Stranded - what would you do?

[MARTINE]

Well at least there was a rental desk! Sounds very luxurious

Ours took phone calls to 3 different numbers via a daisy chain approach to get someone who knew how we could collect the car... By then the airport had cleared out. Ghost town indeed.

All the very best of luck @Flashback
At times like this my husband and I make up the conversation about the future dinner with friends where we discuss the ‘time we had an awful time in…..’
(Bad) Travel stories make the best anectodes
We imagine who will be there, menu, restaurant …passes the time..you know it will one day make a great story

 

[Flashback]

The overflow water tank was pretty much empty, so have topped that up. Will keep checking/topping up as we go.

Will pick up with Budget corporate after the trip I think, will be pushing for a full refund.

This is how clean the car was when given to us too...

 

[VPS]

The overflow water tank was pretty much empty, so have topped that up. Will keep checking/topping up as we go.

Will pick up with Budget corporate after the trip I think, will be pushing for a full refund.

This is how clean the car was when given to us too...
View attachment 314070View attachment 314071

Good luck

 

[Kerrodt]

That car is definitely a bomb. I hope you make it safely to wherever you need this car to take you.

Does your paperwork from the rental agency have anything like a "Call this number in case of emergency"? If so, maybe try calling that number and telling them that the check engine light is on and you are concerned that the car will stop working. Maybe that will prompt something to happen in your favour.

 

[NM]

Maybe call them and say "The engine warning light came on and now the car won't start". Of course there is no need to tell them that the reason it won't start is because you have not turned the ignition key

 

[Flashback]

Have already tried all of that. Pretty much a fruitless exercise! The response continues to be... Drive it 2 hours to us and we'll take a look

 

[MARTINE]

Have already tried all of that. Pretty much a fruitless exercise! The response continues to be... Drive it 2 hours to us and we'll take a look

But if a car breaks down what can you do?

 

[Flashback]

But if a car breaks down what can you do?

Exactly

 

[NM]

Then tell them it has broken down (it is showing a fault) and won't start (see my previous post). See what they offer or suggest you do then.

You can always try it again a little later and you might just find that it does start after a few hours .

 

[ausfox]

I was driving a Jeep along US40 in Tulsa on a 40C day when it shut down. Engine light and no movement. Two hours later we had the car uplifted to the rental company parking lot. After completing the paperwork we saw a service person driving the car. We were told that the cars shutdown when they get too hot. The battery is disconnected and reconnected which reset the management system. Could this help you out?

 

[Flashback]

Well, good news, made it back to NBE and car dropped off. Pointed out to the guy it had no water, so filled that up etc. So he thanked me ... Funnily enough after having done a walk around of the car on pickup and pointing out 1 scratch (there were lots!), he didn't seem to care on return and didn't even look, just said yes all good.

Annoying, as we missed out driving down to the south of Tunisia to see some of the Star Wars filming locations as we couldn't trust the car and didn't want to get stuck in the middle of nowhere.

Let's see where we get with Corporate on this one given it ruined a bit of our holiday.

I managed to return it (by sheer luck) with the same amount of fuel and a range differing by only 10km. Couldn't have done better if we tried.... Interestingly the range to empty finally dropped 1 bar and then started going down after the first 350km. Very odd and the main reason we did not want to risk the remote long journey we had planned!

 

[Kerrodt]

Well, good news, made it back to NBE and car dropped off. Pointed out to the guy it had no water, so filled that up etc. So he thanked me ... Funnily enough after having done a walk around of the car on pickup and pointing out 1 scratch (there were lots!), he didn't seem to care on return and didn't even look, just said yes all good.

Annoying, as we missed out driving down to the south of Tunisia to see some of the Star Wars filming locations as we couldn't trust the car and didn't want to get stuck in the middle of nowhere.

Let's see where we get with Corporate on this one given it ruined a bit of our holiday.

I managed to return it (by sheer luck) with the same amount of fuel and a range differing by only 10km. Couldn't have done better if we tried.... Interestingly the range to empty finally dropped 1 bar and then started going down after the first 350km. Very odd and the main reason we did not want to risk the remote long journey we had planned!

Watch your CC now for any unauthorised charges from these people on the basis of "Damage found on return of vehicle" etc.

 

[QF WP]

Looked like the previous renter had dog(s) in the backseat who had been out for a run in the sand/desert (not surprising given you're in Tunisia). Pity that this ruined part of the Flashback's experience. Looks like you'll avoid renting with them if they don't have a very good service recovery.

 

[Flashback]

Watch your CC now for any unauthorised charges from these people on the basis of "Damage found on return of vehicle" etc.

Exactly, I do this for a normal rental anyway

Looked like the previous renter had dog(s) in the backseat who had been out for a run in the sand/desert (not surprising given you're in Tunisia). Pity that this ruined part of the Flashback's experience. Looks like you'll avoid renting with them if they don't have a very good service recovery.

It looks like it had never been cleaned, so .. the guy also seemed to drive it to/from the airport, so it's probably his personal car. Annoying that it ruined our holiday and left a bit of a sour taste in our mouth, as (most) other people we met were the opposite and super friendly. Very conflicted about the whole trip.... c'est la vie. Back in London now, have a change of clothes, so it's off to Madagascar this evening.

I'll chase up with Corporate over the next few days (want the charges to drop off first) so as not to stoke the fire. You never know.......

I'd like to avoid them, but I have a few BA Holidays bookings (double TP.....) and they're lumped in with Budget (no choice). Doh!

 

[Quickstatus]

Corporate

Likely its a franchise.

 

[Flashback]

Likely its a franchise.

It most certainly is, as are most locations outside main cities. Even major cities can be franchised, especially in places like Africa (e.g., Hertz in Cape Town, ZA).

 

[Quickstatus]

most certainly is

And they are probably just using the brand name and booking engine to attract customers. Probably also rent out to non Budget customers - via other unknown websites

 

[bPeteb]

Apparently in Skodas they have a Czech Engine Light … also apparently, that’s a condition to look out for.

Haha. Luckily haven't had to look for the engine in either of ours

 

[Flashback]

Pre-auth has dropped off thankfully. Radio silence from Budget Corporate though. For the other bookings I have will see what option can be provided that gets me away from Budget (even if I have to pay more for Avis etc.,) on the BA Holidays bookings I have coming up. Alternatively will just not pickup the car and will just pay extra to rent with someone else, although these days they're all pretty bad as each other!

 

[Flashback]

An absolutely appalling response from Budget / Avis corporate, essentially calling us liars and telling us to pick it up with the franchisee who did the rental i.e., the abuser.

Thank you for taking time to contact Budget regarding your rental charges. We apologize most sincerely for any inconvenience you may have been caused. We can certainly understand your frustration an will be happy to assist you.

We have seen that the Country of rental responded and mentioned that the car was provided in good condition, according to they records they did not find any reports ot you letting them know about the condition or any mechanical issues during the rental. We show they do not take cash as payments or as deposit, only credit cards.

Based on the research, no adjustment was processed due to that. If you would like to further dispute, you will need to contact the Country of rental directly at <redacted> for better assistance.

Thank your for contacting Avis, we appreciate your business and we hope you have nice day.