After scathing Enterprise Rent-A-Car in this popular review from Wednesday, August 20, 2014, I could not believe that I was even considering renting a car from Enterprise for the first time in almost ten years — but other rental car companies in Sydney either charged a significantly higher rate or were sold out; so I begrudgingly bit the bullet and rented a car from this company.
Renting a Car From Enterprise For the First Time in Ten Years.
I rented the car for one day between arriving in Sydney from the United States and departing from Sydney to Uluru-Ayers Rock the next morning. The car was primarily used to go between the airport and the Blue Mountains region west of Sydney — as well as within the Blue Mountains region itself.
I had no idea that MG was still in business when I was given an MG MG3 to rent. The only cars which I have seen in the United States that were manufactured by MG were the classic MGB Roadsters. I also never knew that MG manufactured cars.
The initials MG were for Morris Garages Limited, which was founded by William Morris in Oxford in England in 1924.
The MG MG3 is the most popular car currently on sale in the United Kingdom that is manufactured by a Chinese company called Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation, which is more popularly known as SAIC Motor Corporation, Limited.
The cargo area of the MG MG3 had ample space under the hatch in the rear of the vehicle, which had plenty of room for luggage and other belongings. A removable lid was useful in helping to hide the contents of the cargo area.
As a member of the Emerald Club of National Car Rental for a long time, I appreciated that the rentals with Enterprise counted towards free rental car days with National Car Rental and that I received credit for them, which was not initially possible when Enterprise purchased Vanguard — which was the parent company of both National Car Rental and Alamo Rent A Car — back in 2007.
A scrape appeared on the left side of the front bumper of the car since I picked it up. Enterprise Rent-A-Car charged me the equivalent of $970.08 in United States dollars for the damage, which I thought was somewhat high. The total claim against me by Enterprise was $1,482.63 in Australian dollars, which included:
- Repairs as per Assessment: $836.00
- Assessment Fee: $71.50
- Loss of Use: Six days at $81.24 per day for a total of $487.20
- Administration Fee: $75.00
- Credit Card Fee: 0.88 percent for a total of $12.93
Being charged for loss of use for six days for a scrape on the bumper seemed rather ridiculous to me — and both the assessment fee and administration fee were absurd as well. I also thought that the language of the communications from Enterprise with regard to the claim was somewhat terse.
Fortunately for me, the credit card which I used to pay for the vehicle completely covered the claim, which was paid in full after a slight amount of effort and time on my part.
All of the vehicles that I rented during the last time I was in Australia and New Zealand were equipped with manual transmissions. During this latest trip, the vehicles that I rented in Australia and New Zealand were all equipped with automatic transmissions. Not having to shift gears with my left hand while driving was nice.
Although I did not use it, the rear seat seemed to have ample leg room — and the seats themselves were reasonably comfortable. The interior of the car was fairly clean.
As far as equipment, the car had everything I either wanted or needed during the rental — and it all worked well.
Final Boarding Call
If not for the scrape over the scrape on the bumper by Enterprise Rent-A-Car, this rental would have been close to flawless. The car performed well and seemed to be fairly new — although I do not know what year it was manufactured. The total cost of the rental was $68.20 in Australian dollars, which wound up costing me $45.88 in United States dollars.
Even after this experience, I still somehow have a slight bad taste in my mouth pertaining to renting a vehicle from Enterprise — and yet, I did rent from this company again in Cairns several days later with no issues at all.
Perhaps I should just let bygones be bygones…
All photographs ©2024 by Brian Cohen.
