08-20-2014, 05:46 PM
Ahhh, yes, the joys of car rental. The last time I rented was for 2 weeks in Fort Wayne, IN. And if I understand your issue correctly, the longer you rent, the cheaper it should be per day. And if it's tied in with a trip package, one would expect it to be even cheaper, but haven't ever confirmed it.
Anecdotally, soon after I drove the rental off the lot, I realized there was a crack in the windshield (couldn't see it from the outside). Too late by then. I could only hope they wouldn't flag it on my return. Sure enough, I later got a bill for an additional $240. Bastards.
And last year when Lady Cranefly got her oil changed at Jiffy Lube, they neglected to re-hook up a hose under the hood, resulting in a dreaded "Check Engine" light -- just before she needed to get the car inspected. And a car can't pass inspection if the check engine light is on. There is "no sensible way" to reset a check engine light. Once the problem is fixed (the hose hooked back up), the car simply has to be driven under a complex set of conditions over a period of time before the computer inside the engine has accumulated sufficient data to declare everything okay. We took turns driving her car. We drove city, we drove highay. We went on trips. Nada. With her registration on the point of expiring, we took her car to a Toyota repair shop. They charged $350 up front, and almost immediately the light went out.
So our last two big car expenses weren't even caused by us.
Drone every inch of that rental before driving off, and check the windows from various angles for cracks. My rental one couldn't be seen from outside.
Anecdotally, soon after I drove the rental off the lot, I realized there was a crack in the windshield (couldn't see it from the outside). Too late by then. I could only hope they wouldn't flag it on my return. Sure enough, I later got a bill for an additional $240. Bastards.
And last year when Lady Cranefly got her oil changed at Jiffy Lube, they neglected to re-hook up a hose under the hood, resulting in a dreaded "Check Engine" light -- just before she needed to get the car inspected. And a car can't pass inspection if the check engine light is on. There is "no sensible way" to reset a check engine light. Once the problem is fixed (the hose hooked back up), the car simply has to be driven under a complex set of conditions over a period of time before the computer inside the engine has accumulated sufficient data to declare everything okay. We took turns driving her car. We drove city, we drove highay. We went on trips. Nada. With her registration on the point of expiring, we took her car to a Toyota repair shop. They charged $350 up front, and almost immediately the light went out.
So our last two big car expenses weren't even caused by us.
Drone every inch of that rental before driving off, and check the windows from various angles for cracks. My rental one couldn't be seen from outside.
I'm nobody's pony.