Car rental horror stories
Let's hear them!
Aside from general nickel-and-diming, the one story I have happened in the early 80's when I was a kid. Went to Maui for the first time with my parents and my younger sister. Picked up an economy car at OGG from a local car rental place (that has since gone out of business, thank goodness).
On the drive from OGG to Kaanapali, my sister and I in the back seat were the first to notice something terrifying in the car - cockroaches. Not just one or two, but HUNDREDS of them. Crawling all over - the doors, armrests, under the seats. Yes, it's the islands and roaches usually aren't a big deal, but this car looked like a museum insect exhibit. By the time we noticed how bad the infestation was, we were already close to Kaanapali.
When we finally were able to stop and my dad was able to perform a closer inspection of the car (and the rest of us able to get out of it), it was evident that it was way worse than we imagined. Lifting up the rubber floor mats revealed puddles of fluid that looked/smelled suspiciously like urine, and roaches and other creepy-crawlies were just swimming in it. At that point my dad decided to drive back to OGG with the rest of us (despite me and my sister's pleas to let us stay at the side of the road and wait for his return) and return the car. The trip back was that much more horrifying since we now knew what we were riding in and sitting on.
Even scarier was the reaction my dad got at the rental counter when he walked up and started chewing them out - a mixture of shrugs and "so what's the big deal?" looks. Ended up renting a brand new, roach-free car from Hertz and the remainder of the trip was fun and uneventful.