Friday, July 22, 2016

My little rental car

I rented a tiny Kia Rio Toyota Yaris* in Montréal for my drip down into New York. It was a great car, once I figured out how to open the gas cap and the rear hatch (I had to get the car manual out of the glove compartment for that). My only complaint was that it had Ontario plates instead of Québec plates. Oh well. *Ummm... it was to be a Kia Rio or similar. It was similar. I forgot about that.

My little Kia Rio Toyota Yaris on the streets of Albany.

The rental agent told me that it was a city car, and if I planned to go long distances I should upgrade to something larger. I just nodded and took the little car anyway. It did fine on the four-hour drive and back. It's not like I was going across country or anything. The people at Enterprise were friendly and helpful and this was the second or third very good experience I've had with them.

11 comments:

  1. Hi Walt, I'm not a car expert and therefore may be wrong - but to me this looks like a Toyato Yaris, judging by the logo and the radiator grid ... and not a Kia. Maybe they are commercialized in the USA under the same or different brand-name ... or you were 'bamboozled' :) Whatever, it's a dandy little car.

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  2. Walt,

    Did you have to tell them that you were going to cross the border? and were you asked at the border crossing if you own the car?

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  3. Such a nice car- it has the look of a Yaris to me as well.

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  4. We have both the Kia Rio and the Toyota Yaris in the States -- that sure looks like a Toyota symbol on the front of the car, Walt :) Kia has an emblem the same size, that says, "KIA" :)
    I'm curious, too, about whether it was an issue that you were crossing the border? How was that handled?

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  5. Oh, duh, you just changed the wording in the blog LOL.

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  6. Sorry everyone! It was a Yaris. Duh.

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  7. I think I led Walt astray. I saw a Kio Rio on the road day before yesterday, as we were driving back from Blois, and I said: "There's the kind of car you rented in Montreal, n'est-ce pas?" I planted the idea.

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  8. Being a former New Yorker, I really hate when we arrive at Kennedy Airport and rent a car only to get one with New Jersey or Massachusetts plates. Other New Yorkers will understand.

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  9. I've used Enterprise for rentals for years ever since they were just a little local outfit in South Florida. And I've always had good experiences with them -- lots of energetic, enthusiastic people anxious to help the customers. It's nice.
    I, too, am wondering how the border crossings were handled in a rental.

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  10. that looks a splendid car.

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  11. martine, you are right! It's a Yaris.

    t.b., they didn't ask and I didn't tell them. And no inquiries at the border, either.

    evelyn, yup. I spaced!

    judy, I don't know how I missed it! When I got to the border, there were no cars in line. I just drove up to the booth. The agent asked me three questions: Where do you live, where are you coming from, and where are you going to. Then he said, "Have a nice day," and I was off.

    mitch, I know, right?

    emm, they're really nice and helpful. We had an awful experience with Thrifty in 2012. Never again.

    michael, it's a little car in Canada and the US, but it's a pretty normal sized car for France!

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