Here's an interesting Thrifty-related item from the
San Jose Mercury News:
Mercurynews:
Chrysler van comes fully loaded -- cocaine included
Updated: 11/14/2011 05:28:26 AM PST
In May 2010, Thrifty Car Sales Santa Clara sold a van to a buyer for $14,000 in cash. The article indicates that the buyer immediately noticed a problem:
The moment he drove the white van off the lot, he noticed the window on the driver's side wouldn't quite go down all the way and the passenger's side window also stuck a little. But he figured he could live with it since the Town and Country van had an excellent air-conditioning system. He also said he'd never bought a used car before, so he didn't realize he might have been able to bring it right back to the dealer for a free repair.
Fifteen months later, the buyer starts having trouble with the van's brakes, so he takes it in for servicing. The mechanic offers to look at the stuck window.... and finds hidden packets of cocaine in the door. According to the article:
Police quickly arrived and found 14 packages of cocaine hidden in the doors. After impounding the van for closer examination, they found five more above the back wheels, Preston said.
"They told me, 'You're so lucky, you'd be in jail for the rest of your life if you got searched in a traffic stop and they found this.' "
I think I'm going to start ensuring that all my windows roll down all the way every time I pick up a rental car...