[eskielover]

My rental car experience in Kentucky was a nightmare. Extending a rental when I extended my stay was the starting point of that. When I called to ask about extending, they gave me a quote that no way was I willing to pay ($1900+). I called back to ask about the discount from the airline I was flying with (about 35%) & then I got a quote to extend of about $1100. That was ok....even though that was alot of money to spend on a car. I decided to go with that instead of trying to purchase a car there. I had to return the car to the airport even though I was extending again because I reached the maximum length of a rental. I was given a bill for $2200.

Needless to say, you can imagine the anxiety attack that hit me with that. Then to top that off, they were going to charge me another $900 to rent me another car for the rest of my stay. I decided to take a one way day rental & the phone # to customer service that wouldn't be open until Monday morning. I took the car back to the Lexington airport & found another less expensive rental agency the next day.

The car I had been driving from Hertz was a nice car with power everything & a nice sunroof (even though I was paying for a compact).....for the price I paid, I should have had a limo. The next car I rented was a real tin can compact. Getting used to it was a bit tough after driving the other car for so long & then in my normal life, I am used to a stick shift.

I was going out to run some errands & got into the car in my garage. I had moved it into reverse, & it didn't move. My doggie was distracting me a bit, & I was messing around with the connector on my GPS unit trying to get it to stay on until I could get the replacement part they were sending me under warranty. I remember looking at the park break, telling myself...yea, it isn't moving cause the park break is on. Just as I did that, I heard a thump on the rear of my car. I looked up & it was the UPS man......he was delivering the replacement part for my GPS unit.

I opened the door of my car & got out to pick up the package, thinking wow, I won't have to mess with that anymore. As I did that, my car started backing up. I heard a crunch as the car door connected with the free dump wagon I got with my new lawn tractor. I looked in the car door & noticed the car in reverse, & the park break that I thought about releasing....was released.....I had done that just as I was thinking about it & getting out of the car at the same time. I jumped into the backing up car & pulled on the parking break immediately before it could get any farther....but the damage had been done.

The dump wagon was connected to the lawn tractor, so they were both pulled about 5 feet back by the car door. There was only a tiny dent in the wagon, but the car door was jammed forward to much that the hinge connecting it to the car made huge gouges in the door & the tip of the door was all bent. When I closed the car door, the sound of metal grinding against each other was horrible & the more I used the door, the worse it made the problem.

Of course, I had never had problems with rental cars before so always went with my own insurance covering anything that could possible happen.....thus, I didn't have any of the rental car coverage....my own insurance deductible was required. I called my insurance company & let them know about the problem, & had it all set up when I returned the car...& paid the deductible when I turned it in. I got a call yesterday that it was only a bit over what my deductible was, but I told them that was what I paid my insurance for.....& they would cover the difference.

I look back at the free wagon & the free replacement part....& they really ended up being a bit more expensive in the long run......however, if I hadn't gone into the chevy dealership to find out how much damage was done, I never would have found the new truck I now own.

Good news also, the customer service at Hertz refunded me some of the money after talking to me that week following the return....I still wasn't happy about the situation & sent off an email to their main customer service.....they refunded me the rest of the money down to the amount I had been quoted over the phone for extending it. It took a bit of work but even that worked out well sticking up for myself.....never know if it will unless we try.

So much for free wagons & warranty replaced items....they can be a bit more expensive in the end also.

Debbie

[seeker1950]

Oh, my gosh, Eskie! Moving and getting around has been a challenge for you, but in the end, you are there at your lovely KY farm!
I rented a cargo van one time from Uhaul when I was doing the art/craft shows. This was the first one I had done by myself, and, telling myself, I can do this!, I went to get the van in order to haul all my work to the show. They parked the van in front of the rental place and told me to just "pull out!" though traffic was solid and fast on the 4 lane. I was nervous, since I'm used to driving a compact car. I was watching the traffic in the side mirror, waiting for a time to merge, and when a space came up, I gunned it! The van rammed full speed into a telephone pole directly in front of the van on the street! I was so rattled, I debated about just driving off, but the front right fender was literally hanging off the van. Since I'd bought the insurance, they gave me another van, and I managed to drive it to the show safely, but that's my last experience with rentals!
Just wanted to share.
Love
Patty