Guess the hire car?

[gullyg]

If it's anything like a certain hire car company my work use I'd not be surprised it it was a smaller car. 

 

Ordered an astra size last week and they delivered a Yaris. Told them to bolt as was driving Edinburgh to Birmingham and they came back with a 16 plate Merc A180d by way of an apology, with the back hanging out of the drivers seat and a missing SatNav SD card. 

 

Only 4k miles on the clock as well. 

Edited 24 March, 2017 by gullyg

[Bud]

Had an I!s@**a when I went to pick up a hire car the other week.  Very uncomfortable and certainly not a car I could live with; on closer inspection one of the tyres was worn close to limits and as I was due to cover about 600 miles I said it was unsatisfactory.  

 

Took it back and got a V*&@0 V40 D3 instead, apparently it was a premium car and should have been about twice the price of the I!s@**a 

 

It was much better car but I wouldn't want one full time.

[Tomote]

Ahh... reminds me me of my old job where I was in charge of hire car bookings. I reckon out of about 200 bookings throughout the year only about 50 were the "correct" category. I think the most hilarious one we got was when we booked a small city car, think 3 door corsa and got a xc90. Unfortunately even though I loved it, the person due to drive it had only been driving 3 weeks and hadn't driven anything bigger than a fiesta  so had to get them to change it

Edited 24 March, 2017 by Tomote

[mac11irl]

Well i reckon its gonna be a lancia somethin or nuther.

Last time with hertz was a focus that turned out to be a surprisingly pleasant astra..

[gullyg]

Urgh. Well I hope it's not a 500x the OP gets. 

 

The "certain hire car co" delivered a 500x (cat d) when I ordered an insignia (cat e) for Monday morning but unfortunately just put the keys through the letterbox. 

 

Horrid car. They're coming to change it over on Monday - I'm not driving that to Birmingham to Edinburgh. 

 

 

1 hour ago, mac11irl said:

Well i reckon its gonna be a lancia somethin or nuther.

Last time with hertz was a focus that turned out to be a surprisingly pleasant astra..

 

Yeah the new astra surprised me as well..

Edited 25 March, 2017 by gullyg

[mac11irl]

Well the Hertz Italy idea of a 500L is

 

 

 

A Ford Focus estate diesel.

 

I dunno though, thinkin of going hertz next time. Everywhere ive dealt with them theyre collection desks are painfully slow. Even though im usually through mine in under 10mins, everyone ahead is stupid

[Coops]

Got a Corsa (petrol) courtesy car sitting waiting for me, can't wait!

 

 

[mac11irl]

So, pulling this up again..

 

 

Sicily, Palermo Airport.

Company is Inter Rent, booked via autoeurope with €0 excess insurance inc cheaper than hertz for just the car.  

 

Looked for Astra or similar hatchback.

 

We shall see what i get this time! 

 

Not sure how its going to workout time/hassle wise either, their office is a 9km shuttle bus from airport. Hopefully means quieter and faster. Was at the hertz desk for 11days (2hrs.) in bergamo last year in a queue of six people, with 2desks open! Why can noone book a car and actually read what they have agreed to? Like needing to have both a credit card and valid drivers license in the same name? I was 10mins at the desk job done. Same everytime i pick one up and yet theres people in discussions for an eternity to get the same thing as me.. it wrecks my head.

[mac11irl]

Right..

Interrent Palermo. 

Its apparently twinned with europcar, 

Got the shuttle along with 3 other couples, interestingly all from our flight.

Anywho, had too much crap to unload so ended up back of the queue (4th). One girl, had all of us sorted through in 30mins, then faffing about loading up etc. Quite efficient,shame about the rain.

 

And my Opel Astra hatchback is....

A Focus estate diesel

 

[camelspyyder]

Just home from 7 weeks away - ordered from Dollar/Thrifty a 5 door 1 Series or similar for 2 adults and several bags.

 

Got given a 3 door Cooper. Not at all spacious but shoehorned the gear in just so I took it rather than rejoin the queue.

 

Rubbish car with good seats.

[KenONeill]

@camelspyyder - You mean a BINI 0.5 series 3 door?

[camelspyyder]

Honestly, knowing what I had pre-booked, when she gave me keys with a MINI logo I was expecting a reasonably roomy Clubman or Countryman. 

When I got to the carpark and found a bog standard 3 door Mini Seven edition I thought about rejoining the queue, but everything fitted inside - just.

5 minutes later on the M23 I found that it had no damn cruise control - so I seriously considered rejoining the queue again!

Edited 3 April, 2018 by camelspyyder

[mac11irl]

Well after clocking up near on a 1000km with the spacially unaware, and suicidal people of Sicily (Palermo, Catania, Agrigento and Castellamare del golfo) over 10 days... ill use interrent again.

Got a bit peeved when i realised they dont operate at the airport,but it worked out faster even with the shuttle bussing. no hassle on drop off, and they had me back at the airport about 45mins quicker than i expected it would take. Even swmbo reckoned it was the smoothest quickest car hire setup weve used..

 

 

If only sicilians had a shred of forgiveness and bit more spacial awareness... and rules of the road applied the same way everywhere...

[camelspyyder]

16 hours ago, mac11irl said:

If only sicilians had a shred of forgiveness and bit more spacial awareness... and rules of the road applied the same way everywhere...

 

I used to work there fairly often in the past 35 years.

 

On enquiring at Avis one day about the insurance, Luigi tossed us the keys and said "Just come back alive" 

 

 

Edited 5 April, 2018 by camelspyyder

[mac11irl]

I arrived at a semi rural 3 approach roundabout on day 3, had to turn left..  2nd exit. as i was going around the roundabout from approach 1, i was cut off by a guy coming in from approach 2 for exit 2. I hit the brakes and off he shot. But while i was stopped, a car came in from approach 3(exit 2), across my a$$ the wrong way around the roundabout. Then 3 more locals followed him, and another local went across my bonnet from approach 2 for exit 1. It was just a 3 way intersection with a concrete ring flower bed in the middle... f'in lethal!

[camelspyyder]

Our worst single journey involved other traffic crashing into our minibus 3 times between Sigonella and the Catania Sheraton - about a 40 minute trip.

[mac11irl]

3 hours ago, camelspyyder said:

Our worst single journey involved other traffic crashing into our minibus 3 times between Sigonella and the Catania Sheraton - about a 40 minute trip.

 

40mins in Catania... so, about 1.2miles total journey distance?

 

It took us 40mins on average from our apt to the public beach near JFK road (3.5miles) Ss114 the whole way, but just dire flow as they are so impatient. What got me was how traffic light colour is irrelevent, action is determined by what guy ahead if you does. He goes on red, so do you. And roundabouts are just a free for all so nobody can move in any direction.

 

And while they have miles and miles of elevated motorway, the surface on them is crap and "limits" average at about 90kph.

 

All that said, only saw the aftermath of one accident, a lad got cleaned off his motorbike by a **** chopping lanes the day we were leaving catania on the A19. Ambos and guardias were on scene stabilising and loading him up when we were passing :( hope he came through it alright.

[mac11irl]

Well, back in glasgow this weekend. 

Had nearly forgotten id car booked!

 

Hertz, as usual.

Focus or similar as usual.

 

Was an incomplete car wash away from a new seat leon.

 

Got a Kia Cee'd diesel instead. 430odd miles on the clock. Satnav etc. Its a surprisingly nice cockpit to be honest, and feels well bolted together, and the metal work doesnt feel tinny or like its going to bend and warp in a light breeze unlike some previous kias ive met. And more "upmarket" asian cars.

[camelspyyder]

Had the Hyundai equiv (new i30) for a one way down to Gatwick.  It was only OK but the controls just weren't intuitive - although a massive improvement on the previous i30 that had absolutely every button and switch high up on the centre dash - about 30 buttons all co-located what a nightmare to operate.

Edited 2 June, 2018 by camelspyyder

[mac11irl]

Should add, its an estate .

 

Satnav lady bugged the **** out of me. Kept telling me to keep left/right on the M8/M80 around glasgow. Just tell me stay on The F'ing same road you pain in the face!

[KenONeill]

@mac11irl - Well, after the M8/M80 experience, you now know why it was "430 odd miles"...

 

And seriously there are several places on the M8 where the inside (and in one case outside) lane is actually about to become a slip road.

[mac11irl]

5 hours ago, KenONeill said:

@mac11irl - Well, after the M8/M80 experience, you now know why it was "430 odd miles"...

 

And seriously there are several places on the M8 where the inside (and in one case outside) lane is actually about to become a slip road.

 

Oh i know the m8/m80 route fairly well, enough to know she didnt want me turn off, just keep on the route

Only used it to remember which exit is the one for SILs new house