On Car Rental

1. On a recent trip to Las Vegas, my scheduled flight was to arrive at 8:30 am in the morning. After checking with several of the rental car companies, I booked with Alamo. The flight was about 30 minutes early, so I proceeded to pick up the car. I just happened to ask what the total charges would be for a 2 day rental. Rather than the total being $49 as promised by the reservation agent, I was quoted a price of $77.+. When I asked why the increase, I was told that it was because I was picking up the car 30 minutes early. I was also told I could wait until 9:00 am and get the $49 rate. I proceeded to wait and save myself $28. THIS SUCKS!!!!
   
   
2. On another recent trip, I wanted to get a small compact car since I was going to be driving several miles and wanted the gas mileage. The only compact car Hertz had at this location was a Chevy Cavilers that had over 24K miles on it. Since I wanted a compact,I accepted the car. I noticed that the mirror on the driver's side had a hole in it and had been patched with what looked like electricians tape. There was also a gravel ding in the windshield on the lower driver's side. Later on, I discovered that there was NO windshield wiper fluid in the car.

   On the first cold night we had during the rental, I noticed a small break originating from the spot of the gravel ding. On each following cold night, the break got longer. By the time I returned the car, the crack was about 12-14 inches long. When I returned the car, the attendant was anxious to note that I had incurred damage while renting the car. About 6 weeks later, I receive a bill to replace the windshield. Since I had rented using my VISA Credit card that covered rental problems, I called VISA to inquire the procedure for having them take care of this problem. Upon finding that I lived and had rented in Texas, I was told that my personal auto insurance should be used to cover this problem. So, much for FALSE/Misleading advertisement by VISA!!!!
   
   

3. On one of my last business trips out of the country, I rented a car in Paris, France using Avis. It was booked for a month and I was quoted a monthly rate. As happens in business, the job completed 2 days early and I proceeded to return the car on the 26th day. Even though my company was paying for the rental, I was shocked when the bill was something like $500 more than the monthly rental should have been. It seems that they could conveniently use a mixture of weekly and daily rates and some kind of penalty for returning the car early. After I returned home, I made several inquiries about what had happened. I was told, that is the way it is. The company paid the bill and I went on my way no longer wondering why the company was having money problems.
   
   
4. On another occasion, I had picked up a car from Hertz and had a weekly rental. For some reason that I don't remember, I decide to return the car on the 6th day. Hertz also tried to pull a fast one and wanted to charge me a fee for an early return. I told the return agent that I would just keep the car an extra day if that was the game they wanted to play.
   
   
5. On this business trip, I picked up a Hertz car at Providence, RI. About 10 miles or so, the car engine stopped and I coasted to the side of the road and managed to get it started again. All the gauges looks normal, i.e. fuel, temperature. After driving a mile or so more, it happened again. This time, I proceeded to the nearest pay phone and called the Hertz problem line. I was instructed to return the car to the Providence airport, if it could be driven that far. Upon reaching the airport return area, I was told that I would have to pay for that rental before I could pickup another car. After a short discussion with me explaining that they should be paying me for returning a problem car rather than charging me, 2 hours later, I was on my way again with an automobile that actually ran.

Extra Gas Fee updated 3/4/6