Sarah’s Car Rental Saga Continues –- Tuesday, November 14, 2012

Tom calls around 2:30 p.m. "Did you get a car yet?"

"No, I called Hertz this morning. They said they would call me back. The rep I talked with was delivering a car and said he would have to wait til his partner arrived. Probably it would be after 1 p.m."

"Okay. Do you want Tramp to call them?"

"No. Not unless there’s a reason I don’t understand."

"Well, you know he’ll see to it you get a car."

"Yes, I appreciate that. I think I’ll call them myself first."

"Okay. Call me back when you ACTUALLY have a car."

"Okay."

"Give me the Enterprise number. Tramp wants to call them."

"Well . . . okay. It’s 931-380-9100. But I don’t understand why he needs it."

"Don’t worry; it’s okay."

So then I call Hertz and they ask for my address and say they are heading my way and should be here in about 20 minutes.

At approximately 3:45 p.m. A Hertz Rep drove some kind of vehicle onto my driveway. Not a 2-door, not a 4-door car. Me n' Rocky went out thru garage to meet him. He identified himself and asked asked for my credit card so I invited him in, apologizing for all the "stuff" in my garage (remnants from the 2 storage units I used to pay for before having a garage).

Then the phone rang. I apologized, excused myself and headed back inside. He waited in the driveway.  It was Enterprise. They were calling to ask or request something, I don't know what. I told them, "Nevermind, I don't need to rent a car from you. You dropped the ball yesterday. I sent you my insurance verification and you never called back and so I called Hertz and they are here right now to take me to get my car. Thank you. Goodbye."

So then I ran back outside. I invited the Hertz rep inside and I got my credit card. We stood in the kitchen and he took my credit card info. Then he asked, "do you want to decline insurance coverage by Hertz?" I replied, "Yes." He had me initial a place on the contract to that effect in (3) places. (I am paying by credit card; Platinum MasterCard, which provides car rental insurance. Allstate will reimburse me). This took all of about three minutes.

Then he handed me the keys. "Here are your keys. You're good to go."

I was momentarily confused because I thought he was there to drive me to his office where I would pick up my rental. "This is your vehicle," he replied. A co-worker is picking me up and taking me back to office.  In fact, he just pulled into your drive.  Just sign the contract here."

So I did.

That's it? That simple??? WOW.

I will sing the praises of Hertz from now on. After I signed all the papers and the rep left in the other car that had pulled into my drive while we were signing papers, I walked all around the vehicle trying to find the NAME. All I ever saw was 4WD in the middle of the back and in the front.

So I got my grocery list and climbed into the vehicle to drive to Krogers. Except for pulling on the turn signal several times attempting to shift (the shift was on a console in the middle, I kept forgetting), and brakes 10 times more sensitive than my Crown Vic, I managed to drive off without any other difficulties.

What a nice driving vehicle. I could get used to this.

I pulled into Kroger’s parking lot (the scene of my recent fender bender) and carefully drove through the lanes til I found a parking spot. I exited the car, locked it, and headed towards the store marking a spot on the store facade to help me remember what lane I had parked in.

Then it occurred to me: I don’t even know what kind of vehicle I am driving, what if I forget where I parked after I get my groceries? (My own Crown Vic is white plus it has an IMI hard hat in the middle of the ledge behind the back rear window). Fortunately, along with the keys, the key chain Hertz gave me had a button-thingy with symbols for locking, unlocking, and an emergency beeper.

After Krogers, I stopped at the pet store to get some dog food. When I got there, I asked the guy who opened the door, "what kind of vehicle is this? A van?" He said, "No, it's an SUV." Oh.

So I entered, got my dog food, and drove home.

Moral of Story: Don’t shop Enterprise. Shop Hertz. The Good Guys!Sarah