Rental cars, abuse em or use em

[thexav]

Do you drive rental cars like you drive you own car? Do you abuse them or just use them?

Do you tend to be a bit more right foot heavy in rental cars?

 

[2fast2catch]

when i crashed my old pug i got a rental car (private rental not through insurance) it was a brand spanking new corsa (new shape), by the time i was finished with it it didnt sound too healthy lol.

you have to abuse a rental car

 

[turbonutter69]

Yep same as courtesy cars they are there to be abused.

 

[gazrover200]

have to be thrashed it wouldnt be right if you didnt

 

[Wcnwzrd]

i personally don't abuse em. but normally have the kids in the vehicle when i have em as well so that may be why. can't really preach responsible driving when your swerving in and out of traffic. well i could but im not that kind of person. i still drive em normal though even when the kids aren't in the car. maintenance is one of the top costs in the rental business and although it keeps the repair shop in business, it could also run the rental place out of business.

 

[HDi fun]

I'm very fair and look after other peoples' cars as I would my own.

OK, I did give the Vectra I was subjected to last September a bit of a workout but nothing that constituted abuse. It was just so bloody underpowered. How Vauxhall had the nerve to stick an SRi badge on it is beyond me.

I always return hire cars or courtesy cars washed and hoovered.

 

[RobBentley]

Last time my Passat W8 went into the garage, I was supposed to be getting a Passat V6 Estate as a courtasy car. The guy previous crashed it, so I had to make do with a Polo - 1 litre, 3 Cylinder which had only done 1300 miles. Suffice to say, I ragged the nuts off it.

 

[HDi fun]

Last time my Passat W8 went into the garage, I was supposed to be getting a Passat V6 Estate as a courtasy car. The guy previous crashed it, so I had to make do with a Polo - 1 litre, 3 Cylinder which had only done 1300 miles. Suffice to say, I ragged the nuts off it.

In fairness, you probably had no choice but to do so.

The 3 cylinder ones are horrible. I didn't even list 'em in my top 5 most disliked because I expected it to be horrible before even opening the door.

 

[RobBentley]

I didn't list it in my top 5 either... because I enjoyed driving it. It was an agile little thing and even though it was damn slow... I enjoyed ranging it. 55mph top speed in third gear, I could redline through to near the end of 4th before breaking the motorway speed limit. The W8 will break the motorway speed limit at 5k/rpm in 2nd. I'm sure the novelty of it all would have worn off had I had it for more than 3 days.

 

[HDi fun]

That's sometimes the appeal of hideously underpowered cars. Ie. You can drive them like a complete moron without ever going fast enough to do yourself or anyone else much damage at all. Ridiculously late locked up braking and flooring the pedal in third halfway round a wet bend but there's not enough torque to do anything at all silly.

 

[RobBentley]

Exactly

I did enjoy me 3 days as a Moron!

 

[Country Bumpkin]

I have a slightly different perspective than some it seems. I would never dream of thrashing or abusing something which does not belong to me.
It's not my property to do so with.
As for abusing a courtesy car, i own a couple, or at least my company does and if i found out they were being abused or mistreated i would not only withdraw that privilege but i would absolutely ensure that any damage was paid for, and then some !
Look at it like this; Everyone wants the best price for work on their cars, they may also want a courtesy car so do you think companies, especially small ones, conjure up the money for such luxuries out of thin air ? No, obviously not, it comes out of the company profits, if a percentage of those company profits are spent repairing the damage to engines and transmissions caused by half brained dim wits then ultimately the costs of labour/work etc has to increase to pay for it.
Insurance fees for motor traders are astronomical, probably made much higher by people smashing up such luxuries as courtesy cars. The more it increases, the more they have to charge people or you end up as a charity.
Think about it !

 

[RobBentley]

The Courtasy Cars (or at least the ones im talking about) are paid for my the Insurance Company, and we all know how much they like to rip you off.

 

[turbonutter69]

I've had a few courtesy cars recently because my Brand new Focus has issues with the door locks. So it's under warranty so I get a courtesy car whilst it's being looked at. And i'll be honest I thrashed the nuts off of each of them. And just because I thrashed them doesn't mean i've done any damage. They were all warmed up properly before I planted my right foot and all cooled down for a few mins afterwards.

 

[obi_waynne]

I would drive a courtesy car hard but still without thrashing it. I wouldn't like to phone the rental company up and say the Piston shot through the sump can I have another one please.

I don't think I would buy a courtesy car when it is resold as I beleive a lot of people mistreat them. I've seen or heard of tyres with punctures filled with that run flat foam, fuel tanks topped up with water and worse. It is a shame that some do this. In the end we all lose out. Insurance premiums just increase, garage repair bills are higher and rental car costs shoot up.

If a car looks neat and tidy when it is delivered I think people are more inclined to look after it.

 

[dpsubaru]

For rental cars then they get a thrashing - as usually despite booking beforehand they dont bother having the thing back in time and palm me off with something less powerful - they even tried to fob me off with a multipla but told them in no uncertain terms this would never ever happen.
Courtesy cars are different - wouldnt drive them any harder than i drive my own,

 

[nota]

I'm very fair and look after other peoples' cars as I would my own.

I always return hire cars or courtesy cars washed and hoovered.

Like the gent above and a couple of other posters, I can't help but respect the property of others. And speaking as an enthusiast, I dislike abusing machinery in general, and especially not trashing it, whether it belongs to me or not.