"Jason Spears" (shadestalker)
08/21/2018 at 14:30 • Filed to: Rental Cars, ran when parked
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"Jason Spears" (shadestalker)
08/21/2018 at 14:30 • Filed to: Rental Cars, ran when parked | 2
| 8 |
Having some work done on the car, I decided to wing it for transportation after the drop off. It turns out there’s a small used car lot next to the shop that rents, so I went over and checked them out. Got this sweet Scion TC and didn’t have to take an Uber over to Enterprise for some boring corporate contraption.
This sweet baby has
automatic transmission
lightly crashed front with some gentle scuffing on the fenders
a rattle at low rpm that almost tracks with engine rpm
mismatched tires
illuminated TPS light
chrome-looking aftermarket wiper blades
enough moonroof to grow crops under
I am not bored. Today is a good day.
UPDATE : Sad news, lots of status lights and loss of power this morning during my morning commute. Looks like maybe a dead battery, and possibly the noise was the alternator trying to tell the w orld it was done being kicked around. The guy came and picked me up, and now I’m driving a Kia Rio. It seems very serviceable, and it’s boring. It’s auto does have a select-a-gear mode though, which was fun for a minute - then I discovered how very loud and droney the engine is when you ask it to do more than creep along in rush hour. Oh well, maybe I’ll get my car back today.
Eric @ opposite-lock.com
> Jason Spears
08/21/2018 at 14:47 |
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I want this rental place. Sometimes you just need/want to drive a total beater that nobody will notice.
Mercedes Streeter
> Eric @ opposite-lock.com
08/21/2018 at 15:12 |
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We have one of those near where I live. For the longest time (up until 2013, at least) their rental cars were the most beaty of the beaters. The rental fleet was wholly comprised of first gen Dodge Neons, Chrysler Cirrus, and other Chrysler dinosaurs with varying levels of rust. And it isn’t like they were cheap , they just had an edge over Enterprise because they didn’t have credit card, deposit, or credit check requirements.
Zaxbys
> Jason Spears
08/21/2018 at 15:24 |
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Are those the dual blade wiper blades like I had back in high school?
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Eric @ opposite-lock.com
> Mercedes Streeter
08/21/2018 at 15:48 |
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I’ve never encountered one of these places. When my dad visited my uncle in Tacoma, my uncle (who lacked a car for reasons I don’t understand, but knowing this uncle it’s also not surprising) rented a third gen Mitsubishi Eclipse from some kind of place like this. It was in really rough shape with a severely cracked windshield and my dad was blown away that it was legal to drive it, let alone rent it to someone.
But I think this place was cheap, so it wasn’t simply that it didn’t require credit or a deposit, which I can see being a draw for a reasonable fraction of renters.
EDIT: I did live near a place that rented rougher used cars recently, but it was also the only place outside Uhaul that you could rent any motorized conveyance. It was one of the auto repair shops on the island. Sadly, their cars were all pretty nice, because even a hooptie there is like a 10-year-old Volvo or Mercedes.
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Eric @ opposite-lock.com
> Mercedes Streeter
08/21/2018 at 16:24 |
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Just did a little hunting and, surprisingly, I can’t find anything online. The closest I have found is Rent-A-Wreck, which is actually distinctly more expensive than the mainstream rental car companies around here, but appears more willing to work with people that don’t have major credit cards ...
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Mercedes Streeter
> Eric @ opposite-lock.com
08/21/2018 at 16:34 |
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Usually the car rental outfits that Jason and I describe are attached to some other (presumably more profitable) business. In my case, the car rental was a part of a much larger “we rent everything” store where you could walk in and drive out in a first gen Neon towing some sort of construction thing. lol
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Jason Spears
> Zaxbys
08/22/2018 at 10:53 |
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Yes, yes they are.
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Zaxbys
> Jason Spears
08/22/2018 at 11:19 |
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That’s r ad dude