If you think buying a car can be horrifying, try renting one.
For example:
The couple standing in line at the car rental counter in Daytona Beach, Fla., told the agent they wanted the $79-a-week subcompact special advertised in the paper that they had reserved before leaving on vacation.
”No problem,” the clerk said, ”but since you`ve never rented before we must call your bank to check out your credit.”
That done, the clerk smiled, slipped some papers to the couple to sign and announced that the $79-a-week subcompact car wasn`t available, but,
”We`re upgrading you to a midsize car-a Plymouth Sundance. That will be $300 a week, plus gas and mileage, and I`m sure you`ll want the insurance.”
The couple signed several papers, then the man reached into his wallet and started pulling out $100 bills and giving them to the clerk. The $79-a-week subcompact had become a $300-a-week subcompact. (A Plymouth Sundance is not a midsize car.)
Or:
The businessman called the rental company in Sacramento, Calif., to reserve a car for a nine-day vacation. The clerk recommended a full-size car and said it would cost $677. The businessman said, no, a midsize car would do just fine.
”OK,” she said, ”that`s $677, too.”
The businessman hung up and dug in his wallet for his American Automobile Association card that contained a telephone number to call for car rentals;
the number differed by one digit from the one he had just called. He asked for a midsize car for nine days in Sacramento, and the woman said, ”OK, that`ll be $214.10.”
There are about as many rental car rates as there are air fares. Or, as one rental car official noted: ”This is an industry in which there typically are 2,500 rate changes per day.”
And there are just about as many ways for a rental company to make money off you as there are for the new-car salesman to earn a fat commission.
In talking with a variety of rental companies, as well as renters, some horror stories surface:
– A consumer wanted to reserve a car for vacation. The reservation agent on the phone said fine, but to ensure the car would be available, the consumer had to put down a deposit-$500 on his credit card-and agree to purchase collision damage waiver and personal accident coverage. Renting a car took half the money the family had budgeted for vacation, and the deposit on his credit card left him only $500 from his limit.
– A vacationer appeared at the Florida rental counter to claim the subcompact car he had reserved. ”I`m sorry,” said the counter agent, ”all the smaller cars are being washed or serviced. You`ll have to wait, or I can upgrade you to a Dodge Shadow for just $5 more per day.” When the vacationer refused, the agent said: ”I like you. I`m going to upgrade you to the Shadow at no extra cost.” The vacationer thanked her, but when he reached the rental car parking lot he noted that the Shadow was the smallest car in the rental firm`s fleet. There were no smaller cars. By refusing the scam, he had saved $5 a day.
– The counter agent filled out the paperwork, and the subcompact economy car was just a signature away from being in the possession of the vacationing family. It was then that the agent looked at the man and asked, ”Is that your family?” When the father said, yes, the agent said: ”You`re not going to give them much of a good time in that cramped little car. Look at that full-size sedan we have parked right outside the door; that`ll give them the room they need.” Embarrassed in front of his family, the father agreed to the larger car for $8 more per day. The $90-a-week rental went to $146 per week.
– Or imagine the family waiting at the counter for Dad to pay the rental agent for the subcompact Japanese economy car when the agent looked up and, in a startled voice, said: ”Are those two children with you?” When told yes, the agent said: ”Sorry, but that Japanese economy car doesn`t have rear seat belts, and our state requires children be belted. You`ll have to move up to a midsize car in order to get rear seat belts.” When the agent was told the consumer was a reporter who wanted to do a story on the belt law and the fact the Japanese car didn`t have them, the agent discovered that the Japanese car indeed had rear belts.
– Finally, the consumer noted a sign at the rental outfit stating gasoline was $1.15 per gallon here, but $1.65 per gallon if in the city. Deciding to save 50 cents a gallon, she had the rental outfit fill up the 20- gallon tank. She had driven only one block when she spotted a filling station with a large sign advertising lead-free gas at $1.01 per gallon.
”While most companies are honorable, lots of the counter clerks work on a commission basis and get a percentage of any upgrade,” said David Schwartz, president of Rent-A-Wreck. ”That`s where you run into most of your problems.”
”People are drawn in by a low lead price and then find the car is going to cost $50 more, and figure `What`s $50 on a vacation that`s going to cost $1,000?` ” said Brian Kennedy, executive vice president of marketing for Hertz Corp.
”Besides, you`ve been waiting in line at the rental counter, the family is anxious to get started on that vacation, and there`s a line of people still behind them,” Kennedy added. ”There`s a lot of pressure just to sign and leave.
”At $79 a week, or about $320 a month, you can`t make money on a car, because $320 doesn`t pay for depreciation on the car, your building or your shuttle buses,” Kennedy said. ”There are rental companies who thrive on selling the extras. We`ve hired people from other rental companies who tell us 50 percent of their weekly income came from commissions on selling the extras.”
When buying a new car, you may be lured into the showroom by an ad promoting a $15,000 luxury sedan loaded with all the options. With a rental car, it may be the lure of a car in Florida for one week for only $79 or $89 or $99.
When you get to the new-car showroom, sometimes you find the $15,000 luxury sedan ”was just sold.” When you get to the rental counter, you sometimes find the $79 car ”was just rented,” but there`s a lot full of new Lincolns instead.
You walk into the showroom expecting to buy that $10,000 sedan you saw advertised. By the time the salesman adds all the extras-from $300
rustproofing to a $600 extended warranty-you end up paying $20,000. And instead of a sedan, you get a two-seat convertible.
At the rental counter, rather than rustproofing or an extended warranty, it`s LDW (loss-damage waiver) or CDW (collision-damage waiver) if the car is damaged. The cost is $13 per day, cheap insurance if it weren`t for the fact your own auto insurance policy covers the car without you having to fork over another $13 a day, or $91 a week.
”The confusion and problems come when you order a car and expect to pay a specific rate, only to find you can`t get that car at that rate when all the extras are added together,” said James Baumhart, executive vice president of the Better Business Bureau of Metropolitan Chicago.
”If you order a car at $79 and it`s not available, the rental company should give you a comparable car or an upgrade at no extra cost,” he said.
But not all rental companies operate under that upgrade policy. At most, if the car you rented isn`t available, you are upgraded into a larger or more fully equipped model at the originally agreed-upon price, but some will upgrade you only at a higher price.
Here`s what to look out for when renting a car:
– Type and size of car. What car will fit the number of people you plan to put in it? You aren`t going to get a family of five and their luggage in a Chevrolet Geo Metro or Dodge Colt.
Don`t let the agent talk in terms of economy, compact or midsize car. Get names of specific models, and if you aren`t sure how big or small that car is, run down to a dealer and see for yourself. As a rule, the size the rental outfit quotes you typically is one size smaller than the auto industry standard. A Ford Tempo, for example, is a compact car, but most rental companies call it midsize.
”Most rental companies don`t define car sizes like the industry does,”
Baumhart said. ”Never assume when renting a car that you are going to get what you think is a midsize car. Ask the agent what they call a midsize car.” Find out whether the price quoted is for a two-door or a four-door; a four-door may have an added charge. A consumer reserved a $79 a week subcompact car. Arriving at the counter, however, he found that the $79 car was a two-door and he needed a four-door for the kids. The extra charge for the four-door was $4 per day.
– How long you plan to keep the car. If a rate is quoted at $100 for a week, you may have to pay a penalty for each day the car is returned before or after the due date.
”You may be renting a car for $39 a day for seven days, but if you bring it back one day early or one day late you`ll be charged $59 a day instead,”
Baumhart said. ”Or, the $79 rate is for seven days, but you only use it three days and are charged $180.”
And keep in mind rental companies operate on a 24-hour day. The car rented at noon Wednesday and brought back at 3 p.m. Thursday could incur a charge for two days. The one-day rental rate ended at noon Thursday, 24 hours after you got the car. If there is a grace period, ask in advance whether it`s one, two or three hours before the next day`s charge begins.
– Gasoline charges. If the agent says bring the car back and they`ll fill it and charge you for the amount used, expect to pay more than the going rate at most gas pumps. You almost always will save money by filling up before returning the car.
Some companies charge you upfront for a tank of gas, say 20 gallons at $1.65 per gallon, and then tell you to ”bring it back with an empty tank.”
Since most people don`t want to be stranded in a strange state, they periodically add gas. ”We find,” one industry official said, ”that when people are told to bring the car back empty they usually bring it back half full, meaning not only did they pay for a full tank, they`re giving half of it back.”
– Mileage charges. You may rent a car for $39 a day plus 20 cents a mile or $49 a day and no mileage charge. Determine in advance how many miles you will be driving the car. When getting a rate quote, ask if that`s with or without mileage charges.
– Insurance coverage. If you own a car and have insurance, your policy typically will pay for damage to a rental car. Before renting, call your insurance agent to determine whether your policy covers you for damage as well as for loss of property, if, for example, those two $400 cameras you carry on your vacation are stolen from the car. If your insurance covers you, there`s no need for the high-cost extra coverage from the rental company.
Some credit card companies offer coverage on a rental car obtained using their card. But often it`s secondary coverage, meaning the credit card company pays only what your insurance company doesn`t.
– Drop-off charges. You may find a $79-a-week car, but then learn that if you don`t return the car to the place you got it, you`ll pay a hefty added fee.
– What age the renter needs to be. Some states will rent to an 18-year-old, but for the most part you must be 21 and in some cases 25. In all cases, you`ll have to have a driver`s license. And if you don`t have a credit card, you may be asked to come up with a cash deposit.
– Who can drive the rental. Most companies allow both spouses to drive, but some will tack on an additional $3 to $5 a day charge for each additional driver.
– Inquire about emergency roadside service and whether there`s a number to call if help is needed. Does the rental outfit make the repair on the spot or bring out another car?
– Read the contract carefully. Is there an airport fee or tax that will be added to your bill? Almost all rental outfits at airports have to pay a concession fee to operate there. Most rentals include the fee in the rate quoted. Yet some will try to increase profits by tacking on a 7 to 10 percent tax afterward.
– Check the car out before you drive off to ensure all systems-from radio to air conditioning-work. Does the gas filler door and trunk lid open with key or a hidden lever? Is there a spare tire and a jack in the trunk. Any dents or dings or scratches to report now rather than be charged for them on the return?
Baumhart said some of the problems in renting a car are caused by the renters.
”The business is a juggling act. You arrive to pick up your car, and you have more people or more luggage than the car will hold, so you have to upgrade on your own to a midsize car. The person who had reserved that car now won`t have it available,” he said.
”Or, you say you`re going to bring the car back Tuesday but keep it an extra day. John Smith was supposed to get that car on Tuesday, and now he can`t,” Baumhart said. ”It`s easy to see how problems domino.
”But when a consumer reserves a $39 or $79 car, he or she should stand their ground and expect to get that car or an upgrade. Don`t sign anything and don`t leave the counter before you agree on the car they have for you and you understand what you`re getting and what you`re expected to pay.
”There`s pressure at the counters from the long lines, so call and ask questions and pin down the type of car and the price of the car ahead of time,” Baumhart said. ”Basically, do the same homework as if you were buying the car.”
