Car hire - quarter tank on collection and drop-off - what's all that about?

[Beebo]

[QUOTE 3414389, member: 45"]I find it the opposite. I regularly use one hire branch that don't refill the cars unless they're empty. So they can go out with anything over a quarter of a tank in. As long as the needle is somewhere around that when it's back they're not bothered. Overall, I think it's worked in my favour.
[/QUOTE]
This is exactly how it works for me too. As long as you are close they wont care.
The worst experience i had was a place where you hired the cars empty to empty. I was given a car with so little fuel in it the needle didnt even get past empty, i spent a very fraught few miles trying to find the nearest petrol station. I gave it back in exactly the same state.

 

[screenman]

Just siphon it out into a river, better that than giving it away to those rip-off scumbags!

Bit harsh, I looked at going into car hire but the return on investment was very poor.

Can I ask what sort of business you own?

 

[G3CWI]

I used to hire cars from a place in Amman (Jordan) that were supplied empty. Odd one that. If the car was very very empty, they would send another car with you o make sure that you got to the garage.

Perhaps they had some sort of deal with the local garage.

 

[threebikesmcginty]

Bit harsh, I looked at going into car hire but the return on investment was very poor.

Can I ask what sort of business you own?

Irrelevant. There's profit and there's profiteering.

 

[screenman]

Irrelevant. There's profit and there's profiteering.

There is margin and there is profit, I find most people who do not own or have run a business do not know the difference.

 

[mr_cellophane]

A good few years back, we git a cheap hire car in Spain, on a full to empty deal. It simply isn't possible to use a tank of diesel in a week.
Another time, had a car from Geneva for a weekend skiing. The gauge still read full on our return, so I didn't bother refilling it. Three weeks later I was billed for a fiver

A lot of places in Spain do Full - Empty and the sell you the full tank at an inflated price to start with. So if someone brings it back with half a tank, they fill it up and bill the next customer for a full tank. I bet there the same fuel has been bought buy dozens of people.

 

[slowmotion]

The fuel scams seem to be the least of it for me. Every single car rental I have ever made turns out to be considerably more than I was given to understand. I always get stiffed by some extra insurance angle. Car rental companies have become expert at confusing the punters.

Utter w@nkers the lot of them.

 

[screenman]

I was glad I was sold the extra insurance a few weeks ago when a Frenchman decided to drive into me whilst we were driving up Mt Ventoux. I did have the choice of taking the car without the extra cover.

When compared with hiring something like a wheel barrow I find car hire good value.

 

[PaulSB]

How do you work it out? I'm hiring a car at Christmas, don't want to put too much fuel in.

Sara when you know the vehicle you are hiring Google to find the average fuel consumption.

Note the distance you travel. Then divide the distance by the average consumption to calculate gallons used.

I guess Christmas hire could mean a lot of miles. If so again get the average mpg, divide anticipated mileage by consumption and put that much fuel in the tank.

It's never going to be exact

 

[slowmotion]

[QUOTE 3415587, member: 259"]I always buy an annual excess insurance policy for me and my wife. The amount of car hire that we do makes it much cheaper, and it covers stuff like damage to the car underside that most excess insurance doesn't.[/QUOTE]
We have annual excess but it doesn't give that extra cover. I'll look out for that. Thank you for the advice.

 

[Crackle]

I was glad I was sold the extra insurance a few weeks ago when a Frenchman decided to drive into me whilst we were driving up Mt Ventoux. I did have the choice of taking the car without the extra cover.

When compared with hiring something like a wheel barrow I find car hire good value.

You know there are lots of cheaper better third party excess insurance deals available, than offered by the renter?

 

[screenman]

You know there are lots of cheaper better third party excess insurance deals available, than offered by the renter?

Being a simple person I went for the easy route, I do know there are alternatives. That is the first time I have hired in 10 years, if I did so more often I would look further into it.

 

[threebikesmcginty]

There is margin and there is profit, I find most people who do not own or have run a business do not know the difference.

Without getting bogged down in you being the John Harvey Jones of the windscreen world, the fact of the matter is that it is profiteering because they have a system whereby they know they're onto a winner whether you go under or over a quarter tank. You don't need to defend them just because they're in business like you are, I'm sure you run a reputable outfit where service is paramount, these jokers don't.

 

[screenman]

So why not start up and beat them with better service and cheaper prices, after all it must be easy to do.

Choices, when we do not have them is when you are being ripped off.

 

[threebikesmcginty]

If I did you'd only get the quarter tank deal.