My family and I are on a two week vacation in the Southeast. We flew into Orlando Airport (MCO) and picked up a Dodge Caravan from Dollar Rent a Car. The vans were parked in the lower level of a parking garage, so it was rather dark, and I really didn’t have a chance to view the condition of the vehicle.
We drove the vehicle that evening until 8:30 pm. Then stayed in a hotel in Altamont Springs. Got up the next morning and drove 10+ hours to Boone, North Carolina. It was here in Boone, that I really got a chance to look at the vehicle.
The tires are worn badly. Especially on the driver’s side. Here are pictures of the tires:
The contract states that the vehicle is is “good condition” . But I don’t think that the tires are in “good condition”.
So here is an opportunity for customer service. Let’s see how Dollar Rent a Car is doing so far.
Yesterday and today, I contacted customer service, explained the situation, and asked what could be done. I emphasized the fact that we like the car, and I made a point to say that supplying a vehicle with badly worn tires must have been an oversight on their part. I explained that we were in Boone, North Carolina, and headed to South Carolina in a couple of days.
Dollar Rent a Car’s response has been to tell me to take the car to a Dollar Rent a Car facility, and exchange the car there.
The problem is that there is no facility here in Boone. The nearest is in Greensboro Airport, North Carolina, which is about two hours away. And there are no Dollar Rent a Car facilities in South Carolina. And we can exchange the car in Florida, but we won’t be there until a week in our trip.
So we are inconvienced by the fact that we are renting a vehicle NOT in “good condition” with tires that are in my opinion unsafe to drive on. And the best that Dollar can do is to have me take time out of my vacation and drive out of my way to exchange the vehicle. They will probably just turn the vehicle around and rent it to another unluckly soul…
Because I wanted to document this (especially if anything, God forbid, should happen on wet roads) I went to their website, and found a Contact Us page, with a form to fill out. I filled it out and submitted it. After submitting I am told that it will take 3 to 7 days for them to respond.
Shame on Dollar Rent a Car! This is the 21st Century! Is that the best you can do?
All I want is to go to a local, nearby tire repair facility authorized by Dollar Rent a Car, and have tires in “good condition” installed on the car.
We’ll see what their response is to resolve this. But based on the real lack of understanding the issue (safety of their customers) I don’t doubt that the response will be canned and in the interest of the company and not the customer.
Customer Service and Dollar Rent a Car? Not that I have seen yet.
We had a similar situation 2 weeks ago. Wondering how your situation was resolved. We had Dollar send us to a ‘mechanic’ in orlando who blew bald tire up after low tire pressure light came on. Tire seemed to be under too much pressure for my liking so I let some air out at my earliest convenience. Next day took car to Disney car care centre and found bald tire at 45 psi after I had let air out. Other front tire was 50psi after I had let air out. My own mechanic said 34 psi should be the max on a ford focus. Since I returned home to canada I have been trying to get some kind of response from dollar-they took complaint and said it would be investigated internally-but I can never know outcome. As I said earlier, I wondered if you ever got a response?–Margaret in Canada
No Margaret, I never did here from Dollar Rent a Car. Very poor customer service. I took the time to fill out an on-line form, and no one ever contacted me.
Never again will I rent from Dollar Rent a Car – they obviously have an uncaring and unfeeling corporate culture that is only looking for the next visitor and the next credit card.
Next time I rent a car with my family, I will spend more money with a better car company and get a more well cared for car.
Verdict Dollar Rent a Car? Thumbs Down!
Mike