Abused Rental Cars

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Originally Posted By: CROWNVIC4LIFE
This post has my heart racing because all 3 panthers in my fleet were former rentals.

Yes....my Marquis was a loaner car for a dealership so I know how you feel. Luckily the panther platform is built tough....but who knows what jerk may have abused them. No issues have creaped up so far for me but after I get a couple more years on it I'll be seeing if anything prematurely wears out.
 
Hey, I'm the guy who took care of a loaner car from a small dealership. It was a Mercury Sable with one of those velvet interiors, and compared to my Mercedes was nothing much . . . but when the dealership loaned it to me, I checked the oil, even put in a pint once, and refilled the coolant overflow with water, then told them about it right away.

It was saving me tons of money -- otherwise I'd have had to go for a rental -- and I was glad to have it. Of course I'd never abuse a rental car.
 
Originally Posted By: Benzadmiral
Hey, I'm the guy who took care of a loaner car from a small dealership. It was a Mercury Sable with one of those velvet interiors, and compared to my Mercedes was nothing much . . . but when the dealership loaned it to me, I checked the oil, even put in a pint once, and refilled the coolant overflow with water, then told them about it right away.

It was saving me tons of money -- otherwise I'd have had to go for a rental -- and I was glad to have it. Of course I'd never abuse a rental car.

Cool! I'm sure that YOU did take care of it. You seem to be a rather rare individual. Most that use a loaner treat them like they would a rental....and thrash it.
 
Originally Posted By: andrewg
Originally Posted By: CROWNVIC4LIFE
This post has my heart racing because all 3 panthers in my fleet were former rentals.

Yes....my Marquis was a loaner car for a dealership so I know how you feel. Luckily the panther platform is built tough....but who knows what jerk may have abused them. No issues have creaped up so far for me but after I get a couple more years on it I'll be seeing if anything prematurely wears out.


The saving grace about loaner cars and daily rentals is that although they are often abused, they aren't abused the same way every day. A car with one long time driver may get abused less overall, but any abuse is likely repeated frequently.
 
Originally Posted By: XS650
Originally Posted By: andrewg
Originally Posted By: CROWNVIC4LIFE
This post has my heart racing because all 3 panthers in my fleet were former rentals.

Yes....my Marquis was a loaner car for a dealership so I know how you feel. Luckily the panther platform is built tough....but who knows what jerk may have abused them. No issues have creaped up so far for me but after I get a couple more years on it I'll be seeing if anything prematurely wears out.


The saving grace about loaner cars and daily rentals is that although they are often abused, they aren't abused the same way every day. A car with one long time driver may get abused less overall, but any abuse is likely repeated frequently.

Maybe true. The depot I work near may prove differently. Every time an employee starts one up to take it to the car wash they FLOOR it and attempt a burn-out, then turn a tight corner into the wash while sliding it, THEN slam the brakes on...skidding the tires. They do this with nearly EVERY single car that comes in. The lot these jerks manage has at least 100 cars in it and they do this with every one I've seen.
Scarey and criminal.
 
Normally I don't let anyone drive my car...But I would not have a issue letting andrewg or Falcon LS use my car anytime they wanted...I would even make a extra set of keys for them.

I was really surprised at some of the posts on here that many people think its OK to beat on a rental...I didn't expect that.
 
Originally Posted By: CROWNVIC4LIFE
Normally I don't let anyone drive my car...But I would not have a issue letting andrewg or Falcon LS use my car anytime they wanted...I would even make a extra set of keys for them.

I was really surprised at some of the posts on here that many people think its OK to beat on a rental...I didn't expect that.

Lol...that's a trusting thing to say...thank you. I too don't let anyone drive my cars except my girlfriend (very easy on cars and safe). I wouldn't even let my best friend take it from one end of the driveway to the other! Anybody that knows me is always sure that if I have anything to sell, whether it be a car, mower, saw, or even a bicycle....they know that it will be in great shape and has been taken care of.
Yes, it was a surprise to me at first as well that a few folks on here have the 'abuse the rental' attitude. Then I realized that our whole country isn't what it used to be about attitudes, right and wrong, and taking care of something that isn't our own.
 
With everyone on their high horses I'm suprised they get time behind the wheel!
LOL.gif
 
Originally Posted By: eljefino
With everyone on their high horses I'm suprised they get time behind the wheel!
LOL.gif


High horse? Hmmmm....nothing of the kind. I don't think that trying to take care of something (especially when it is not your own) makes anyone appear as though they are on a 'high horse'.....that is unless the one looking up is riding a Shetland pony. Maybe it's time to get a bigger horse??
 
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I washed and vacuumed my rental Impala 3 times during my 2007 vacation in South Dakota. Checked the oil, tires and other fluids as well. It's a nice thing to do and it may keep you from getting stranded considering the lack of care these cars usually see.

Most people (according to my father, a driver for Enterprise), cars are most often returned covered with bugs and mud, and full of trash. I don't like what it would say about me if I returned a car in that condition. No to mention....who wants to look through a nasty windshield and root around in your own trash while touring on vacation?

How much fun could it be to abuse a rental car? I scoff at people abusing their own cars, so I'm not about to do it to someone else's.
 
Originally Posted By: ViragoBry
I washed and vacuumed my rental Impala 3 times during my 2007 vacation in South Dakota. Checked the oil, tires and other fluids as well. It's a nice thing to do and it may keep you from getting stranded considering the lack of care these cars usually see.

Most people (according to my father, a driver for Enterprise), cars are most often returned covered with bugs and mud, and full of trash. I don't like what it would say about me if I returned a car in that condition. No to mention....who wants to look through a nasty windshield and root around in your own trash while touring on vacation?

How much fun could it be to abuse a rental car? I scoff at people abusing their own cars, so I'm not about to do it to someone else's.

Another good person here.....we need more like you. Seriously, imagine how much better things would be if WE ALL had this attitude? It would be great!
I recall renting a mini-van a few years ago to drive across the country in. I asked them when I picked it up if the vehicle had a recent oil change as I intended on driving it a long ways. They said it is serviced per the schedule. So, needless to say after checking the dipstick and seeing that the oil was up to level and clean, I drove it across the nation. When I arrived I THEN changed the oil and filter for my return trip. And before returning the car I vacuumed out the entire van, washed it, and returned it better than when I picked it up. I didn't consider this going over the top or doing anything extra either. In my book this is just what you do. I was raised to return something BETTER than when you got it (if possible).
 
I never abuse a rental car, I don't want to be stranded somewhere in a strange town with a broken down car.

I have rented mustangs, been upgraded from the economy car for free. Those cars with 15k miles on them are totally whipped.

When I get a rental car, I won't wash it. Cmon now, its not your car, you are paying for them to service it. I don't check the oil, I don't even lift the hood unless something is very wrong with the car.

I rented a new Yaris in Florida, with 30 miles on it, we put over 1000 miles on the car inside of one week. Yeah I think we got our $11/day worth out of that thing!
 
I don't beat on rentals either.

Mind you, I havent had one long enough to bother checking fluids, etc.

I do however take good care of my COMPANY's cars when I drive them, unlike some ****heads I see abusing them. I have to drive this stuff too ya know!!!
 
Actually, Budget would have loved me on my last rental; if a corporation could care. My insurance company paid for a full month's rent for a 2-door Focus to sit in my garage for a month and rack up less than 500 km (I don't remember the exact mileage, but I didn't add fuel until I returned it). I would have never paid to rent it, but as long as you're not at fault they pay, so I took it. It was still clean when I returned it, and I topped up the tire pressure, the oil, and the coolant (surge tank was almost empty). I also disassembled a rear tail-light to remove a rock that was wedged underneath the bumper, causing a large panel gap. I don't know how that rock could have ended up there; it was there when I got the car. I regretted not pointing it out when I noticed it in the Budget parking lot in case they tried to blame me, but the rock removal made it a total non-issue.
 
Wow, you sound like a saskatchewan native, or did you recently move there? Good on you for fixing the car.
My personal belief is once the car is warmed up you can pretty much drive it as hard as you like and nothing should get worn or damaged except perhaps the tires, brakes but even those need to be really worked hard to do anything significant.
I'll always do atleast one run WO run just to see what the engine pulls like but not all the time and always with the engine and transmission warmed up.
Doing neutral drops and jumping the car definetely is abuse and not my interest, but when I had a Caliber with a CVT I had to find out what it was like WO, how it turned and stopped, and it seemed to like that just fine.
 
Originally Posted By: andrewg
Then I realized that our whole country isn't what it used to be about attitudes, right and wrong, and taking care of something that isn't our own.


You have people who break things and people who fix them. Obviously, most people do both. There are those who, in the course of their life, end up breaking more than they ever fix. Then there are those who fix more than they ever break.

I know which one I want to be.. I want to be Mr. Fixit, not Mr. Breakit. There are already too many Mr. Breakits.
 
Originally Posted By: brianl703
Originally Posted By: andrewg
Then I realized that our whole country isn't what it used to be about attitudes, right and wrong, and taking care of something that isn't our own.


You have people who break things and people who fix them. Obviously, most people do both. There are those who, in the course of their life, end up breaking more than they ever fix. Then there are those who fix more than they ever break.

I know which one I want to be.. I want to be Mr. Fixit, not Mr. Breakit. There are already too many Mr. Breakits.

The sad part about the 'Mr. Breakits' is that the object broken is not always theirs to break. That is what perplexes me.
 
That, and they what they break (or destroy/corrupt/degrade) aren't always physical objects, nor are they often aware of what their actions caused to break (if they actually cared).

The 'Mr. Breakits' are a net negative for society. These are the people who keep cops, lawyers, judges, social workers, etc. employed, as they go through life not caring one bit about anyone but themselves.
 
Originally Posted By: brianl703
That, and they what they break (or destroy/corrupt/degrade) aren't always physical objects, nor are they often aware of what their actions caused to break (if they actually cared).

The 'Mr. Breakits' are a net negative for society. These are the people who keep cops, lawyers, judges, social workers, etc. employed, as they go through life not caring one bit about anyone but themselves.


They also keep insurance premiums high, cause an increase in laws, restrictions, and fees for nearly everything.
Yep,it could be a much better society if only.......
 
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