- Report: #310566
Complaint Review: Enterprise Rent-A-Car - Hilo Hawaii
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Enterprise Rent-A-Car
875 Kanoelehua Ave Hilo, 96720 Hawaii, U.S.A.
Phone:
808-934-0359
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Enterprise Rent-A-Car Enterprise Rent-A-Car, Firestone MasterCare Car ServiceEnterprise Rent-A-Car Dangerous Tires on Rental Vehicle, Now Charging for Rental Fees and Resulting Body Damage Hilo Hawaii
I rented a vehicle from Enterprise Rent-A-Car. I foolishly assumed that a large corporation like Enterprise would be responsible enough to supply properly maintained vehicles in safe condition. I trusted Enterprise with the lives of myself, my wife, and my two sons. While driving down an almost straight wet road, the rear of the vehicle slid out. I tried to recover, but it would not straighten out, and crashed. I could not understand what happened, since it seemed to violate the laws of physics. Only after I took a closer look at the tires did it all make sense.
The first thing I noticed was that none of the tires matched. That is, out of the 4 tires on the vehicle, 3 of them were completely different tires. I know enough about tires to know that is a really bad idea. I later found in the vehicle owner's manual that the vehicle manufacturer recommends matched axle pairs. Since neither axle had matching pairs of tires, it seems all of the tires on the vehicle were "not recommended" by the vehicle manufacturer. I later found that one tire had many tread wear indicator bars showing, so was considered bald. That tire was unlawful to operate on any public roadway because it was unsafe. Imagine, renting that vehicle to a consumer in the rainiest city in the USA! As if that wasn't bad enough, 2 of the tires further violated the vehicle manufacturer's recommendations by using different load indexes, and they were mounted on diagonally opposed wheels. The owner's manual clearly states, "Use of any tire or wheel not recommended by Ford can affect the safety and performance of your vehicle, which could result in an increased risk of loss of vehicle control, vehicle rollover, personal injury and death." One tire had a split tread, which a tire technician said typically comes from being operated for long distances while significantly out of alignment.
Prior to returning the vehicle to enterprise, I got the vehicle up on a lift at an independent tire shop. I obtained a report from them on the state of the tires, and took photos of the sidewalls and treads. A staff member at the Enterprise branch said they send their vehicles to the local Firestone tire shop for maintenance. Firestone's own internal policy states that they should always follow the recommendations of the vehicle manufacturers when selecting replacement tires. After I returned the vehicle, Enterprise actually returned it to the same Firestone shop that put the bad tires on it in the first place! They issued a report to Enterprise on the state of the tires. I was told that the report stated that there was "some uneven wear" on some of the tires, but never even mentioned the bald tire! Of course, Enterprise refused to give me a copy of Firestone's report.
However, Enterprise actually charged me for the rental of the unsafe vehicle. They are currently trying to charge me about $4,000 for the body damage, even though it resulted directly from the unsafe and unlawful conditions of the vehicle they supplied. I am just so incredibly thankful that none of my family were injured or killed due to Firestone and Enterprise's shoddy maintenance practices. I saw an article about an unfortunate Enterprise customer in Texas who actually died in while driving an Enterprise vehicle with bald tires. It's hard to believe Enterprise still continues with reckless disregard for the lives and safety of their customers. I hope they enjoy their ill-gotten gains. Now I just wish the money-grubbing crooks would quit hassling me for the $4,000 of body damage. I already told them they should recover it from Firestone, but they don't seem inclined to do that. Luckily my insurance company is not inclined to pay them either, given the unsafe condition of the vehicle. I don't see how they should be able to profit by endangering the lives of their customers. I thought I was paying money to rent a vehicle which was safe and legal to operate on a public roadway.
Nebulous1
Hilo, Hawaii
U.S.A.
Click here to read other Rip Off Reports on Enterprise Rent-A-Car
The first thing I noticed was that none of the tires matched. That is, out of the 4 tires on the vehicle, 3 of them were completely different tires. I know enough about tires to know that is a really bad idea. I later found in the vehicle owner's manual that the vehicle manufacturer recommends matched axle pairs. Since neither axle had matching pairs of tires, it seems all of the tires on the vehicle were "not recommended" by the vehicle manufacturer. I later found that one tire had many tread wear indicator bars showing, so was considered bald. That tire was unlawful to operate on any public roadway because it was unsafe. Imagine, renting that vehicle to a consumer in the rainiest city in the USA! As if that wasn't bad enough, 2 of the tires further violated the vehicle manufacturer's recommendations by using different load indexes, and they were mounted on diagonally opposed wheels. The owner's manual clearly states, "Use of any tire or wheel not recommended by Ford can affect the safety and performance of your vehicle, which could result in an increased risk of loss of vehicle control, vehicle rollover, personal injury and death." One tire had a split tread, which a tire technician said typically comes from being operated for long distances while significantly out of alignment.
Prior to returning the vehicle to enterprise, I got the vehicle up on a lift at an independent tire shop. I obtained a report from them on the state of the tires, and took photos of the sidewalls and treads. A staff member at the Enterprise branch said they send their vehicles to the local Firestone tire shop for maintenance. Firestone's own internal policy states that they should always follow the recommendations of the vehicle manufacturers when selecting replacement tires. After I returned the vehicle, Enterprise actually returned it to the same Firestone shop that put the bad tires on it in the first place! They issued a report to Enterprise on the state of the tires. I was told that the report stated that there was "some uneven wear" on some of the tires, but never even mentioned the bald tire! Of course, Enterprise refused to give me a copy of Firestone's report.
However, Enterprise actually charged me for the rental of the unsafe vehicle. They are currently trying to charge me about $4,000 for the body damage, even though it resulted directly from the unsafe and unlawful conditions of the vehicle they supplied. I am just so incredibly thankful that none of my family were injured or killed due to Firestone and Enterprise's shoddy maintenance practices. I saw an article about an unfortunate Enterprise customer in Texas who actually died in while driving an Enterprise vehicle with bald tires. It's hard to believe Enterprise still continues with reckless disregard for the lives and safety of their customers. I hope they enjoy their ill-gotten gains. Now I just wish the money-grubbing crooks would quit hassling me for the $4,000 of body damage. I already told them they should recover it from Firestone, but they don't seem inclined to do that. Luckily my insurance company is not inclined to pay them either, given the unsafe condition of the vehicle. I don't see how they should be able to profit by endangering the lives of their customers. I thought I was paying money to rent a vehicle which was safe and legal to operate on a public roadway.
Nebulous1
Hilo, Hawaii
U.S.A.
Click here to read other Rip Off Reports on Enterprise Rent-A-Car
2 Updates & Rebuttals
Matt7900
Federal Way,Washington,
U.S.A.
maybee
#2UPDATE EX-employee responds
Thu, April 23, 2009
firestone does do tire and oil change maintnence for enterprise,but enterprize does not often by anything unless it malfunctions.thats probebly why they wouldnt give you the firestone report!cause there was probebly uneven tire wear with a recomendation of replacing the tires and alignment.and ill be frank with you if your alignments that far out its usuly due to bad steering or suspension parts.and they wont put the money into the cars,to keep them repair them. they run them into the ground for the first 50,000 miles of there life and off themm on unexpecting consumers and bank,financing companys. i dont know about you,but i have rented cars before and didnt drive them as if they were my own.if ya get my drift. sincerly ex firestone employee/enterprsie oil changer
Mattd
Valencia,California,
U.S.A.
Your problem is not with Firestone
#3Consumer Suggestion
Wed, June 11, 2008
Yes Firestone has the Enterprise account which is an aggravation to most of the managers. The national account manager loves it because he gets a big bonus since thousands of Enterprise vehicles are serviced at Firestones annually. However the stores do not make any money from the relationship and they are always dealing with damage claims from enterprise. Considering the low national rate and the many claims it is not a profitable account. However, the part that concerns you is that enterprise hires regional managers that have the sole responsibility of handling maintenance on their thousands of vehicle but these guys are not bonused on how well and efficient they take care of the vehicle. Instead they are bonused on how much they can reduce maintenance and repair expenses. They only put on the cheapest tire, they only repair what is absolutely necessary and they argue over every professional recommendation made by Firestone. Everything you said above is the direct cause of one of these guys making a conciesce decision not to repair this vehicle properly.
