Rental Car Experiences?

ab348

Cadillac changed the interface from the ATS/CTS style used for the last half-dozen years or more to something totally different on the XT4. I found it confusing because I was used to the old system. The new one has more physical buttons for things which are not necessarily an improvement IMO but which are no doubt a response to auto journos who criticized the touch system. It does have a tiny little volume knob for the audio system on the center console and some kind of jog controller using a larger knob which I didn't have time to figure out.

tjc78

Our Enclave has some of the soft touch haptic buttons. Not great at all. One of them for the collision alert sensitivity only works with your thumb turned 90 degrees.

fintail

Hit the road early today, another 5 hours in the beast. Probably hitting ~20 mpg in smooth interstate cruising. Seats continue to be comfy as a recliner, as long as I don't slouch. The beast has become easy to drive as I've adapted to it, I don't mind it now, other than the in-town thirst and some material quality quirks. The cruise control also irks me - sometimes loses speed on inclines, flies down hills.

tjc78

I’ve always liked all the GM BOF SUVs. I miss the Tahoe LTZ we had at work.

fintail

I can see why people in certain situations buy them, but with my lifestyle and where I live, not the right car for me 24/7. Awesome for road trips though, my mom even ended up liking it even though she still griped about climbing in. The seat and the elbow room won her over.

Turned the car back in at Pike Place, a fun maneuvering job with that barge in a narrow downtown garage, but I was comfortable enough with it by then that it wasn't a real hassle. No issues turning it in, but I didn't expect any, as I bought the prepaid fuel (I definitely came out ahead a little) and the full insurance. I'd do it again for a family roadtrip, spared my car some unpaved roads and muddy driveways, not to mention hours of rainy driving and ~1500 miles.

Soon after I got back home, I took off in the E wagon for hockey, spent about 90 minutes behind the wheel due to traffic, talk about a different world. I missed that car.

fintail

Fun rental car thing, Sixt puts the price of the car kind of hidden in the formal invoice you can download after the rental. The Evoque I drove for 15 miles is $45900, Escalade $88615.

berri

Well, Suburban's ain't cheap either

fintail

Might be like a Landcruiser vs Lexus LX relationship there, the price delta isn't huge, and the higher priced variants both offer flamboyant style for those who are into it.

berri

"Flamboyant" is perhaps sometimes understated

Michaell

My sister and her family are back east this weekend to visit her middle son at school.

So many people went they needed two rentals.

As I understand it, it was a Mopar weekend. First was a minivan - couldn’t get my sister to tell me if it was a Grand Caravan it a Pacifica. I asked her if it was boxy or swoopy and she said both.

Her husband had reserved a compact car in Albany, but ended up in a Charger. They are flying out of Boston so whichever agency they used felt the upgrade was worth it to get the big car to a bigger airport.

Michaell

Also got a message through work that Silvercar is looking to relocate their SUV fleet from Seattle and San Francisco to Denver. For $25, you can one way a Q5 or Q7. Gas, insurance and the one way flight are on your dime.

Would be a cool road trip if I had the time or funds.

Sandman6472

Would love to drive rental vehicles from one area to another but they don't seem to do that much anymore. I did it for most of 2013 but since Hertz bought Dollar/Thrifty, less of that going on. Big reason I went to work for Hertz and became an employee as the long distance moving was drying up and we were working less and less days/week/month. I wanted a steady schedule with a certain amount of guaranteed hours so I took the gig at the "HLE" location. And haven't looked back since...a 2 year gig is almost at 6 now and thinking I might just continue a little longer. Those weekly checks are kinda hard to give up now!!

sda

It gets you out of the house and you get to drive new and different cars and get paid for it. Sweet.

Sandman6472

Yes, it does get me out of the house and for the time being, have added a few hours on Saturday. Now that season is about to start, could probably get a fourth day in if I really wanted to and honestly, some weeks it could be cool but would like to do it when I'm not busy with something at the house. Like today, I was busy most of the day just doing errands I'd put off for awhile. And Thursday, my kid's coming down for a few days and her 2019 Chevy Cruze needs some warranty work so I've got to go with her just in case she doesn't get a loaner. Last week, we went to the west coast of Florida twice so I worked almost 49 hours, my first week of any overtime. But like to be available for those kind of situations.
And the weekly pay is something I've never had before...and it's pretty nice. Have been banking that check for the most part but using some to dollar cost average on some stocks. But whatever I use it for, just nice to have it there.

texases

Renting a base Jetta, got 46 mpg reported on a 360 mile drive Dallas - Wichita, typically at 75 mpg. Not bad. Good ride, comfortable seat, plenty peppy for a 1.4L turbo AT.

Michaell

texases said:

Renting a base Jetta, got 46 mpg reported on a 360 mile drive Dallas - Wichita, typically at 75 mpg. Not bad. Good ride, comfortable seat, plenty peppy for a 1.4L turbo AT.

I was never able to get mine on a road trip, but I saw 50+ MPG on my trips into Denver.

fintail

That's amazing for a gasser.

I went thrifting for a couple hours today, and parked in a lot that appeared to be doing double duty as a rental car holding lot (I couldn't see any agency signs in the vicinity, and far from the airport). Lots of GM BOF SUVs, some of them higher trim - you can tell when a new model is coming, loaded versions of the prior one end up in fleets. Also numerous Ford Flex and some GM sedans.

xwesx

Fun rental car this time around. Dodge Charger. Decent economy (upper 20s) for a V6 sport-tuned setup, really quiet cabin, great handling. Overall, a good package considering the intent of the car. I remember people saying what sacrilege it was to bring back the Charger name plate with a four-door vehicle, but my memories of riding in the back of an early 70s Charger versus having done the same thing today tell me that Dodge did a good job with this car. No wonder it's been around for a decade-and-half.

xwesx

This shot was at my wife's uncle's property (I imagine will be her/her siblings' property at some point). If I had taken a photo 180-degrees from this angle, it would be nothing but piles of scrap everywhere.

texases

Ha, they left the yellow shipping protectors on the front air dam. Leaving them on is a 'thing' now...

Michaell

texases said:

Ha, they left the yellow shipping protectors on the front air dam. Leaving them on is a 'thing' now...

I thought I had read somewhere that FCA was going to offer them in different colors, as well.

fintail

Current Charger/300 is almost 10 years old, too. Hasn't aged too poorly, although it certainly isn't fresh. But by now there's probably a fair amount of spec (and a lot of size) for the money.

I've had a couple Charger/300 rentals, both barebones.

texases

Friend rented an R/T hemi Charger (that's just what they gave him) for a day, drove me around. Nice seats, fast, and LOUD.

fintail

Thinking of that, I had the rental Challenger Scat Pack too. Turned the heads of every 14 year old and 65 year old in its vicinity. Fun, but you'll want smooth roads.

tjc78

My buddy has a new Charger V8. It’s only loud if he gets on it. Cruising it’s actually very quiet.

It’s a really nice car. I wouldn’t mind having one in a muted color without black wheels. His is plum with black wheels/stripes and black interior.

Not my thing.

Sandman6472

We have a few Hemi's at work and they are on the loud side...but fun! Them and the newer Ram trucks are a lot of fun to drive. Since I don't have to pay for the petrol, all the better. That's the great thing about my gig at Hertz, get to drive so many new vehicles around the area. Definitely miss the long distance driving I did when I started my career in the rental car business back in early 2013, but the occasional trips to Ft. Myers or Vero Beach always have me volunteering and management knows I love going on them.
Took off today since it's my birthday, but kinda missed going in on Friday being my regular work day. Got over it pretty quickly though!
Been playing phone tag with Enterprise as they have a position open so much closer to our house and would save me a lot in petrol and tolls. Figured I'd check it out as it might just be time for a job move closer to home. Just need to see if all the pieces fit which would make it a logical career move.

xwesx

texases said:

Ha, they left the yellow shipping protectors on the front air dam. Leaving them on is a 'thing' now...

I wondered about those, and I figured that they put them on there just to help highlight the fact that they jut out there to hopefully prevent renters from scraping them off on the first parking block they approached. To me, they look like the perfect design element to leave on the road a few days into ownership. LOL

xwesx

Snow on the ground here in Edinboro today. Perhaps we'll get to see how well this RWD setup does on a little slick. The tires have plenty of tread, but that doesn't mean they will get any grip!

fintail

How many miles on it?

xwesx

fintail said:

How many miles on it?

Just over 7,000 at the time I rented it. Probably close to 7,600 now.

fintail

Not bad, probably lower than average for any rental. Beats something with 50K on it riding on racing slicks and previously used as a mobile drug den.

xwesx said:

Just over 7,000 at the time I rented it. Probably close to 7,600 now.

xwesx

fintail said:

Not bad, probably lower than average for any rental. Beats something with 50K on it riding on racing slicks and previously used as a mobile drug den.

xwesx said:

Just over 7,000 at the time I rented it. Probably close to 7,600 now.

LOL That's for sure! Car feels new, smells new. Tight as a drum. My wife really doesn't like it compared to her Ford Fusion rental, but I think it's just too flashy and feels too big to her. Size wise, it isn't all that much different than hers was. I think the bump on the hood, which is extremely prominent from the inside, makes it just feel bigger due to blind spots, etc.

fintail

Even in non-tuned spec, it isn't a subtle car, that's for sure. I remember that Challenger rental I had got attention all the time, which isn't something I am usually into.

The nose of the Charger is pretty blunt and the hood doesn't slope much, no doubt that makes it feel big too.

xwesx said:

LOL That's for sure! Car feels new, smells new. Tight as a drum. My wife really doesn't like it compared to her Ford Fusion rental, but I think it's just too flashy and feels too big to her. Size wise, it isn't all that much different than hers was. I think the bump on the hood, which is extremely prominent from the inside, makes it just feel bigger due to blind spots, etc.

Sandman6472

I had a Fuzion rental but after a day, felt it was way too big. It was even a hybrid so the mpg's were decent enough but the size, no way. After the Mercedes GLA 250, too thirsty, Nissan Sentra, too boring and hated the CVT tranny, got me into a Rav4 as the new Camry went to the couple just before me. It was the last generation Rav so didn't care for the looks but, it was an XLE model with a sunroof so I kept it for about 3 weeks until it needed to go back to Enterprise. Overall, liked the Rav4 and love the new 2020 model as they fixed the dull interior and made the exterior shine. If for the fact that it's just a few inches too large for my side of the garage, I'd have one now. Just need to find a CUV that fits the correct dimensions I need to fit on my side cause the wife ain't switching sides even though hers would fit beautifully! Just ain't gonna happen!

xwesx

My wife was a hog for the driving on this trip. After turning in her car, I only was able to drive the rental one time when I was sent on an errand to perform solo. Other than that, she insisted on driving all the time even though she kept complaining about the car while she did it. I have half a mind to just rent two cars the next time we go anywhere so that I don't have to deal with her on the trip. LOL

Anyhow, she finally admitted that she enjoyed the acceleration the car laid down when she wanted it to move out at any speed. so, at least there is that.

At one point, she was passing a couple of large tractors. She was in the left of three lanes, with one tractor in the middle lane slowly passing a second one in the right lane. As she is moving ahead of the middle-lane-tractor, I notice that a rest area she was eagerly seeking was coming up and said "next right." She blipped the throttle and blasted the car from 75 to 90 in no time at all, plenty of time to change over to the far right lane and to the exit.

fintail

Saw a 4Runner rental in my building's garage today, very basic spec.

fintail

A friend is vacationing in Oz right now (this same person will go to FL in August, he doesn't seem to mind heat). His rental is an Audi Q2, something not seen in these parts. He doesn't mind it, claims good mpg. He had another rental in another city, Holden Commodore wagon (like our Buick wagon).

fintail

Got an email from Hertz today touting they have BMW 740i in the fleet.

fintail

Saw an apparent rental Velar in a parking lot today - barcode, no plate frames, probable basic spec. Here in Stepfordland, it just blends in. I recall Sixt claimed they had the Velar around the time I last rented there, and I suspect Hertz does too.

fintail

I received a thick "Season of Audi" promo packet in the mail today, one of the perks offered with the purchase or lease of any new 2019 Audi is 7 free (excluding taxes etc of course) Silvercar days.

andres3

fintail said:

I received a thick "Season of Audi" promo packet in the mail today, one of the perks offered with the purchase or lease of any new 2019 Audi is 7 free (excluding taxes etc of course) Silvercar days.

I got that too..... Frankly... why do you need a rental if you just got a brand new Audi!?! I suppose if you travel alot, but then... wouldn't that be a business expense anyway?

fintail

I think most rentals in the premium/fun class aren't bought by the boss. As someone who travels on my own dime, I'd find this perk to be cool.

andres3 said:

I got that too..... Frankly... why do you need a rental if you just got a brand new Audi!?! I suppose if you travel alot, but then... wouldn't that be a business expense anyway?

fintail

Couple of rentals at the hotel near where I live: Murano and GLC

andres3

So the A4 is in for a rear bumper fix this week. As usual, the Insurance company for that at-fault party will drag this into a 1 to 2 year battle over 30% of the deductible, rental car costs, and diminished value caused by the negligence of their insured.

70% at-fault according to them, 100% at-fault according to my insurance (progressive at the time), myself, and anyone reasonable.

Therefore, I'm in a Nissan Versa rental at $29.99/day as I have little hope of being reimbursed in 2020. I'm confident I'd win in Court, but that would likely be 2021.

Nissan Versas are POS! I'm sorry, I don't mean to be a car snob, but it is a POS!

Fisher Price plastics, tin can exterior, body, and chassis, and I honestly don't feel very safe in it with all the 5,000 lb plus SUV's around San Diego. The fuel economy looks to be lackluster.

I think CVT's only works for fuel efficiency in that they make such a ridiculously loud and obnoxiously bad noise coupled with a bad sounding lousy engine, that hardly anyone dares to ask for acceleration that generates the loud racket!!! I do ask for acceleration, and in order to get any, I have to order up high decible ill-sounding droning.
As to the acceleration, there is very little, certainly more energy from the gasoline goes into making noise than forward momentum with the CVT transmission.

Favorite features: Rear view cam and power locks with a key fob with buttons for the power locks and trunk opening. No push button start though!

I honestly wouldn't be suprised if Nissan's material costs for building one of these was shy of $1,000.

fintail

New Versa or old Versa?

That insurance companies get to decide fault is corrupt at best, but the FIRE sector effectively controls the economy.

andres3

fintail said:

New Versa or old Versa?

That insurance companies get to decide fault is corrupt at best, but the FIRE sector effectively controls the economy.

2019 4-Door with north of 27,000 miles.

sda

andres3 said:

fintail said:

New Versa or old Versa?

That insurance companies get to decide fault is corrupt at best, but the FIRE sector effectively controls the economy.

2019 4-Door with north of 27,000 miles.

From what I’ve read, because of the low hp, torque of the Versa, that only amplifies the worst aspects of a CVT.

My wife, who was always conscious of the luxury brands, tends to generalize folks buy them to impress. I’ve always maintained I don’t care to impress anyone, I appreciate the quality, engineering and driving experience. Well she is now a believer. She loves her Q5. It drives so well and they got the little details right. She drove the Accord for the first time the other night after I had the brakes replaced and other work and asked ‘doesn’t it drive better?’ expecting an affirmative. Instead she said, I’m not sure the Accord is aging well, the Q5 just drives so much better.

fintail

Versa has been updated for model year 2020 - not something that will be dreamy for enthusiasts, but apparently worlds more competent than the ancient prior model that I believe existed for fleets.

The "driving well" idea is one that many use to defend their high maintenance German cars. IMO, there's something about the way my MBs drive that feels different.

ab348

fintail said:

The "driving well" idea is one that many use to defend their high maintenance German cars. IMO, there's something about the way my MBs drive that feels different.

I learned that lesson back in 1990 when I was new-car shopping. I drove a Civic and Accord, was ready to buy one until the dealer showed no interest in actually selling me one. Went down the street to the VW dealer, drove a GTI, and within 2 blocks of driving realized that it not only felt different but much better.

texases

I (obviously) agree. And it hasn’t changed. I rented a pretty much base Jetta for a month last fall and was very impressed with how it drove, rode, and handled.