So rental cars. Do you look forward to seeing what you get?

theteal · 14-02-2019 02:20PM #1

I'm flying back in to Dublin for a week next month, looking forward to it

I've just booked a rental for the week, a "Hyundai Tucson or similar" which works out at about £80. I'd normally go for the "Focus/Golf or similar" but the crossover was only £20 more expensive and we're kind of in the market for something similar. So all in all I'm quite looking forward to seeing what I get - no doubt it'll be a boring 1.6 diesel or some such but you can never be sure.

Anyway that got me thinking of some of the stinkers I've on the past, a 2016 1.0 Corsa being the pinnacle of crapness, not far behind was a Civic I picked up in Malaga maybe 5 years ago - no danger of bumping it as there wasn't an undented panel on the thing.

So do you get a little excited by the rental game? Have you had any turds in the past? On the flip side, have you had the pleasure of anything unexpectedly nice?

Tzardine · 14-02-2019 02:26PM

Booked a Ford focus with Enterprise in the UK. On arrival I was offered a Jeep Grand Cherokee for no extra cost. It was brand new, only about 200 kilometres on it.

Fully loaded with loads of gadgets. Heated leather and heated steering wheel were great. I drove around for the few days (in Summer) with the Heated seats and wheel on full blast and the air con on to keep me cool.

theteal · 14-02-2019 02:32PM

Actually, that reminds me, my first couple of trips back after moving away, I booked the like of a Fiesta and 3 times in a row got bumped up to a Golf/Leon at no extra cost, I began to think it was the norm. Then, back for a mate's wedding, I flew in the morning of the shindig thinking a nice clean Golf etc. wouldn't be a bad way to turn up. I got some clapped out Yaris in which I had to take one of the groomsmen out to the venue, all 6'5 of him :rolleyes:

Still not as bad as the Astra though, dang that thing was slow!

Gravelly · 14-02-2019 02:35PM

I get to "enjoy" a lot of rental cars because of work travel. I can't say anything has been surprisingly good or terribly bad, other than getting a completely different type of car than I had ordered. I booked a "Golf or Astra" from Birmingham airport a few months ago, and ended up with a BMW 5 Series, but a few weeks later I booked the same in Ankara airport and ended up with a Fiat 500L so it's swings and roundabouts.
Cars that stood out as ones I really wouldn't want to own include a Lexus CT200 I got in Sweden, and a Jeep Wrangler I got in Austin.

Savage_Henry · 14-02-2019 02:37PM

I always scoot around the lot and check what they got / which car has more extras. Then at desk i ask for that particular car. I havent had any nice upgrades. Just in frankfurt city i booked manual focus and got automatic. it also had self parking and heated steering.

Wierdly enough- all automatic fords in enterprise dublin dont have cruise. I thought its given for any auto car. They had to pull out seat alahambra from very back ( they had to move a lot of cars first) instead of ford galaxies they had in front as none of them (same for focus) had cruise

Eric Cartman · 14-02-2019 02:41PM

usually I get what I book, always book something decent enough. Did book a c class merc before and got a brand new XC60 with 80 kilometers on it.

fieldofsheep · 14-02-2019 02:43PM

Seat Leon or similar in Malaga a few years ago - ended up with a BMW X1. Cue 'let's drive around Spain for the next two weeks!'

theteal · 14-02-2019 02:48PM

Savage_Henry wrote: »

I always scoot around the lot and check what they got / which car has more extras. Then at desk i ask for that particular car.

D'ya know, I might just give that a go. Although I'm booked with Thrifty, I know it's Hertz in all but name but I'm sure they don't want to give the good cars to the people who've paid less.

ohnonotgmail · 14-02-2019 02:53PM

Worst i've had was an astra as well. Couldn't pull the skin off a rice pudding. Had to rev the ****e out of it in first before changing to second.

jimgoose · 14-02-2019 02:54PM

Last time I booked "Ford Focus or similar" I got a 2l turbo Renault Vel Satis with six-speed 'box and more room in it than a cruise liner. Fine autoroute-eater. :cool:

Had a little Corsa for a couple of days in Lanzarote last October. Not a lot of power, but adequate for the job. A crowd called Cabrera Medina are all over Puerto del Carmen - they're not the cheapest on the island, but they don't use excesses and are excellent to deal with.

BIGT4464 · 14-02-2019 02:55PM

When I go to Germany, a diesel. They dont seem to have any or you need to pay more. I have had some sillly petrols over there and on the Autobahn they are a disaster. Got a Focus ST last time for the family, a bit tight and a silly thirsty engine, cost me 200 in fuel. for 1200 km or so.

dudara · 14-02-2019 02:55PM

I always look forward, I'm usually disappointed.

Except for the time Hertz upgraded me from a "BMW 1 series or similar" to a Mercedes E 300. I also got a very sweet Volvo D40 in Spain last year.

theteal · 14-02-2019 03:01PM

jimgoose wrote: »

Last time I booked "Ford Focus or similar" I got a 2l turbo Renault Vel Satis with six-speed 'box and more room in it than a cruise liner. Fine autoroute-eater. :cool:

Had a little Corsa for a couple of days in Lanazarote last October. Not a lot of power, but adequate for the job. A crowd called Cabrera Medina are all over Puerto del Carmen - they're not the cheapest on the island, but they don't use excesses and are excellent to deal with.

As much as I have cold sweats about the aforementioned Irish Corsa, I did pick one up in Malaga not long after (I nearly cried upon seeing it) but it turned out to be a 1.4 I think, it was actually quite fun.

DaveyDave · 14-02-2019 03:04PM

I've never rented a car in Europe and from what I hear they're usually high mileage underpowered Corsas etc. Only ever do city breaks so wouldn't need one.

I rented a Mustang in Florida two years ago and was pleasantly surprised it wasn't the rental spec V6 but the Premium spec with EcoBoost engine. Decent on the inside, full leather heated and cooled electric seats, custom ambient lighting, reversing camera etc.

Renting a 'Premium' class car in Toronto this May which is the Nissan Maxima or equivalent. Base model starts from $32k but doesn't have parking sensors so hopefully they got a decent spec. Car is 300hp with a CVT so I'm curious. Looks like a decent car. I was originally renting a Luxury class which is a Cadillac XTS or similar but car is huge and the underground parking where I'm staying is a bit tight so feck it.

I suppose American cars are always going to be somewhat exciting as they have so many models we don't have.

On the flip side, my mam's fiancé is waiting for a new fleet car so in the last two months has had a Superb, Duster, MK7 and MK7.5 Golf all in paddy spec.

BobMc · 14-02-2019 03:08PM

Tenerife one christmas for Scuba Diving, biggest piece of sxxt ever, White battered Clio with dodgy gears, drove the crap out of it from Las Americas to Los Gigantes for the Week - Survived alright, my passenger still has the death grip in his hand from the door handle

razorblunt · 14-02-2019 03:14PM

Denmark last year, booked a Fiesta/Clio or similar, ended up being given a BMW 3 Series GT that was kitted out.
"Punch it Chewie".

Bogwoppit · 14-02-2019 03:22PM

Got a car after a late flight into Dubai a few years ago, no air con. Had to drive to Abu Dhabi.

Gravelly · 14-02-2019 03:26PM

Bogwoppit wrote: »

Got a car after a late flight into Dubai a few years ago, no air con. Had to drive to Abu Dhabi.

Ouch. Didn't think there were any cars in Dubai without aircon!

zilog_jones · 14-02-2019 03:45PM

I did a bit of a road trip in the US with a friend a few years ago, we booked a "full-size" with Alamo, but when we came to pick it up in San Francisco they just let us take whichever one we wanted - we went with the Chrysler 300. Only had the "small" 3.6 V6 but RWD (the other options weren't) and about 290 bhp, and surprisingly still did over 40 MPG (it's got cylinder deactivation and other fancyness).

And for the other extreme: Last year I rented a car for a few days in Japan, and went with the cheapest option and got a Daihatsu Move (the current model). Tiny car with a 660cc engine and about 52 bhp, had to put the back seat down to fit my suitcase in, but it was competent on all the twisty mountain roads I took it on. Even with said mountains, and "PWR" and "S" mode engaged and the engine screaming away (CVT box, of course), it barely used any petrol. And it was in immaculate condition, of course.

Gravelly · 14-02-2019 03:49PM

zilog_jones wrote: »

it was in immaculate condition, of course.

Everything in Japan is in immaculate condition. I think they go out and pick weeds at night or something, everywhere is freakishly tidy and manicured.

R.O.R · 14-02-2019 04:10PM

Last rental I had was the first for a long time - picked up a new ish Astra in Manchester last November and by god was it underpowered! 1.0 petrol base model so no armrest and no android auto integration.

Thankfully, it was from the airport to the city centre where we stayed over night, then out to north Manchester to the folks (didn't drive for the couple of days there) and then back to the airport, so not much driving involved.

Not the worst experience - that was also Manchester, probably late 90's when I got some sort of Kia, before they became half decent. 1.5 Litre engine in it was quite decent, but the rest was terrible. Did my best to kill it to get it replaced, but that engine took all the abuse I threw at it.

Best hire car result was booking a Focus size vehicle and getting an MX5 for the weekend, after the guy at the desk checked whether we had much luggage with us.

stecleary · 14-02-2019 04:20PM

Not exactly a rental but got a loaner from a garage a few weeksback while mine was in for repairs.
Pulled up and saw and X5, D40, A5 and A6 with their stickers on the door and thought lovely......out came a 1L Clio, it was band spanking new but as basic as it could be. Everything just felt so cheap and good lord was it gutless! struggled to get to 120 on the M1

Gravelly · 14-02-2019 04:24PM

stecleary wrote: »

Not exactly a rental but got a loaner from a garage a few weeksback while mine was in for repairs.
Pulled up and saw and X5, D40, A5 and A6 with their stickers on the door and thought lovely......out came a 1L Clio, it was band spanking new but as basic as it could be. Everything just felt so cheap and good lord was it gutless! struggled to get to 120 on the M1

There's a story (don't know whether true or not) about a certain well-known Limerick Mercedes dealership giving a long-time customer an old Ford Ka as a courtesy car while his S-Class was in for a service. Apparently a few hours later the Ka was delivered back to the dealer in the form of a compressed cube by a local scrap merchants as a sign of the customers annoyance!

BobMc · 14-02-2019 04:27PM

Wife suffered this being given crap cars while car in for warranty repairs (frequently) eventually pulled them on it
I'm leaving you in a practically brand new motor and you're giviing me a heap, no thanks, get me something decent

McGrath5 · 14-02-2019 04:28PM

Booked a Dodge Charger in San Francisco 2 years ago, they didn't have one around when we showed up so I ended up with a convertible 4 series

Last year in New Jersey I booked a Hyundai i40 "or something similar", they tried to give me a rough looking Corolla but ended up with an Outlander.

14-02-2019 04:29PM

The most disappointing rental i had was for a BMW 5 series or similar.
They gave me a 1.6tdi volvo s80 automatic

The best 3 rentals ive had were
Camaro SS 6.2l v8 400hp
Dodge challenger RT 5.7l v8 375hp
Ford mustang GT premium 5.0 v8 460hp

Savage_Henry · 14-02-2019 04:44PM

9935452 wrote: »

The most disappointing rental i had was for a BMW 5 series or similar.
They gave me a 1.6tdi volvo s80 automatic

it is similar

The best 3 rentals ive had were
Camaro SS 6.2l v8 400hp
Dodge challenger RT 5.7l v8 375hp
Ford mustang GT premium 5.0 v8 460hp

what class did you book?

bazz26 · 14-02-2019 04:46PM

Got a free upgrade to a Chevy Camaro recently when in the States but could not fit the luggage into it so ended up in a Ford Fusion (Mondeo). Dejected after that.

I don't think there would be anything to get excited about when arriving at an Irish car rental car park.

Savage_Henry · 14-02-2019 04:47PM

zilog_jones wrote: »

I did a bit of a road trip in the US with a friend a few years ago, we booked a "full-size" with Alamo, but when we came to pick it up in San Francisco they just let us take whichever one we wanted - we went with the Chrysler 300. Only had the "small" 3.6 V6 but RWD (the other options weren't) and about 290 bhp, and surprisingly still did over 40 MPG (it's got cylinder deactivation and other fancyness).

Chrysler 300 is a midrange full size car. What were you expecting? Its not even fullsize by earlier standards. Last true fullsize cars were late 90s Ford Crown Victoria

Toots · 14-02-2019 04:56PM

2 years ago in Malaga I had booked a 9 seater van - listed as Nissan Primastar or similar, manual. Arrived and was given a Mercedes Vito automatic with lots of extras, so that was very pleasant.

My husband always gets surprises when he goes to the states with work. The company always books a compact automatic for him, but last time he got a Chevy Impala and the time before he was given a Dodge Durango.

zilog_jones · 14-02-2019 04:58PM

Savage_Henry wrote: »

Chrysler 300 is a midrange full size car. What were you expecting? Its not even fullsize by earlier standards. Last true fullsize cars were late 90s Ford Crown Victoria

I was expecting a full-size, and got one, but the other options were like a 2015 Chevrolet Malibu and something even more forgettable - FWD and probably 4-pot engines (300 was guaranteed to be at least a V6), i.e. doing it wrong! Would love to drive a Crown Vic (essentially the same model was still produced up until 2012) but I missed that by a few years.

So rental cars. Do you look forward to seeing what you get?

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