Rental Car Gas Convenience Scam

Generally Good

Enterprise has been a car rental choice for me due to the convenience. While I have never been “picked up” by them, a branch is close to my apartment.

The Scam

Okay, not really a scam, but using some shady verbiage and a very summarized receipt, you don’t really see the full cost of your rental until you return the car.

The Receipt

The receipt lists your daily rates for everything such as the rate for the car, mileage restrictions, and the many optional services per day which they strongly encourage you to pay. How much does it really cost to rent a car? More than the $30 you see on those sites if you need insurance, etc.

Since I said…sure I will pay $.30 less a gallon to have you fill up the car, the rate per gallon was listed. This was never told to me at the time of the rental, nor was the capacity of the car told to me.

Most companies take an extra deposit these days regardless of how you pay, probably to protect them if you do incur extra charges and use a bogus card. So when I was told the total was $215, I was okay. I was figuring I would get some back at the end. I was wrong.

The final reciept

The receipt I received on car return had everything itemized and totaled up. So I was able to see the car rental, airport and other fees, and a new line called FSO $78! WOW. I gathered what that was and confirmed by calling up Enterprise and briefly mentioned how their sales people are very good about leaving off details to make a sale. In fact I think they should be referred to Sales Persons instead of Customer Service. Perhaps they are already.

Summarizing ….The deal

So….thankfully there are many other car rental companies out there to choose from. Also, I did just find out that my credit card covers the “Collision Damage Waiver” so I won’t be paying any company for that next time.

Now looking at the receipt I can see the line for $3.92, supposedly a discount per gallon of gas, but still no tank capacity. If it take the total paid for the Gas on the receipt and divide by the cost per gallon, it appears that the car has a 20 gallon tank which I confirmed online.

One more thing. Expedia said the total would be ~$104, but if I subtract the Gas, it turns out that it really cost me $140 to start which seems quite high even with a tax approximation. I better give a call to Enterprise and maybe Expedia to straighten things out.

Moral

I did think it was too good to be true. Fill up the tank just before you return. No company does anything to be nice to you. In rare cases, it may be a side effect of them being nice to themselves. You would think it would be very nice if they offered to fill up the tank and only charge you for the gallons needed. In fact, I would pay $.30 extra a gallon for that convenience, but for a hole tank? The sales rep mentioned that he has heard of cars stalling in the return bay in the garage, but how many of us are that irresponsible to not fill up when the light comes on. I don’t trust the gauge to be accurate now that they are electronic and no longer are floating on the top of the fuel, not that that was any more accurate 🙂

Almost Forgot the Cool Car

So I did not even get to mention how excited I was with the car. I guess they got me for the Hybrid. Not only did I not use a full tank of Gas, but I did not pay extra for the Altima Hybrid. I averaged 35 MPG with the AC on all of the time which does not seem to shabby. I think that if I were to be driving in cooler weather, the car would get better gas mileage. I did notice it seemed to kick in the Gas over 20 MPH, but not sure if that is standard or if you are cruising at a steady speed it would kick in. The dash had an indicator when it was in “EV Mode.” I am assuming that is “Electric Vehicle.”

I saw a seemingly good and unbiased review online and definitely will consider this car should I end up needing one permanently. I have not tested other Hybrids, but this one definitely had the pickup to help me pass on a single lane road!

2011-05-202021-01-26

Bike to Work Day!!!!!!!

Whoo Hoooo! What a great day to get out and ride to work. I camped out as a Bike Ambassador in Adams Morgan for a great turnout. Hope everyone had a safe ride to work today and every day!

2011-05-172021-02-05

$1 Dogs, Peanuts, Corn, and Tickets!

Seriously?

Granted the $1 tickets sold out and were likely in the upper deck where you likely needed binoculars to see anything, but I was surprised to see at some popular food items were very reasonable.

Being my first and sadly probably only Nats game due to the cost of good tickets (was able to snag 2nd row home dugout tickets on stub hub for about half price plus close to 50% fees) and knowing the cost of food and beverage at concerts, parks, and sporting events, had a burger at home before heading out to the Navy Yark for the game last night.

$1 Dogs

Upon entering we discovered signs for $1 snacks. I saw “While Supplies Last” and thought to myself, hmm…I bet the first 1o dogs of the night were $1, but 5 innings later, was able to snag them. If there was not a limit of 2 per trip, I am sure we could have organized a hot dog eating contest! Popcorn and peanuts were also offered at $1 which included the tax. Just needed cracker jacks and you could have had been “taken out to the ball game” for just $3 with a ticket!

Great Seats!

I was a bit worried with the rain since I was guessing the tickets I bought online were indeed season tickets from some ticket holder who happened to either hate the Pirates or was out of town and would not be able to exchange them for the same seats anyway. The guys next to us were surprised by the location so I am guessing they were not “regulars” either to ask them.

While it was hard to tell if the ball was too far inside or outside, we were basically at eye level with catcher, batter and umpire to see if it could be a strike. From the view we had…..let’s just be thankful that the cheer girls were not wearing skirts 🙂

Costco Watch out!?

If you are a Costco shopper, you have likely been lured over to the cafeteria. I think the best deal up there is a huge kosher hot dog and fountain drink with refills for just $1.50. For just a $1 you can get a dog at the Nats on special nights, but if you were to add say a bottled 20 oz Coke, you will be paying a whopping $5.50! Costco is safe 🙂

Nats Win!

Off to a slow start, some home runs made the game more exciting and a win for the “home team” and cooperating weather and surprisingly good metro service made it a great night!

And just to prove it….here is a photo of me holding a dollar dog from my seat 🙂

2011-05-172021-01-26

Disk Brakes in a Flash Flood

Granted, if I did not have a baseball game to attend last night I likely would not have left work in a flash flood. While my shoes were sloshing with water, it was thankfully not very cold out and was actually quite a refreshing ride.

I brought my modified Cyclocross bike with me which has a fender attached because the forecast looked to be ominous. While disk brakes are now legal in the sport, my bike originally had cantilever style brakes on it. Perfect for Cyclocross, these brakes shed mud, but don’t really stop you quickly. After my fork was recalled by Felt, and a replacement back ordered, I decided to invest in a new disk brake compatible one. I forgot that that meant I needed a new wheel too which set me back a bit of cash. Needless to say, I was so happy with the disk brake and only wished I could have one on the back too. Recently I replaced the rear brake with a V-Brake which has much better stopping power. I needed to add a “travel agent,” cable pull doubler, to make the brake work with the road style brake levers, but am so much happier now. In fact, I have to be careful that I don’t lock up the brake and skid, now that it actually works!

Back to the story….so on the way home I used the brakes as I normally would with the front disk brake humming a bit with the water, but stopping as quickly as ever. I decided to try to test my theory that rim style brakes don’t work well in the rain and require much greater distances to stop. So, at the next intersection, I only appled the back brake. I expected a little noise and after the water dried off the rims, the brakes to work. Not at all! My rear brake, which I was applying decent pressure, did not do a thing to slow me down! I honestly could not tell a difference when the brake was not applied.

The moral of the story…..if you have the option to get disk brakes, or at least a front one, do it! It is much cheaper if you get a bike that has them already (you can always change out the cheap ones for nice ones later) since you have the required frame and fork mount attachments. In fact, some bikes with V-brakes have the mounts for the disks which probably come on a more expensive model. While they do weigh more, they require less maintenance and will stop you in all kinds of weather.

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