astonmartinv8

I rented a C63 AMG from Hertz LAS last Tuesday via gold.

We checked over the car with the manager and any damage was recorded. So far so good. After driving the car for a few hours we noticed a pungent smell like smelly socks from the air conditioning [Note to self - should have sniffed harder when collecting the car]. I phoned the Hertz McCarran telephone line on Wednesday to see if I could exchange the car and if they had another C63 available. I tried 4 times and each time the call went through to an answerphone so in the end I left a message. No one called me back.

Therefore on Thursday the smell was still very strong so I went to the rental centre and queued up then was advised to take the car and top the fuel up then bring it back to exchange (or pay $9.99 a gallon) [Note to self - should have kept calling until I could confirm they had a C63 available, then kept car constantly topped up with fuel]. I did so, then handed the car back for exchange. I queued up again and asked for a new car. I asked for a lower mileage car as the older the cars there the more likely they are damaged and / or dirty. On making the exchange, the agent advised the mileage from the previous car which we realised was 100 miles more than we had traveled (showing as 180 miles for LAS-Hilton Elara-Aria-Exotics Racing-Aria-Hilton Elara-LAS) [Note to self - as well as checking condition of car, make damn sure I check the mileage when collecting]. I then had to argue extensively the point that we had only traveled 80 not 180 miles since we had collected the car. I have to say that the agent looked straight through me when I suggested that the mileage had been recorded wrongly. David, the manager, said he would look into this and get back to me same day. [Note to self - ask for manager's cell-phone number so I can call him when he doesn't call me]

I was given a car and checked it over with David. All seemed ok and off he went, but then we started the car and realised there was no CF map card in the car so the satnav did not work [Note to self - as well as checking condition and mileage of car when collecting, get inside the car and check everything else works]. I queued up again and asked for this to be corrected and after some extended discussion we were offered a portable satnav. Another manager came out and said some of the newer lower mileage C63's do not have satnav. We have a phone so after further discussion and requests for them to simply switch over the CF card from the car we had just exchanged, we gave up and got on our way, given we had been there for more than 90 minutes by then. After driving a few hundred yards we noticed that the second C63 had a very very bad rattle from the rear of the cabin. We took the car back to the rental station and handed it back then went to Avis and got a GL450. [Note to self - rent from Avis in first place].

I have rented a large number of cars from Hertz at LAS and other locations over the years, including a number of C63s this year. This was by far the most appalling experience I have ever had when renting a car. The C63's there were not in good condition. The staff were far more interested in penny pinching that respecting my time and inconvenience and quite unwilling to give us what we paid for and Hertz committed to. We wasted more than three hours of our vacation as a result of Hertz. It is 5 days later now and David (the Manager) never did call me back or email. None of his staff even apologised for our repeat inconvenience. [Note to self - 1) maintain extremely low expectations of Hertz cars at LAS cleanliness and condition to avoid disappointment in future 2) maintain my own checklist that I ask Hertz manager to fill in when I collect the dream car - what is car mileage, is there any damage, does everything work, are there any faults I should tell the customer about, is the car actually clean].

In the end we were only overcharged $40 or so for the time / mileage we used. However, may I ask how best do I complain in a way that someone senior may take note and listen?

gravix

I have a 1-day Corvette rental scheduled in LAS in a few days where I am very much surprised by the cheap rate that they are quoting me ($162 -
more details here http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/hertz...scle-cars.html)

I'm certainly hoping the vettes do not suffer from the same problems you're seeing on the C63 in the LAS fleet - that would be a major disappointment indeed.

To answer your question, have you taken this up to their social media accounts on FB/twitter?

astonmartinv8

Hi thanks, I have filled in a refund request on the website for the excess miles. I also hope you get a clean car in good condition.

jim32190

You won't get anywhere with website requests. They take 2+ weeks. Even for something as simple as a status match.

What you could do instead is try and call the Hertz Gold Plus Rewards line, they might be able to work something out.

astonmartinv8

Unsurprisingly, you were right. No one from Hertz has made contact in over a week.

gorbatzjov

Reminds me of a joke I had with Avis in BRU a year or so ago. I rented a standard car (unlim KMs) and was in a hurry when I dropped the car off at the airport. So I just gave the keys to the guy, didn't wait for the receipt and just ran off to the airport.
I didn't receive an invoice in my email box like I usually do, so called up Avis. "Wait a few days"... 3 days later I finally got the invoice: huge extra payment for 3 days extra rent, and 6/8th of a tank of fuel.
Luckily I had my boarding pass with the date of return, and a copy of the fuel receipt and a picture of the dashboard stating the total KM. After some discussion they refunded me, but I highly suspect the Avis guy in the lot taking the car for a spin for 3 days on my account...

(I didn't mention anything on the car itself, as it's always the same with Avis in BRU: cheap models, low options, high KMs and hugely underpowered cars)