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Rental Car Companies Watching By Satellite, Again
tlcruiser writes: "The Arizona Daily Star reports that Budget Rent-A-Car companies in Arizona have used satellite tracking systems to track customers' use without notifying customers. They have used the tracking system to issue fines to their customers. Several customers are suing Budget for the invasion of privacy." When ACME Rent-a-Car did this in Connecticut, it was found improper by that state's Department of Consumer Protection. This time, the monitoring is not only of speed, but also of whether renters are staying within contractually allowed driving territories.
Wanna get even? Whenever you rent a car and they 'make' you get insurance, make it worthwhile. Run that mofo into a tree or kick the hell out of the car before you take it back. At least be certain your insurance money went to good use and not just their pockets. Whatever you do, don't hit another car, cuz then it gets messy.
So...would that stop you from speeding?:)
0x or or snor perron?!
That being said, if you sign a contract, and agree to limit your use to specific terms and conditions, expect it to be enforced.
:D. "Yes Ma'am, you appear to have broken a few laws by exceeding the speed limit by five hundred and... oh. Hang on a sec..."
I would still be *SO* tempted to rent a car, pull the satellite tracking 'bits' out, UPS them around the country for a few days, and pop them back in.
Then deal with the 'fine' for doing air transport plane speeds across 8 states
a grrl & her server
I own two cars that are in mint condition, that I meticulously maintain like the former mechanic that I am -- and I drive them like an old lady. But treating a car like that all the time leads to a buildup of certain frustations, that I've only found a release for when I fly somewhere and then rent a car.
The last time I rented a car, I killed it, and loved every second of it. The white sedan, when they gave me the keys, had 7 miles on it. I was the first person to ever use it. It was some kind of Chevrolet 6 cylinder FWD auto sedan thing, in other words a complete POS.
Well, first I had to see just what it took to get some serious wheelspin out it, & I'm talking the fill the air with blue smoke kind of spin. I found that holding the accelerator to the floor for a few seconds in neutral and then dropping it into gear did the trick. Then I had to see how fast it could go (in each gear individually) for long periods of time, how well it could stop from maximum speed (over and over again), how well it did off road. It actually was pretty good off road except that after a while from somewhere underneath it kept making these horrible "clump-snap noises"
By the time I brought it back, it had a little over 200 miles on the clock. The engine was missing out of at least one cylinder, had a VERY bad knock and smoked some out of the tail pipe. For the last 40 miles or so it had been stuck in second gear and I have no idea why. It didn't really take the bumps as well as when I started either.
I just love renting cars.
What if those measures include attaching alligator clips to your nutsack that become electrified if you go over 55mph?
Budget was amazed when business actually went up, but wondered why so many customers requested shiny black leather seats.