Rental cars aren’t babied…we know this. I’m guilty of this…reverse donuts in a Dodge Stratus, e-brake skids in the snow in a Corolla, and don’t ask what happened to the Ford van that got rented in California about ten years ago. Let’s just say that someone way above my pay grade got to deal with the very, very angry Enterprise agent once the van came in on a rollback…with it’s front suspension arriving on the second truck. From the horror stories of the Shelby GT-H of years past to the guy who pays for the walk-away insurance and proceeds to test out every last fail-safe a modern car comes with, rental cars have a reputation for being some of the most thrashed-on rides out there.
Now, I might be guilty of having a little fun with a rental, but I’m a saint who drives like a top-rated limo driver compared to whoever last rented this Dodge Charger. It’s a V6 model, so you can count out any Hemi-induced hijinks, but judging from how mangled the front end is on this particular car, I’m willing to bet there was a co-pilot who was screaming out the first few notes of “Dixie” as this car took flight…before auguring down onto one very solid rock with the crossmember.
Was this in Florida? Was Lohnes involved? 🙂
If the wheels are still on it , You can still finish the feature.
I’ve seen simular damage to cars that have straddled traffic islands / medians that don’t have a ramp like approach .
Did a insurance repair on a new Impala that hit a refurbished train wheel laying in the interstate in the night. Incredible damage,lucky no one got hurt.
Then the rental company brings the cars to auction. Used car dealers buy them, and in turn sell them to poor unsuspecting us. Usually accompanied by a story of how it was owned by a little old lady, who only drove to church and bingo.
We eat the story up like chocolate cake, and a few months later we’re buying a motor or tranny and wondering what went wrong.
A “Friend” was driving a new Police Charger with a Hemi at speed through a new sub division…while looking for a bad guy…said friends car came to an abrupt stop in the middle of the road…I…I mean he thought he had hit another vehicle…instead the frame caught a raised man hole inspection cover and the resulting carnage was virtually identical. Poor Charger…it was a nice car.
I worked for a rental company in the early 90s . I remember a Grand Prix came back and was overheating. Maybe had 2000 miles on it. When I looked underneath it looked like it ate a boulder. Guy that checked it back in got in deep shit!
Human nature?
Beating on rental equipment ( other people’s property) isn’t cool.
Intentional damage or abuse isn’t the way to go.