I've hired cars at Carcassonne and Monpellier a couple of times recently and offer the following in the hope it might help avoid another sweaty moment ...mikey wrote:Looks like hertz is open - or at least they say they are! So car hired!!phew sweaty moments!
"I see, ... you didn't sprint from the aircraft straight to the 2 car-hire desks that serve all the different firms so you were at the back of the 2 hour queue. You were in a hurry to get away and mindful that you must check the bodywork coz that's the really big gotcha. Then it turned out to be a Renault and you struggled with the fact that there was no key, handbrake or spare wheel. You were distracted by worries about driving on the right. You knew you had to check the Fuel gauge but couldn't figure out how to get the gauges to work ( doesn't everyone know you depress the clutch or footbrake and then switch the engine on by pressing the button on the dashboard ?). The nice lady with the charming features assured you it was fuelled up and ready to go and "E" meant FULL in Spanish, and the car had just come from Barcelona. And now you want Hertz to refund the €80 you spent on fuel 5 minutes after you drove away, when we closed the office until the next day and never took the phone off voicemail ?"
Always check the tank is full before driving away. I got shafted once in CCF and once in MPL, and am beginning to suspect there's a conspiracy at work. But Hertz put it to rights coz I had all my receipts with timestamps etc and the odometer didn't reflect the fuel consumption and I'm a Hertz #1 Club member. But t'would've been much easier all round if I had insisted the tank was empty and made them fill it to start with. So, don't be in a hurry to get away. Take your time and make sure the fuel tank is full and any blemish on the bodywork is recorded in both yours and their copy of the paperwork and initialled by them before you go anywhere.
Make sure you get a receipt for the fuel you purchase. They'll want to see it as proof when you return the vehicle. There's a handy Filling Station near CCF at the Rond-Point de l'Univers roundabout on Boulevard Henry Bouffet (straight through the roundabout at the exit from the car-hire car park at CCF then left at the next roundabout and right at the next one. It's mostly unmanned, so self-service and self-pay with a debit (not credit ) card at the pump but it will give you a receipt if you press the right button.
Bon voyage