Rental Car thread

[Laconian]

My choices in the Executive aisle were a couple Camry, a bunch of XXL GM King Asshole SUVs, and a Beetle Turbo convertible. Of course I got the Beetle. This car's pretty fun! It doesn't corner nearly as well as my Miata, but wow, the turbo has some punch!

[giant_mtb]

I quite like the newer body style, especially with some of those retro wheels.

[CaminoRacer]

I quite like the newer body style, especially with some of those retro wheels.

+1

[Speed_Racer]

I always thought the Turbos looked sharp in red

[SJ_GTI]

I quite like the newer body style, especially with some of those retro wheels.

I agree, they are nice looking.

[Laconian]

Nope, no fancy wheels on mine. Judging from my poverty grade 5" infotainment display, I think this is some kind of extra-value trim.

[68_427]

I prefer the king asshole trucks

[12,000 RPM]

68_427 do you still even have the Subaru lol.

I really liked the more aggressive greenhouse of the current Beetle but I had one as a rental and the Golf is basically better in every way. Better visibility, no less fun to drive, obviously way more practical etc.

[giant_mtb]

I always thought the Turbos looked sharp in red

Hell yeah.  They nailed it with this one.

The last generation was more...cute and bubbly.  Not bad looking, but not exactly sharp, either.

[FoMoJo]

I quite like the newer body style, especially with some of those retro wheels.

It's different looking.  More than you can say for most cars.

[68_427]

68_427 do you still even have the Subaru lol.

Yes but hopefully not for long.  Guess I should change the sig huh

[veeman]

Yeah I loved the styling of my Beetle before dieselgste made me get rid of it.  The hatchback config made the car very practical for someone who doesn't carry backseat passengers that often.  My young kids learned to open the passenger front door themselves by leaning/jumping from the backseat into the passenger seat (young kids are so spry and flexible).  The old school wheels were expensive (almost 2 grand).  Too bad not many bought em because VW has or soon will discontinue the Beetle. 

[12,000 RPM]

Yes but hopefully not for long.  Guess I should change the sig huh

That's better

[93JC]

The old school wheels were expensive (almost 2 grand). 

:o

[veeman]

Yeah man, those wheels were expensive!  I got them installed at the dealer before driving off the lot.  They gave me $100 for the stock wheels (what a joke) and looking at my old emails the wheels cost $1962.68.  Each "heritage" wheel was three different parts.  The wheel, a ring, and a center cap so you had to pay for three different things for each tire.  I didn't want the car though without those old school wheels. When I turned the car in for dieselgate I was thinking about keeping the wheels and returning the car with steelies but because of inertia didn't bother. 

[93JC]

I need a rental car on Monday, so I checked them out. It's pretty neat that I can pick up an A4/Q5 for the price of an economy car out of the Newark, NJ airport.

Unfortunately, I need a one-way rental, so I ended up booking a regular economy car.

I just returned my rental. I'm honestly not sure I can go back to renting from the big agencies anymore. The process was a breeze and, although it's definitely not going to be the absolute cheapest option for a car, it felt well worth the price when including for the fact it had nav, satellite radio and it's own wifi hotspot. The regular rental companies make me feel like I'm getting nickle and dimed for everything.

Now I'm looking at ads for new and used A4s...

[Laconian]

Ah, the trick worked! Just like how Mazda made me buy a MX5 when I drove it two laps around a track for free. They got their money's worth, dagnabbit...

I took back the Beetle on Thursday. My overall impressions are positive. The engine is a torquey little gem, which combines lots of squirt and easy 33mpg around town. The cabin was extremely basic, but there were some touches I appreciated, like a great sound system and USB ports that support rapid charging voltages. The convertible top moves quickly and silently, deploying fully in about 10 seconds.

I suppose the lowlights were cowl shake, soft suspension around corners, a basic cabin (but again: base trim), and some confusing stalk controls from my Japanese-biased POV.

[93JC]

Ah, the trick worked! Just like how Mazda made me buy a MX5 when I drove it two laps around a track for free. They got their money's worth, dagnabbit...

Ha ha, yeah, I suppose it has worked to a point. I don't think this'll get me to buy an Audi, but I think it is a factor in their running of the company. Much like Daimler-Benz and Car2Go, except in that case it backfired: I don't like the Smart Fortwo, CLA, GLA and B-class very much at all based on my experiences.

[veeman]

I'm in San Diego this week for a conference and upgraded to a Chrysler 300 for the third time in the last few years.  Got a 300S which is their more sporty 6 cylinder version.  I'm in love with this car, except for the leather seats which are too firm on my lower back.  This car drives so quiet and looks real cool.  6 cylinder is plenty fast.  I'm seriously considering trading in my Crosstrek for an AWD 6 cylinder Chrysler 300 when I get home.  I can get one for around 28 thousand according to autotrader ads which is a lot off of MSRP (which I think is around 36 thousand). 

I won't do it mostly because my wife wants a new car (she always wants a new car) even though we still have 2 years left financing on the Infiniti so that's not gonna happen as neither will my trade in. 

[afty]

I liked the 300 too when I had one as a rental. Solid car.

[68_427]

I'm in San Diego this week for a conference and upgraded to a Chrysler 300 for the third time in the last few years.  Got a 300S which is their more sporty 6 cylinder version.  I'm in love with this car, except for the leather seats which are too firm on my lower back.  This car drives so quiet and looks real cool.  6 cylinder is plenty fast.  I'm seriously considering trading in my Crosstrek for an AWD 6 cylinder Chrysler 300 when I get home.  I can get one for around 28 thousand according to autotrader ads which is a lot off of MSRP (which I think is around 36 thousand). 

I won't do it mostly because my wife wants a new car (she always wants a new car) even though we still have 2 years left financing on the Infiniti so that's not gonna happen as neither will my trade in. 

Is it blue?

Gonna drive to Florida next month with my dad and the dog.  Hoping for a minivan, a Pacifica to be exact but the selection in the Executive Isle in Rochester is basically non existent.

[veeman]

Is it blue?

Gonna drive to Florida next month with my dad and the dog.  Hoping for a minivan, a Pacifica to be exact but the selection in the Executive Isle in Rochester is basically non existent.

The autotrader ad I saw was for a blue one. 

https://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-sale/vehicledetails.xhtml?listingId=477539361&zip=06883&referrer=%2Fcars-for-sale%2Fsearchresults.xhtml%3Fzip%3D06883%26listingTypes%3DNEW%26startYear%3D1981%26sortBy%3DderivedpriceASC%26incremental%3Dall%26firstRecord%3D0%26endYear%3D2019%26modelCodeList%3D300%26makeCodeList%3DCHRY%26searchRadius%3D50&listingTypes=NEW&startYear=1981&numRecords=25&firstRecord=0&endYear=2019&modelCodeList=300&makeCodeList=CHRY&searchRadius=50&makeCode1=CHRY&modelCode1=300&clickType=listing

[68_427]

I asked because my friend rented one identical to this out of SD last month.



He enjoyed it too

[veeman]

In San Diego I got the same model as your friend's (300S I'm assuming) except in silver.  I loved the sporty big wheels but if I were to get one, I'd go for the more comfort and more pothole resistant tires on the base model.  Also the leather seats in this model were more hard and bothered the small of my back even with playing with all the lumbar settings.

Having driven again my Crosstrek back and forth on my 100 mile daily commute (50 there/50 back) since I got back home, there's some definite pluses with a Crosstrek type of car.  It's so easy to park in tight parking garages, the manual shift action is fun, and the car never bottoms out over curbs.  As a highway cruiser the car definitely lacks.  It's noisy and not super stable.  That's what I miss.  The serene big car ride without feeling overly floaty.  The 300 feels totally different than my Camry which doesn't feel nearly as vault like.  Plus I just think the 300 looks cool. 

[Laconian]

The 300 hasn't really changed for 15 years. It's the Crown Vic of 2018!

[veeman]

Infiniti QX56 is at the dealership getting some warranty work (catalytic converter).  It's 5 yrs old now with 80 thousand miles. Got it certified 3 years ago. Very happy I got the extended Infiniti sponsored extended warranty as I've had warranty work done three times now in the last year. The dealership I got it from has been great. No problems scheduling and getting a loaner.

Got a new QX60 this time.  It's got an upgraded engine this year with close to 300 hp.  Looks decent. Not great but not bad. In sport mode this car has good acceleration.  Flooring it on the highway got the fake shifts from the CVT transmission but even though they were fake, they felt good and sounded good. Car drives very soft and comfortable.  I was surprised in base form, this car undercuts the Acura MDX and Buick Enclave in price.  Load it up and it gets over 60 thousand   

[12,000 RPM]

I wish the Murano got the 300HP engine, and maybe an Infiniti badge. Make it the QX70. Or we will just get a new MKX when the time comes. That 2.7TT is serious business.

[68_427]

I wish the Murano got the 300HP engine, and maybe an Infiniti badge. Make it the QX70. Or we will just get a new MKX when the time comes. That 2.7TT is serious business.

Day Aviator tho

[BimmerM3]

My most recent rental was a Fusion Hybrid. I liked it a surprisingly large amount.

[RomanChariot]

I rented a GMC Terrain a couple of days ago in the Minneapolis airport. I was pleasantly surprised. It was an SLT trim which is supposed to come with a 1.5 turbo with 170hp. It felt stronger than that to me but I only had it for 24 hours and didn't get a chance to open the hood and see if it had the optional 2.0 turbo with 250hp. I had to keep an eye on the speedometer as it was easy to get above speed limit. The brakes were strong and the 9 speed transmission was pretty seamless. I got 25mpg over 135 miles of mixed freeway and back road driving. The Terrain had 5 miles on it when I picked it up.

The interior was comfortable with heated leather seats. It had Apple CarPlay and Android Auto but I didn't use the infotainment system much. It had a WiFi hotspot but it seemed to cut out frequently.

I wish I had more time to put the Terrain through its paces but I was on a business trip with another person and much of the driving was at night on rainy roads.