Christine
Racine,#2Consumer Suggestion
Fri, September 08, 2006
They had a deal with the Cadillac dealership that I used to service my car. All I had to do was turn in the car to the dealership, and they would return it to Enterprise, which was only a few doors away. I rented the car for two days, and absolutely nothing happened to it. Then they tried to nail me for $800 in damages. I honestly don't know if the damages were already there, or if something happened when the dealership returned the car. No matter - once I got my attorney involved, they quickly changed their tune. I will never rent from Enterprise again.
Paul
Morrison,#3Consumer Comment
Thu, September 07, 2006
I rent from Enterprise a few times a year for business trips. I once brought back a car that had a spot on the back bumper where someone had hit it in a parking lot. It wasn't a scratch, more just a depression in the plastic that was about a half inch in diameter...I had taken out the LDW so I didn't get charged anything for it. BUT, the Enterprise guy told me that even though they will collect the damages from the LDW policy, the car won't be repaired. He said their cars are sold after a period of time as is complete with ALL existing minor damage. So, they've collected a major amount of money either from LDW policies or from the renter/renter's insurance, pocket it and sell the car unrepaired. Is this a ripoff? Not really, you've gotta read the fine print on the rental contract. You ARE responsible for any damage while you are in possession. Is it a scam? A legal one, but a scam anyway. You can bet the corporate bean counters figure these charges in on their calculations! Do the math, if they had a $15000 car, at $40 a day rent, it would take 375 days just to recoup the price of the car. How many cars does Enterprise rent out that's more than a year old? Most of their rentals are new/almost new. Obviously there's no profit margin in just rental charges. If you rent regularly, get the LDW. It's pricey but it'll pay off in the long run. If you don't get the LDW, MAKE SURE you note every nick/spot/stain you see both inside and outside. Spend time going over the car and note everything no matter how insignificant it looks. Believe me, when you return the car, there won't be any insignificant spots! They'll get you for anything not noted upon checkout! In desert locations they even look at what may be sand damage to the windshield as well as tire damage of any kind. If the glass looks the least bit cloudy, note it as sand damage.