Ever wondered if the car you rent actually comes with a full tank of fuel? I had the question answered for me recently when Europecar delivered a tatty Hyundai to me at Umhlanga BMW when a family vehicle was in for repairs. As soon as I drove off, I realised something was wrong. The airbag warning light remained lit, so I called Europecar immediately and waited at the first shopping centre until they made an exchange - this time a Toyota Etios. Returning the vehicle was another saga - because Europecar seemingly couldn't update their records after the insurance company extended the rental. On a number of occasions they called me to hold me liable for the extra days, never bothering to use some initiative to check the records. They required a R750 deposit and wanted over R100 for refuelling the Hyundai - which had only covered about 15 kms in total and was clearly not suitable for my use in the first place. When I queried this, they dropped the charge, but still deducted over R628 from my deposit. The Toyota only has a 45l tank (maximum R577) and I returned the car with half a tank of fuel - so where did the extra petrol go when they they don't (officially) charge for refills?
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