Lousy cars - fluke or trend?
Jun 4, 2013, 3:49 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Jun 2013
Posts: 1
Lousy cars - fluke or trend?
This really isn't a rant, I'm just curious: I've always rented from Hertz and the cars have always been pretty much "like new" (with some natural allowances I suppose). On my latest trip I rented from a new-to-me location and, well, I was underwhelmed.
The first car I was given had a dirty exterior, nothing major but not nice either. I was hit with the stench of smoke-and-deodorizer when I opened the door. Thought twice about it then walked around when I noticed one door was badly damaged (looked like someone slid it around a concrete pillar or a truck bumper went over it pretty badly), a corner of the bumper had some nasty scratching too. The car's safety inspection was 4 months out of date (plates were good so I assume it hadn't made it back to it's home state), not sure how other state LEOs would look at that - if at all - but it didn't sit well with me. The vehicle also had over 30k on it.
Next to it was a really new looking Toyota. I was tempted to ask for it instead when I noticed one of the front fenders was banged up pretty badly. Both cars looked like they belonged at a bodyshop and not waiting to be rented.
The office happily gave me another car that seemed pretty nice inside and out...it was only a few hours later (after I left the dark parking garage) I noticed a nice strip of paint had been worn down from people dragging luggage/boxes/whatever out of the trunk. Here I was thinking I looked it over really well too (sigh). I'm pondering stopping by the closest corporate location to address that in the morning since I just got the thing.
For the last few years everything I've rented from Hertz has been in the "I wouldn't mind buying this" category. This is my first rental since the end of last summer though, have things changed or was this just bad luck?
The first car I was given had a dirty exterior, nothing major but not nice either. I was hit with the stench of smoke-and-deodorizer when I opened the door. Thought twice about it then walked around when I noticed one door was badly damaged (looked like someone slid it around a concrete pillar or a truck bumper went over it pretty badly), a corner of the bumper had some nasty scratching too. The car's safety inspection was 4 months out of date (plates were good so I assume it hadn't made it back to it's home state), not sure how other state LEOs would look at that - if at all - but it didn't sit well with me. The vehicle also had over 30k on it.
Next to it was a really new looking Toyota. I was tempted to ask for it instead when I noticed one of the front fenders was banged up pretty badly. Both cars looked like they belonged at a bodyshop and not waiting to be rented.
The office happily gave me another car that seemed pretty nice inside and out...it was only a few hours later (after I left the dark parking garage) I noticed a nice strip of paint had been worn down from people dragging luggage/boxes/whatever out of the trunk. Here I was thinking I looked it over really well too (sigh). I'm pondering stopping by the closest corporate location to address that in the morning since I just got the thing.
For the last few years everything I've rented from Hertz has been in the "I wouldn't mind buying this" category. This is my first rental since the end of last summer though, have things changed or was this just bad luck?
Jun 5, 2013, 2:27 am
#2
Join Date: Jun 2008
Programs: Emerald Club, Hhonors, Rapid rewards
Posts: 67
The office happily gave me another car that seemed pretty nice inside and out...it was only a few hours later (after I left the dark parking garage) I noticed a nice strip of paint had been worn down from people dragging luggage/boxes/whatever out of the trunk. Here I was thinking I looked it over really well too (sigh). I'm pondering stopping by the closest corporate location to address that in the morning since I just got the thing.
?
?
Are you upset that these marks diminish the appearance of the vehicle or are you worried that Hertz is going to charge you for the "damage"?
