Zeldman
Touchdown! Greaser!
Wanna see a real stock car race.??What's the fastest car around?
What's the best all terrain vehicle?
A rental...
Be at the rental lot when 2 different race teams pick up their car...
Wanna see a real stock car race.??What's the fastest car around?
What's the best all terrain vehicle?
A rental...
Wanna see a real stock car race.??
Be at the rental lot when 2 different race teams pick up their car...
Ha. Gotta make the same trip next month as I did last month (Oshkosh). This time, smaller cars weren't even AVAILABLE. All they had were minivans, pickups, and SUVs.I always request a sub-compact when I travel. A lot of the times, they're out of sub-compacts and offer me a larger car at the same rate. On one trip, they gave me a Lincoln Continental instead of a sub-compact. Just last month, they offered me a behemoth Jeep Gladiator SUV instead of a Nissan Versa.
I used to rent often, and used Hertz for the most part, and it was great… but that was close to a decade ago. I think the only rentals I’ve used in the past few years have been from Sixt a couple of times on the other side of the Atlantic.
Funny, I don’t really miss renting cars. I hear it really sucks now.
It wasn't a Nissan, but the worst rental I ever had was some minivan we'd been upgraded to against our will, when we had reserved something much more fuel efficient. Someone here is bound to recognize the make/model; I've apparently blotted it from my memory.Absolutely.
Over the weekend I rented from National. I ended up with a Nissan Sentra, as the only other options were large pickup trucks. The only thing I learned from it is to never buy a Nissan.
Works great and looks sexy in the showroom, sucks when driving. The screens seem to get bigger and farther away every couple of years.I think that's a Dodge/Chrysler product. Agreed that it's a terrible design from an ergonomics perspective.
In general, the move to touch screens rather than physical buttons is not good, IMO. It requires you to remove your eyes from the road and look at the screen, rather than using tactile feedback to operate the controls "blind". Just plain stupid....
It wasn't a Nissan, but the worst rental I ever had was some minivan we'd been upgraded to against our will, when we had reserved something much more fuel efficient.
Not sure I'd make my decision on Nissan based off of their cheapest/smallest econobox. The Altima/Maxima are at least passable, despite not being as good as the 1990s Nissans for driving experience, imo. I've driven bottom tier options from Subaru, Toyota, Nissan, Ford, GM . . . they all suck pretty much equally lol.Absolutely.
Over the weekend I rented from National. I ended up with a Nissan Sentra, as the only other options were large pickup trucks. The only thing I learned from it is to never buy a Nissan.
Speaking of muscle memory, that reminds me of the time when I had a forced landing in a Cessna 162 Skycatcher because the fuel shutoff knob and the cabin heat knob are the same size and shape, and within a hand span of each other.It wasn't a Nissan, but the worst rental I ever had was some minivan we'd been upgraded to against our will, when we had reserved something much more fuel efficient. Someone here is bound to recognize the make/model; I've apparently blotted it from my memory.
It had a rotary dial on the dash as the automatic transmission control. Turn it clockwise or counterclockwise to select P, D, R, etc.
They put that rotary dial right next to the rotary dial in the dash that controlled the radio volume. Dumb idea, particularly when they turn up in the rental fleet with drivers who have had no opportunity to develop muscle memory for reaching for the correct dial.
The Sentra is not the smallest/cheapest Nissan. That would be the Versa. I had one until I was rear-ended. Good little car.Not sure I'd make my decision on Nissan based off of their cheapest/smallest econobox. The Altima/Maxima are at least passable, despite not being as good as the 1990s Nissans for driving experience, imo. I've driven bottom tier options from Subaru, Toyota, Nissan, Ford, GM . . . they all suck pretty much equally lol.
I'm sorry, but that makes no sense to me.Absolutely.
Over the weekend I rented from National. I ended up with a Nissan Sentra, as the only other options were large pickup trucks. The only thing I learned from it is to never buy a Nissan.
Did anyone else think was going to be a thread about a town in Alabama?![]()
About a year ago, my wife was put into one of those minivans on a college-hunting trip she took with our daughter. At the time she had been long driving an '07 Honda CR-V, which had a vertical shift lever that was centrally placed on the dash, below the radio, but higher than what should be called a center console shift, though I believe that is what there were going for.It wasn't a Nissan, but the worst rental I ever had was some minivan we'd been upgraded to against our will, when we had reserved something much more fuel efficient. Someone here is bound to recognize the make/model; I've apparently blotted it from my memory.
It had a rotary dial on the dash as the automatic transmission control. Turn it clockwise or counterclockwise to select P, D, R, etc.
They put that rotary dial right next to the rotary dial in the dash that controlled the radio volume. Dumb idea, particularly when they turn up in the rental fleet with drivers who have had no opportunity to develop muscle memory for reaching for the correct dial.
Was she hot? I mean it's Alabama... right?My high school girlfriend's mom was from Enterprise. And that's all I got to say about that.
Congratulations! you have joined a long and distinguished line of former customers.Dropped the plane off for annual and got a lift over to the Enterprise office and rented a car one way for a five hour drive home.
Today tried to do the reverse and popped into the Enterprise office and "Oh sorry, we have your reservation but we don't have any cars... we tried to email you but it didn't work (odd because I have the email of the confirmation message). Of course, all the other Enterprise offices are closed on Sunday except at CLT. And that one wants three times to pick up a car there. Nobody answers their damned customer support line either.
Was she a rental? Just asking to keep it OT.My high school girlfriend's mom was from Enterprise. And that's all I got to say about that.
Ah, yeah I forgot about the Versa, but they're pretty much interchangeable in the lineup. Sentra is $3-4K more MSRP for a bit more passenger room. Almost the same size, similar fuel mileage. The Altima starts about $6K higher than the Sentra. The Maxima is almost twice the price of a Sentra, lol. They'll all be reliable, but the Versa/Sentra will not be inspiring potential-buyers to get a Nissan.The Sentra is not the smallest/cheapest Nissan. That would be the Versa. I had one until I was rear-ended. Good little car.
Ah, yeah I forgot about the Versa, but they're pretty much interchangeable in the lineup. Sentra is $3-4K more MSRP for a bit more passenger room. Almost the same size, similar fuel mileage. The Altima starts about $6K higher than the Sentra. The Maxima is almost twice the price of a Sentra, lol. They'll all be reliable, but the Versa/Sentra will not be inspiring potential-buyers to get a Nissan.
In general, the move to touch screens rather than physical buttons is not good, IMO. It requires you to remove your eyes from the road and look at the screen, rather than using tactile feedback to operate the controls "blind". Just plain stupid....
For a short time I had a AMC Gremlin that was like that. Hold it long enough, like half a day, and it would reach approximately 80mph, but 0-60 times were measured with a calendar.My worst rental experience was a trip to Blacksburg, VA to visit a slipring manufacturer. Had to take a rental car from the airport and cross a mountain or two, and the rental was some little subcompact that had more power in the windshield wipers than in the drivetrain. I recall going up a grade witht the gas pedal held to the floor and watching the speedometer go from 60 to 55, to 50, to 45,.... I think I was doing under 30 when I finally reached the top.
For a short time I had a AMC Gremlin that was like that. Hold it long enough, like half a day, and it would reach approximately 80mph, but 0-60 times were measured with a calendar.
To be fair, I thought DS9 was better.Did anyone else think was going to be a thread about a town in Alabama?![]()
There was, but it was eventually dropped because the 6cyl was developing more HP in the Gremlin.Wasn't there an option for a V8 in the Gremin?
The one thing I liked about National (and usually airport-based Enterprise) was that every car had a full tank of fuel. No playing games about how much to fill up to reach 1/2 or 5/8 tank before turning it back in. The Durango (and slightly less interior-spaced Grand Cherokee) really sacrifice a lot of cargo room for bulky plastic interior panels. Lots of rooms seems to be wasted in that design. A minivan would have suited you better, AWD notwithstanding.I just realized I come to this website to hide from my job in the automotive industry....and yeah *laugh*
Very Recently (end of April) got an Avis something mid-size SUV in Denver. They upgraded, or offered upgrade choices between some Nissan (yay Fleet sales!) sedans and a Dodge Durango. The Durango turned out to barely be able to fix our 2X bicycles, carry on, and checked bags, but the sedans or the Edge I had reserved would have failed mightily. AWD was a great choice for the surprise winter storm in Denver, and handy for banging around Moab. I don't abuse rental cars, but I'm not afraid to gently jump them either
I don't trust any of them and always take photos of my fuel level, gas receipts and any oddball cosmetic crap with the exterior if I can. It's just a matter of timing before I get dinged again (Hertz seemed really persnickety about fuel level)
Ride in a U Haul? Did the Kenosha Kickers offer you a ride?what you should hate is a so-called recreational activity where you have to drive 5 hours just to have a conveyance with the complexity of a Sears lawnmower legally signed off in the first place.
Gratuitous snark aside, when we run into rental issues AOG, and we do quite frequently flying these 60+ year old fire breathing contraptions (thanks to Boeing T-7 criminal-underbid pork barrel program), we just get creative and rent a U-haul one way. Done. You can $wing that, life's too short for AOG headaches.![]()
. We had the same wagon on our honeymoon in France.I rented once from Frankfurt, expecting a manual transmission. I was upgraded to an Opel "estate car" (station wagon) with an "automatic" transmission. The markings on the gear shift were unrecognizable. I forget how I got the car out of the garage, but I was very close to going back to the counter for help.
I mainly rent with Hertz due to high status from some airlines. I have not had any issues. Well, sort of. My last trip to Hawaii, I had a choice of a Camaro SS or a Camaro SS or a Camaro SS. Not that I don't like hot cars, it has a tiny trunk lid so suitcase on the back seat. And not great visibility for the heavy traffic.
I do rent from Enterprise, mainly though the FBO program. Pretty good luck, but one not so great one.
The pre-buy on my plane and my transition training was at T41 outside of Houston. I flew in commercial and next morning rented from local Enterprise. I was discussing logistics of returning the car with my instructor. He told me about the FBO program. So I called and set up returning the car at the FBO.
I get the invoice and was charged $200 pick up fee. So I called the office I rented from and said WTF? And told them this change was through the FBO program. The person told me that it could not be changed mid rental. They said I should have driven to their office and they would give me a free ride back to the airport. I pointed out that I left on Sunday, so they were closed. I was told I could have taken an Uber back and they would have reimbursed me, which they had NOT told me prior to this.
But they offered, as a courtesy, to cut the charge in half. I stated, if they charged me anything, I would never rent from them again. After a pause, they waived the entire fee.