I shifted hard into 2nd gear and broke...

[mike100]

my CDM (radio tuner)...Really!??? Love these cars, but the little things are hard to keep after.

I hear this job will make the steering column rebuild sound like fun. tempted to spend a grand and go aftermarket. btw the amps and tape player still work great so the unit still has sound.

[Frizlefrak]

You had me......I was waiting to hear "synchronizer". I say upgrade. I'm still running my Blose because it still works. The second it quits......

[DukeAllen]

I thought he was going to say...a nail...

[mike100]

I'm thinking to throw good money after bad because the tuner isn't real spendy and all my amps are rebuilt/replaced...well, the cd player is still kaput, but i really don't want to work on the tunes when i could be financing a 3.73 upgrade, new pipes or something along those lines.

It is apparently a real mofo to r&r somewhere near the heater core.

I think I'll try to whack it with a stick and check the antenna connection if I can reach it.

[Taurus]

Sounds like a C5 thing

[DukeAllen]

I'm seriously having trouble picturing this one...did you physically break it from the force of shifting?

[mike100]

Originally Posted by DukeAllen

I'm seriously having trouble picturing this one...did you physically break it from the force of shifting?

Coincidence(?) that me driving it like a rental car at the same time it stopped working leads me to believe the vibration and jerk did in a failing part or electrical connection somewhere. These receivers are known to be shitty, not to mention 20 year old 80's tech.

I just turned the radio on and it still gets a signal at times, but mostly static- a lot like a bad antenna, but i don't think that's it.

[DukeAllen]

When I pulled my radio for servicing the antenna jack FELL out. It's in good and snug now...maybe one to check?

[DukeAllen]

Originally Posted by mike100

Coincidence(?) that me driving it like a rental car

no, that would be the time my brother got a borrowed automatic car up to 100 then threw it in reverse to see what would happen...

[mike100]

Originally Posted by DukeAllen

no, that would be the time my brother got a borrowed automatic car up to 100 then threw it in reverse to see what would happen...

I always wanted to ask Frizz what kind of rental car bs he has witnessed...like 4 year old batteries returned with the cars or missing/swapped parts etc???

[Frizlefrak]

Originally Posted by mike100

I always wanted to ask Frizz what kind of rental car bs he has witnessed...like 4 year old batteries returned with the cars or missing/swapped parts etc???

I'd love to share it.....got a few hours? But for everyone that succeeds, 20 don't.

Yes on the used batteries....tires too. Joke is on them though....my return agents check the cars thoroughly at check in time, used tires are obvious. If they dump the car at 0300, it gets a heavy inspection before the RA is closed. Remember, I have their credit card number, and essentially a blanket authorization.....read everything you sign.

Batteries we find out about later....and we bill the customer for a new one. Anyone who says we can't do that hasn't read all of the accompanying literature with their rental agreement. They sometimes dispute the charge, but we take pics of the battery, the vin on the car, the odometer reading both in the car and on their Rental Agreement, and we present that all to the bank that issued their card. 9 times out of 10, we win. We're VERY good at what we do.

Nowadays we nail renters $250 if they smoke in the car too. I love watching people go ballistic when they get the bill.

The funniest one is when some dumbshit calls us and rips us a new one because the car quit running 5 miles out of BFE Texas and they missed their meeting / flight / wedding / funeral etc. They want to be comped for missing flights, hotels, meals etc.....we tow the car in and discover they filled it with diesel. Instead of getting comped, they get nailed for about $1200 in repair costs. Had a customer that filled the car with diesel call me a dickhead on the phone once because he missed his meeting......When I informed him later WHY the car stranded him, I asked him "who's the dickhead now?". He hung up.

The diesel thing happens at least once a month, sometimes more. It gets funnier everytime. The ones that call and politely admit what happened get cut a lot of slack at repair time....the ones who get nasty and blame it on us get the full extent of what we can charge them.

I also love the ones who lose their keys. 15 years ago, it was .79 (free for the customer) for a new key and we delivered it. Now, we have to tow the car in, buy 2 new transponder keys with remotes, and my tech has to program them. We bill the customer for all of this.....anywhere from $200 on up. They of course blame us for their stupidity.

There is more....tons of it....and it's hilarious. I love my job.

[Taurus]

My only gripe with rental companies, and I rent several times a month, is debit card billings. I don't use credit cards for anything, I have a credit score over 800 and intend to keep it that way. I don't want the liability and I don't need to use some one else's money and get charged for the privilege. I use a debit card I keep on a separate account for my business travels and some companies just make it unbearable. I end up using Hertz because they don't hold as much based on my history with them.

I also like the new angle on paying for insurance for "out of service" time if I wreck it. They now want to charge me for every day a car is in the shop in the event of an accident, my fault or not. They will gladly provide insurance to protect me though, how thoughtful.

I would rent from Friz though, how can you not trust a face like that?

That is all..............

[Frizlefrak]

I remember when we used to only accept debit cards at check in. Then one company started taking them at the beginning, and everyone else followed suit. The main reason for the extra deposit is in case it's returned late, empty, etc. Tougher to collect more than the original authorization with a debit as opposed to a credit card.

To my knowledge, the customer has always been responsible for downtime if they wreck the car, as they should be. If I can't make money on one of my assets because of the error of another party, shouldn't I be entitled to compensation? This is spelled out clearly in the documentation. And the renter is who we will go after.....we don't care who was at fault.

Do your homework before you rent. In Texas, for example, your personal auto liability policy extends to a rental. If you're from out of state, it could be either way. Nice thing with ours is it provides up to $2 million in liability. Most personal policies are 100K/300K max. Cause a pile up on the freeway and watch how fast the bills pile up.....and just how quickly you reach your policy limits, particularly if a fatality is involved.

Also check what your credit card and personal insurance covers beforehand....you may not need the rental company's damage waiver....but be sure to read the fine print VERY carefully.....some exclude "special equipment", which could be however the issuing bank or insurance company decide to define that. If you rent a luxury car and your personal car insurance agent says you're covered, GET IT IN WRITING. I've personally seen this one go south.

Also be damn sure you don't let an unauthorized driver drive the car, or you may find yourself buying a car you'll never get to drive again.

Bottom line in Texas, when we hand you the keys, the car has ZERO insurance on it. If you wad it up, we send you a bill, up to the full retail value. We don't care who pays it, but somebody is going to. Ensure, one way or another, that it isn't you. If you hit someone else, you're on your own. Protect yourself, and if it isn't through us, get it in writing.

[Taurus]

I'm guessing most people assume they are covered. I know about my coverage because I have discussed it with my agent as I travel quite a bit, but I'm sure many people are under insured and you certainly have to protect the company's assets.

Beats walking or taking a bus to that meeting.

[Frizlefrak]

Originally Posted by Taurus

I'm guessing most people assume they are covered. I know about my coverage because I have discussed it with my agent as I travel quite a bit, but I'm sure many people are under insured and you certainly have to protect the company's assets.

Beats walking or taking a bus to that meeting.

Jon....friend to friend.....GET IT IN WRITING. Have him show you EXACTLY where it states you are covered, and to what extent. Keep a copy. Please.

[Taurus]

Originally Posted by Frizlefrak

Jon....friend to friend.....GET IT IN WRITING. Have him show you EXACTLY where it states you are covered, and to what extent. Keep a copy. Please.

I carry a copy of my policy with me when I travel, something my father told me years ago as a seasoned traveller.

The only bad experience I had was getting dinged $200 for spilling a diet Coke all over the passenger seat of a Mustang I rented in Denver.

[mike100]

Despite these pics- I'm the best renter. Small town franchises - you know, the ones where the counter person cleans and preps the cars and then does the paper work? I actually wash them for them and get them tip-top so they can just turn them around and get those bitches back out on the street so they can make more money- I got a girl who remembers that from 10 years ago and hooks me up.

I do feel a little guilty from some episodes running around in open pit coal mines with the rental tin- but i bring them back running at least.


Ford Taurus in an active strip mine- why not?


Nissan Patrol (Western Australia) running thru some salt water:

about 2 minutes before I buried it in sand:


I drive my own cars the same way:


in Canada and Australia, you can't get walk-away LDW- you have to pay the first $500 to $2000 (depending) so the abuse is way way down- I can assure you no cars would ever make it back down under if those blokes had a get-out-of-jail free crash pass.

I also messed up two cars- once with LDW- just told them the car was dented matter-of-factly even though I did it. they rolled their eyes and asked if I picked it up at night...

Once had my window smashed out in Perth Australia at the mall- that sucked too- no insurance... They gave me a very fair price on the window though.

[Taurus]

My favorite airport to rent a car at is Butte Montana. The same person mans all the rental company counters and Hertz has 3 parking spaces so the sleeve says 1,2 or 3.

[mike100]

Originally Posted by Taurus

My favorite airport to rent a car at is Butte Montana. The same person mans all the rental company counters and Hertz has 3 parking spaces so the sleeve says 1,2 or 3.

Don't mess with the multiple hat wearing rental counter person- my boss messed up a couple of cars in Gillette Wy and he is still remembered there. it doesn't help that he is french, but when you bring back cars with mud on the roof and scratched headlamp lenses, you are just asking for it. This particular car had 300 miles on it and was on the 2nd tank of gas before he bogged it out in a coal mine.

[Taurus]

Originally Posted by mike100

but when you bring back cars with mud on the roof and scratched headlamp lenses, you are just asking for it. This particular car had 300 miles on it and was on the 2nd tank of gas before he bogged it out in a coal mine.

That describes all rental cars in Butte.