick out the car and bring the keys. Do that. Then he asks me for the mileage and gas level for my first car. I tell him that it's full. He asks when did I fill it up and I say about six minutes ago. He says fine and processes the exchange. Return my car today full (to a diff. location) and there's a $60 charge for refueling. Ask the guy why and he tells me it must be from an exchange (impressed he knew that right away). Go inside. After much back and forth (it's an out of town rental... have to talk to my supervisor...) lady finally removes it. I asked her what more I could have done and at first she says "nothing more to do". Then she says I should've made the guy come out see that it's full and then write it on my original contract. I really believe the guy did this on purpose. I mean what did he have to lose. Could make $60 and worse case scenario he says he made a mistake. I have no proof- it doesn't say any where on the contract the gas level (that's been a pet peeve of mine for years, why not make a field for gas level- I also don't think the guy notes it at the booth so I return it full just in case. One time I didn't and I got into an argument with the return guy, luckily it was for a 4 hour 1 way rental and I was ready to call the guy at the location I picked up from so the guy gave in.) so he just writes empty and I don't know until 2 days later when I return it in a diff. city. Anyway here's my tip: when you exchange a car, get the guy to note the gas level on your original contract and then sign it and date it and get two witnesses to sign and then find a 24 hour notary to notarize it. That might work.

sad incident. It has happened to me multiple times and sometimes I had to just walkaway as some of the attendants are just not worth speaking to IMHO. I will start disputing the amex charges in the future. Lack of trained employees over all is a major pet peeve. good luck on our next rental!

So I picked up a car Sun. morning in the city and went Sun. night to exchange it at the airport (btw- imho all dodge cars majorly suck). Of course at 11 p.m. there's no one outside so I note the mileage and take the keys to the counter. He tells me to pick out the car and bring the keys. Do that. Then he asks me for the mileage and gas level for my first car. I tell him that it's full. He asks when did I fill it up and I say about six minutes ago. He says fine and processes the exchange. Return my car today full (to a diff. location) and there's a $60 charge for refueling. Ask the guy why and he tells me it must be from an exchange (impressed he knew that right away). Go inside. After much back and forth (it's an out of town rental... have to talk to my supervisor...) lady finally removes it. I asked her what more I could have done and at first she says "nothing more to do". Then she says I should've made the guy come out see that it's full and then write it on my original contract. I really believe the guy did this on purpose. I mean what did he have to lose. Could make $60 and worse case scenario he says he made a mistake. I have no proof- it doesn't say any where on the contract the gas level (that's been a pet peeve of mine for years, why not make a field for gas level- I also don't think the guy notes it at the booth so I return it full just in case. One time I didn't and I got into an argument with the return guy, luckily it was for a 4 hour 1 way rental and I was ready to call the guy at the location I picked up from so the guy gave in.) so he just writes empty and I don't know until 2 days later when I return it in a diff. city. Anyway here's my tip: when you exchange a car, get the guy to note the gas level on your original contract and then sign it and date it and get two witnesses to sign and then find a 24 hour notary to notarize it. That might work.

Sad part is you're probably 2 in 10 people that notice it, and the 1 out of the 2 business travellers that even bother to say something. Even if my guess is off by a lot, that still leaves a lot of unsubscribed profit from unsuspecting people, or corporate travellers that might not care.

a lot of unsubscribed profit from unsuspecting people, or corporate travellers that might not care.

Seems to me that's how most rental car companies survive. Selling people stuff they don't want or need (GPS, Fuel, Upgrades, INSURANCE...) and a few scare tactics (do you really think your insurance for a 10k car is gonna cover a 40k car?) to make people buy it and then throw in some more stuff they don't catch on to and hope it all sticks. A rental agent told me once that 80% of the profit comes from extras and upsells and bs taxes like recoupment and concession and airport tax (meaning the base rate covers the wear and tear on the car and to maintain it... and a little more, the rest of the crap they sell you is all gravy). That's why they'll rent you a car for $14 a day on the weekend and then you'll have a coupon bringing the total to $35 for 3 days b/c they figure they'll be able to upsell you and sell you insurance and other crap. Just got to be a little savvy, patient, and sometimes fight for what's right to get the good deal.

Forgot to mention, a checkout booth lady told me that she gets screamed at by her manager every so often for not pushing the GPS and fuel option hard enough.

For the record - I take photos. Of the condition of the car, both inside and out, and of the gas levels when I receive the car and when I return it. Takes just seconds, but then I'm left with timestamped proof of alleged malfeasance - or lack thereof.

Truth be told, I've only had to use these photos once or twice, but are they ever great to have when you need 'em.

I actually like the option of getting a GPS. Don't need one every time but if I am travelling to a new city or to new parts of a city I am somewhat familiar with, I like to have the GPS.

I had a similar problem once when exchanging at YYZ. My first car was an Impala on which I took prepaid fuel. Because I had to wait an hour to get the car, and it wasn't full when I got it, the manager left me a Sebring Convertible to pick up once I returned to YYZ (I was down in London for the first week of my 15 day trip).

When I got to YYZ, the Impala was nearly empty, and I'd planned to take prepaid fuel on the Sebring. I wasn't naive and knew there'd be a second charge to do so. However, the agent said I couldn't because I'd already returned the Impala empty. Had I known that, I would've just filled the Impala and used the prepaid fuel on the Sebring since I was dropping it before catching a flight. Worse still, the Sebring wasn't full either (needle dropped as soon as I hit the 427). The day before returning it, I happened to be at the airport so I inquired about filling the car about 40 km away and then bringing it back as-is, to even out having not received it full. The agent (different one) said I couldn't because I would get charged, but then noted that I had prepaid fuel on the Sebring. When I asked her if she was sure, she then corrected herself and read me a note saying I was aware of a $184 refueling charge if I brought the Sebring back empty.

So the system has a way to charge me three bucks a litre but not to add a prepaid charge to a second vehicle. Bizarre.

Another time I had a Pontiac Grand Prix overnight and took it back cause it had 32k on it and badly need servicing. I was exchanged into a Dodge Journey. I'd taken prepaid fuel, but just topped up the Pontiac before returning. When I brought back the Journey empty, there were no additional charges and all ran smoothly. Better still, the prepaid charge was based on the Pontiac's tank, which is about 15 litres smaller than the Journey's. :D

I've rambled, but just my experiences regarding exchanges and fuel follies.