Car rental customers...

[Mighty Girl]

I worked for seven years for a renting/leasing company. For at least half that time, I worked exclusively at the rental desk (until I said I'd quit if they didn't hire somebody else). It never stopped amazing me how incredibly stupid people could be- and not just uneducated people, I'm talking about people with PhDs and ones who spoke several languages.

Here are some of the rules for renting...

*Must be 21 years old to rent a car. No one may drive the car unless they are 21, and we have a copy of their driver's license so we can put their name on the rental agreement. In other words, if you let your 16 year old son drive the rental van, and he totals it, and the police report shows his name as the driver- you owe us $30K, payable NOW. That damage waiver you signed does NOT apply because you let an unauthorized driver operate the vehicle.

*Must have a major credit card. For you people who can't decipher that on your own- that means visa, mastercard, discover, and american express. That's it. No, we won't accept your Sears card or Diner's club for that matter. And yes, when I call you to say that your credit card was declined, that means it has to have some room open on it. It can't be maxxed out. We have no interest in your library card either.

*You must have a valid driver's license. I know...it's a shocker.

*You must have full coverage insurance. WE DO NOT SELL INSURANCE. We will allow you to sign a collision damage waiver if you pay an additional fee per day. That does not mean you don't have to have your own, paid to date, full coverage insurance. Just have liability? Too bad, so sad. We will verify your insurance coverage at the time of your reservation as well as the day before you pick up your rental- so don't even think about throwing your insurance card for your cancelled for nonpayment insurance at us and think it's all kosher. Think again. And by the way, none of the car rental places I know of will accept Safe Auto insurance. Period. Not negotiable.

*No I will not give you my home phone number, I don't care if your rental breaks down halfway to Niagara Falls- even if it does, it's not like I'm going to personally drive out there to pick your ass up. What would you do if your own car broke down? Call your mommy? I didn't think so. If the rental acts up, get it taken care of and save your receipts. And rest assured if you rent a minivan, and get wasted and crash it in Georgia, we are not coming to get you. Btw, inebriation while driving also voids your rental contract and pretty much guarantees that your ass is mine.

*Upon checkout of your rental, I will walk you all the way around your rental vehicle to note any pre-existing scrapes or dents on the vehicle. If you choose to blow me off and not pay attention, don't bitch when you return and I assess you a fee for damaging the vehicle. You signed the vehicle condition report, I have it on file, no court in the land is going to rule in your favor so do us all a favor and be patient while I complete this very necessary process.

*If you pick up a vehicle with a full tank of gas, and return it with an 1/8 of a tank. I'm going to rape your wallet, and it states that very clearly on the three forms you signed while chatting on your cell phone. We charge $7.50 PER 1/8 OF A TANK. Do the math. That's over $50. You could have saved yourself at least half that by dragging your lazy ass to the gas station yourself. I know gas isn't that expensive, but time is money and if it isn't your time, then it's our time, and we have better things to do with our time. Get over yourself.

*No we will not rent out the luxury cars. Some of them- yes. The town cars, the cadillacs, etc. Just because you saw a viper and a corvette in our showroom, does NOT mean you can rent them. I saw you pulling in with a rope holding your trunk shut, do you really think you carry the kind of insurance required to drive one of THESE cars? Short answer is: no.

*If you smoke in our cars, we'll charge you $100 for it. Also, not negotiable.

[reformedwaitress]

*No we will not rent out the luxury cars. Some of them- yes. The town cars, the cadillacs, etc. Just because you saw a viper and a corvette in our showroom, does NOT mean you can rent them. I saw you pulling in with a rope holding your trunk shut, do you really think you carry the kind of insurance required to drive one of THESE cars? Short answer is: no.

How DOES one rent a viper or a corvette? One of my best friends has always wanted to drive a viper, even if just for a day, so we were thinking about renting one for a day for his birthday. What does that take?

[Mighty Girl]

You'll have a very hard time finding a place like that around here, there simply isn't much demand for it by people who could actually afford it. I've heard that places like Miami and Los Angeles have rental companies that do it. I imagine you'd have to have a spectacular credit rating, completely clean background check, and probably a thousand or so for a day. But that's just an educated guess.

[RentalRacer]

Mighty Girl...sounds like you either worked for a local company, or possibly out of a car dealership...while I am not trying to argue with ya...here is how the 3 major car rental companies(1 is yellowish- gold, 1 Green, 1 yellow and blue) that I have worked for do things. I have actually been meaning to post this but you beat me to the punch! Sorry in advance for the long reply, but I don't see the point in starting a new thread!

1. Yes, to drive, unless you are in the state of NY, you must be 21. However, if you are between 21-24 an additonal fee per day will be applied.

2. Additional Drivers-Must be added to the contract at time of rental. An additional fee per day may apply. In the event a non-authorized driver is operating the vehicle when an accident occurs, that voids the loss damage waiver you purchased from us.

3. Most major companies will not verify your insurance information. They may ask the name of your insurance company/policy #, but its not like the rental agent calls Allstate and verifies it is valid...try doing that when you do 1500 res's a day. It is up to you to determine if you have adequete coverage from your insurance company or need to purchase our damage waiver. You do sign a contract that states you agree to be responsible for any damages to the vehicle, unless our damage waiver is purchased. We are required by law to have the minimum amount of liability coverage required by the state you are renting in. However, that coverage is secondary to any coverage you have (insurance/credit card). In the event your insurance/CC does not cover you, you will pay us yourself.

4. Fuel. The car will be full of fuel at time of rental (unless you are Enterprise!). You may choose to pre-purchase the tank of fuel up front at close to the street price, and return the car empty. Or, you can opt to return the car full of gas. If you choose the second option, and don't return the car full, we will charge you a significantly higher rate per gallon upon return. My company currently charges $6.99/gallon at time of return.

5. You need a major Credit Card to rent a car. However, Debit cards may be accepted if you have proof of a return airline/train/cruise ticket. Said ticket must be for same location you are returning car to on the same day. No, you can't give me cash or a check at time of rental. We will take Cash upon return of the rental.

6.Damages. You agree to return the car in the same condition as it was rented to you in. Any damage you noticed must be marked before you leave the lot. If you call 5 minutes or 2 days after you leave the lot to report a dent it does not matter. Should have looked more closely before you left. We have no way of knowing you did not do the damage. We don't charge for dents smaller than a golf ball and scratches less than 6 inches long, IE normal wear and tear. Tire/Windshield damage is NOT normal wear and tear. All keys, tires, floor mats, remotes, seats, mirrors etc that were there at the time of rental must be returned with the vehicle.

7. Drivers License..yes you have to have one! No, it can't be expired! I understand that in the state of ___ you have a 30 day grace period. However, you are in the state of ___ and here no such grace period exists.

Reformed Waitress-
Vipers/Vettes/Porches are generally not available at most major rental companies...Hertz/National/Alamo/Avis/Budget/Enterprise. "Luxury" cars to the big dogs are usually Cadillac/Lincoln run-of-the-mill sedans. Hertz does rent "higher end" cars such as Land Rovers, Jaguars,Lexus,Audi,Infiniti etc. For a true high-end performance car you will need to find a specialty car rental company. I know most have a ton of special requirements you must meet, but they are around. I looked into renting a Ferrari in the Boston area, and it was $849/day, plus you had to buy coverage, and they required a $8,000 deposit, either with cash or on a CC. Needless to say, I decided not to.

[RogueOne]

7. Drivers License..yes you have to have one! No, it can't be expired! I understand that in the state of ___ you have a 30 day grace period. However, you are in the state of ___ and here no such grace period exists.

Only exception: active military w/valid military ID card (NOT dependents)

[skeptic53]

What do you think of the damage waiver, if you have good insurance? All the consumer advocates say not to sign up for it. One renter in this area rented a car in November and went to Olympic National Park, up the Hoh River. 100-year storm blew in, the road washed out, the rental car was undamaged but trapped, no way to return it. First estimate was that the car would be there until May or so, with the meter running all winter, so to speak. The car was recently rescued, the company took pity on him and only charged him $870 or so. But they made a big deal of "if only he'd signed up for the damage waiver, he wouldn't have to pay anything". But the bad luck he had was a very unusual circumstance.

[Mighty Girl]

I, personally, would take the damage waiver. Here's why: it's usually a nominal sum (less than $15/per day of rental), you could total the car, and not owe anything. However, if you rely solely on your insurance company, you pay the deductible and hope your coverage is enough to cover the rest.

I worked for a company with a yellow and black logo that was located within a car dealership.

And yes, we had to verify coverage for every single rental or it was our butts. Why you ask? Because one time, this woman showed up to rent a car and never came back- and no one had verified her information because we were "too busy" (it was actually before I had any rental duties- the rental person who handled this was fired and I was handed her job- gee thanks). Turns out she started an insurance policy, but never made payments- so she had the card but no actual coverage. Same with the credit card, but the idiot in charge then didn't run the card.

[alphaboi]

...1. Yes, to drive, unless you are in the state of NY, you must be 21. However, if you are between 21-24 an additonal fee per day will be applied...

Why do you only have to be 18 in NY and 21 everywhere else?

[RentalRacer]

From what I gather someone sued a car rental company in New York saying that not renting to someone under 21 was age discrimination, and the state ruled it was.
The catch all is companies can charge whatever amount they want for a young renter fee, with us its $70/day extra per day for an 18 year old to rent a car,while someone who is 21-24 will only be charged $25/day extra. Which is basically how car insurance companies operate...insurance for a 30 year old is cheaper than insurance for an 18 year old. So I doubt an age discrimination lawsuit related to the fee structure would be sucessful. Lucky for me I have only had to work in NY for 2 weeks ever...

[Scottya21]

I was actually wondering about that age policy, in relation to a benefit on my car insurance policy that gives me a rental car if I have my car in the shop for something. Me being between 21-24, there's an extra fee. Who picks it up ?

It turns out that in reality, the rental place is supposed to waive the fee(we talked them into it , I guess?) when we do this, but I was REALLY wondering for a while

[Mark Healey]

WE DO NOT SELL INSURANCE.

This surprises me. There is a business here in San Diego (Flexcar, I think they started in Seattle) that rents cars by the hour at a pretty reasonable price ($10.00, I think) and that covers insurance and GAS.

If I didn't already have a car I'd use it, and I plan to when my current car dies. Of course this only works in areas of a limited range of denisities. You've got to be somewhere that isn't dense enough for public transportation and too dense for adaquate parking.

Anyway, you could make a killing selling short term insurance policies.

[Mongo Skruddgemire]

I've always hated that under 21 policy (under 25 in some areas). In a country where they let you join the Military and fight, kill, bleed and possibly die for your country...you can't rent a car to drive from your base of operations to visit your folks on your leave...nor allow you to rent a hotel room.

The thing that really honked me off was the fact that my insurance company (State Farm) gave me this lovely coupon book filled with hotel discounts and rental car deals.

I was part of thier 21-25 policy, I was 21, the coupons expired in 6 months and I was 4 years away from being able to use any of them.

M

[Barefootgirl]

Last time I hired a car in the US (from Alamo in Miami Beach, as i recall), no-one asked us anything about what insurance we had. We were three Brits and one Swede, just rolled up, presented our driving licences and the credit card we were hiring the car on, and drove away, having figured out how to fit all our stuff into the boot of a Sebring....

[friendofjimmyk]

How DOES one rent a viper or a corvette? One of my best friends has always wanted to drive a viper, even if just for a day, so we were thinking about renting one for a day for his birthday. What does that take?

I had a friend who would rent a Lamborghini every year on his birthday. He knew the person who owned the rental place, though. It was sweet.

[greensinestro]

Wow! What a story. While I do not work nor have ever worked for a car rental agency, my younger brother once worked for Enterprise, so I used to hear these stories all the time. His favorite customers were the ones who would come in and give him a hard time because a credit card on file was required. He would always tell them, "Sorry, sir, but we cannot rent out a car without a major credit card on file in the case of liability, nor can we accept a cash deposit for $20 being if the car is damaged, the amount will most likely be 200 times that amount." And, he used to also get those without insurance, yet thought it was still OK to rent a luxury vehicle after they pulled up in their shitbox Ford LTD, complete with rusted door handles, peeling vinyl top, two hubcaps, and hanging by a thread muffler and exhaust pipe.