Renting a car....share your experiences.

[Buzzman]

Hi folks,

just got back from another trip.
Went to Scottsdale, Arizona to attend the Barrett-Jackson auction. First time there. Awesome time.
Then spent a few days in Vegas.
Anyway, the point here is, I almost always rent a car, and it gives me an opportunity to "test" some vehicles.
I've had some bad experiences, and now, a good one.
In Scottdale, I drove a new Kia Optima. Wasn't sure what to expect, but it turned into a pleasant surprise. It was a damn nice car. Drove great, quiet as hell, easy on gas and very comfortable.
In Vegas I had a Chevy Impala. BORING!!!!.
The worst thing I ever rented would have to be a Dodge Caliber. Brutally bad.
So, share your experiences, good or bad.
Cheers.

[alms24sebring]

I had a V6 Charger that we took to a ski trip. It was actually fun, not fast but fairly comfortable.

One of my friends used to work for Enterprise and would tell me stories like finding drug bags and other paraphernalia. The cars would come back smelling like weed with ashes, blunt guts, and roaches all over it.. lol.

[Jesda]

2009 Nissan Frontier -- A solid truck that drove like a car. I used it to haul stuff and it did a commendable job. It had what may have been the worst factory radio I've ever heard in my entire life. The cargo bed extender was clever though, and the back seat was genuinely spacious.

2008 Saturn Aura -- This was the XR with the 3.6. I put 10,000 miles on this rental and loved it. I took it across the country, to the Bonneville Salt Flats, to the Redwood forest in California... everywhere! By the time I turned it in the brake rotors were toast, though it was likely due to my abuse. Epsilon is an excellent platform. Except for some very minor interior foibles, GM did a fantastic job.

2006 Cadillac DTS -- Outstanding cruiser, though fuel economy (21mpg) wasn't quite as good as the Seville (23mpg). Excellent sound system, beautiful interior. Enterprise took an hour though to clean the car and get it ready for me while I waited. I called and specifically reserved a DTS. Took it to Nashville.

2009 Cadillac CTS -- Rented from Budget. A completely hassle-free experience. Rented it for the entire weekend and took it to Chicago. My legs were too short to comfortably reach the pedals. I guess that means I won't be owning a second-gen CTS, ever.

2007 Chrysler PT Cruiser -- The car drove fine. I didn't understand what people complained about, however, this one smelled like diapers and wet dog so I took it back. The guy at the Enterprise counter in Tampa was kind of a d!ck.

2007 Kia Optima -- Average car that drove like mush. What a difference from the new Optima.

International Box Truck -- From Enterprise. Easy rental experience, interesting spring-loaded seat.

2009 Ford E-Series -- Econoline van from Enterprise. Good customer service, surprisingly nice and capable van.

2007 Mazda 6 -- From Hertz in Tampa. I MISS THIS CAR. The suspension was a bit too soft but the steering and chassis were amazing. I got hooked on it.

2007 Mitsubishi Galant -- From Budget. Took it from Washington to Iowa and back. A completely forgettable car. It was reasonable roomy, reasonably efficient, reasonably styled, had reasonable handling, and... yeah. It was between that and a Dodge Neon so I'm glad I picked the Mitsu, but there are times where I completely forget that I had ever driven one. Most unremarkable vehicle ever made. Budget was awesome though.


Overall, Budget is my favorite rental service. Enterprise is great for commercial stuff. Hertz was excellent but they don't always have the best deals.

[S13Lovell]

So me and the wife are back home on leave and we had to drop here car off in IL to get it shipped here to Germany. We call Enterprise Car rental are one says they cant help us. We were looking for one to pick in IL and drop off in TN. I know they dont do that but it never hurts to ask. Well I am driving and my wife is calling all these places for me. Apparently she gets a hold of a lady who is having a bad day, the lady was very short with my wife and told her if she has any questions to call this number and hung up on my wife. Well the number she gave us was a sex hot line number... At least i'd say i was heated lol. Well the district manager and everyone else made it up ten fold helped us out like crazy and got us a 09' GMC Colorado for a good price and let us drop it off at home lol. And just like u guessed it drove like a truck, nothing special just a ride home.

[Bubba1]

I used to travel a lot for a job I had for several years, so I've rented a ridiculous amount of rental cars. Having premium club membershiops for several of the big rental companies,(like Hertz Club Gold), usually gave me a nice choice of vehicles. I quickly got bored with Cadillacs and Town Cars, and usually sought something more fun (unless I had a long ride ahead or expected multiple passengers)
Most were mundane. Worst rental was probably an Olds Acheiva. It got horrible gas mileage, had rattles despite being new, and knobs literally fell off when you touched them. What a POS.
One of the more entertaining ones I rented was a early Ford Thunderbird SC in Toledo. It was a big heavy numb feeling beast, with huge doors, but I buried the speedometer in the middle of nowhere and pulled a Ferris Bueller (getting the car airborne over a rise like the parking attendants did in the Ferrari). The dang Tbird kept bouncing and bouncing, so I was happy there were no turns coming up soon.

Greg and Torry should have some great rental stories from Carlisle. They sacrificed a few in spectacular fashion and is why one should never buy a used car from a car rental company.

[PapaSmurf2k3]

Torry's Vette in 08 was pretty awesome.

I got a 2008 Pontiac G6 for a job interview at BorgWarner. It damn near understeered off the road and killed me 1 turn out of the parkinglot. Gas mileage sucked, steering sucked, audio sucked, transmission was horrible.

Torry and I got a 2007 (?) Corolla for Carlisle one year. It wouldn't do a neutral drop worth a s***, but it J-turned, drifted, and autocrossed like a champ until the tires were corded. Gas mileage was impressive. Brakes were so-so. One major problem it had was that while we were beating the ever living s*** out of it (with only the driver int he car), the passenger sensor in the seat kept tripping (probably due to the Gs we were pulling) and beeping stuff on the dash to buckle the passenger.

While on an interview for Volkswagen in Chattanooga, I got a Dodge calibur... with a CVT. By far the worst rental car I've ever had. Nothing about this car was good. Handled like dog piss, transmission took days to decide what it wanted to do, I cooked the brakes on a mountain pass (while driving very gently), the E-brake was garbage. Smelled like oil. Had low miles on it. I'd go so far as to say this is the worst mode of transportation I've ever experienced. The first aid kit should come with razors to cut your own wrists.

Greg got an Altima Hybrid for Carlisle once. I hot lapped it a few times and the power steering took a s***. Torry couldn't figure out how to start it. That was the best part about that car.

Rented a Mercedes A class in Germany. 3 cylinder diesel. Got impressive gas mileage while travelling 100+mph for extended periods of time. Fit an abnormally large amount of stuff in it. Came in a manual. Not too shabby.

Rented a VW Lupo or Polo for WRC Rallye Deutschland. 1.2 liter 3 cylinder petrol engine. Again, good gas mileage. Handled well at speed with good road manners even though it tached sky high doing 100+. E-brake was strong when we got it... not so much when we brought it back. Also came in manual. The clutch would handle burnouts really well. The interior was hideous plaid. The shifter was pretty slick and smooth. Traction in the mud was limited, and the front tires still had quite a bit of tread left. Had enough torque at idle to perform a decent ghost-ride in a large parkinglot while waiting for traffic to clear. Audio system blasted Elton John's Rocketman exceptionally well. The hitch hiker I picked up didn't complain about the back seat.

Chevy Aveo- rented this car during the Dobbs Honda debacle. Fairly large exterior somehow did not transfer to a large interior. It did, however act as quite the sail while traveling down the highway and got blown around like a dry oak leaf. Gas mileage sucked out loud (mid to upper 20s). Had no nut whatsoever. E-brake was solid and the car would actually burn tire once you got it sideways in the wet stuff. Very light in the a** end. You could drag the rear wheels (while they were locked up) for a very long time. Sound system sucked, but the interface was good in that it displayed the preset stations above their respective buttons. Useful for a rental car.

That's all the ones I can think of that I drove for now...

[MinisterofDOOM]

Only car I ever rented was a 2007 automatic V6 4.0 Mustang. Terrible car. Terrible interior, terrible chassis, terrible suspension, terrible engine, terrible visibility, terrible handling, terrible sounding, and the rental agency equipped it with terrible tires.

I tried to have fun with it but the constant understeer and crappy acceleration put a stop to that.

[Buzzman]

While on an interview for Volkswagen in Chattanooga, I got a Dodge calibur... with a CVT. By far the worst rental car I've ever had. Nothing about this car was good. Handled like dog piss, transmission took days to decide what it wanted to do, I cooked the brakes on a mountain pass (while driving very gently), the E-brake was garbage. Smelled like oil. Had low miles on it. I'd go so far as to say this is the worst mode of transportation I've ever experienced. The first aid kit should come with razors to cut your own wrists.
.

Like I mentioned in my opening post, I have to agree with you that the Caliber was the worst thing I've ever driven/rented, and I mean ever.
I simply cannot understand how any sane person would drop good money down on one of these things and actually buy it.
I also had the displeasure of renting a Chevy HHR in Florida for a week.
Not much better than the Dodge, and the visibility was brutal. I never felt safe in that thing.
Another bad experience was about 10 years ago with a Ford Focus wagon. This was the first gen Focus. Horrible car. Rattles, squeaks, brutal seats, grossly underpowered, noisy, bad ride, blah blah. I left it running with the keys in it for a few minutes, and came back to find that it had locked all the doors, by itself. Had to call roadside assistance to get someone to slim jim the door.
There are others I've rented, but most of them are forgettable.

[nissangirl74]

Only car I ever rented was a 2007 automatic V6 4.0 Mustang. Terrible car. Terrible interior, terrible chassis, terrible suspension, terrible engine, terrible visibility, terrible handling, terrible sounding, and the rental agency equipped it with terrible tires.

I tried to have fun with it but the constant understeer and crappy acceleration put a stop to that.

- We rented one of these in 2010 when we drove from Philly to Carlisle. It was the only time in my life I have ever been car sick. That car just sucked. Worst 2 hours of my life.
- We rented a new Sonata in Omaha. I really enjoyed that car. The ride was smooth, the seats were comfy, all of the controls were in the right locations. and it took a beating on the track.
- The Hybrid Altima sedan was good for what it was. I would never buy one but it hauled us around three states in great fashion (and Andy to several more).
- We rented a Chevy Tahoe for a family vacation. The ride was amazing. Fuel economy sucked but we were expecting that so it was OK.
- We rented a 2008- 09 (can't remember exactly) Hyundai Accent in Nashville. Slower than balls trying to get up onto the interstate but once you got it there, it cruised fine. The A/C was ice cold which was a huge plus in Nashville in the middle of July.
- We rented a 2010 Chrysler Town and Country once for a weekend vacation. It was fantastic. Loved it.

As far as rental companies go, I have had both my best and worse rental experiences from the same company: Enterprise. The one in Nebraska sucked, the one in Philly sucked. However, the one in Harrisburg, PA and the one in Nashville,TN went off without a hitch. Enterprise doesn't reserve cars so don't walk in expecting to get what you want or even what the internet says they will have (or might have). National has great customer service. If their prices were competitive, I would use them more.

[PapaSmurf2k3]

Oh yeah, I had a Town and Country a few weeks ago on the way back from Smyrna. The trans kinda sucked, and none of the auxiliary power sockets worked, so that was a downer. Other than that it was pretty comfy though. I managed to get 25 MPG out of it on the highway doing about 80... as soon as I clicked over to cruise control (at the same speed), it dropped to 21.5

[Jesda]

Was that a 3.6 Pentastar motor?

[PapaSmurf2k3]

I was hungover and all my give a s*** about chrysler were pissed away many years ago... so I have no idea.

[Ozzie]

The Hybrid Altima sedan was good for what it was. I would never buy one but it hauled us around three states in great fashion (and Andy to several more).

I thought the Altima Hybrid was actually pretty good. I was getting up to 40 mpg, and had more than enough power to overtake, and I didn't get aching legs or lower back from doing a 9 hour straight stretch of driving.

I'd consider buying one if Nissan ever decided to sell them here (but they won't)

Rented a FG Ford XR6, which was good all round. Plenty of room for people/luggage, more than enough power (but if I owned one, I'd get the Turbo version), handled great, and wasn't horrible on fuel either.



Worst car ever.... Hyundai i30.... smells like burning plastic (and gives you a head-ache to go with the fumes), and kept having a greasy plasticy film build up on the inside of the windows. Must have been a CVT, because when I put my foot down, the engine screamed like a piglet getting a red hot knitting needle poked up it's butt, but barely saw the speedo needle move.
Stereo was ok, but cornering at anything above a slightly moderate speed was borderline dangerous.

[hudy]

Drove down to ATL twice last year for training. First car I got was a 2011 Dodge Charger. Had good power and got decent fuel economy for a V6(28 ish can't remember actual number as it was in August.) Had aux input for radio. I was pleasantly surprised by this one. Drove nice and wasn't too rattle trappy. Down sides were, it was gross inside. Had to clean dash/steering wheel. Penny was stuck in cigar lighter socket, removed penny and replaced fuse. Was overall happy with the car except for cleanliness. Nice and solid, and RWD FTW.

Second Car was a 2012 Toyota Camry. Got 25MPG and had ok power for a 4 banger. Had a input for aux audio to listen to phone/iPod. I really didn't care for this car at all. As before car was dirty. Pulled right the whole drive down on Sunday. Monday came out and front right tire was flat. Explains the pulling a little but never had a tire light for low tire. A little mad at myself for that one as I usually give the cars a once over before I leave. Didn't have time this go around and fail. Called Enterprise and they directed me to a local tire shop they use. Both front tires were replaced as they were just worn out. They took for-ev-er to replace to tires. I was there for about 1:15 and no one else was there. Gar... Car felt cheap. Toyota has gone downhill in my opinion after driving this car.

Surprised cars were so dirty on pickup. Guess that is par for a rental???

[PapaSmurf2k3]

only 25 MPG in the yota? I wonder what kind of questionable history it had.

[alms24sebring]

People that top out Ford Fusions.

[Jesda]

The Saturn Aura I rented from Enterprise had expired plates. I went across the country with those tags and put 10k on the car. I was heading to work at 4am when a cop pulled me over to ask if I was drinking. Had to get out, open my briefcase, and show him my rental papers as proof that it wasn't my fault.

The only dirty rental car I've ever had was also from Enterprise. Their lot boys are slacking off.

[Bubba1]

only 25 MPG in the yota? I wonder what kind of questionable history it had.

It probably had a few track days.

[hudy]

only 25 MPG in the yota? I wonder what kind of questionable history it had.

It probably had a few track days.

It had Maryland tags and like 40k miles on it. It had been around the block to say the least.