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New things to consider re car rentals

Posted by (Los Angeles) on

I've seen several posts lately where people were given rental cars with expired registrations and for some reason, instead of writing the ticket to the car's owner they give it to the driver! Which makes no sense but I guess it's easier for the cop.

As you can imagine, often the rental company says Yeah yeah we'll take care of it, and they don't, and then people discover their licenses were suspended because of the unprocessed ticket.

And while you're doing your walkaround at rental time, make sure to pop the trunk. If the car has GPS, make sure there's a CD/DVD in the player which is often back there. And lift the carpet and look for a spare and jack; if they are there make sure they're in good nick, and if they aren't at least now you know if you get a flat.

Posted by
1660 posts

And lift the carpet and look for a spare and jack; if they are there make sure they're in good nick, and if they aren't at least now you know if you get a flat.

My Ford C-Max, which is a "world car," has a portable inflator pump integrated with a canister of sealant. I would think that smaller European cars would have something similar, as their design wouldn't easily accommodate the weight and space requirements of a physical spare.

Posted by
2953 posts

They still put CD players in cars? I would never bother to look for one because why would I need one.

My other half bought an Acura sedan which seems to have plenty of room for a spare and you get a can of sealant. He did pay extra to get a spare, but they’re not standard on a lot of cars anymore.

Posted by
5183 posts

What I meant to say, if the car has a GPS system there might be a disc in the trunk holding the map data.

And yes, the other reason to look for a spare is that your newer car likely does not have one (for weight saving for mileage). So it's good to know that too before you need it.

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