Years ago a friend of mine was on the neighborhood watch in what was then a declining neighborhood and what is now just straight up bad..
..he caught someone in the neighborhood stripping parts of a car they had rented!
Rental Cars - how do you treat them?
- Thread starter DriveHard
- Start date
Years ago a friend of mine was on the neighborhood watch in what was then a declining neighborhood and what is now just straight up bad..
..he caught someone in the neighborhood stripping parts of a car they had rented!
In my early years (early 20's) I used a few rental cars and beat them up pretty badly. In my mid 20s and to present day I drive them like my own car for the most part. No need to tear them up, its a tool to keep me going until I get my vehicle back or around a city I am visiting.
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- Aug 14, 2021
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I treat them like they’re my own car.
I don’t know what it was with Enterprise the last time I had a rental (they blamed being short staffed), but the car was a mess. It was a 2020 Elantra with over 35k miles on it. One of the highest mileage rentals I’ve ever had.
The car had a thick layer of smokey film on the windshield and rear window and smelled like an ashtray. It was filthy inside and out. I spent a day washing the windows multiple times so I could actually see out of them at night. I washed and waxed the car with a cleaner wax then used my little green clean machine on the interior. It still had an ashtray smell so I bought one of those air freshener bombs and set it off, then cleaned the interior again.
I had the car for 2 weeks when my Soul was in the body shop and I didn’t want to drive around in an ashtray for that long. I returned it looking like it just left the showroom floor.
Oh, I did have to floor the car a couple of times to see how it and the CVT performed, but after I got that out of my system I drove it like a normal person.
I don’t know what it was with Enterprise the last time I had a rental (they blamed being short staffed), but the car was a mess. It was a 2020 Elantra with over 35k miles on it. One of the highest mileage rentals I’ve ever had.
The car had a thick layer of smokey film on the windshield and rear window and smelled like an ashtray. It was filthy inside and out. I spent a day washing the windows multiple times so I could actually see out of them at night. I washed and waxed the car with a cleaner wax then used my little green clean machine on the interior. It still had an ashtray smell so I bought one of those air freshener bombs and set it off, then cleaned the interior again.
I had the car for 2 weeks when my Soul was in the body shop and I didn’t want to drive around in an ashtray for that long. I returned it looking like it just left the showroom floor.
Oh, I did have to floor the car a couple of times to see how it and the CVT performed, but after I got that out of my system I drove it like a normal person.
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I’ll check the fluids when I gas up and take it into the wash before I return it. Hertz tends to leave maintenance up to the local manager of a HLE branch.
The RAV4 I got as an insurance rental was low on coolant, I topped it off with Prestone Cor-Guard, kinda “not my car”, but it got better than what Jiffy Lube/VIOC would have done. Before that, it was an Equinox with a half-tank of gas. $20 bucks of gas from the world’s most expensive Chevron in LA went into it before I turned it in.
The RAV4 I got as an insurance rental was low on coolant, I topped it off with Prestone Cor-Guard, kinda “not my car”, but it got better than what Jiffy Lube/VIOC would have done. Before that, it was an Equinox with a half-tank of gas. $20 bucks of gas from the world’s most expensive Chevron in LA went into it before I turned it in.
I usually put prem. fuel in my Euro rentals (especially those with a 4cyl turbo).
I find the performance and mileage is improved, which is especially helpful when passing on single-lane highways.
Other than that they all get the tire pressures checked and topped up as necessary for optimal fuel economy and safety, and the interior glass cleaned (as needed).
Like it was my own.
I also bought a rental once. 27,8xxmi on it when I got it. 106k mi on it when I sold it. Zero issues what so ever that I could even try to blame on driving or maintenance style as a rental, prior, unless we count that the alignment was off when I got it.
I also bought a rental once. 27,8xxmi on it when I got it. 106k mi on it when I sold it. Zero issues what so ever that I could even try to blame on driving or maintenance style as a rental, prior, unless we count that the alignment was off when I got it.
I purchased an ex-rental in 2018. A 6 month old Volvo V40 Inscription with a 'D3' 2.0 4 cylinder engine mated to an Aisin TF71-SC. If I remember correctly it had around ~6,000miles on the clock. It was an approved used car from a major Volvo dealer who insisted I signed a piece of paper acknowledging it was an ex-rental.
I owned it for 12 months and put a mere additional 25k on the clock and it was faultless. Cosmetically it was perfect and drove like a brand new car right up until I changed it for another Volvo V40.
I always test rentals to see what they're capable of. But there's ways and means of doing this and getting a feel for a car without abusing it.
I owned it for 12 months and put a mere additional 25k on the clock and it was faultless. Cosmetically it was perfect and drove like a brand new car right up until I changed it for another Volvo V40.
I always test rentals to see what they're capable of. But there's ways and means of doing this and getting a feel for a car without abusing it.
I rent all the time. Generally for highway trips. I load 'em up and go. No abuse, but plenty of high speed miles.
While I admit I do not treat them as carefully as our personal vehicles, I don't abuse them; courtesy to the rental company and any future owner....
There was this one time though, while exploring during a guys trip to Nevada for the Reno Air Races, when we were in a rental Chevy Aveo. We came over a pass and spied an open, dry lakebed.....
There was this one time though, while exploring during a guys trip to Nevada for the Reno Air Races, when we were in a rental Chevy Aveo. We came over a pass and spied an open, dry lakebed.....
I will acknowledge that the "throwing it in Park on the highway" might seem extreme...but it isn't. I would only do this in cars that I knew my company supplied the parts for, and I witnessed thousands of hours of tests in labs doing just that, and there had to be ZERO failures (safety critical), so while you might think it was EXTREME, I was replicating something that I had complete faith in.
The other things...brake stands, redlines, burnouts...well a photojournalist does it, and it is in the name of science and reporting. I do it, and I am abusing it...meh. I have done a brake stand in my own car, how else to you measure a good 0-60? If my car is capable, I will do a burnout - I do Auto-X after all, and it is hard to get a good start without it. I had my Buick sideways nearly as much as it was straight on my way to work this morning in the snow, it was a ton of fun.
Driving is a ton of fun, and cars were meant to be driven. They are tested at extreme conditions, and with modern computer control, I would argue it is nearly impossible to abuse them. They won't let the car do something it won't survive.
If a couple brake stands, and a burn-out destroy your car, then it was already on its last legs. It sounds like there are a LOT of folks on here who never experience or appreciate the capabilities of their cars. What a waste of engineering and technology.
hammer down cold starts , corner to the max , the lower and blacker the oil level the better , just bag the h*ll out of rentals in general.
i rent them a few times a year just for this purpose.
i rent them a few times a year just for this purpose.
I treat them like my own, check fluids at the start of a trip, drive sensibly etc. I’ve never been one to abuse stuff, why would I start just because it’s a rental?
I had a rental Dodge Ram truck once that I polished the wheels on. They were chrome and the dullness bothered me. I had that truck for a bout 6 weeks, so I felt it was justified.
The only rentals I abused were the Dodge Challenger and the Chevy Camaro I had as a rental. That is only because I turn into a little child when given the keys to a real muscle car.....It's why I bought my Jeep YJ is a 2.5L as a toy instead of a muscle car or truck. I also had a rental Nissan Rogue in Louisiana that I tested the AWD on in some situations I would not have taken my personal Rogue, only so I knew how good the AWD system is in a Rogue. It's better than you think, and I did not abuse it while doing my research
Otherwise, I treat them well.
The only rentals I abused were the Dodge Challenger and the Chevy Camaro I had as a rental. That is only because I turn into a little child when given the keys to a real muscle car.....It's why I bought my Jeep YJ is a 2.5L as a toy instead of a muscle car or truck. I also had a rental Nissan Rogue in Louisiana that I tested the AWD on in some situations I would not have taken my personal Rogue, only so I knew how good the AWD system is in a Rogue. It's better than you think, and I did not abuse it while doing my research
Otherwise, I treat them well.
Nick1994
$100 site donor 2024
I drive them like my own. Which means a 0-60 every once in a while is in order 
But I do usually take it to the $5 car wash before I return it.
But I do usually take it to the $5 car wash before I return it.
I pretty much do nothing but 0-60 in my cars. Very rare for me to only drive in the 'burbs.I drive them like my own. Which means a 0-60 every once in a while is in order
Now, testing to see how fast I can do 0-60... I rarely do that. I don't like the overwhelming feeling of... underwhelming disappointment.
Nick1994
$100 site donor 2024
I hear ya. I’m pulling a trailer back from Oregon right now with the Grand Cherokee. These 0-60 highway on-ramps are very underwhelmingI pretty much do nothing but 0-60 in my cars. Very rare for me to only drive in the 'burbs.
Now, testing to see how fast I can do 0-60... I rarely do that. I don't like the overwhelming feeling of... underwhelming disappointment.
Normally. I don’t feel special or entitled like people who abuse them and have low respect for property.
I don’t abuse them. I don’t scratch them. I actually take care of it like it’s my own car…except if I eat lunch in my car I’ll idle it for 30 minutes and I might hit 3500 rpm on a cold motor. I can’t get myself to hit redline on a cold engine regardless if I own the car or not. Just natural instinct to take it easy when cold. Although, my personal cars never go above 2000 rpm until I’ve been moving for 5-10 minutes. And I don’t like to idle my personal cars for long periods of time either. So that’s the difference.
But the only reason I don’t like ex rentals is due to the stuff I’ve seen with my rentals. I had a Hyundai Accent rental recently. Great car but burn marks on the seats, broken steering wheel, interior reeked of barf and wet a*s, front and rear fenders had damage, wheels were curbed, tires had sidewall damage. I got the car and it was already 500 miles overdue for oil, and the brakes were shot. Brakes were grinding when I left the lot, by the time I gave it back they stopped grinding. It was out on the road the next day despite me telling them about it.
All it takes is 1 jack a** and the car will be compromised.
But the only reason I don’t like ex rentals is due to the stuff I’ve seen with my rentals. I had a Hyundai Accent rental recently. Great car but burn marks on the seats, broken steering wheel, interior reeked of barf and wet a*s, front and rear fenders had damage, wheels were curbed, tires had sidewall damage. I got the car and it was already 500 miles overdue for oil, and the brakes were shot. Brakes were grinding when I left the lot, by the time I gave it back they stopped grinding. It was out on the road the next day despite me telling them about it.
All it takes is 1 jack a** and the car will be compromised.
