Car Rental problems

August 12, 2023 3:07 AM

I don't really have an issue with car rental companies except the cost of car insurance and extra expenses but thought this link on returning rental cars with an empty tank was amusing.

Had a frustrating spraying job to do yesterday and wanted to do a shout out to people who are good at calibrating. Thought this link was an example of how good some people are at guessing their fuel use.

posted by Narrative_Historian (26 comments total)

Direct link to the reddit thread the article is based on
posted by calebegg at 5:34 AM on August 12, 2023 [2 favorites]

That would be a satisfying achievement.

Once upon a time I was riding a motorcycle with a broken fuel gauge and ran out of gas. I had enough momentum to pull into a conveniently placed gas station and right up to the pump. That was pleasing.
posted by dcormier at 5:52 AM on August 12, 2023 [4 favorites]

Cute story if it's someone else's car. He must have saved a whole dollar or two there.

If it's your own, try never to get down below a quarter of a tank. Regularly running down to the last gallon or two will damage your fuel pump, which is (typically) in your tank and cooled by sitting in the gas, over time.
posted by spitbull at 6:15 AM on August 12, 2023 [5 favorites]

I had a similar run out story with my own car, many moons ago. 1977 Ford Granada. I realised I hadn't checked the fuel level in a while as I was talking to my mate, and I glanced down, shouted "OH shit" and floored the throttle, as I knew there was a fuel station just up the road. I got it to about 70 and it ran out so we coasted and coasted while both of us laughing and making bets on if we would make it.

I had just about enough momentum, but had to cross the other traffic to get into the petrol station and someone was coming the other way - too close to make it so I had to brake and stop. Dammit. We pushed it across the lane when it was clear and it was downhill to the pump. We would have been bang on with about 3 mph to spare if the other car hadn't come at that time.

Rental car related - similar as the OP, but not deliberate. I was late for a flight and the range on the dash was about 8 miles short of the GPS to the airport but I didn't have *time* to stop for fuel, so we just kept going. I did my best efforts at maintaining momentum and minimal accel to try and save fuel, but it was still flashing '0' on the dash range for the last 6 miles into the rental car centre. I know they always pad those predictions but even so I was a bit nervous. I wouldn't be surprised if it ran out when they tried to move it from the return line.
posted by Brockles at 6:34 AM on August 12, 2023 [2 favorites]

I can't say I've ever run a rental car dry, but the couple of times I did pay for the empty return option, there was less than a gallon in the tank.

I did have the coast into a gas station experience once when I was visiting my sister when she was fresh out of college and had just moved to Columbus, though. The car quit on the Interstate and we had the food fortune of a downhill exit ramp so there was just enough momentum to make it into the gas station. I think we did have to push the car a few feet to the pump, though.

I had the good fortune to be in high school in the part of the 90s when gas was below a buck a gallon where I lived, so there wasn't so much running out of gas among my friends with cars. In my own cars I always had a very good idea of the kind of mileage I was getting and exactly how long I had once the low fuel light came on thanks to an obsession with using the trip odometer and logging exactly how much it took to fill the tank, so even when I cut it close I never ran out of gas.
posted by wierdo at 7:08 AM on August 12, 2023 [2 favorites]

Driving my Citroen ZX home late one night after a gig when I was younger, and realised I'd left it a bit close on the M3 motorway on the way home with a friend. Car starts sputtering on the northbound section just after junction 5. Move over to the hard shoulder, and get the last burst of speed out of the car before the engine dies.

Put the car in neutral and we're coasting up the hill, slowing more and more in silence, with just the hazard light clicking and whispered hopes instead of the engine. Slower, slower, slower, until we just crest the hill, and pass the 'Fleet Services - 1/2 mile' sign.

Pick up speed again as we come down, and steer off on the slip road and into the service area. Trying to ride the absolute edge of safe speed as I'm coasting through past the restaurant and shopping area, through the twists and uphill to the petrol station, just before you rejoin the motorway.

Gradually the last of the momentum is falling away, and the car rolls to a final halt right on the first set of pumps.

Which were turned off for the night.

Attendant nicely turned them on when I explained why I couldn't move forward onto the others though. 😁
posted by MattWPBS at 10:36 AM on August 12, 2023 [11 favorites]

That said, rental car places are having issues with renting EVs. I've rented an EV twice, once in Washington, once in Massachusetts, and the difference in policy was night and day. WA, they took the sensible position of "just return it with 10% charge or better", whereas MA wanted 70-80% charge, which is "you...do know how Li+ batteries work, right?"
posted by NoxAeternum at 10:57 AM on August 12, 2023 [2 favorites]

Once upon a time I was riding a motorcycle with a broken fuel gauge and ran out of gas. I had enough momentum to pull into a conveniently placed gas station and right up to the pump. That was pleasing.

I did something quite similar. We were on a ride on a very cold day and the wind kicked up. My bike didn’t get great mileage at highway speeds anyway but the headwinds started really draining the small gas tank. I knew I was pushing it and fortunately the approach into Benson, AZ is downhill. I ran out of gas about a mile short of the gas station, and I coasted in, running a stop sign and barely having enough momentum to reach the gas pump.
posted by azpenguin at 12:44 PM on August 12, 2023 [1 favorite]

Returning empty would be marvelous. Here it is universal that rental cars and trucks are returned full, as in filled up within a couple of k of the depot. Cars aren't too bad but it's great fun trying to work out which local petrol station will fit a 4m high truck.

If you don't return full the fuel to do so is charged at an insanely punitive rate. Easily enough to be worth $100 on a big tank. More for a truck actually.
posted by deadwax at 2:55 PM on August 12, 2023 [1 favorite]

That's the policy for most American rental agencies as well. But they'll sell you an option to return empty by "prepaying" for a full tank at a less punitive market-adjacent rate than the "you didn't fill it up" rate, which will be much higher than market rate.

It's a form of arbitrage. The rental agencies make a small profit on the gas at a per gallon price just like a gas station, but they bet on most people being uncomfortable driving in a strange place in a strange vehicle and running their gas down close to empty. Or just on renters not calculating the exact amount of gas they need (which they may not know) if they fill up between pickup and return. That means some significant number of cars for which the renters paid for a full tank of gas in advance are coming back 1/4 or 1/3 full, which is gas the rental agency then doesn't have to pay for even though they charged for it.

It's marketed as a convenience, so you don't have that rushed last minute fill up near the airport (usually at inflated local prices). But of course it's also an exercise in profit maximization.
posted by spitbull at 4:02 PM on August 12, 2023 [2 favorites]

I think it may also be a bit of price speculation. I agree I've more often seen the rental agency's gas prices somewhat higher than nearby stations, but the last couple times I've done it they've been at par or a bit lower, and I wonder if they're betting in those cases of local prices dropping further than theirs in a few days. But I guess that explanation only makes sense if the average rental time is multiple days, and I have no idea if that's the case.
posted by solotoro at 4:55 PM on August 12, 2023 [1 favorite]

How far was this guy driving after the refuel light came on? Our CRV has at least an 8 litre reserve after the reproachful pump is illuminated, enough to go another 100km; the Prius has 6 left when it tells you its range is zero. I imagine any modern car would have a significant reserve built into its warning system.
posted by Flashman at 5:54 PM on August 12, 2023

At least in the US the prepay rate is always at or slightly above market rate from what I’ve seen. So unless you’re returning it on fumes or looking for a tight timeline on the return it’s not a good value.
posted by jmauro at 7:38 PM on August 12, 2023

My wife works for an international rental company. Their system pulls the average cost of gas stations in the area (although said area can vary based on the airport's location) and then discounts that by a percentage based on market conditions. That determines how much you are charged if you prepay for the gas. It can vary wildly, because most gas stations near airports charge higher amounts than elsewhere in the area, and typically increase their prices for major holidays or events, so you could theoretically pay more for renting on Christmas Eve than if you filled up on Boxing Day.
posted by gwydapllew at 8:44 PM on August 12, 2023 [2 favorites]

As an aside my Australian friend who had been working in Los Angeles had a dud car that was only worth a few hundred dollars, decided that it wasn't worth the time selling it so abandoned it at the Los Angeles airport for his return home back to Australia and saved himself the effort of getting a taxi to the airport.
posted by Narrative_Historian at 9:24 PM on August 12, 2023

MA wanted 70-80% charge, which is "you...do know how Li+ batteries work, right?"

...I guess I don't know how Li+ batteries work?
posted by straight at 9:28 PM on August 12, 2023

...I guess I don't know how Li+ batteries work?

Basically, 80% should be treated as a "full tank", because getting to 100% is both difficult as charging slows down immensely and not healthy for the long term lifespan of the battery. Telling users to bring in the car at 80% is doing damage to the battery.
posted by NoxAeternum at 9:56 PM on August 12, 2023 [1 favorite]

My F-150 has a 25 gallon tank. I wanted the 36 gallon tank option, but for reasons was unable to get that option in a timely manner. I also track my mpg per tank and since inception. I know how many miles I should get out of a tank of gas.

Apparently, Ford (and all/other?) sends the warnings about getting to empty and you are empty when the tank is drained of 23 gallons not 25
Because I was traveling rurally in unfamiliar area, I have driven 44 miles AFTER the you are empty warning. When I finally reached a gas station, the attendant asked how many gallons I thought it would take bc he had to input a dollar amount for the authorization. I told him 25 gallons. He said something like no way. Sure enough, I actually took 26.1. To this day, I am suspicious of their pumps bc even with the pipe to the tank, that is not an extra gallon.

I only took the return the rental empty once. Returned it with a quarter tank. To me, it was about the convenience. I essentially paid an extra $15 - $20. Worth it to me to not have to worry about finding the station near the airport and spending the 10 minutes to fill up.
posted by JohnnyGunn at 10:10 PM on August 12, 2023 [1 favorite]

I went on a trip recently and decided what the heck, let's try the prepaid full tank option. I was hoping it would take out the little bit of "ugh expensive gas near the airport, fine, whatever" and generally make the trip easier. Much to my chagrin it did the exact opposite! I ended up trying to get the tank as close to empty as possible while also not running out of fuel on the freeway in the middle of nowhere and it was just a lot of mental effort to play this economic game in my head for a week. I was definitely nervous at one point that I wasn't going to make it to the next gas station (it worked out fine).

I've learned that I'd much rather not prepay and instead fill up at a slightly inflated rate at the airport! It's straightforward, probably costs about the same since I'm not going to end up with an empty tank, and doesn't hang over my head like a little doom cloud on an otherwise nice trip.
posted by Brassica oleracea at 2:29 AM on August 13, 2023

Once upon a time I used to drive pizzas and I ran out of gas trying to stretch it to the station, partially by procrastination and partly being a thrill seeker. I ran out at the top of an overpass a block or two away from a station and just barely coasted into the station with a heavy "WHEW." I was on the clock, and banal as it is, it's one of my proudest driving achievements!
posted by rhizome at 2:33 AM on August 13, 2023 [3 favorites]

I've run out of gas tons of times. I'm lazy and i also live in a place where gas is much cheaper if I leave the island I live on so I end up in trouble. Not being in the US, though, part of my very reasonably priced insurance gives me six roadside assistance calls a year so I don't worry about it that much.

One bad time, though, I was riding dirt bikes up in northern Cambodia (up near the Thai border and Prasat Preah Vihear, I want to say, but it was a long time ago), and my brother ran out of gas. Dirt bikes should have a reserve tank that you access by turning a switch on the bike, but my brother found out that the rental bike already had the switch flipped. We were in the middle of frigging nowhere and it took me like thirty mins to the nearest station. Ugh.
posted by Literaryhero at 5:38 AM on August 13, 2023

Am I misremembering or did it used to be that when you rented a car (in the States) that you started with a full tank and we're expected to return it with a full tank?

Then at some point it became all about this silly game of "here, we've given you an unfamiliar car with 3/4 tank of gas - please return it at 3/4 or we'll charge you seventy bazillion dollars per gallon". So a nice little combination of "we're not paying employees the labor of refilling the cars unless needed" and "this dummy just gave us free fuel because he didn't want to be under the X mark for return"

It's made me resort to googling different vehicles gas tank capacities to try and avoid overspending and that just annoys me to no end.
posted by drewbage1847 at 11:38 AM on August 13, 2023 [1 favorite]

You have both options at major agencies' airport counters now. As ever, they have gamified their rent-seeking. Arbitrage, man.

The reason carmakers turn on the empty light when you still have a couple gallons of fuel left is what I explained above: your fuel pump (for most vehicles) is in the tank and needs to be immersed in fuel to cool itself or it will burn out. But even that last little bit isn't really enough and you should really always try to fill up before the light comes on to prolong the life of your fuel pump, irrespective of gas prices. It's an expensive repair to replace it in many cases because it involves dropping the fuel tank. Holding out for cheaper gas ain't worth that bullshit. But the automakers know that if they made the light come on when you were on fumes, lots of people would run out of gas a lot more often. Human psychology. (They use the reverse psychology on you by making fuel gauges slow to come off "full" too, you may notice they are never ever linear! In my Mazda I can roll nearly 100 miles -- burning 2.5-3 gallons from a 14 gallon tank -- before my gauge goes from full to 7/8, and then it goes down in a much more linear way, true of every car I've ever driven.)

One's level of risk tolerance for living on the edge is quickly revealed by one's approach to fueling your car. I've been driving for exactly 40 years this year, and I have never once in my life gotten even close to running out of gas. The thought appalls me!
posted by spitbull at 3:23 PM on August 13, 2023 [1 favorite]

I always do the pre paid option for fuel, because I am often on a time crunch to get to the airport so the $10-$15 it will at the most cost me is well worth it for the absolutely zero thought I need to give it. Rental cars are expensive. They are convenient so I just add the extra cost onto the convenient mental balance sheet and call it part of the deal of renting. Much less stress.
posted by Brockles at 3:55 PM on August 13, 2023 [1 favorite]

Also for those renting cars on an expense account, it's one less receipt to file!
posted by spitbull at 3:08 AM on August 14, 2023 [1 favorite]

Your company is big enough, the car rental experience is completely different. Their capped rate includes all kinds of good shit, like LDW, liability coverage in states that don't require rental agencies to give it to you, no sweat over the gas in the tank, etc.

One of my SO's workmates crashed three rentals in three months, not a problem. Their response wasn't "we'll do an investigation and maybe reinstate your rental privileges", it was "where do you want us to drop off another car." "Please sir, can we have another?"
posted by wierdo at 3:19 AM on August 15, 2023