Whenever I have rented cars in the past, it's always been through an airport car rental agency. This week, I had the displeasure of dealing directly with an Enterprise car rental near a residential neighborhood of homes in East Sacramento. First, I called the rental agency that morning to make a reservation and requested a smaller-sized vehicle. I also made an appointment to pick up the vehicle between 11:15 and 11:30.
When I arrived at 11:20, I was informed that the car I had reserved was not available, but Enterprise would give me a free upgrade. I don't know about you, but I drive a very small car. I don't like driving big vehicles. In fact, the thought of driving an RV, for example, sends shivers up and down my spine. I have lousy depth perception.
When I was given a vehicle to drive in Ireland, the steering wheel was on the right, which meant I had to shift with my left hand and still try to watch the road that was big enough for one and one-half cows to stand shoulder-to-shoudler. Apart from blowing out a tire on the curb shortly after leaving the car rental agency, I was fortunate nothing worse happened.
I asked if I could have some other vehicle, but the only other available modes of transportation at that place was a jeep or a pick-up truck. The last jeep I drove ended up on its roll bars after zipping down a mountain side and flipping over. No thank you.
The car they gave me was covered in pine needles and filthy. The representative offered to take it down the street to a car wash, but I didn't have time to wait. I hopped inside and discovered the car was on empty with barely 1/8th of a tank of gas.
I'm not making this up, either. On top of which, I was charged a higher price, apart from sales tax, than the price listed on its web site.
The fact is I will most likely end up renting a car again from Enterprise because they are located near my mechanic's shop. So, it's not like I can say "Forget you, I'll go elsewhere." Maybe it is worth trying to make certain my next experience will be more pleasant. I wrote to Enterprise about this. We'll see what Captain Kirk has to say about it.
Photo: Big Stock Photo
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