I picked up a car from CLE this week to return to CAK (about 1 hour south). Normally Hertz spit-shines their vehicles, but not this one. I got a grand marquis with TX plates and about 26K miles. When I got in, the first thing I noticed was there was grease all over the radio controls (like someone had been eating fries and adjusting the radio). While programming in some stations, I noticed a few of the buttons were broken -- they stick in once they're pushed, and I had to mess with them a bit to get them "un stuck" so the radio would work.

Then, driving out of the rental lot, when I stepped on the brakes, an empty coke bottle rolled out from under the drivers seat.

Anyone else seen this, when you tell them you're returning it elsewhere? Do they give you the oldest most beat up car they can find to ship off to another location?

There is no reason for you to get an out of state vehicle because your tract was one way! I've rented one ways before and once last year my plane got diverted to CLE cause of weather so I rented a Hertz car to drive up to michigan and return to DTW. I called Gold desk and made the res and had a quick bite at the airport and headed out to the LITTLE rental plaza and had a Crown Vic that had 4600 miles on it. I believe this is a franchise location so they freak when they have to send their own cars away from there own city, but I would have stucked to my guns and said hey I would like to be reassigned. Espically if your PC....
Send an email to hertz customer service, you might find some rewards in doing so.
Good Luck

Heck, I'm only gonna have the car for 4 days, and once I get it down to Akron, I only spend 10 minutes or so per day in the thing. I tossed the coke bottle, wiped down the radio, and made a mental note of which buttons NOT to push....

It's not worth being labeled a chronic whiner over. I suspect that the more complaints they get from people, the less likely you are to get a really decent upgrade (I got a Lincoln LS 2 weeks ago that was sweet -- almost called and told them I'd keep it for 60 days and paid parking at the airport, it was so nice).

This is indeed a franchise location and its not whining when calling corp and letting them know what CLE did to such a client. It is not procedure.
Hertz needs to know when a franchise location is not following hertz standard practices.

LS yeah they might have had a ton of them so when your ticket came up it was easier to slap it on a LS then having to track down ur original res!

Just another 2 cents

I had a very similar experience on a one-way PDX-SJC. I was first given a car with Indiana license plates, but it reeked so much with smoke that my girlfriend immediately started sneezing. I exchange it and was given a New York plated one, which turned out to have severe safety issues: underinflated tires (remember the Explorers?) and windshield wipers so worn that you couldn't see through them. It also had 25,000+ miles.

I wrote in to let them know of the situation and got a form letter advising of their emergency assistance 800#. Next time instead of filling the tires myself I will call that number and have someone come out (at great expense to Hertz) so that they pay better attention next time.