Wednesday, November 09, 2011

Enterprise Car Rental, A Personal Story

It takes a lot to convince me that business is the problem, but it happens. It happened again.

In September I got rear ended on the highway. The road was slick, the car in front of me slammed on their breaks and I did the same. The poor fellow behind me didn't stand much of a chance. He hit me so hard I slid into the car in front of me. Thankfully no one was hurt, everyone was polite, and the officer didn't fine me for a expired licence plate (how do you get a new tag when you don't technically don't have a home address?).

Then came the aftermath. My car was badly damaged but somehow still driveable. I was notified by the other driver's insurance company that I would have to take the car to them to get the damage estimated and to get a car rental voucher. Soon I'd dropped my car off at the body shop and was picked up at Enterpise Rent-A-Car. Here's what they gave me:


If there was ever hope for American car dealers, this vehicle killed it. It's a Chevrolet HHR. Luckily they also left me with a fourth-a-tank of gas. After a week I got a call from Enterprise saying that my last day with the car will be coming up and that I will need to return it. I then called the body shop who informed me that it would be several weeks before they would be done. I informed Enterprise that the voucher should be good for as long as my car was in the shop. They told me I have to contact the insurance company.

Every week I would have to do this dance. Enterprise calls me. I call the body shop. Body shop confirms the time frame they originally gave me. I'd call the other driver's insurance company. They'd call Enterprise. And each week I got gas I couldn't fill up because I was never sure when I would need to return the car to it's original 1/4 tank. After a few weeks I insisted Enterprise just call the insurance company and stopped answering their calls. They continued to call.

After a $37 charge popped up on my card, for what I haven't figured out yet, I called, assured them the voucher was still good and asked them to remove the fee. Which they did after two more reminders. Last week, to top off the great service I'd received, my American-made-PT Cruiser-wanna be broke down. I called the Enterprise office who then told me to call their roadside assistance. After over an hour of waiting they sent someone to jump the battery. It didn't work.

The mechanic leaves and tells me to call Enterprise again. They tell me to wait there for another hour for a tow truck. I tell them the keys will be in the seat and get my brother-in-law to drive me to dinner and a basketball game, then to the Enterprise office to get another car. On the way I call them to confirm I'm coming and they tell me my car has not been towed yet (which I know it has) and can't give me a car.

I show up anyways and explain to them that I have no vehicle because the one they gave me broke down and was towed. I beg them to call the roadside assistance. They do. After 20 minutes on hold they find someone who can confirm my other car has been towed. After giving me a minivan (nicer than my old one granted) then informed me that I should return the car tomorrow to their Wade Hampton branch and that my car will be fixed.

Apparently Wade Hampton is a really long road. Apparently Wade Hampton has an east and west side where the numbers change. Apparently an hour and a half is not long enough to allocate to get somewhere that closes when you apparently don't know where you're going. So I dropped the car off at the body shop, and said good riddance to bad rentals.

Enterprise, they'll pick you up, then let you down.

8 comments:

  1. Patty7:38 PM

    There's more to this story than I ever realized....you are a patient man! And you've been blogging long enough to be able to link back to cars you had 3+ years ago - amazing!

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  2. Thanks Patty. Never thought about measuring my blogging experience in cars.

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  3. I hate to be entertained by others mishaps, but I definitely made an exception with this one. Thanks.

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  4. The crazy part is the initial wreck, police, and insurance interaction was very organized. Just a tease I guess.

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  5. Fun update: Just got off the phone with a Enterprise Rental employee. Apparently they heard I wasn't happy. They probably read this post when I put the link my "how was your experience" questionnaire.

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  6. I had not so good experience with them couple of years back and then I shifted to Hertz.

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  7. Anonymous11:02 AM

    if u make reservation with enterprise u better have backup plan don't honor their reservations

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  8. Anonymous4:21 PM

    THE GUARANTEE IS NO GOOD. I HAVE A JOB AND HAD TO MISS WORK WHY THEY PLAYED AROUND. THEY GUARANTEED THE CAR TO BE DELIVERED AT 10:00 AM. THE DELIVERED IT AT 11:00. DID NOT EVEN SAY I AM SORRY FOR BEING LATE! I THINK THEY ARE A PEACE OF CRAP. I WOULD NEVER RECOMMEND THEM.

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You are the reason why I do not write privately. I would love to hear your thoughts, whether you agree or not.