Chevy Impala

I reviewed the Chevy Impala back on Nov. 11, 2008. This week's review is more about Hertz than the vehicle.

I actually started the week with a Mazda 3. As many of you know, I've owned a couple of Mazdas and really like the brand. The Mazda 3 I picked up from Hertz on Monday was filthy. I had to brush crumbs off the driver's seat. Both the driver and passenger seats were stained. The carpeting was stained. The doors had black marks. I was very close to going to the rental counter and asking for a different vehicle but decided to grin and bear it.

When I left the office later Monday to head to the hotel, I noticed that the front tires were virtually bald. There was no tread and I'm not kidding. At this point I was concerned because there was rain in the forecast.

Tuesday was my bad credit card day. In the process of trying to get my credit card situation figured out, I left the key in the Mazda and six hours later discovered I had left the radio on. There was not enough battery to start the car.

I called Hertz road service. A car starting service was sent and the car was jumped. The Hertz road service attendant had suggested I exchange the car. Since I wasn't very far from the airport, I thought this would be a good idea. The battery didn't seem to be charging much on the way to the airport and the bald tires were still a concern.

I got a Chevy Impala as the replacement. The one I reviewed in November was a SS model. This one was more of a plain standard one. The interior felt old-school. A bench seat instead of front buckets would have felt more in place. The Impala has a tire pressure display. The pressure for all four tires was at 29 psi. I'm pretty sure that is too low for a car of this size.

This vehicle was also not all that clean and the thing that drives me crazy, the key had no fob. So no remote lock and unlock. It may sound petty but I consider the remote lock/unlock a security feature. When traveling from home, I like the security of locking and unlocking remotely which usually includes turning the lights on and off. I don't think there is any excuse to not have the key fob.

I was frustrated enough with Hertz to fire off an email.