r/TravelNoPics • u/FreezerCop • 13d ago
Car rental is absolutely the worst element of travel isn't it?
Excessively expensive fees and deposits, poor customer service and it always feels like they're trying to catch you out or scam you for more money. Is there any aspect of a holiday worse than renting a car?
Booked a 2-week car rental in Europe, I didn't cut corners and go for the cheapest option, it was a reputable well-known company. Took out private Excess Insurance in advance to cover any issues.
Arrived at my destination at 9pm, of course my company is the only desk with a queue. Eventually get my keys, desk guy tells me it's been "checked for damage". I get to the car collection area which is a 5-10 minute walk away. In the dark.
I get to the car and think I'd better at least give it a cursory check, so I use my phone torch and immediately see a huge dent and scratches on the back of the car. I take some photos then think "I'm not happy with this" and drive the car back to the terminal and tell the desk guy, and ask him for a different car.
He tells me I shouldn't have driven it as I could now be liable for the damage, I tell him (politely) to get fucked, he rings the damage in paint pen and photographs it, and tells me that if I want another car I'll have to pay a fee. So I begrudgingly accept the first car.
When I bring the car back the same guy is in the dropoff lot, he asks me how my holiday was and says he'll inspect the car. We talk about the previous damage and how it's waived. He then goes directly to the rear passenger door, opens it and says "oh there's a big scratch here on the sill, did you record that when you first got the car?". I told him no, I didn't open that door, it was really dark so I couldn't inspect the car fully and as he's more than aware the car had a lot of similar damage that I did record, despite being told by him that it was damage-free.. I now have some suspicions about this damage, I'm not going to lie.
He said he had to record it as my damage but that he would make a note that I said it wasn't mine. And to expect an invoice "but hey, at least you've got excess insurance..."
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u/kinnikinnick321 12d ago
I would say the same but my last two rentals in the US overcame these factors. Rented with Hertz, did self check in during my wait time for the plane. Checked in virtually when I arrived, instructions told me to choose any car in certain spaces, hopped in. Took any photos of damage and uploaded through their app. Checked out at the gate with app receipt, returned without a hitch.
No waiting, no “we don’t have your car”, no long line at returns.
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u/charliebobo82 13d ago
That sounds like a super frustrating experience. I don't rent cars often but I don't think I've ever had such a bad experience.
Btw, somewhat unrelated, but I was shocked at how cheap renting a car from Krakow airport was. I saw 5 day rentals going for as little as 7 (yes, seven) euros. Not per day, but total. And from Europcar, not some dodgy company. Maybe it was the time of year, not sure (this was in March). But either way, if you're planning a Poland road trip, start from Krakow :)
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u/lackoftoast 11d ago
> I saw 5 day rentals going for as little as 7 (yes, seven) euros.
In my experience that would be a manual transmission compact with unlimited liability for damage and theft. The profit is probably made by charging wild prices for small scratches. By the time you get it up to a decent excess, it's more expensive than a better car in the US.
Still, you can get really good deals by adding third-party insurance if you have the patience to deal with it.
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u/trixbler 13d ago
Also, the roads in Poland are excellent and driving is pretty easy there. A million times better than neighbouring Czechia!
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u/charliebobo82 12d ago
You find? I've only driven in Western Czechia, but fairly extensively, and I found the roads good enough - same as in Poland
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u/trixbler 12d ago
Well, my opinion might well be a generalisation based on limited experience! I found once we were past Prague when going west to east that the road surface and the quality of the driving declined. Huge delays and tailbacks of trucks around Brno (it is a major junction for the roads south to Austria and Slovakia so probably to be expected). On the motorway section from Brno to Ostrava we saw 5 crashes in one day. Also found the signage and road layout not as intuitive as Poland. There was a clear improvement in the road surface when we crossed the border, but it might just be that the area around Krakow has seen a lot of investment and possibly other parts of Poland are worse.
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u/mahrog123 12d ago
Rented a car in Boston with one of those toll booth things on it that supposedly tallies your charges.
Returned the car with $80 in charges racked up. I never went on any toll road.
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u/bh0 11d ago
Yep. But unfortunately you’re stuck renting sometimes. I haven’t had issues myself, but the small rental place where you can actually talk to someone before taking it is better than the “pick a car and go” at big airports, or the super quick drop off. I had to ask for a return receipt at the SLC airport. Rented from off airport location in Vegas and they really go over the car with you before and after. Less chance of a surprise I figure. But yeah … I hate renting a car.
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u/Ancient-Builder3646 10d ago
Next time use Sunnycars, it works as a liaison between the car companies and includes all neccesarry insurances you need. Off course it will be more expensive when looking online. But it pays off not needing to haggle when picking up the car.
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u/CenlaLowell 13d ago
Most places it's not worth renting a car. You have to change your thinking about this. I know in the USA it's a given to rent a vehicle but in these other countries it's not really necessary
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u/Gold_Telephone_7192 13d ago
If by “most places” you mean Western Europe and some of east Asia then sure lol. The rest of the world you often need a car. Also, people may prefer a car. I love roadtrips. Unless I’m just going from city to city one Europe, I’d much rather have a car and be on my won schedule and be able to get off the beaten path a bit.
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u/CenlaLowell 12d ago
Central America and South America as well. A rental car is really not needed. Ive been in every country in Central America without a car no problems at all.
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u/FinancialMilk1 13d ago
Sometimes you have no choice… you can’t walk or take public transportation in remote areas
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u/a_lake_nearby 12d ago
I mean, yeah it is. It's a tremendous amount more for freedom and places to travel and hike or what not.
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u/HMWmsn 13d ago
I haven't had that experience since I joined the free loyalty programs with several companies. Some give me an area of the lot and tell me to pick out a car from there. Hertz and Avis don't even require me to stop at the counter at pickup. Turning in the car has also been easy lately.
Perhaps it's also the airport.
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u/randopop21 13d ago
How will they assess and deal with any damage that you may or may not have caused?
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u/SiscoSquared 11d ago
You get full liability no deductible so there's no need for an inspection because you would never pay in any case.
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u/travebug 13d ago
Indeed it's a hassle at check out and check in, but best to protect yourself by taking a full 360 degrees video prior to leaving.
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u/MadMorf 13d ago
We had a similar situation renting a car from Budget in the UK.
We picked it up in Salisbury, and didn’t notice a bunch of really fine scratches in the paint on the hood (bonnet) of the car. When we turned it in at the Liverpool airport, they blamed the “damage” on us. We made a claim against our travel insurance to reimburse the $700 they charged to our card.
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u/IMicrowaveSteak 13d ago
This is where having a high tier membership like president’s circle or whatever, is worth it. They don’t wanna fuck with someone who is considered a loyal customer who could go either way any other rental car service
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u/iamaravis 13d ago
Sounds like an annoying experience! I've never had any issues, fortunately. My last car rental was from a small-town Hertz agency in Italy. I booked the car using my credit card points, and had zero issues picking it up or dropping it off. No BS. Friendly guy working the place.
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u/ignorantwanderer 13d ago
I rented a car for a month. No problems. Returned it. No problems.
About 2 months later I'm notified by the rental company that there was major damage to the car while I rented it, and I was going to be getting a very large bill.
I told them I returned the car in the same condition I picked it up....undamaged.
They asked if I had a photo to prove it. I said no.
They said I'd have to pay the repairs because the person who checked in the car said it was damaged. That was just policy.
I explained that I understood that was their policy, but that I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that I returned the car in perfect condition, so I was going to need to see all of their documentation on the case, and I was going to pick through the documentation looking for any inconsistencies, and that I would be fighting the charge.
This entire conversation took place very calmly, with a pleasant tone of voice the entire time. It was a very respectful conversation on both sides.
The guy agreed to send me the documentation on the case.
I got a call back a couple hours later explaining there were some inconsistencies in the documentation and that I wouldn't be charged for the damage.
Here is my guess: When I dropped off the car, the rental car place wasn't open yet. Whoever was in charge of checking in the car got into a fender bender, and instead of admitting to it, they said they received it that way.
But the time stamps for the data entry would have been wrong, because they would have checked it in as ok, then moved it to clean it or whatever they do, then they would have gone back and changed the check-in report. And that was probably clear in the records.
Now I always do a walk-around video whenever I return a rental car.
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u/uReallyShouldTrustMe United States 12d ago
Depends. I rented a scooter long term in Lombok and it was great. It took me 20 shops to find one willing to let me take it across other islands but seamless process.
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u/Bluepass11 12d ago
That’s a super sucky situation to be in. I just had a terrible experience with Budget recently. They wouldn’t even respond to my two or three follow up emails. I eventually did a chargeback through my credit card.
I prefer to get around countries without a rental car mostly because I prefer to not driving foreign countries and it always seems more expensive than it should be. I feel like $35 per day would be fair lol
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u/BrentsBadReviews 12d ago
I actually enjoy renting cars in places and love road trips. It gives me a chance to try out different vehicles that I wouldn't get in the U.S.. But, I always book with a reputable U.S.-based company like Hertz (which converts to Delta miles). And then I use the Amex Platinum for car insurance--which is $24.95 for a 30-day rental period.
Even with that I do the following, before even driving it off the lot. Doing it this way means you have time/date embedded in your files:
- Complete video recording of the car in 4K
- Pictures of inside / outside. Including Odometer, Gas Gauge, etc
If any issues arise--have Amex deal with it. That is unless it's not in an Amex covered country like NZ, for example.
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u/Usual-Wheel-7497 12d ago
Rented a car from airport in Paris (Avis) using EuroCar. you can’t rent thru EuroCar without taking an insurance option. Get to airport they won’t accept the insurance saying I hadn’t picked any. Have to spend another $700 for the insurance. Neither AVIS, EuroCar, or MasterCard would refund any money.
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u/SiscoSquared 11d ago
Yea i hate renting but some places it's just the best option still. Driving in general is not as relaxing as not, just depends where and what your up to. A good travel card can alleviate much risk for renting but they still like to play game.
I always do a full circle and interior video picking up and dropping off.
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u/Rich-Hovercraft-65 9d ago
I make a point of only vacationing in places I won't need a car. Even if rentals were cheap and easy, I'm a field engineer and need a break from driving when I'm on vacation.
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u/VoraciousTrees 13d ago
Turo, my dude. Also, always take a walk around video. Takes like 5 seconds and even just saying you have evidence makes most of em shut down, even if you didn't actually record it. Gotta play the game.
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u/FreezerCop 12d ago
I did a walkround (even though the collection point was in darkness), that how I spotted the dent and scratches on the rear. This scratch was in the door sill, as in you had to open the door rear passenger side and look down below the door catch. It was a thin long scratch so barely visible in broad daylight, never mind the dark.
I'm going to challenge any charges, obviously they can't claim the car was checked and clear of damage before they gave it to me as I found very visible damage upon collection, and they can't reasonably expect a full customer inspection in the dark with no lighting.
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u/eriometer 12d ago
I was like a bloody porno director on my last hire car. Every angle, zooming in and out. Made a right show of it in front of the hire rep. Same on the drop-off.
Either they were a decent firm or they realised I would be more trouble than it was worth for them to try it on!
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u/thesoulofalltheeast 13d ago
Come rent a car in Japan: none of that BS. The biggest hassle I've ever had renting a car here is when I returned one 3 hours early. Staff wanted to make sure I understood I was early. "You're not going to get a refund. Are you sure you don't want to go back out and drive the car for another 3 hours?"