questions about rental cars

[audreyh1]

Seriously! I was saying the same thing to DW on the way out with the new car. We always do a walk around and take pictures of anything not perfect, even the normal wear and tear type stuff and filling out the damage card they have before leaving the lot. So now we also have to check the tires? We wouldn't even be able to see a nail if it were lodged facing upward or downward.

Well I think we might have noticed a very low tire - 15 pounds - if we had paid attention. DH usually has a tire gage but we don’t routinely use it. You can’t rely on the car tire pressure monitoring system until you’ve driven a ways, and it could be too late.

It’s tough carefully inspecting a rental car after a long day of travel as you are quite tired, and the parking garage is often dim.

 

[tutan]

just for future references, haven't had this happen to me yet. What if my rental car breaks down on the road while doing a road trip. what is my course of action? do I call my own AAA and have it towed to my hotel and wait for a new rental? Am i entitled to a new rental and any discount/reimbursement for the trouble it has caused me? I have the basic AAA which only covers the first 7 miles, i guess I'll be responsible for the extra towing cost?

AAA Plus and Premier will tow 100+ miles, so there's flexibility there. I've had my cars towed to my mechanic in town a few times and to my home too. AAA basic/Classic will tow to the closest shop or the tow company's favorite mechanic. That happened to me. I've switched to Plus since.

 

[braumeister]

AAA Plus and Premier will tow 100+ miles, so there's flexibility there.

If you're fortunate enough to have USAA insurance, I've found their Roadside Assistance to be superb. Had AAA Plus long ago and USAA's service came through for me when AAA didn't. Just had to use it again last year when DW got stranded on the highway, and she couldn't stop raving about the treatment she had. It's about $14 a year per vehicle, and well worth it.

 

[Spock]

AAA Plus and Premier will tow 100+ miles, so there's flexibility there. I've had my cars towed to my mechanic in town a few times and to my home too. AAA basic/Classic will tow to the closest shop or the tow company's favorite mechanic. That happened to me. I've switched to Plus since.

Signed up to AAA this morning. AAA Basic will only tow 5 miles. Premier will do 200 miles. $119 premium membership now covers only 1 person. Had to pay an extra $77 to cover my spouse.

 

[sengsational]

One of the nice things about renting through Turo is they require you to take photos of everything through their app when you pick up the car, and again when you return it. Never had a problem, but it saves you from a possible source of stress.

I've been doing the pictures for my own defense, but it's often hard to get good pictures in the deep recesses of the garage.

In October, I took all the pictures, got in, turned the key, and the low tire alert was on. They (Enterprise) put me in a nicer car (low mileage) and I was on my way (after taking another set of pictures).

It’s tough carefully inspecting a rental car after a long day of travel as you are quite tired, and the parking garage is often dim.

Yeah, and all of the above was after a red-eye where I got zero sleep.

Here's another place for credit card insurance to step-in. We have the "collision damage waiver", which is pretty much universal. We need the "crappy tire coverage".

 

[JoeWras]

This topic is great because it isn't theoretical. Sengsational's low tire indicator is a good example.

The problem I see with rental cars is they are abused or poorly driven, mostly due to unfamiliarity. These cars are not driven like you would drive your car.

Many, many curbs meet tires (kerbs meet tyres?) in rental cars because people are not familiar with the turning radius of the vehicle. Renters are hell on the tires. It is also not good for the suspension like the CV boots or brake lines.

You could say the same for the battery: leaving things on, sitting around with the engine off and the reading lamp on while you look at a map or fiddle the phone, and so on.

There are plenty of chances to cause hidden damage that show up days or months later.

 

[NW-Bound]

Many, many curbs meet tires (kerbs meet tyres?) in rental cars because people are not familiar with the turning radius of the vehicle. Renters are hell on the tires. It is also not good for the suspension like the CV boots or brake lines...

I still remember this scene in Kings Canyon NP campground. A Cruise America RV renter solved the problem of his uneven parking spot by driving one corner of the RV onto a rock the size of a melon.

One of the right rearwheel duallies was sitting on that round rock. The inner tire of the duallies was sitting up in the air. The weight of the right rear corner was pressing down on the spot the tire met the rock. I should have taken a photo.

Made me wonder if he would have the stressed tire blowing up later in his trip. Or perhaps some hapless later renters would have that opportunity.

 

[ER_Hopeful]

turns out i can use my mega-corp's rental policy with Avis for personal use. according to the rep, most things (rental car and liabilities, etc ) are covered except towing.



oh well, fingers crossed!

 

[JoeWras]

turns out i can use my mega-corp's rental policy with Avis for personal use. according to the rep, most things (rental car and liabilities, etc ) are covered except towing.


oh well, fingers crossed!

It's a common perk that even the common employees can get at most Megacorps.

And I miss it!

 

[mpeirce]

You could say the same for the battery: leaving things on, sitting around with the engine off and the reading lamp on while you look at a map or fiddle the phone, and so on.

Many (most?) newer cars prevent battery drain when you leave inside lights or whatever on. They just turn everything off after a while.

I knew our previous car did that, but with our new(-ish) car I wasn’t sure. I had driven to the airport and turned on an interior light to eat a quick lunch before going into the airport. Didn’t give it a thought, but later I realized that I had left the light on. And for the rest of the trip I was worried that I’d return to a car with a dead battery. I *hoped* it would turn off the light for me, but wasn’t sure.

Luckily, I returned and found the car to be fine and it started right up.

 

[Out of Steam]

Tell me about it. I had run flats on my BMW. I got a side blow out so it was no longer a run flat. A new tire was 3-4 weeks out.

My daughter waited almost a week for a pair of tires recently. Though she didn't try multiple sellers as she works from home and mostly uses the car on weekends.

 

[Koolau]

My daughter waited almost a week for a pair of tires recently. Though she didn't try multiple sellers as she works from home and mostly uses the car on weekends.

Yet another reason I resist the move toward low aspect ratio tires. I had to take the old Buick in for 2 tires last year (10 year old tire - it was time to replace) and Tire Barn had 'em in stock - as many as I wanted. YMMV

 

[Drake3287]

Many (most?) newer cars prevent battery drain when you leave inside lights or whatever on. They just turn everything off after a while.

I knew our previous car did that, but with our new(-ish) car I wasn’t sure. I had driven to the airport and turned on an interior light to eat a quick lunch before going into the airport. Didn’t give it a thought, but later I realized that I had left the light on. And for the rest of the trip I was worried that I’d return to a car with a dead battery. I *hoped* it would turn off the light for me, but wasn’t sure.

Luckily, I returned and found the car to be fine and it started right up.

Or you could have prevented all that worrying by simply pulling up the car's operating manual online! (I have had that feeling though!)

 

[lawman]

On a related note, I recently was supplied with a rental while my truck was in the body shop. They told me that if I was involved in an accident regardless of who was at fault I would be on the hook for the daily amount for the entire number of days the rental was out of service for repairs..

 

[tutan]

On a related note, I recently was supplied with a rental while my truck was in the body shop. They told me that if I was involved in an accident regardless of who was at fault I would be on the hook for the daily amount for the entire number of days the rental was out of service for repairs..

Also your own auto insurance probably won’t cover that either. That’s a selling point for the LDW (loss damage waiver) by car rentals.

 

[Northforker]

I was driving my rental car back to the airport from a job assignment. A scrap metal truck dumped a chunk of stainless steel that resembled a VW bumper in my lane with no room to evade. The chunk penetrated the grill, the radiator, and the fan. The car immediately went into limp mode, fortunately the exit was less than 1/2 a mile. The rental car company took me to the airport in the wrecker hauling the car back. Since there was no ticket issued or corroborating witnesses, I was stuck with the repair bill of $4500. Company covered it. i filed a police report, It didn't make any difference.

 

[Koolau]

Some day, the rental car companies will be begging for our business again. It will be up to us at that time to beat them back into submission about such things as damage to their cars and shoddy maintenance, etc. Until then, I'm doing my best never to rent a car, though sometimes, it's the only way to get someplace.

Several recent trips to Big Island, I've depended upon family or friends for airport rides. I make it worth their while by paying for meals. I think everyone comes out ahead that way - except the Car Rentals. But YMMV.

 

[ncbill]

I was driving my rental car back to the airport from a job assignment. A scrap metal truck dumped a chunk of stainless steel that resembled a VW bumper in my lane with no room to evade. The chunk penetrated the grill, the radiator, and the fan. The car immediately went into limp mode, fortunately the exit was less than 1/2 a mile. The rental car company took me to the airport in the wrecker hauling the car back. Since there was no ticket issued or corroborating witnesses, I was stuck with the repair bill of $4500. Company covered it. i filed a police report, It didn't make any difference.

An unlimited non-owned vehicle rider on your auto insurance would cover the above, though it would count as a claim on your auto insurance.

It would also cover any daily charges ("loss-of-use") for the time the rental was out of service for repairs.

That rider is often inexpensive and can be added/removed as needed:

https://www.mymoneyblog.com/state-farm-auto-insurance-rental-car-coverage.html

 

[Northforker]

The car was rented with a company CC, therefore their fleet insurance was in effect.

 

[shafer9]

[
“I've heard people say that flat tires are the responsibility of the renter. “

It happened to me out west near Monument Valley. Ended up hassling with the rental company and they pretty much told me I’m on my own—and I better not replace the tire with something that wasn’t already on the car. So, we drove on the donut for a while and finally found a tire shop that would patch the thing. They did, we rode on it the rest of the trip, and we got away with it. I was not impressed with the rental car service.

 

[Out of Steam]

Yet another reason I resist the move toward low aspect ratio tires.

I agree with you on this. That car was my wife's and the 50 series tires (on 17 inch rims) have always been susceptible to damage.

Its replacement has 65 series tires on 16 inch rims. An advantage as far as I'm concerned.

 

[Gearhead Jim]

Tell me about it. I had run flats on my BMW. I got a side blow out so it was no longer a run flat. A new tire was 3-4 weeks out.

Our primary cars for the last 21 years/250k miles have runflats and no place to carry a spare, though I keep a small compressor in the trunk. Tire monitor gives you a warning if the pressure drops by 5 psi, and you can view the individual pressures at any time. I like the system.

They tell you to drive minimum distance at slower speed if you have a flat, so the tire can usually be repaired.
What if you can tell that it's unrepairable, or just have to keep going? I did an on-line survey several years ago, and did not find anyone who actually had a runflat fail from driving flat. The longest distance on a flat runflat was something like 400 miles and he stopped only because he got home.

I've also seen pictures of runflats with sidewall holes you could put your fist into, and others with damage from road trash the ruined both the tire and the wheel. Some even had so much tire torn loose that they had to cut the flapping parts off to avoid fender damage. They all kept driving to a convenient repair place. I'm sure there are exceptions, but not many.

Someone said that with runflats you stop for repair because you choose to, not because you are forced to.

 

[Montecfo]

Yet another reason I resist the move toward low aspect ratio tires. I had to take the old Buick in for 2 tires last year (10 year old tire - it was time to replace) and Tire Barn had 'em in stock - as many as I wanted. YMMV

Agree. Cheaper also.