Driving
You took the bus in Chile when driving is really easy. Sort of like between Buffalo and Rochester with polite non-death wish drivers. The road to the top of the Andes is one of best driving roads around and much better than one will find in Ecuador or Bolivia. The thrill is dealing with the trucks crawling up and down the very serious curves and snow shed/tunnels on the smooth pavment.
Why did you put up with "Pepi" when it is very simple to drive to the nearest Hertz and state what a piece of crap it was? One only needs to demand a replacement for a gas guzzling untuned vehicle and they will give you a replacement after filling out a new contract appended to the old. I'm glald that you did get rid of the odorous first car.