The van I rented had a large amount of cosmetic exterior damage. This is a minor strike against it. Then the fuel was at 3/4 tank and not full, even though it was rented as "full". The tire pressure warning light was on. I went back inside the rental office after discovering these problems and asked to be rented another vehicle (there was another van in the parking lot) but was told I could not have that vehicle instead. She did mark the fuel as 2/8 low on the receipt. She then told me that the tire pressure light was a "bad sensor" and that all tires were at 40psi. Upon driving the van home - 10 miles - I could feel the right front tire was losing pressure. I checked the tire at home and it was at 15psi. I refilled the tire to 36 psi, which is the correct pressure on the door label. I restarted the van, and the tire pressure light WENT BACK OFF - which means that there is NOT a bad sensor, and the sales clerk BLATANTLY LIED just to get me to leave. She had no consideration of an under-inflated tire being a MAJOR safety concern in a vehicle that would very likely be used to transport a family on vacation.
I then went to start loading up the van with luggage for a 300 mile family trip including three children. When I opened the back, the van was very dirty. I had to completely vacuum out everything except the front seat floor mats. There was a large amount of white dog hair, as well as food crumbs, potato chips, and even ketchup drips in the center console area. After I vacuumed out the van and loaded it, about 2 hours later, the front right tire had already dropped to 30 psi. So, there was obviously a slow leak in the tire. I spent the remainder of the trip stopping about every hour to put more air in the tire, which as you can imagine is a large inconvenience on a 5 hour trip. Lastly, I discovered that the remote key fob would not work to lock or unlock the doors, so we spent the entire trip having to use the manual key to unlock the driver's door then unlock all doors with the buttons inside. A minor inconvenience, but added to everything else makes a very bad impression.
I could take one or two of these problems alone and not be too bothered. But the sales clerk who directly lied to me about the flat tire is a serious concern, and for that reason I will not be renting from Sixt in the USA again. read more