Originally Posted by
RooseveltL
One observation - I've seen rental car outfits use the cars for errands in between returns (obtaining food orders, or transporting between locations like Midtown to EWR) so while the last renter did return full the usage by staff decreases fuel guage. Also, depends on location of the rental agency and turnover of cars vs. staffing.
Been there, done that.
Though outright taking a random dirty or ready car off the line solely for a food run was frowned upon (personal errands = use your personal car). However, a detour to get food when moving cars between locations was tolerated, and managers would occasionally grab random cars for "business-related" errands (guilty as charged, and preferably, the decked-out Hemi with heated leather seats
) when the dedicated crew van was otherwise occupied, but that's all only a couple vehicles here or there out of hundreds or even thousands being returned and washed and rented on any given day. Still, staff usage (legitimate or not) is definitely responsible for at least a gallon here or there from the occasional car.