Two or three of years ago, a couple who are members of the HCVCA went to USA for a truck show and some sightseeing. They collected their rental Cadillac and spent the first night in a local motel. Next morning , he checked oil and water (something I have never done in a rental car) and found it was seriously low on oil. They took it back to the car hire place, where they were offered another car. Peter said, no, just top up the oil and we will be OK. Nobody at the rental depot knew how to put oil in a motor. He said, give me the oil and I will put it in. They did not have any oil. He made an agreement to go to Walmart and buy a can of oil and bring back the receipt, so they were reimbursed the cost of the oil.
Writing that reminded me that several years ago, my Wife and I rented a cheap old car in Christchurch, New Zealand. That afternoon, we went down the Banks Peninsula which has a few moderate hills (my Wife insists that the only level and straight road in New Zealand is the highway south from Christchurch) and the brakes were squealing a little. I phoned the nearest depot of the rental company and explained that if I kept driving the car for the thousand or so kilometres we planned, they would have to replace the brake discs which would make a $500 dollar repair instead of a less than $100 one. The young manager did not care. He said it was up to me, I could bring it in for a changeover or just keep driving it. I took it to the depot and we had to wait aver two hours for a replacement car to be returned from the previous hirer. I suspect they just hired out our first car to the next customer without replacing the brake pads.
I have my shoulder to the wheel,
my nose to the grindstone,
I've put my best foot forward,
I've put my back into it,
I'm gritting my teeth,
Now I find I can't do any work in this position!
