Show me your courtesy/rental car!
Discussion
As per title, show me cars you have temporarily owned, any stories to go with them?
I hired a little 3 door corsa D 1.2 few years back for a holiday. A woman in a 206 CC drove forward in to the side of the drivers door, the door didnt close securely, but hire company accepted the car back (along with 206cc drivers detail) no problem! sadly, i never got a pic of it to show you.
I hired a little 3 door corsa D 1.2 few years back for a holiday. A woman in a 206 CC drove forward in to the side of the drivers door, the door didnt close securely, but hire company accepted the car back (along with 206cc drivers detail) no problem! sadly, i never got a pic of it to show you.
Europa's E350 cdi Vert....
Had somebody go into the side of my 335i a few years back, 2 days before I was off to Paris with the girlfrind in the car.
The next day the merc was delivered and I left the next morning at silly o'clock...
The looks i got as a 21 year old in a brand new (1k on the clock) fully specced Merc at the port were something else, the TV came in handy for watching DVD's when waiting around for the boat and it was amazing driving around the central paris roundabout - arch de triumph (spelling?) with the roof down with the locals!
Made the trip that much better
Had somebody go into the side of my 335i a few years back, 2 days before I was off to Paris with the girlfrind in the car.
The next day the merc was delivered and I left the next morning at silly o'clock...
The looks i got as a 21 year old in a brand new (1k on the clock) fully specced Merc at the port were something else, the TV came in handy for watching DVD's when waiting around for the boat and it was amazing driving around the central paris roundabout - arch de triumph (spelling?) with the roof down with the locals!
Made the trip that much better
Currently running an Astra 1.7 diesel hire car from Enterprise.
The worst engine of any car I've ever driven. Totally gutless below 2000RPM and out of steam by 3500, s
te gearing, incredible roughness and a clutch pedal with absolutely no feel and too much spring weight mean I stall it on a regular basis (something I've not done since being a learner 20 years ago).
The gearbox is notchy and the gate between 4/5 is comical, the steering is heavy but lacks any feel and it's crap to park.
Hateful thing.
The worst engine of any car I've ever driven. Totally gutless below 2000RPM and out of steam by 3500, s
te gearing, incredible roughness and a clutch pedal with absolutely no feel and too much spring weight mean I stall it on a regular basis (something I've not done since being a learner 20 years ago). The gearbox is notchy and the gate between 4/5 is comical, the steering is heavy but lacks any feel and it's crap to park.
Hateful thing.
Someone smashed into the back of my impreza a couple of years ago and it was far from being driveable.
The insurance company sorted me a courtesy car out, they called me to ask if I actually needed rear seats, which I didn't so they dropped off a Z4 with the 35i engine. Apparently its in the same class as the impreza even though it was only a WRX. I was initially expecting a focus or similar.
The Z4 only had a few thousand miles on it at the time, it had the double clutch gearbox and is still the fastest thing I've driven. I had a great couple of weeks in it until my car was officially written off and I got the cheque through.
[
The insurance company sorted me a courtesy car out, they called me to ask if I actually needed rear seats, which I didn't so they dropped off a Z4 with the 35i engine. Apparently its in the same class as the impreza even though it was only a WRX. I was initially expecting a focus or similar.
The Z4 only had a few thousand miles on it at the time, it had the double clutch gearbox and is still the fastest thing I've driven. I had a great couple of weeks in it until my car was officially written off and I got the cheque through.
[
Not sure if there are any newsworthy stories but for private hires I've had an AMV8 Vantage Roadster, a Range Rover Sport and a Merc ML. I went past a camera van in the AMV8 at 'above' the speed limit on a 50mph dual carriageway but never got a ticket. It was either too fast for him to get in position or the sound of the exhaust won them over and saved me. I think the worst courtesy car I had was a blue Rover 200 with fake wood interior trim. This was only a couple of years ago max!
When the gear stick came adrift in the GTV, leaving me with 5th, 5th or a good stir and 5th, I needed something I could collect on the way into work the next morning - The mighty i10 came up the cheapest thing I could acquire at Gatwick at 0630 on a one week hire.
What a hateful experience it was as well. Handling verged on the down right dangerous.
Back a few years when it was pretty much £1 to $3 in Australia and NZ.... the hire approach was to select the largest engine, and see what turned up - far more interesting, a petrol LWB Shogun in Oz and a Nissan Maxima in NZ, both quite entertaining. Will see if I can dig out a photo of the 1500km/2mth old double cab Hi-Lux we dunked in the sea (then cleaned off quite successfully) on Fraser Island too, hacking off the seaweed which had wrapped around the propshafts put us slightly outside the hire agreement I think
What a hateful experience it was as well. Handling verged on the down right dangerous.
Back a few years when it was pretty much £1 to $3 in Australia and NZ.... the hire approach was to select the largest engine, and see what turned up - far more interesting, a petrol LWB Shogun in Oz and a Nissan Maxima in NZ, both quite entertaining. Will see if I can dig out a photo of the 1500km/2mth old double cab Hi-Lux we dunked in the sea (then cleaned off quite successfully) on Fraser Island too, hacking off the seaweed which had wrapped around the propshafts put us slightly outside the hire agreement I think
I spent a few days round Lake Como visiitng a few clients I have booked a petrol manual guiletta as san bernardino was only about 30 minutes away.
I arrived at the airport to find my "Upgrade" as they didn't have one so a nice little hatch with sporting pretences was replaced by an Audi Q7 diesel with auto
not happy at all as it was wider than most of the streets round colico and the like.
I arrived at the airport to find my "Upgrade" as they didn't have one so a nice little hatch with sporting pretences was replaced by an Audi Q7 diesel with auto
not happy at all as it was wider than most of the streets round colico and the like. Edited by TinyCappo on Sunday 1st September 21:58
Here's a summary of a thread of mine from a while ago;
Our local BMW dealer group sponsored a golf day in aid of the sports association of the school my two eldest kids go to. At this event, despite being a very ste golfer, I somehow secured a weekend in 'any' BMW or Mini. I would add (for those of you who know how bad I'm at golf) that I have nothing to do with BMW or the dealer (Elms BMW), and it was pure luck (I really am ste at golf).
My BMW history had been somewhat chequered. I had adored an E36 M3, reviled an absolute P.O.S Z4, had great fun at Bedford in a PalmerSport M3, and greatly enjoyed (for a D) a 330d courtesy car.
I expected an offer of a boggo 3-series or Mini, but no, they were kind enough to offer me any car on their demo fleet - which included lots of Ms, 5, 6 & 7 series, the Xs, etc, etc.
I went with this;
I posted my driving impressions up at the time;
Exterior - very subtle indeed, a quick glance and it could be any other 5 series, but look closer and the details show you it isn't, the wheels and brakes (with blue calipers), exhaust, and lower than normal stance promise serious performance intent. On balance, it works for me, but those of a more 'shouty' persuasion may feel a little short-changed.
Interior - a very nice place to be indeed. Standard 5 series features, enhanced with lots of lovely M-kit. Very high quality, ergonomics spot on, and the head-up display is certainly no gimmick - it actually works very well indeed. I still can't get on with iDrive though, whilst it's far better than previous versions, it's still a right royal pain in the ass. Loads of room too, with a huge boot, etc - a practical family car when needed.
Performance - VERY refined. Almost docile in Comfort mode, happy to poodle about, ride far from harsh. Sport mode tightens things up considerably, with gear-changes, dampers, steering, etc, all made more urgent and sharper. Ride still more than acceptable. Super Sports mode turns it into snarling beast on a leash, and give it some head and it's super-car quick. This mode best suited for track only. I spent all my time in Sport mode as I found it to be the best compromise.
You can actually set up the car however you want with a combination of Sport, Super Sport, Comfort for steering, dampers, gear-change, etc, all configurable via iDrive.
Handling was superlative in whatever mode, no under/over steer in evidence, and pace utterly irresistible. I do however take issue with the steering, which in whatever mode selected, didn't ever give me the front-wheel feedback that I was looking for - very important on greasy roads. That alone would limit ground-covering pace in difficult conditions. On the whole though, this is a hugely capable car, and you would need to be in something quite special to stay with it on A and B roads.
Other random stuff - The piped/synthetic noise was never evident and you really wouldn't know it wasn't all generated 'normally' - unless you change modes and the noise changes ever so subtly with it. Wherever it comes from, the noise is wonderful. Consumption was surprisingly good for the performance on offer.
On the whole, I loved this car, I could happily see myself driving one - it can almost be all things to all men. My only doubts relate to the steering and that bloody iDrive, and then there is of course the price, which is quite high for a 5 series!
Many thanks to the chaps at Elms Stansted BMW for creating automotive memories which will stay with me for a long time.
Well, at least until I scrape together the pennies to repeat the experience - permanently smile.
Our local BMW dealer group sponsored a golf day in aid of the sports association of the school my two eldest kids go to. At this event, despite being a very s
te golfer, I somehow secured a weekend in 'any' BMW or Mini. I would add (for those of you who know how bad I'm at golf) that I have nothing to do with BMW or the dealer (Elms BMW), and it was pure luck (I really am ste at golf).My BMW history had been somewhat chequered. I had adored an E36 M3, reviled an absolute P.O.S Z4, had great fun at Bedford in a PalmerSport M3, and greatly enjoyed (for a D) a 330d courtesy car.
I expected an offer of a boggo 3-series or Mini, but no, they were kind enough to offer me any car on their demo fleet - which included lots of Ms, 5, 6 & 7 series, the Xs, etc, etc.
I went with this;
I posted my driving impressions up at the time;
Exterior - very subtle indeed, a quick glance and it could be any other 5 series, but look closer and the details show you it isn't, the wheels and brakes (with blue calipers), exhaust, and lower than normal stance promise serious performance intent. On balance, it works for me, but those of a more 'shouty' persuasion may feel a little short-changed.
Interior - a very nice place to be indeed. Standard 5 series features, enhanced with lots of lovely M-kit. Very high quality, ergonomics spot on, and the head-up display is certainly no gimmick - it actually works very well indeed. I still can't get on with iDrive though, whilst it's far better than previous versions, it's still a right royal pain in the ass. Loads of room too, with a huge boot, etc - a practical family car when needed.
Performance - VERY refined. Almost docile in Comfort mode, happy to poodle about, ride far from harsh. Sport mode tightens things up considerably, with gear-changes, dampers, steering, etc, all made more urgent and sharper. Ride still more than acceptable. Super Sports mode turns it into snarling beast on a leash, and give it some head and it's super-car quick. This mode best suited for track only. I spent all my time in Sport mode as I found it to be the best compromise.
You can actually set up the car however you want with a combination of Sport, Super Sport, Comfort for steering, dampers, gear-change, etc, all configurable via iDrive.
Handling was superlative in whatever mode, no under/over steer in evidence, and pace utterly irresistible. I do however take issue with the steering, which in whatever mode selected, didn't ever give me the front-wheel feedback that I was looking for - very important on greasy roads. That alone would limit ground-covering pace in difficult conditions. On the whole though, this is a hugely capable car, and you would need to be in something quite special to stay with it on A and B roads.
Other random stuff - The piped/synthetic noise was never evident and you really wouldn't know it wasn't all generated 'normally' - unless you change modes and the noise changes ever so subtly with it. Wherever it comes from, the noise is wonderful. Consumption was surprisingly good for the performance on offer.
On the whole, I loved this car, I could happily see myself driving one - it can almost be all things to all men. My only doubts relate to the steering and that bloody iDrive, and then there is of course the price, which is quite high for a 5 series!
Many thanks to the chaps at Elms Stansted BMW for creating automotive memories which will stay with me for a long time.
Well, at least until I scrape together the pennies to repeat the experience - permanently smile.
SWoll said:
Currently running an Astra 1.7 diesel hire car from Enterprise.
The worst engine of any car I've ever driven. Totally gutless below 2000RPM and out of steam by 3500, ste gearing, incredible roughness and a clutch pedal with absolutely no feel and too much spring weight mean I stall it on a regular basis (something I've not done since being a learner 20 years ago).
The gearbox is notchy and the gate between 4/5 is comical, the steering is heavy but lacks any feel and it's crap to park.
Hateful thing.
I feel your pain. After I pranged my Seicento I had to live with one for a month before I managed to get a replacement. Fortunately since then I've come off a lot better.The worst engine of any car I've ever driven. Totally gutless below 2000RPM and out of steam by 3500, s
te gearing, incredible roughness and a clutch pedal with absolutely no feel and too much spring weight mean I stall it on a regular basis (something I've not done since being a learner 20 years ago). The gearbox is notchy and the gate between 4/5 is comical, the steering is heavy but lacks any feel and it's crap to park.
Hateful thing.
I've been mostly using Days MK to deal with the Alfa, and they've got a motley collection of Fiats and Alfas as free (!) loan cars. I've sampled an '04 Punto which was nothing special except for the fact I didn't and couldn't get used to the window switches being on the centre console. Then there was a Panda 4x4 ('07 I think) which was gutless but an absolute hoot to drive, especially in the wet.
Most recent has also been a Fiat - a '10 Punto Evo which I was absolutely smitten with. It's not the most powerful engine in the world but it really handles a treat. I'm seriously considering trying to blag a test drive of a Punto Abarth now.
HarryFlatters said:
Hyundai i30 in metallic turd that I rented in Marseille. It was better than I expected, but I expected it to be appalling and it turned out to be adequate.
I had one of those on holiday despite asking for a Seat Ibiza.1.6 diesel.
I should have walked to the hotel. Hateful f
king car.
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