Comments on: Renting a car? Beware of the fuel reclamation rip-off

By: rex

rex — Mon, 03 Jan 2011 22:20:05 +0000

The research you have done on this article, is missing information and MISLEADING. You should of talk to RAC (Rent-A-Car) managers who know what’s happening. You failed to mention that when a car rental company receives a new car from the manufacture. There is about 1-2 gallons of gas in the vehicle. (I seen them run out of fuel taking cars off the car transport)
The RAC company must fuel every new car they take into there fleet. An average of 20 gallons per vehicle @ $3.00 per vehicle = $60.00. Most major car rental companies purchase over 100,000 vehicle each year. They have the right to reclaim that fuel when the vehicle is remove from there fleet. Its there Fuel!!
If you own a car rental company with ten of thousand cars nation wide you do the same.

Rex- 24 years with Avis

By: Mel

Mel — Wed, 19 May 2010 23:03:48 +0000

Being an insider, this is how it works:

Bad Practice:
They set the dial to the desired gas distribution level (Of course it is not toped off.) They save approximately 1.5 gallons per vehicle. They don’t bother with siphoning 1.5 gallons after you return it.

Next: Just Business (Not Bad)
The rental car company reclaims the fuel just before sending it to auction or there reduced sell lot. They have a contact company (In most cases) reclaim the fuel and pump it back into their tank. They pay that contract company around $1.00 per gallon for this service. When they sell you that gas then yes you pay the same as you would for any gallon purchased. Yes they make some money on it but that is what they are in business for. Are they in the rental car business, yes of course but business is business and I don’t see it as a rip off to me. Consider this, if they didn’t do this would a gallon cost you any less?

I think this was a worth while posting, even if the car rental companies aren’t being crooks in this area.

By: Carver

Carver — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 18:33:39 +0000

@Jim

Not that Chris needs me to defend him, but any points that you might have made are completely overshadowed by the untoward tone of your post.

By: Jim

Jim — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 15:24:04 +0000

Elliot, you need to publish an apology to the rental car companies for this one. First of all, the barcode may tell you that the car’s rental life is over, but that does not mean that they don’t go past that deadline. There are many times the car is used as a rental even though the computer says it’s time to retire it. If they run out of cars to rent, they will use that car in a heartbeat. Even if they are running low on cars or foresee that in a week they will be low, they will hold onto the cars and rent them. Get your facts straight and really get an understanding of the business before you make stupid comments. Also, who’s gas is it anyway? If the customer gets the car full, they fill it up before bringing it back. So you are saying that the rental car company should just say, “don’t worry about the gas, it’s on us.” I can see you are a great businessman. I guess you are the guy who calls up and yells at a company that charges you shipping and handling? You would have used the post office instead of Fed-X so they should refund you the difference. Get it right next time please!

By: John

John — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 19:35:54 +0000

@ Jim Coates
@ Elliot

Worthless issue, can’t you find something more relevant to discuss? Boring, old news, no real issue, just a good business practice.

By: Kevin

Kevin — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 21:03:11 +0000

Profits from Excess/recovered gas in the tanks is built into the cost of doing business by rental companies.. With out the money from the reclaimed gas our rental rates probably would be 50c per day higher…

No harm here..

By: Business Man

Business Man — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 19:16:30 +0000

Why is this considered a scam? They are recovering what belongs to them in the first place… this is a smart business practice.

P.S I would like to know who your “insider” is… lol.

P.P.S. I am an insider, I happen to own one of the major fuel reclaiming companies that recovers the fuel for these rental car companies.

By: susan jones

susan jones — Mon, 26 May 2008 18:39:33 +0000

This is on a slightly different topic, which is the extra “fees” charged when purchasing a tank of gas in advance when renting a car. I used the prepaid gas option for the first time, when renting a Budget car as I figured that since I was keeping the car for a week, by the time I had to refuel, gas prices would probably have jumped another 10 cents. When buying the gas, I was told that I was getting it for $3.86/gallon, and this is what I was charged. However, that amount was included into the “taxable total”, which, in Los Angeles, where I rented the car, is taxed at a rate of 8.25%. Therefore, instead of paying 3.86/gallon, with the added tax, I was paying $4.19/gallon. I called Budget to find out why they charged this additional tax on gas that I had purchased, and they said they were required to do this by law. So, buyer beware – it never pays to take the prepaid fuel option!

By: Mark

Mark — Fri, 16 May 2008 21:31:58 +0000

sorry…

“which by the way are still only have of what we pay over here in Europe!”"

should ofcourse read:

which by the way are still only half of what we pay over here in Europe!”

By: Mark

Mark — Fri, 16 May 2008 21:23:59 +0000

Hi Elliott,

I recently flew into Las Vegas and rented a car from Alamo.

I drove straight drove straight from the rental pickup to the Tropicana hotel and parked it on the lot just behind the building next to a pole with a video camera.

The next morning when I returned to pick up the car, I suddenly noticed that I had less than a half tank of gas left!?

The car was a Chevrolet Equinox and this had no system to lock the gastank filler opening!?

I went back to Alamo and explained the situation. They told me this in this case they would accept if I brought the car back with only a half full tank.

So it looks like not only the rental companies might be “siphoning” due to the high gas prices….which by the way are still only have of what we pay over here in Europe!

Regards,
Mark

By: Mr.Airport

Mr.Airport — Thu, 15 May 2008 13:48:51 +0000

With the price of gas climbing everyday, the option for prepaying for a tank of gas for your rental car holds possbilities. Think of those travelers who booked online months ago and bought the tank quoted at 3 bucks a gallon – before it hiked another dollar.

Now, I have taken the prepaid gas option maybe twice in my traveling life. But I remember the trip to Little Rock years ago when the price quoted at the counter was like $1.49 per gallon. Seemed like a good deal at the time and I bought it. However, after I returned the vehicle and I checked the charges, little did I know the prepaid gas charge was subject to a litany of taxes, making the actual price $1.80+ per gallon. So goes that bargain.

Now, if we magnify those numbers to today’s prices, there will be a BIG difference.

Once more thing, while we are on the subject. I remember reading many rental contracts where it says “this vehicle contains 18.5 gallons”, but the owner’s manual in the glovebox says that model has a 17.0 tank. Looks like another “profit center” for the rental car company.

Happy travels,

-gary

By: Laurence

Laurence — Thu, 15 May 2008 13:39:02 +0000

Andy is the one here who has the more likely scenario. The “siphoning” is more often done by customers who fill up the tank to “F” when there’s room for another gallon or two in the tank. Then the next customer fills the tank until the pump clicks, and he’s ripped off for the extra gallon.

When I rent a car, I set the trip odometer to 0, then when I return I put in just enough gas to cover the mileage I drove.

By: Rick Damiani

Rick Damiani — Thu, 15 May 2008 00:38:29 +0000

I think Jim gets it in the second senario, but that’s hardly a new practice. The frist one (cars filled with fuel siphoned form other cars) seems like it would be way too much trouble, and no less ‘fair’ than a rental agency using it’s own on-site pumps to fill tanks with gas they purchase at wholesale prices. Which is exactly what the larger sites do.

By: Jim Coates

Jim Coates — Wed, 14 May 2008 23:27:19 +0000

It’s amazing to me that so many people can miss the two points Chris is trying to make. Let’s see if I can simplify:

Chris’ first point: You return a car with less than a full tank. The rental car company charges you, say, $5/gallon to refill it, because they have to go out and buy $4/gallon gas and pay for the labor to do so. However, what they actually fill it with is “reclaimed” (siphoned) gas that didn’t cost them anything. Should that be considered fair?

Chris’ second point: A car is returned with the needle pegged over the full line. The rental car company siphons off a gallon or two and the needle will still read full. The next person who rents that car will have to put in a gallon or two more than he used to peg the needle. Repeat this by a few hundred or a few thousand cars a day and you have a significant little operation going.

Now do we all get it?

Jim

By: Andy

Andy — Wed, 14 May 2008 17:36:06 +0000

Am I the only one in this crowd who only fills the tank to the point where “F” is hit when I “fill” the tank prior to returning it?

If you operate on the assumption that the tank is filled to the minimum point to hit “F” when you get the car; and you return it the same way, you don’t have to worry about siphoning issues. And you will be in full compliance with your rental agreement.