My next rental was from Enterprise. I NEVER rent from any other company. I am more versed in insurance now, so I know that my policy covers rental cars as well as the Loss of Use and Loss of Value, as do most policies with coverages above the state minimums. I am asked each time if I want the LDW/CDW and other add-ons but when I decline they do not hassle me. THey are friendly and helpful. When I ask for specific cars, they are happy to oblige even if it means getting one from another location (the Dodge Magnum is very uncomfortable). I have rented from the Phoenix, Wichita, Kansas City, Denver, Oklahoma City, and Las Vegas locations with the same level of service at each location. Also, Enterprise only charges $10 per day for their underage fee which is more appropriate for my level of risk to the company.

When the Jeep Grand Cherokee I was driving in Vegas broke down on the freeway, the employee I rented from brought me a Chrysler Aspen and stayed with the Jeep until the tow truck showed up. That is service! I return that same courtesy when picking up/dropping off vehicles. I am never rude or impatient. I’ve been on that side of the counter and understand that it isn’t their intention to make me wait or not have my reservation in the system…and my rudeness isn’t going to make the reservation appear magically.

Unfortunatley, it was winter, she hit a patch of ice and slid into a guard rail causing $14,000 in damages. Thankfully, no one was injured. The renter had signed up for all of the insurance but of course Budget is not honoring that because the car was driven by an unauthroized driver. They gave them a new car and added my daughter as a Driver.

They now want to collect the full amount and because the young ladies, both sturggling teachers in NY, don’t have cars or insurance, they appear stuck. They both do have valid licenses.

Budget won’t budge and wants the full $14,000 from the two girls. I would have thought they would have an umbrella policy but they say no.

Any advice?

If you are ever seeking entertainment of the Roman Colleseum variety, watch rental car companies negotiate. They are always best friends until they see a way they might snatch an advantage over a competitor, then they will turn on them in a second. I have always likened it to watching sharks feed…all is fine until one shark gets a nick or a cut, and then the others feed on the injurred shark. Then there was the time that a MAJOR rental car company told an airport executive that they could not possibly sign the contract tendered, and that they would leave the airport. The airport executive said “good bye” and the rental car firm signed the agreement.. Finally, there was the contentious meeting between rental car firms and an airport (one of the 25 largest in the US) where the representative of that same MAJOR rental car firm stood up and said “Of course, people fly into this airport only because this MAJOR rental car firm is here.” After we finished laughing, negotiations continued.

Given that background, is there any reason to think that the front line personnel are going to have attitudes any better than their corporate bretheren? The sad part is really, all the rental car companies are essentially the same. You may get lucky and find a good franchisee, or you may encounter a nice customer service agent, but basically, you know what you’re buying when you rent a car, and if that’s your option, gird yourself for battle.

Also, watch the surcharges that the rental car firms add to your bills. The “concession recovery fee” is my favorite…how many other companies expressly charge you their rent on your invoice? Rental car firms now try to get airports to MANDATE that they charge that fee, but its really just a way for them to blame the airport for what is a normal business expense for every other company in the world. Vehicle licensing was always a cost of doing business, but now its a direct charge to you (and how much does it cost to license a vehicle, cause they’re collecting a fee on each day of each rental?) And yes, it is often the government that adds taxes and fees over the objection of the rental car firms, but don’t get them wrong, they really don’t care what you pay, they’re just afraid that higher taxes and fees imposed on the renter will mean they have to charge less.

I hope you enjoyed seeing some of the issues from the back rooms and guts of the airport rental car business.

I might suggest the addition of a 7th secret that I know of that happens in Hawaii. Many rental cars are roach infested. We are frequent visitors to Hawaii and at least twice that we know of, we drove roach mobiles. I’d like to emphasize the phrase “that we know of”, because we had been driving our last rental for 10 of our 14 day stay before we saw the first roach pop out in daylight. Then we began looking for them and we’d easily find them every time. It was particularly bad when we would open the car door at night, we’d see at least a half a dozen scamper away from the interior light. Imagine how creepy that drive was!

If you do find roaches in your rental car, take it back to the rental company if convenient and ask for a newer model, one that’s not had enough time to build up a roach kingdom. Alternatively, get a roach bomb and use it overnight. Keep your receipt and request reimbursement when you return the car.

I should say that the rental car companies aren’t completely at fault. When visitors snack in their cars and leave the windows rolled down, they are inviting the roaches in.

I do think the rental car companies need to implement some sort of proactive approach to eliminating/reducing the problem. They could begin by having an acceptable standard for cleanliness. Our last car had some candy wrappers in it when we got the car. It had dirt and “gunk” in it , too.

I’ve written a bit more about this problem at GoVisitHawaii. If you’d like to read about it, just enter the word “fumigate” in the Find box and the article should pop up.