OT Renting a car?

OT Renting a car.

I can count the number of times I've rented a car on two hands, probalby one hand, and I have two questions.

1) The tires have not reached the supposed "must replace" level, where the the tread is the same height as set of rubber bands that go from one side of the tread to the other (I'm sure there's a name for this), but the tread is only about twice that deep.

Somewhere I got the idea that major car rental companies replaced the tires will before this level**. Am I wrong about that? **(and that's one source of used tires).

To be fair, it's not going to rain much this month and iiuc that's when one really needs deep tread, but I could be wrong about that too????

2) This time I'm confused.

The day I picked it up on March 9 3/9 they put a charge in for

2400, the 1600 rental plus 800 possible damage. But didn't actually collect any money. Then on 4/6, same amount, 2400, also not collected. Then on 4/14, $636, which is one month's rent, but not collected**. Then on 4/21, $636, and finally they collected that amount -- the bank actually paid them -- a month and 12 days after I picked up the car.

Is this normal behaviour for a car rental place? If not typical, is there a good reason to do all this? I would expect the first 2400 to be a hold, so there would be no need for the second, and I'd expect the monthly charge to be made on the 9th day of the next month, since I picked the car up on the 9th. (But not the 14th or the 21st.)

**Actually I was sure that the previous charge had been paid =- that was only a month and 5 days after I picked up the car, but maybe they reversed that charge and charged it again 7 days later?

They also emailed me at about 30 days to call them and tell them my mileage, but when she looked it up, she decided I didn't have to tell them

Reply to
Micky
Loading thread data ...

I doubt companies like Hertz keep cars long enough to wear out tires. They generally replace them on a 2 year cycle or when they get into the 40-50k miles range. Rental cars do not usually rack up that many miles. My next door neighbor is the lot manager for Hertz headquarters and he just got a 2015 Chrysler 300 with 20k miles from the used car operation. ($14k)

Reply to
gfretwell

Last car I rented, a Toyota Camry, showed tire pressures ranging over 10 lbs difference. One needed air but it did not tell which one so I had to check all of them.

Reminds me of time I bought a new Subaru and after putting over 1,000 miles on it found all tires inflated 10 lbs above recommendation. When I asked dealer why he said they came like that so they would not need inflation in his remote lot. Now they inflate tires a few lbs higher than recommended because of those damn pressure lights.

Reply to
Frank

Our local car rental fleets are generally under 18 months old -very seldom more than one model year old, and usually current models. I doubt any get tires replaced during their tenure as rentals.

When Mikey wrote "This time I'm confused." It was kinda anticlimactic. He accuses me of "picking on him" - but gee, he makes it SO EASY!!!!!!

Reply to
clare

I always inflate my tires a little over recommended because they handle better that way and the tires last longer. They don't ride quite as cushy.

On my truck, with oversized tires, getting the pressure right is tricky. It's a little Ford Ranger that came with 14" "scooter wheels" and now has 235/70 16s on it that look like they actually fit the wheel wells.26PSI seams about right when the truck is empty, and with

50 20 liter bags of top soil (basically full to the top of the box) the springs wend down a couple inches this morning, but the tires looked perfectly happy and it rides like a dream!!!
Reply to
clare

It's Budget. I guess the name alone implies they keep them longer. I ignored the owers manual because it's too long to read and it's in a foreign language, but I will look at it to see what year car it is.

They used to emboss the year of American cars on tail light lenses, and that was great, but I don't think they do it anymore.

This car doesn't have any miles on it. Only km, whatever that is.

.... My friend tells me you can convert km to miles, so when I'm in the car, I'll write down what the number is.

Reply to
Micky

I was being humble. In the last couple months, you're usually being annoying.

Reply to
Micky

Actually, "confused" is a very overused word these days, and now that I think about it, I'm ashamed of myself for using it where it didn't belong.

Very few people are confused. Not knowing the answer is not confusion. Inabiltiy to tell up from down or left from right is confusion, but that's rarely what people are saying their situation is.

It's worse yet when other say that someone else is confused, instead of just saying he doesn't know the answer. Whether they know it or not, it's an attempt to get the upper hand, because no one knows the answer to everyrthing, but if you're confused, you really, really need help.

So I of all people shouldn't have used the word and should have said amazed or suprised, or suspicious that they're incompetent, or "don't khnow why they would do this". Not knowing why by itself is not confusion.

Reply to
Micky

Those mandated pressure gauges where light comes on and something reads low are a PITA. Cost my wife $200 on her Subaru to replace a faulty one. I'd have probably put a piece of tape over the light. My brother worked for a dealer that could not find a fault when a warning light turned on so the dealer just removed the sensor.

New cars with service warnings take a dealer to turn off. PITA if you change your own oil.

Reply to
Frank

Ugh. Terrible.

This Kia Piccanto, requires your foot on the brake to go into reverse. Probably a good idea. Also to go into Park.

So when I turn the car off while it's in Neutral, and I get out of the car, and it starts rolling, I have to get back in the car while it's rolling to put my foot on the brake to shift into Park!

Reply to
Micky

Clare, did you see that Ford is going to make the Ranger again? I tried to get a used one but nothing out there. I don't even know if I fit in it.

I also have my tires slightly overinflated. A tread depth indicator is a help. I don't need a cushy ride either.

Reply to
Tekkie?

What a crackerjack dealer. I'd never go back.

Yeah but you can take notes when they do it, it's sometimes in the manual or have them instruct you over the phone-which is not so good some times because the tech works from memory...

Reply to
Tekkie?

I believe all cars are like this now-but I'm not putting money on it. I guess you don't use the PARKING brake either...

Reply to
Tekkie?

How the hell do they let you out alone?

Reply to
rbowman

40KM is 25 miles, work it out from there.
Reply to
gfretwell

Sometimes I do, if the situation calls for it.

Reply to
Micky

Okay. It may take me a couple days.

Reply to
Micky

Not exactly. You can acquire the scanner and do it yourself. It may not be worth the cost, but, you can do it.

Reply to
Diesel

Why not just put it in P when you stop? I always did it that way and never had a car roll away.

Reply to
Ed Pawlowski

Wear bars serve a purpose. Tires are legal until they wear to that point. Nokian tires actually have measurement nubs that tell you how much tread is left. Does not seem cost effective to replace until you are close to the wear bars,

Reply to
Ed Pawlowski

HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.