On 1 May 2007 10:47:23 -0700, wrote:

On May 1, 12:09 pm, mm wrote:
OT renting a car.

A friend just came back from Florida where she rented a car but took
none of the extras offerred.

The rental guy tried to sell her INSURANCE but she said she was
covered by her own insurance, but he said not for LOSS OF USE. What
does that mean, she can't use the rental car! Don't they just give
you another one if you break the first one?

That means that if she wrecks the car, or it's stolen, the rental
company is entitled
to compensation for the "loss of use", while the car is gone or being
repaired.
They can't rent out and earn money for what they don't have.

That makes sense, but I've never heard of it before. So if they
normally get 25 dollars a day for the car, is that what they bill
someone for loss of use? Even though the 25 dollars is accompanied by
costs they don't incur when they don't rent the car?

Do they bill for just the time it takes to fix the car, one day for a
dented fender, or do companies try to pad that?

And the customer owes this only if the accident is his fault?

It seems like this would be a bad deal for someone who has his own
insurance that will pay for most of the costs anyhow. Rather than pay
full insurance price, he should be a self-insurer forthe loss of use
charge and pay it out of his poeket.

Is this some charge they came up with recently when too many people
used their own insurance when renting?

A little more below.

He also wanted to sell her a full tank of gas so that she didn't have
to fill the tank at a gas station before she returned the car. She
took that to mean a FULL tank of gas even if she was only half empty.
They were charging 3.05 a gallon and she filled up near the air port
for 2.93, I think, or 12 cents a gallon difference, so if they were
only going to charge her for half a tank that would have only been
maybe $1.20, which she would have gladly paid. But he called it a
FULL tank of gas. Also, do they ever lie about how much they put in?
Since the customer doesn't see the pump.

This is nothing new. Major rental car companies have offered this for
at least a decade. Usually, their price for gas is a little less than
you can get it for locally. So, if you think you're gonna drive enough to be
able to wind up with a tank that is near empty, it's a good choice. You get
the gas at a favorable price and don't have to worry about where to fill
up on the way to the airport. If you're only gonna use a 1/2 tank, it's a
bad deal.

I never have any idea how much will be left in the tank after a week
of driving. Once I go past one tankfull I could use 1/8 of the next
tank or 7/8ths. But the odds are almost 100% I won't be empty and
need a full tank when I bring it back. If they are going to charge
for a the full volume of the tank, it sounds like it is almost always
a bad deal.

BTW, Alamo didn't charge 6.00 dollars, only 3.05, but some companies
used to charge an enormous price, maybe some still do?