Rental Car Hell

[silvrsvt]

Well I was a moron 2 Thursday's ago, winded up rear ending a 00 Expedition going into work that morning . I nailed him pretty good with the passenger side corner panel and bumper. The estimate I got to fix it all is standing at $8655 :o and I'll hopefully have it back between the 5th and 10th of next month...

 

Anyways...I got my rental from Enterprise, since thats who my insurance company recommended. I walked up there Friday morning and saw them cleaning out a Mazda 3 and I'm like well would be nice to get that...but no luck. I get stuck with a Suzuki Forenza. Overall impressions....its CHEAP! About as exciting as a wet noodle to drive. For some reason it reminded me alot of my old man's 92 Escort, but lets get with it....the car is no better dynamically or build quality then a 15 year Escort for crying out loud! I wasn't that impressed by it and the Interior wasn't anything worth writing home about either. Basic transportation...

 

I get into work this past Wedensday and the guard at the gate mentions to me that my driver side rear tire is low...I check it out later that night and see a screw stuck in the tire! ugh...Anyways I call Enterprise up and they said they would have a car for me the next morning since I wouldn't have had made it back to them before they close.

 

I get there (keep in mind this place is tiny with just about no parking lot) and all I see is a PT Crusier and a Chevy Aveo...I fucking wind up with the Aveo...I have never been in a car as cheap as this...No power locks, no power windows and was best described by my mom that afternoon as a Clowncar...anyways that didn't last long, I called them Friday morning and stopped by Enterprise again...

 

I get there...and this time i have a choice...a PT Cruiser or a Caliber...I already had an HHR, so I said what the hell might as well see how bad the Caliber is...well its not that bad, but its nothing great either....

 

The interior materials are HORRIBLE! Its iglo cooler plastic city inside...I couldn't believe how bad it looked. The Design of the dash isn't bad at all, but the materials used are just pathetic. I didn't care for where the shifter was mounted either, which is off the center stack of the dash board.

 

I believe the car has a CVT in it, and its pretty werid driving..the car increases in RPM, but it seems like it never shifts...its just a constant wind up when accelerating. Performance isn't anything great...almost slightly underpowered for my likes. Handles like crap, feels like an SUV when you drive it. Has power locks/windows but no Cruise control...weird.

 

When I was going into work the gate guard asked me how I liked it..told him I just got it this morning..should have told him it wasn't my Mustang...:grr:

 

I'll put up with it till I get the Mustang back...

 

Anyways...after dealing with these 3 cars the past couple days...Ford Interior materials are alot nicer then these three cars.

[DCK]

Well anything from Chrysler is bound to have the worst interior materials in the industry, there is no question of that. They are so bad and cheap it is almost as if Chrysler thinks it is a joke, It is amusing when they try to talk about their "quality interiors" because everyone knows they are with out a doubt the worst in every segment.

 

The Aveo and Suzuki shouldn't have been a suprise either, the cheapest car in America (aveo) would no doubt have one of the cheapest interiors and then Suzuki is just a rebadged deawoo just like the Aveo so............Fords interior materials aren't terrible it is just the interior design is bad.......IMO of course.

[Going_Going_Gone]

Well anything from Chrysler is bound to have the worst interior materials in the industry, there is no question of that. They are so bad and cheap it is almost as if Chrysler thinks it is a joke, It is amusing when they try to talk about their "quality interiors" because everyone knows they are with out a doubt the worst in every segment.

 

Makes one wax nostalgic for the days of Corinthian Leather.

[waymondospiff]

So you've gone Forenza - Aveo - Caliber. Wow, that is rental car hell. Daewoo, Daewoo, Chrysler. Ouch.

 

The Caliber's CVT is awful. I've driven Audi, Nissan, & Ford CVTs and always found them to be great. I actually prefer how the transmission will calibrate so that the engine can work at its peak effiency...at least then the "automatic" transmission is actually doing something I couldn't do with a manual. That said, the Caliber's CVT was awful. It didn't allow the engine to move to the peak range quickly enough, it held revs for no reason, the engine (which was much too loud) droned on and on, and it was jerky. Absolutely horrid. And then as if the Caliber's drivetrain wasn't bad enough it has an even worse interior. And it's stone ugly. I can't believe how much Chrysler screwed up with the Caliber.

 

Speaking of waxing nostalgia...does anyone pine for the Neon's old 3-speed automatic transmission...I'd have to think long and hard about which one I'd prefer for the Caliber.

 

And - was your Aveo the "new" Aveo 4-door or one of the older Aveo sedans or 5-doors? The new Aveo doesn't seem half bad in the interior department. Well, compared to a Forenza or Caliber at least.

 

Scott

[J-150]

I test drove the Chryco small cars early in the summer.

 

The Patriot is miles ahead of the Caliber and Compass... for basically the same price.

 

Of course, that's not saying the Patriot is anything to write home about... but of the triplets, it would be the one I go with.

[silvrsvt]

And - was your Aveo the "new" Aveo 4-door or one of the older Aveo sedans or 5-doors? The new Aveo doesn't seem half bad in the interior department. Well, compared to a Forenza or Caliber at least.

 

It was the 5 door hatchback...the clown car!

[Watchdevil]

Makes one wax nostalgic for the days of Corinthian Leather.

 

Chryslers were better in the days of Corenthian leather!

[96 Pony]

Well anything from Chrysler is bound to have the worst interior materials in the industry, there is no question of that. They are so bad and cheap it is almost as if Chrysler thinks it is a joke, It is amusing when they try to talk about their "quality interiors" because everyone knows they are with out a doubt the worst in every segment.

 

A rather broad statement. I do agree that Chryslers mid-sized to small car and truck interiors are crap. What they use on the LS's, however, is far superior to what Ford and GM use in their full sized line.

 

And I include the MKZ in that statement. Even tho it is not full sized it should be at least as good as the 300's interior.

Edited September 23, 2007 by 96 Pony

[RichardJensen]

What? Having been in a Magnum and a Taurus, I can tell you there is no comparison.

 

And it's not Ford that comes out on the losing end, either.

[SVT_MAN]

At least your brakes didn't fail. My family rented a Corolla over Thanksgiving holiday last year. Half way to Michigan (we live in Wisconsin), the brakes started fading massively. We had Hertz look at it and they agreed it was unsafe to drive and gave us a Taurus instead. The Taurus was fine.

[suv_guy_19]

What? Having been in a Magnum and a Taurus, I can tell you there is no comparison.

 

And it's not Ford that comes out on the losing end, either.

 

 

I agree. Our Magnum interior, an SXT (mid model) could not even compare to the loaner SE bare bones (No S in Canada) fusion we had. I don't mind the Magnum interior but its pretty plain.

[old_fairmont_wagon]

It sounds to me a lot like you got one of the base level Calibers with the smaller 4 banger (I believe that the base one comes with a 2.0L instead of the R/Ts 2.4L (which is what's used in the Patriot as well)). The CVT just flat out struggles to find a way to wring any performance out of the vehicle at all with that 2.0L being toortured under its hood to move that beast of a small car.

[Ralph Greene]

It's always amazed me why car companies don't stock rental companies with models with nice interiors and drivetrains. After all, it's almost like folks are paying to take test drives. While most rental car customers know they are getting the rental car versions of the cars they get, they still tend to form impressions of overall build quality and materials used in these cars.

 

If my decision, I would only sell rental car companies the hi trim level cars. Not the cheap models I always seem to get.

[630land]

Rental companies only buy car if they are cheap, so they get the bottom feeder ones.

[Roadrunner]

Ouch!

 

But which one would you call the best of the three? (heh)

[ShockFX]

No point in rental companies stocking higher end models because the auto companies don't own them anymore. There is no reason for the companies to advertise the cars.

 

On a side note, I had a similar experience. I had flown into Raleigh/Durham for graduation ceremonies and had booked the flight/hotel/car on Travelocity. I got to the rental counter, filled out the forms, and the guy says "Would you like a HHR or a Monte Carlo?" Now, every time I see an HHR I laugh at it, and everyone that drives a Monte Carlo sticker likes Nascar and has a (3) sticker on it for Dale Earnhardt. I'm 800 miles from home, no one in this state knows me except some teachers and fellow students that are not going to see the car, and I'm completely paralyzed to pick one. After establishing those were my only choices, I stood there about 5 minutes trying to rationalize picking one. Finally my traveling buddy picked the Monte Carlo because it is bigger and I was holding up the line.

 

Let this show that Karma is a bitch and that if you ever see a HHR on dubs or a Monte Carlo with a big ass wing spoiler and Nascar paint job and think "I'd rather kill myself than drive that" it just might happen.

[waymondospiff]

It sounds to me a lot like you got one of the base level Calibers with the smaller 4 banger (I believe that the base one comes with a 2.0L instead of the R/Ts 2.4L (which is what's used in the Patriot as well)). The CVT just flat out struggles to find a way to wring any performance out of the vehicle at all with that 2.0L being toortured under its hood to move that beast of a small car.

I rented the 2.4L/CVT Caliber. I wouldn't say it "struggled" to accelerate, but it was slow and the CVT was still miserable. I couldn't imagine the CVT and/or Caliber with an even smaller engine.

 

Rental companies only buy car if they are cheap, so they get the bottom feeder ones.

Not all the time. There are a variety of factors when vehicles are purchased by/supplied to rental car companies.

 

For example this year I've had...

 

Pontiac G6 Coupe - leather, auto/manual, sunroof, etc.

Pontiac Grand Prix GTP - 3.8L Supercharged V6, leather, XM, sunroof, etc.

Toyota RAV4 - 3.5L V6, CD Changer, AWD, etc.

Dodge Caliber R/T AWD - "loaded"

 

And just this weekend I picked up a Hyundai Accent with power windows/locks/mirrors, remote keyless entry, CD and such and it was an "economy" car. On the lot the company had Pontiac Solstices, Pontiac Grand Prix GXP 5.3L V8s, a Chrysler 300C Hemi, and a Volvo. Not exactly boring old cars.

 

Scott

[suv_guy_19]

I rented the 2.4L/CVT Caliber. I wouldn't say it "struggled" to accelerate, but it was slow and the CVT was still miserable. I couldn't imagine the CVT and/or Caliber with an even smaller engine.

Not all the time. There are a variety of factors when vehicles are purchased by/supplied to rental car companies.

 

For example this year I've had...

 

Pontiac G6 Coupe - leather, auto/manual, sunroof, etc.

Pontiac Grand Prix GTP - 3.8L Supercharged V6, leather, XM, sunroof, etc.

Toyota RAV4 - 3.5L V6, CD Changer, AWD, etc.

Dodge Caliber R/T AWD - "loaded"

 

And just this weekend I picked up a Hyundai Accent with power windows/locks/mirrors, remote keyless entry, CD and such and it was an "economy" car. On the lot the company had Pontiac Solstices, Pontiac Grand Prix GXP 5.3L V8s, a Chrysler 300C Hemi, and a Volvo. Not exactly boring old cars.

 

Scott

 

 

I think the accent comes with all those things, and a power driver seat.

[laserred02]

I went on a trip to D.C. with my gf about a month ago and I rented a car while we were there, which was stupid in the end, but nonetheless we got a car. I got a dodge caliber, and my gf's mom has one and seems to like so I didn't think it could be that bad. Oh man was I ever wrong, that is the cheapest new car I have ever driven, what a worthless piece of crap. The darn thing didn't shift right, was terribly uncomfortable to drive, I am 5,10 and I couldn't find a comfortable position to drive. The car handled worse than my 5 year old (90k mile) base model V6 mustang (solid rear axle). I could not possibly have been less impressed.

 

Anyways I saw you got a caliber and had to throw my 2 cents in. what a crappy car.

[bri719]

No point in rental companies stocking higher end models because the auto companies don't own them anymore. There is no reason for the companies to advertise the cars.

 

On a side note, I had a similar experience. I had flown into Raleigh/Durham for graduation ceremonies and had booked the flight/hotel/car on Travelocity. I got to the rental counter, filled out the forms, and the guy says "Would you like a HHR or a Monte Carlo?" Now, every time I see an HHR I laugh at it, and everyone that drives a Monte Carlo sticker likes Nascar and has a (3) sticker on it for Dale Earnhardt. I'm 800 miles from home, no one in this state knows me except some teachers and fellow students that are not going to see the car, and I'm completely paralyzed to pick one. After establishing those were my only choices, I stood there about 5 minutes trying to rationalize picking one. Finally my traveling buddy picked the Monte Carlo because it is bigger and I was holding up the line.

 

Let this show that Karma is a bitch and that if you ever see a HHR on dubs or a Monte Carlo with a big ass wing spoiler and Nascar paint job and think "I'd rather kill myself than drive that" it just might happen.

 

 

LOL that is hilarious... I would have a very hard time picking myself. if I needed the extra utility, I'd reluctantly take the HHR. otherwise, Monte Carlo (but not happily)

 

anyway I think one or two rental agencies have Edges, and I think they're SELs but might be SE's. Ford isn't exactly unloading them to rental fleets so it's interesting that they're on lots. but I think it's neat that just about anyone I've ever heard of that had one as a rental liked it a lot. I wonder how many have actually bought one as a result?

 

I know when I had an Equinox (AWD) as a week long rental for a ski trip a year ago, it convinced me even more NOT to consider one.

[danup]

I went on a trip to D.C. with my gf about a month ago and I rented a car while we were there, which was stupid in the end, but nonetheless we got a car. I got a dodge caliber, and my gf's mom has one and seems to like so I didn't think it could be that bad. Oh man was I ever wrong, that is the cheapest new car I have ever driven, what a worthless piece of crap. The darn thing didn't shift right, was terribly uncomfortable to drive, I am 5,10 and I couldn't find a comfortable position to drive. The car handled worse than my 5 year old (90k mile) base model V6 mustang (solid rear axle). I could not possibly have been less impressed.

 

Anyways I saw you got a caliber and had to throw my 2 cents in. what a crappy car.

 

I don't doubt that the Caliber is crap, judging from some of the reviews it's gotten, but seeing as the thing replaces the Neon (and trades out the Neon's fun-to-drive rep for a big SUV-ish profile) I don't think handling worse than an 02 Mustang is all that terrible a fate.

[silvrsvt]

"Would you like a HHR or a Monte Carlo?"

I had an HHR out in Wisconsin for work...it wasn't that bad...I kinda liked it...considering it was GM product. It was far better then the POS I have now

[silvrsvt]

Ouch!

 

But which one would you call the best of the three? (heh)

 

 

Um I'd have to say the Forenza followed by the Caliber....but it would be a dead heat if the Caliber had cruise control...thus why it came in second.

 

But they still all suck, just a matter of who sucks the least...

[LincolnFan]

Why the hell did you rent TWO Daewoos? Fool me once, shame one me, fool me twice...

[silvrsvt]

Why the hell did you rent TWO Daewoos? Fool me once, shame one me, fool me twice...

 

 

Well couldnt get anything else...