Getting a downgrade to a lousy diesel in London
I rented from Hertz in London in Dec and instead of getting a nice, ordinary Mondeo, they said they'd upgraded me and then stuck me with a diesel. When I objected, they said it wasn't that different and that they didn't have another car I could have! (Err, like, what I'd actually paid for, for example!)
Well, I wish I'd pushed it more. This was the worst rental car I've ever had: The rotten thing had almost no guts at all under 2000 RPM and must have the worst engine management system ever. I stalled it more times than I've stalled all other cars I've ever driven put together! And the 6-speed gearbox had reverse next to first, with no special action at all required to put it in reverse, so it was almost impossible to tell whether you were in first or reverse.... a real advantage at traffic lights!
I don't know why Hertz bought any of these crappy things, but if they paid more than the scrap metal value, they were ripped off, as are we when we get forced to drive one.