WTF: Rental Car Blues

reverend1

reverend1

Kick Henry Jackassowski
After three attempts Hertz brought my an acceptable rental car. So I ended up with a Civic. What a piece of shit. The interior sucks poorly laid out cheap plastic everything. The steering is way over boosted a sporadic. If you're on the highway next to a semi, the wind buffering pushes the car all over the road. The speedo is up on the dash jammed user the base of the windshield. The tranny I like a rubber-band. I hate this car.
 
It is better than what I got when I went to DC last weekend. A Fiat. I texted my wife to let her know they gave me a Fiat and she had no idea what I was talking about. The only good thing about that car is it made me look big :grin:
 
I always rent a nicer car than what I have (which is easy, I'll admit). I drive a compact econo-car, so I try to rent something I'd never be able to afford as an owner.
 
Steverino said:
I always rent a nicer car than what I have (which is easy, I'll admit). I drive a compact econo-car, so I try to rent something I'd never be able to afford as an owner.
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I do the opposite. I always rent a shitty car so I will never be tempted to buy one. I had the Fiat this time, the last 2 times I got a Chevy Aveo.
 
Is that the new (2012) civic? Consumer Reports actually didn't recommend the car (pretty much a first for the civic) because they said Honda cheapened the whole thing: bad finish, crap components...mojo to you man.
 
Denverdave said:
I love my 2002 CRV but I have heard tell that the newer Hondas are not as well thought out.
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You've heard correctly. I used to have a high opinion of Honda. This car gives you the opinion that they just stopped trying. There is literally nothing about this car that I like.
 
cuffdc said:
Is that the new (2012) civic? Consumer Reports actually didn't recommend the car (pretty much a first for the civic) because they said Honda cheapened the whole thing: bad finish, crap components...mojo to you man.
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Yep, I don't put much stock in Consumer Reports car reviews, but in this case they are right. This is trash.

They think my car will be a total. I hope they tell me soon. So I can buy a new car ASAP.
 
Last rental car we got was a new Dodge Charger.


My wife is now infatuated with them. :annoyed:


I'm like "You have a VERY nice BWM 328i and you're oohing and ahhing over a COP CAR?" :facepalm:
 
reverend1 said:
You've heard correctly. I used to have a high opinion of Honda. This car gives you the opinion that they just stopped trying. There is literally nothing about this car that I like.
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My last car rental this summer was a 2012 Ford Focus. it was nice but kinda generic feeling to drive. I had an interest in a Focus ST, but I'm not crazy about the 2013 redesign...

When I am in San Diego we are renting a Taurus (or similar car).
 
We had a 2011 Jeep Patriot when we went to Colorado/Utah in May. Not a terrible mid sized SUV, but nothing that made me want to buy one.

When we went to southern California last year we had a Mazda 3 that had apparently been driven pretty hard, because it sounded like the wheels were all about to fall off.

The 2010 Jeep Wrangler Sport with the 2" lift that we rented to go 4 wheeling in Moab was an entirely different story. :embarrassed:
 
Last rental car I had was a Nissan Sentra. It was really, really awful. I used to have an altima like 15 years ago, and it was a million times better than the sentra. Everything about that car said cheap.
 
Prages said:
We had a 2011 Jeep Patriot when we went to Colorado/Utah in May. Not a terrible mid sized SUV, but nothing that made me want to buy one.
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Had one of those for a week in California and Oregon a few months ago....what a shitty interior & overall MEH vehicle.
 
Chad said:
I do the opposite. I always rent a shitty car so I will never be tempted to buy one.
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That's smart!!

I had to get one when a dude T-boned my old 2001 Hyundai Accent about 3 years ago. They didn't have any compacts so they upsized me and I got a Dodge Avenger. It had been a long time since I had a car with any real guts and I was tempted by the horsepower at every opportunity. The thing flew.

Then I got my KIA Rio5. Back to reality and A to B transport. Prior to having that Avenger for a short stint, the last time I had a car like that was WAY back and I lost my license for accumulated infractions. Horsepower junkie - and familiar enough to know that I simply cannot have it on tap. Same with ice cream...if I have any in the house I will eat it all so I just do not buy it.

As for Honda going the way of the 'downgrade'...that can't be good for them because as soon as people realize that Hyundai and KIA have been doing nothing but improving, people will stop buying Hondas. I had a 1989 Honda Civic that I bought brand new and it was an unbeatable vehicle at the time. About every 10 years or so, it seems that I get a new car.
 
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I honestly didn't care much about the interior. We needed something that was big enough that we could get to our stuff easily (we were camping all week) and comfortable enough to drive the 5 hours or so from Denver to Moab, and powerful enough to make it up the Rocky Mountains at 11,000 feet. This one did all of that, though it was pretty lacking in power in the high elevations.

It was much better than the 08ish Kia Spectra or whatever we had the last time we went to Moab.
 
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