Friday, February 29, 2008

risky business

As I was picking up a rental car this week to drive while my car is repaired there was some delay in getting the car. I was left to contemplate why the car rental business is not a good business.
  1. A large percentage of a car rental place's business is people who were just recently in an accident. Even if they are not at fault, they have established that they are not perfect at protecting their vehicles. I have to include myself in this number.
  2. People renting cars are not likely to be used to the nuances of the car they are renting. For example, I am renting an Accord. The gas and brake are significantly more sensitive than Golden's Protégé, which I had been driving for the prior two weeks.
  3. People who rent cars are less likely to be careful with them than if they owned them. I have heard a few people say that they drive rentals harder than they drive their own cars. It would make sense that this would be true.
I know that, ultimately, the customer is responsible for insuring the cars they are renting. Even so, it would seem like a risky business leasing out vehicles to people who are more likely than average to not bring them back in one piece.

3 comments:

T said...

I know what you mean, but they also make the people driving them take on that risk by making them have insurance to cover damage, so they probably end up on the better end of the deal. I'm usually more careful with a rental, because of this, but I have heard more people take the approach you mention.

f o r r e s t said...

Why? By renting the cars, I am sure they are more than paid for in a short amount of time.

Portland wawa said...

I take better care of a rental than my own, for T's reason. I think they get enough money out of us to justify a little scratch from the parking lot anyway.