I Hate Enterprise

kyleb said:
What's the fastest car around?
What's the best all terrain vehicle?

A rental...
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Wanna see a real stock car race.??

Be at the rental lot when 2 different race teams pick up their car...
 
Zeldman said:
Wanna see a real stock car race.??

Be at the rental lot when 2 different race teams pick up their car...
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When I was racing SCCA, one of my racing buddies was married to a lady who ran a local Enterprise office. At the time, the hot ticket in one of the Showroom Stock classes was a Ford Escort GT, which Enterprise had in rental.

Whenever a race weekend came up, she'd have two or three guys take cars for the weekend, and when the cars would come back Monday morning she could find where the holes had been drilled for a bolt-in roll cage.

Of couse, they always got the CDW......
 
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Is there a rental car company that doesn't suck? At most GA airports I've been to it's not like there's a choice between companies, more like this is the only company do you want the car or not?
 
Returned a rental back at the airport,they didn’t come to pick it up for two days which they tried to charge me for. Also a reservation is not a guarantee of a car being available.
 
wanttaja said:
I always request a sub-compact when I travel. A lot of the times, they're out of sub-compacts and offer me a larger car at the same rate. On one trip, they gave me a Lincoln Continental instead of a sub-compact. Just last month, they offered me a behemoth Jeep Gladiator SUV instead of a Nissan Versa.
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Ha. Gotta make the same trip next month as I did last month (Oshkosh). This time, smaller cars weren't even AVAILABLE. All they had were minivans, pickups, and SUVs.

Went with another company.

Ron Wanttaja
 
I used to rent often, and used Hertz for the most part, and it was great… but that was close to a decade ago. I think the only rentals I’ve used in the past few years have been from Sixt a couple of times on the other side of the Atlantic.

Funny, I don’t really miss renting cars. I hear it really sucks now.
 
DaleB said:
I used to rent often, and used Hertz for the most part, and it was great… but that was close to a decade ago. I think the only rentals I’ve used in the past few years have been from Sixt a couple of times on the other side of the Atlantic.

Funny, I don’t really miss renting cars. I hear it really sucks now.
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Pre-covid, I used it as a good way to try out different styles and models of vehicles. Post-covid, it seems that the fleets are mostly made up of small cross-overs and minivans and very few SUVs or 'niceish' sedans.
 
CJones said:
Pre-covid, I used it as a good way to try out different styles and models of vehicles. Post-covid, it seems that the fleets are mostly made up of small cross-overs and minivans and very few SUVs or 'niceish' sedans.
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Absolutely.

Over the weekend I rented from National. I ended up with a Nissan Sentra, as the only other options were large pickup trucks. The only thing I learned from it is to never buy a Nissan.
 
StraightnLevel said:
Absolutely.

Over the weekend I rented from National. I ended up with a Nissan Sentra, as the only other options were large pickup trucks. The only thing I learned from it is to never buy a Nissan.
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It wasn't a Nissan, but the worst rental I ever had was some minivan we'd been upgraded to against our will, when we had reserved something much more fuel efficient. Someone here is bound to recognize the make/model; I've apparently blotted it from my memory.

It had a rotary dial on the dash as the automatic transmission control. Turn it clockwise or counterclockwise to select P, D, R, etc.
They put that rotary dial right next to the rotary dial in the dash that controlled the radio volume. Dumb idea, particularly when they turn up in the rental fleet with drivers who have had no opportunity to develop muscle memory for reaching for the correct dial.
 
GaryM said:
It wasn't a Nissan, but the worst rental I ever had was some minivan we'd been upgraded to against our will, when we had reserved something much more fuel efficient. Someone here is bound to recognize the make/model; I've apparently blotted it from my memory.

It had a rotary dial on the dash as the automatic transmission control. Turn it clockwise or counterclockwise to select P, D, R, etc.
They put that rotary dial right next to the rotary dial in the dash that controlled the radio volume. Dumb idea, particularly when they turn up in the rental fleet with drivers who have had no opportunity to develop muscle memory for reaching for the correct dial.
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I think that's a Dodge/Chrysler product. Agreed that it's a terrible design from an ergonomics perspective.

In general, the move to touch screens rather than physical buttons is not good, IMO. It requires you to remove your eyes from the road and look at the screen, rather than using tactile feedback to operate the controls "blind". Just plain stupid....
 
StraightnLevel said:
I think that's a Dodge/Chrysler product. Agreed that it's a terrible design from an ergonomics perspective.

In general, the move to touch screens rather than physical buttons is not good, IMO. It requires you to remove your eyes from the road and look at the screen, rather than using tactile feedback to operate the controls "blind". Just plain stupid....
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Works great and looks sexy in the showroom, sucks when driving. The screens seem to get bigger and farther away every couple of years.
 
GaryM said:
It wasn't a Nissan, but the worst rental I ever had was some minivan we'd been upgraded to against our will, when we had reserved something much more fuel efficient.
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I don't want fuel efficiency, I want horsepower.

My worst rental experience was a trip to Blacksburg, VA to visit a slipring manufacturer. Had to take a rental car from the airport and cross a mountain or two, and the rental was some little subcompact that had more power in the windshield wipers than in the drivetrain. I recall going up a grade witht the gas pedal held to the floor and watching the speedometer go from 60 to 55, to 50, to 45,.... I think I was doing under 30 when I finally reached the top.
 
Half Fast said:
I don't want fuel efficiency, I want horsepower.

My worst rental experience was a trip to Blacksburg, VA to visit a slipring manufacturer. Had to take a rental car from the airport and cross a mountain or two, and the rental was some little subcompact that had more power in the windshield wipers than in the drivetrain. I recall going up a grade witht the gas pedal held to the floor and watching the speedometer go from 60 to 55, to 50, to 45,.... I think I was doing under 30 when I finally reached the top.
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Typical rental car. When you press the accelerator it doesn't change the speed, just the pitch.
 
StraightnLevel said:
Absolutely.

Over the weekend I rented from National. I ended up with a Nissan Sentra, as the only other options were large pickup trucks. The only thing I learned from it is to never buy a Nissan.
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Not sure I'd make my decision on Nissan based off of their cheapest/smallest econobox. The Altima/Maxima are at least passable, despite not being as good as the 1990s Nissans for driving experience, imo. I've driven bottom tier options from Subaru, Toyota, Nissan, Ford, GM . . . they all suck pretty much equally lol.
 
GaryM said:
It wasn't a Nissan, but the worst rental I ever had was some minivan we'd been upgraded to against our will, when we had reserved something much more fuel efficient. Someone here is bound to recognize the make/model; I've apparently blotted it from my memory.

It had a rotary dial on the dash as the automatic transmission control. Turn it clockwise or counterclockwise to select P, D, R, etc.
They put that rotary dial right next to the rotary dial in the dash that controlled the radio volume. Dumb idea, particularly when they turn up in the rental fleet with drivers who have had no opportunity to develop muscle memory for reaching for the correct dial.
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Speaking of muscle memory, that reminds me of the time when I had a forced landing in a Cessna 162 Skycatcher because the fuel shutoff knob and the cabin heat knob are the same size and shape, and within a hand span of each other.

Fortunately, it happened as I was climbing out of right downwind for the runway I had just departed from, so it was the easiest setup for a safe forced landing that one could ever hope for!
 
SoonerAviator said:
Not sure I'd make my decision on Nissan based off of their cheapest/smallest econobox. The Altima/Maxima are at least passable, despite not being as good as the 1990s Nissans for driving experience, imo. I've driven bottom tier options from Subaru, Toyota, Nissan, Ford, GM . . . they all suck pretty much equally lol.
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The Sentra is not the smallest/cheapest Nissan. That would be the Versa. I had one until I was rear-ended. Good little car.
 
StraightnLevel said:
Absolutely.

Over the weekend I rented from National. I ended up with a Nissan Sentra, as the only other options were large pickup trucks. The only thing I learned from it is to never buy a Nissan.
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I'm sorry, but that makes no sense to me.
 
GaryM said:
It wasn't a Nissan, but the worst rental I ever had was some minivan we'd been upgraded to against our will, when we had reserved something much more fuel efficient. Someone here is bound to recognize the make/model; I've apparently blotted it from my memory.

It had a rotary dial on the dash as the automatic transmission control. Turn it clockwise or counterclockwise to select P, D, R, etc.
They put that rotary dial right next to the rotary dial in the dash that controlled the radio volume. Dumb idea, particularly when they turn up in the rental fleet with drivers who have had no opportunity to develop muscle memory for reaching for the correct dial.
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About a year ago, my wife was put into one of those minivans on a college-hunting trip she took with our daughter. At the time she had been long driving an '07 Honda CR-V, which had a vertical shift lever that was centrally placed on the dash, below the radio, but higher than what should be called a center console shift, though I believe that is what there were going for.

In any case, the rotating dial transmission control did not sit well with her, either.

I rented once from Frankfurt, expecting a manual transmission. I was upgraded to an Opel "estate car" (station wagon) with an "automatic" transmission. The markings on the gear shift were unrecognizable. I forget how I got the car out of the garage, but I was very close to going back to the counter for help.
 
flyingron said:
Dropped the plane off for annual and got a lift over to the Enterprise office and rented a car one way for a five hour drive home.

Today tried to do the reverse and popped into the Enterprise office and "Oh sorry, we have your reservation but we don't have any cars... we tried to email you but it didn't work (odd because I have the email of the confirmation message). Of course, all the other Enterprise offices are closed on Sunday except at CLT. And that one wants three times to pick up a car there. Nobody answers their damned customer support line either.
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Congratulations! you have joined a long and distinguished line of former customers.

I rented from Enterprise in June of 2005 for a business trip of approx 300 miles one way, meet that afternoon, next morning, then drive back. The car was not ready when I got there, waited for 90 minutes to get the next that arrived which was barely cleaned. I had to stop and buy fuel because they did not fill it, then hit the road. I got about 30 miles up the interstate when it began to vibrate and I pull over. Called the rental office and actually got to the manager, who said take it to a specific tire shop and have them check it. The mechanic agreed it had a bad tire and would need to be replaced. The office manager called me back and said I would have to pay for the tire and would be reimbursed later after I filed a claim! Are you kidding?

While I was waiting for this fiasco to unravel, I called around and found a Hertz nearby and made another reservation. I walked the one and half-mile and got that car, drove back to the shop and got the bag and panels for our meeting and told the mechanic to let Enterprise pay when they picked it up. Got in the Hertz car and called the manager at Enterprise to explain to him I was already late for a meeting 5 hours away and they would have to eat the cost of that rental. Words, blah, blah, blah, warrant for stolen car was mentioned at which point I thanked him nicely and hung up. Next call, Hello Visa... all the fees were cleared and never a word was said.

Never again, Enterprise.
 
Mason said:
The Sentra is not the smallest/cheapest Nissan. That would be the Versa. I had one until I was rear-ended. Good little car.
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Ah, yeah I forgot about the Versa, but they're pretty much interchangeable in the lineup. Sentra is $3-4K more MSRP for a bit more passenger room. Almost the same size, similar fuel mileage. The Altima starts about $6K higher than the Sentra. The Maxima is almost twice the price of a Sentra, lol. They'll all be reliable, but the Versa/Sentra will not be inspiring potential-buyers to get a Nissan.
 
SoonerAviator said:
Ah, yeah I forgot about the Versa, but they're pretty much interchangeable in the lineup. Sentra is $3-4K more MSRP for a bit more passenger room. Almost the same size, similar fuel mileage. The Altima starts about $6K higher than the Sentra. The Maxima is almost twice the price of a Sentra, lol. They'll all be reliable, but the Versa/Sentra will not be inspiring potential-buyers to get a Nissan.
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Ha! The smaller Versa has magical combination of less room, lower HP and worse MPG than the Sentra. But you can get a base manual.


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StraightnLevel said:
In general, the move to touch screens rather than physical buttons is not good, IMO. It requires you to remove your eyes from the road and look at the screen, rather than using tactile feedback to operate the controls "blind". Just plain stupid....
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I hope touch screens in cars are a fad but I fear they are the future...
 
Half Fast said:
My worst rental experience was a trip to Blacksburg, VA to visit a slipring manufacturer. Had to take a rental car from the airport and cross a mountain or two, and the rental was some little subcompact that had more power in the windshield wipers than in the drivetrain. I recall going up a grade witht the gas pedal held to the floor and watching the speedometer go from 60 to 55, to 50, to 45,.... I think I was doing under 30 when I finally reached the top.
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For a short time I had a AMC Gremlin that was like that. Hold it long enough, like half a day, and it would reach approximately 80mph, but 0-60 times were measured with a calendar.
 
Zeldman said:
For a short time I had a AMC Gremlin that was like that. Hold it long enough, like half a day, and it would reach approximately 80mph, but 0-60 times were measured with a calendar.
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Wasn't there an option for a V8 in the Gremin?
 
Dave Theisen said:
Did anyone else think was going to be a thread about a town in Alabama? :)
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To be fair, I thought DS9 was better.

enterprise-season-2.jpg
 
One of the few things I like about Enterprise Car Rental.

"Did you know?
Founder Jack Taylor selected the name Enterprise as a salute to the WWII aircraft carrier he served on, the USS Enterprise. Today, the “Enterprise” name is synonymous with the leadership and vision of the business. "

About Us

www.enterprise.com www.enterprise.com
 
I'm a loyal Enterprise customer and the vast majority of my experiences with them have been positive. The people are helpful and friendly and I feel like I've had more than my share of free upgrades. I will also say that my best experiences have been with the rental counters at major airports and not with the smaller offices at non-airport locations. It happens that those smaller offices are the ones that serve most GA airports...
 
Bob Noel said:
Wasn't there an option for a V8 in the Gremin?
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There was, but it was eventually dropped because the 6cyl was developing more HP in the Gremlin.

However replacing the 304 with a AMC 327 or a Chevy 350 really woke those little cars up.!!

The AMC V8s were great engines coming from the factory with forged steel cranks and rods. It did not cost as much to upgrade the AMC engine compared to the big 3 engines.
 
I just realized I come to this website to hide from my job in the automotive industry....and yeah *laugh*

Very Recently (end of April) got an Avis something mid-size SUV in Denver. They upgraded, or offered upgrade choices between some Nissan (yay Fleet sales!) sedans and a Dodge Durango. The Durango turned out to barely be able to fix our 2X bicycles, carry on, and checked bags, but the sedans or the Edge I had reserved would have failed mightily. AWD was a great choice for the surprise winter storm in Denver, and handy for banging around Moab. I don't abuse rental cars, but I'm not afraid to gently jump them either :D

I don't trust any of them and always take photos of my fuel level, gas receipts and any oddball cosmetic crap with the exterior if I can. It's just a matter of timing before I get dinged again (Hertz seemed really persnickety about fuel level)
 
bentmettle said:
I just realized I come to this website to hide from my job in the automotive industry....and yeah *laugh*

Very Recently (end of April) got an Avis something mid-size SUV in Denver. They upgraded, or offered upgrade choices between some Nissan (yay Fleet sales!) sedans and a Dodge Durango. The Durango turned out to barely be able to fix our 2X bicycles, carry on, and checked bags, but the sedans or the Edge I had reserved would have failed mightily. AWD was a great choice for the surprise winter storm in Denver, and handy for banging around Moab. I don't abuse rental cars, but I'm not afraid to gently jump them either :D

I don't trust any of them and always take photos of my fuel level, gas receipts and any oddball cosmetic crap with the exterior if I can. It's just a matter of timing before I get dinged again (Hertz seemed really persnickety about fuel level)
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The one thing I liked about National (and usually airport-based Enterprise) was that every car had a full tank of fuel. No playing games about how much to fill up to reach 1/2 or 5/8 tank before turning it back in. The Durango (and slightly less interior-spaced Grand Cherokee) really sacrifice a lot of cargo room for bulky plastic interior panels. Lots of rooms seems to be wasted in that design. A minivan would have suited you better, AWD notwithstanding.
 
Enterprise attempted to charge for windshield damage after a very short one way trip. Said they were tagging on $400 ... I video taped the entire care including the damage area prior to rental and also listed it on the "damage list", but they still attempted to charge for it ...
 
hindsight2020 said:
what you should hate is a so-called recreational activity where you have to drive 5 hours just to have a conveyance with the complexity of a Sears lawnmower legally signed off in the first place.

Gratuitous snark aside, when we run into rental issues AOG, and we do quite frequently flying these 60+ year old fire breathing contraptions (thanks to Boeing T-7 criminal-underbid pork barrel program), we just get creative and rent a U-haul one way. Done. You can $wing that, life's too short for AOG headaches. :thumbsup:
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Ride in a U Haul? Did the Kenosha Kickers offer you a ride?
 
DJTorrente said:
I rented once from Frankfurt, expecting a manual transmission. I was upgraded to an Opel "estate car" (station wagon) with an "automatic" transmission. The markings on the gear shift were unrecognizable. I forget how I got the car out of the garage, but I was very close to going back to the counter for help.
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. We had the same wagon on our honeymoon in France.
 
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