In March, I went to Spain to watch Wu Lei vs. Messi. On a whim, I tried out a car rental service. I used one of the same American companies, but the customer experience, vehicle condition, and after-sales service were worlds apart from what I had in the US. I even received a large, unnamed fee after returning to the US, which the US customer service couldn't resolve, and my emails to Spain went unanswered.

The saying "the sky is high and the emperor is far away" aptly describes the car rental experience in Spain (Europe). Although almost no car rental company has a good reputation in the United States, they are generally considered to be legitimate and unlikely to cause any problems.

This was a very interesting experience.

Random pricing, irresponsible customer service.

I placed the order before departure, thinking that since it was a trial trip, I should get a better car. The estimated price was 200 euros for a BMW at 1 pm. However, when I arrived at the counter, they told me there were no cars available and blamed me, saying that I hadn't included my flight number, so they didn't know when the car would be delivered. But I had already filled in that I wanted to pick up the car at 1 pm. Do Europeans think that a specific time is less accurate than a flight number? Besides, I arrived at the counter after 1 pm, so this reason is completely untenable.

On a side note, the people at the counter were very glib and smooth-talking, just like those greasy guys at car dealerships.

As for how to handle it, they asked us to upgrade or replace the car. I said I knew Hertz's policy; if they didn't have the car I ordered, they should upgrade or replace it for free. He pretended not to understand and said no. Helpless, I said okay, because I knew I could report it directly and get the money back.

Then... here's the important part... He upgraded me to a Honda... Upgrading me from a BMW to a Honda left me completely bewildered. His reasoning was: Japanese cars are of course more advanced than European cars, and this is an imported car. Oh!! That makes sense! He didn't have any other cars, so I had no choice but to swallow my pride (thankfully, this is a North American company, which makes me feel safe and confident enough to report you).

After getting the keys, it took a long time to find the car, and to make matters worse, the car had a problem: the bumper was broken, and because it had a collision avoidance sensor inside, it kept beeping as soon as I started driving (warning that the car in front was too close). However, we had already been there for an hour (unfortunately, the efficiency of the Spanish), and because we had other things to do later, we left quickly (later we regretted it, as the alarm couldn't be turned off and went off for two days straight).

I thought the nightmare was over, but then! We couldn't get out of the parking lot because we didn't have a parking sign, WTF... How could the rental company overlook this? We had no choice but to go back and get one, only to be told we didn't need one and could just contact customer service when we left... Unbelievable! Couldn't they have told us beforehand? This is unbelievable.

Hidden fees are numerous and lack details.

After completing my trip to Spain, I returned the car as instructed and called Hertz to get back the unreasonable fees.

I thought it was all over, but two months later I received a letter saying there was a 200 euro debt (the rental fee was only a little over 200 euros), which turned out to be caused by this car rental. The letter didn't mention any reason, just the cost of vehicle inspection and repair.

So I called Hertz again, and their customer service replied that they couldn't handle it and told me to email them, as I had the right to request details. I sent them an email, but received no reply.

Two weeks later I received the same email again, and I wrote another email, but still no reply.

Hertz, what do you want me to do?

postscript

Overall, this trip to Spain wasn't a very good experience. Europe's current problem is stagnant development, and its people are often laid-back and arrogant. It can't compete with East Asia in terms of development, and it can't compare to the United States in terms of quality of life. "Deception" usually only occurs when there's a lack of confidence in one's own services or a sluggish market, which is a reflection of the current situation.

The car rental industry is thriving in the US, but it doesn't seem to be a highly valued sector in Spain. This might be because the US is a country with a vast road network, since you can't go anywhere without a car. However, it's surprising that US car rental companies don't offer a globally consistent customer service experience. Perhaps the industry's profit margins aren't high enough to create a consistently high-end experience.

I probably won't choose to rent a car next time, since it's a typical American habit, and taking a taxi is actually more convenient and hassle-free.