Originally Posted by
JLewisinSyr
I don't have an issue with a company picking choosing options in their fleet vehicles, but actively deleting a standard feature seems sneaky and wrong.
I mean, how many used car website/dealerships, etc have every single option/feature listed? Not many, they rely on the manufacturers standard equipment listings or for consumers to do due diligence using that same information. If I was looking to buy a used car, one of the first things I would do is check the OEM manufacturers website to see what was included as standard (along with sites like Edmunds and MSN Autos, etc).
What is even worst is that the problem just doesn't stop with Enterprise selling the vehicle the first purchaser, individuals susequently purchasing the vehicle from the person who bought it from Enterprise also will have a problem and may not realize that the vehicle was alternatively equipped by deleting standard equipment.
I realize they are not breaking the law, but its pretty unethical in a way too. I mean, someone mentioned Volvo on here (I own an S80), they are one of the safest vehicles, but if Enterprise strong armed GM to drop side airbags for a cost savings, whose to say they didn't with Volvo or any other manufacturer. The concept of OEM equipment is kind of lost.
Enterprise didnt delete a standard feature. The fleet version of the Impala for those years did not come with standard side air bags. This wasnt limited to Enterprise but many other "fleet" companies recevied the same type of car. The "retail" version of the car had standard side airbags. The controvery surrounding Enterprise is that when these vehicles were sold, they had the manufacturers "retail" specs in error, which listed side airbags as standard. Enterprise wasn't trying to cut corners and the vehicles in question certainly were not unsafe, although the consumer did receive wrong information. Many manufacturers produce "fleet" vehicles which are optioned dfferently in some cases than the "consumer" version.