We reserved a minivan from Enterprise to move our son back to college (approximately 10 to 11 hour trip from home. Tonight, right after work, I arrived at the Enterprise store completed the paperwork, confirmed the vehicle was full of fuel and had no significant body damage and drove home (30 minutes). After arriving at home my wife remarked that the front tires were bald. When I looked I discovered that the tires were worn down to the treadwear indicator bars! I called Enterprise and was informed that their store was closing in 5 minutes and I had two options. I could take the vehicle to a Firestone Tire dealer and have them bill Enterprise or I could drive the 30 miles back down in the morning at 9:00 AM and exchange the minivan for a different one. The only Firestone dealer in our town was already closed. Wje had hoped to pack the van tonight and leave in the morning. The extra trip down and back will certainly delay our trip. We do have the minivan rented for 5 days.

I do accept some measure of responsibility for not checking the tires. I should not have been in such a rush. I do also feel frustrated that the agent told me the minivan was "ready to go". I had mistakenly interpreted that to mean that the minivan had been checked out and that any significant safety issues would have been addressed. Is it reasonable to ask for some--perhaps token, level of compensation when I travel down for the other minivan or should I just write this off as a learning experience?

I would appreciate your perspective and opinion.

Dave

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...on the trailing edge of technology.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/10/2012 09:12PM by davec.

I would ask them to send someone out to your house with the new van and let them take the old van back. At least this will save you a little time and make them do something to fix their mistake.

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Alpharetta, GA (Atlanta suburb)

rgG- Thanks for your post. Yes, that would make my life easier if an Enterprise employee had to travel up and back to exchange the minivan. It would make for a more relaxing morning. I really like that suggestion! My only concern is that they may claim we would have to wait longer for someone to be available to make the drive and exchange. Though as frustrated as I am, I will be very insistent that they make the exchange immediately.

Thanks!
Dave

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...on the trailing edge of technology.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/10/2012 09:34PM by davec.

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davec
rgG- Thanks for your post. Yes, that would make my life easier if an Enterprise employee had to travel up and back to exchange the minivan. It would make for a more relaxing morning. I really like that suggestion! My only concern is that they may claim we would have to wait longer for someone to be available to make the drive and exchange.

Thanks!
Dave

yup, they may be willing to drive out and make the exchange, but in my experience with Enterprise locations, they're often understaffed, so you may have to wait hours for the exchange to happen. Sucks, but it's how these things work.

If time is of the essence, how about if you pack the minivan, drive straight to the Enterprise lot in the morning with the family and either unload/load up, or have them trade the wheels on the two vans. Tell them ahead of arrival what is happening and that you want to be in and out of there pronto.

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"So be proud to be a decent American instead of just a w'anker whipping up fear!" - Michael D. Higgins, President of Ireland



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/10/2012 09:45PM by davester.

My past experience with Enterprise has ben dismal, so I would not put much faith in them having a van or getting one driven out to you. If it were me I would be at the Firestone dealer 30+ minutes before their posted opening time with a bag of donuts and see if the manager can get to you first. They should be able to mount a couple tires faster than you can make the round trip for an exchange. Did I mention a BIG bag of donuts ?

Also it was very much their responsibility to provide you with a safe vehicle. Instead they provided you with an accident waiting to happen. I would say that they do owe you some compensation.

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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/10/2012 09:56PM by lafinfil.

"I could take the vehicle to a Firestone Tire dealer and have them bill Enterprise..."

this sounds too easy to be true., and so many way people could run a scam if this was indeed that easy.

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space-time
"I could take the vehicle to a Firestone Tire dealer and have them bill Enterprise..."

this sounds too easy to be true., and so many way people could run a scam if this was indeed that easy.

I would assume Firestone would require you to have a rental contract and may even call Enterprise to verify before installation.

lafinfil- the local Firestone store doesn't open to 9:00 AM. The donuts are a good idea, but I am not sure that would guarantee being first in line. -I will give that idea consideration. davester-I appreciate your suggestion. Given the amount, and weight, of what is packed I would not relish the idea of moving it all an additional time. We were hoping to leave early, but if it would require more lifting and carrying of heavy boxes, etc. I would gladly delay the trip an hour.

Thank you for your posts!

Dave

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...on the trailing edge of technology.

space-time and Gareth- thanks for your posts. Yes, the Enterprise representative indicated that we would need to show our rental agreement to the Firestone shop. I wouldn't be surprised if they would call Enterprise to verify the purchase.

Dave

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...on the trailing edge of technology.

What's their policy if a vehicle breaks down during the rental, will they come with a replacement?

Years ago I had a Hertz rental engine die on an interstate while driving to my in-laws, my father in-law picked us up, Hertz eventually delivered a replacement via flat-bed truck to their house, and picked up the previous car from where it broke down. Took many hours, and they drove several hundred miles to do it, but there was no cost to me, and when I returned it I negotiated a credit for one day off the rental.

Claiming that the vehicle is unsafe to drive might be enough to trigger "break-down" replacement after-hours, but might also open a huge can of worms, so maybe do some research. In my case I had no other options.

I'd be very suspicious of the "have Firestone bill us", I'm surprised that they ask customers to deal with servicing their vehicles.

2 years ago, we rented a van from Enterprise to drive up to Ohio for my mother-in-law's funeral. About 100 miles outside Atlanta, the van experienced a big "clunk" and started driving funny. I pulled off at the next exit. We called the local Enterprise office and they said they could drive a new van up from Atlanta at some point when they could get one. After several more phone calls, they eventually drove a new van (it had about 60 miles on it) from Chattanooga. It took about 4 hours to get the van, but we were then on our way.

My father works for Enterprise, so we already had a good deal with the employee discount. However, when we got back to Atlanta, I had them reimburse me for about 50% of the week-long rental.

GGD- yes, I was surprised that they suggested I take their vehicle in for repair. The Enterprise rep assured me that the company had an agreement worked out (state-wide perhaps?) with Firestone. I thought about the after-hours approach, but with us being safe at home decided not to pursue that approach. DavidS- While I would rather not make the hour-long trip (round trip) I will do it if they are unable or unwilling to do a prompt exchange.

I appreciate both of your posts!

Dave

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...on the trailing edge of technology.

The other possibility is to drive to your destination (after all, it is summer and the wear bars only indicate that you don't have enough tread to drive safely in rain or snow, not that the tire is unsafe) and drop it at a firestone or enterprise when you get there to have things fixed.

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"So be proud to be a decent American instead of just a w'anker whipping up fear!" - Michael D. Higgins, President of Ireland

davester- yes, I guess the possibility of rain in this part of the country is practically zero (sadly). Frankly, I've never driven on tires that were that worn and I would be anxious about making that long of a trip on those tires. In talking things over, we've decided to accept the delay. We will ask Enterprise to promptly come out and make the exchange. If they indicate there would be a delay, I will plan to drive down to pick up the other minivan (and I will double-check the tires!).

I truly appreciate the posts and input!

Dave

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...on the trailing edge of technology.

I wonder if somebody swapped out their bald wheels for the ones that were previously on the van. Most rentals I get don't have enough miles on them to have worn down the tread of even OEM tires,

Did you notice how many miles were on it ?

A car salesman friend has lamented their "program " cars ( former rentals ) coming through with much higher miles , more small dings and blemishes , tougher interiors and lower fleet numbers.

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I'm obviously too late to the party but...

I think I would have loaded the van last night and in the morning taken it back to Enterprise or to the Firestone place and had either of them replace the tires with the van still loaded.

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Quote
davester
The other possibility is to drive to your destination (after all, it is summer and the wear bars only indicate that you don't have enough tread to drive safely in rain or snow, not that the tire is unsafe) and drop it at a firestone or enterprise when you get there to have things fixed.

That'd be my plan.

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Saint Cloud, Minnesota, where the weather is wonderful even when it isn't.

Enterprise has always been a shaking kind of operation in my experience.

Always short staffed, and always one or two of that staff that didn't fully understand some aspect of a transaction meaning that somebody else had to help them out at the expense of other customers.

Always.

The various offices that I've been to were barely furnished and the car I needed was always at some other office.

All that said, tires worn down to the ware bars wouldn't bother me in good weather. Traveling in one direction, the matter can be corrected at the end of Leg One of your journey.

And I'd ask for a discount for your trouble. Yes, you could have saved some time and angst if you pre-flighted your ride fully. But most people don't, and the rental company should have. They're trying to limit their overhead as much as possible, but they still have an obligation to rent you a safe car. That doesn't mean tires down to the wear bar are ok, for their part.

Knowing there's no rain or snow in the forecast, I'd just drive.

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