Booked a "small" car via the web for 6 days in France. Website suggested Fiat Panda or Peugeot 107 1.2 would be supplied. Either of those should suffice I figured, even though I had a 400km drive each way they should keep up with the traffic.
Hertz gave me a Matiz 0.8... No other cars that small in their entire car park. Only saw 1 other one on the road in 6 days. To its credit it could generally hold 130kph on the autoroute, but what a lightweight flimsy car. Surprised they are still on sale new to be honest. Far inferior to a Panda or 107. I feel cheated! Someone must be having a laugh! Have any other backroomers been let down by car rental companies like this?!
In the UK the previous week I'd booked a Mondeo and got a Mondeo. When I came back from France I'd booked a Fiesta and got a Fiesta. Thanks Hertz France.
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That's a bit unfair of Hertz as the cars suggested are clearly a size class above the Matiz. I would complain and demand some compensation or a free rental next time.
I once wanted to rent a very small car as I was doing no more than 60 miles in a day. I was given something much larger as that was all they had, and I didn't really want it. These days I would say thank you!
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No i wouldn't fancy long journey's in a Matiz either (or any small car come to think of it) but as a town car with the proper auto box makes quite a pleasant little run around with excellent visibility, sweet box too.
I booked a car online and we ended up with a Focus in Eire, never again i wouldn't give you a thankyou for one, mind you it was on low profiles.
It drove ok but the rock hard suspension on the roads of Co Clare was something else...next time we'll drive over and take the pick up.
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Booked a diesel Focus/Golf in France in the summer via Alamo, were give a C4 Picasso, a class up, useful extra space for a family holiday.
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I had a Matiz for a couple of days as a courtesy car whilst my 2001 Focus was having some body work done under Ford's 12 year anti-perforation warranty. I thought it was truly a miserable car - probably the worst car I have ever had the misfortune to drive. Perhaps they make an ideal courtesy car - no one would want to drive any further in them than necessary!
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Some years ago, the rental company that my then employer used came up with the bright idea of offering something called a Fiat Palio Weekend to customers who believed they had ordered a Golf or Focus. For those unaware of the existance of the Palio, it was a product designed by Fiat in the late 90s for sale in countries like Brazil, Russia and China and basically drove like an 80s Fiat Strada. Actually the build quality also resembled the Strada. A clear cost saving measure by the rental company who didn't even mention the existence of this vehicle in either their brochures or their website.
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>>That's a bit unfair of Hertz as the cars suggested are clearly a size class above the Matiz.<<
A Peugeot 107 is actually 65mm shorter than a Matiz, so duh, its smaller. A Panda is 35mm longer, so a Matiz is half way between both cars in terms of size. No case to answer for Hertz on the size issue.
Ive never heard of a 107 1.2 either, only the 1.0 or the 1.4 diesel. Hmm...
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My mistake, misunderstood 107 as a 207. Yes the 107 is comparable to the Matiz in class, but far away a better car. Must admit, I would not have necessarily ordered a 107 or a Panda for the sort of trip the OP was contemplating.
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To the orignal poster. Sounds harsh I know but it serves you right for being a tight wad.
You paid peanuts and you got a squirrel.
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No doubt it is a far better car, but ive observed that the Matiz is a VERY popular rental fleet car - my local Enterprise outfit seem to use them almost exclusively - I suspect the reason that a Panda is used as an example is due to the Matiz being much less well-known and for the non-petrolhead, something they might have heard of! I expect they dont pay much more than £4k for a Matiz - even retail they are very cheap and my local dealer will sell you one for less than £5k.
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Nobody wants to buy them so no doubt Chevrolet offload them at huge discounts to hire companies.
We've been lucky with hire cars this year - a Toyota Corolla 1.8 in New Zealand and a VW Polo Classic 1.6 in South Africa. Both were lively and good to drive, but neither car/engine combination is available in the UK.
Toyota GB are a strange bunch: they seems to think the Corolla (crown) will sell better if called the Auris (ear) and they won't let us have the 1.8 petrol engine which might have given it an edge over the competition.
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My younger brother- erstwhile builder of 3-wheeled cars- once broke from his traditional Bangernomics mindset and bought a -new- Matiz.
I was surprised by this, as his "other" car was by then a 3-wheeled Renault Gordini-powered behemoth. Quite a contrast.
A year or so later, he and I found ourselves in the local car parts store at the same time, he more or less had an account there as he was buying so much stuff. As he was paying up, the sales clerk cocked an eye out front, to where the Matiz was parked.
"Gotta say, your Mum is incredibly generous Bryan, letting you drive her car all the time like that. Doesn't she ever want it back?".
He had, of course, obviated any potential Matiz-owning shame by pretending that it was our Mums! As he walked out he gave me such a look!
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You were very lucky. Many years ago when my dads Punto was in for repair they gave him a Rover 100 courtesy car. It had a 1.4 K series engine so it was nippy but it also had a useless autobox attached. The big end had gone (it had done about 35k) and produced quite a lot of thick black smoke he had to keep it for two weeks with the engine knocking like that.
When we got the Punto back it felt like a Rolls Royce in terms of build quality. The doors went clonk, on the Rover they closed with a very nice "ting".
I think if I was offered an 800cc Matiz for a hire car I would ask for a bus pass instead. I don't think I would physical fit in one. Put it this way I could have bought a five year old Matiz for what my 10 year old Corsa cost me.
The main problem with the Matiz is that Fiat came along with the Panda and showed the world cheap cars did not need to be nasty. Before then people would happily put up with crap like the Matiz is because it is all they could afford.
They are very popular with new drivers and these forums are full of 20 somethings moaning that the gearbox has just gone on their 3 year old Matiz.
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Fiat came along with the Panda and showed the world cheap cars did not need to be nasty.
I know it's indelicate of me to ask Rattle, but are you going to give up nasty cars next time you change? Just a thought.
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Nothing wrong with the built quality of the Corsa. Everything is solid, bits of plastic don't fall of, the doors clonk instead of ting. The plastics have a fairly nice feel to them. I saw quite a few cheap new cars lately when I was looking and they all felt quite cheap. But then my car cost £9800 back in 1999. The worst thing about my car is its not the nicest car to drive, gear change is a bit vague and handling is average.
Plenty of people on the Corsa forums running B's well over 15 years old and in excess of 150k on the clock.
No idea what car I am getting next but have no reason to change while its reliable, good on fuel and cheap on insurance. I will probably move up a class though and get something like a Focus or Astra.
I quite fancy one of them Ladas actually, complete with 6 months anti rust warranty and 10,000 mile engine warranty :p
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I had a brand new Matiz in 1998. Took it to 55k with just a failed alternator at 44k the single fault in all that time. Gearbox was fine AND you couldnt buy a Panda at the time - in '98, with the free servicing, it was the most fantastic value and helped me budget brilliantly after several years of costly old bangers.
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Didn't one car magazine refuse to test Matiz, saying it was dangerous?
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Went on a Greek Island holiday to Paxos. Car came in the deal...it was a Seat Marbella ( Mk 1 Panda ) Ok but no room for 4 persons luggage. The holiday company provided luggage transport from port to villa but didn't turn up on leaving.
Had to put 2 suitcases on roof and hold them on through the sunroof !
Ted
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A friend who did a bit of club level rallying in his youth (and still has car control only behind the Stig and Tiff Needell that I have witnessed) had some fun in a courtesy car Matiz a few years ago. A master of left foot braking, and with an encyclopaedic knowledge of most of the good driving roads in the Surrey / Hampshire area, he chased a 911 across the Pirbright - Frimley road, known locally as "the ranges".
This isn't a power road, it's a corner speed / lines / balls road. Clearly, a driver of comparable skill in the 911 would have absolutely wiped the floor with him, but this wasn't a driver of comparable skill or balls, and his car wasn't enough to make the difference. It was one of the funniest things I have ever seen. The Matiz was completely sideways, engine screaming, tyres smoking, all burning clutch and shredded rubber. The brakes were on fire at the end too. The guy in the Porker was all white eyes and jaw aghast. But he couldn't get away.
He reckons they turn in well with a bit of left foot, and if you're good and aggressive with them. :-)
Not sensible, big or clever, but very very funny.
Edited by DP on 16/11/2009 at 16:51
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Pah you should try that road in a 3.1 litre capri. On the down hill flip flop section I had it from 90 degress tail left to 90 degrees tail right. And then lost it. . Alas that road is too well traveled these days to use its full potential.
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Thanks, Nickdm, for posting this. It makes me feel better.
I used to reckon that when one rented a car, one usually got an upgrade. The very first time I hired a car (in America), a 'Ford Escort or similar' turned out to be a Chrysler New Yorker with a 3.5L V6 engine. In general, though, it was France, and 'Renault Twingo or similar' was always a Clio - and sometimes something bigger. Last year a "Ford Ka or similar" I booked turned out to be a Peugeot 308.
And then, suddenly, my luck changed. Or perhaps car rental companies started holding smaller cars. A "VW Fox or similar" with Hertz at Munich turned out to be a Fiat Panda or Peugeot 107. A 'Ford Fiesta or similar' in France turned out to be a Renault Clio Campus. (I just assumed that major car hire companies would give out 'proper' Clios in 2009, not old ones.) And then I booked a Chevrolet Aveo or similar in America and got . . . a Chevrolet Aveo. I thought it was completely impossible to get a supermini as a hire car in the US, but no. Getting our suitcases in the boot (which is smaller than the boot of a Fiesta) was a struggle.
So I've learned my lesson. I will no longer be a tight wad.
At least I never got a Matiz. For which I am very thankful.
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The European car rental business is going through a rough patch right now. The big firms are having problems getting cash from the banks to finance new fleets and that means vehicles are being rented out for longer (in the UK it used to be 6 months but now it can be 12 to 18 months or longer). Worse still, there is a vehicle shortage in some European countries/destinations as you may have read in the national press.
That is why I believe the firms are hiring out different vehicles (like the Matiz, which is possibly easier to obtain) compared to what they may have rented in the past.
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>>Worse still, there is a vehicle shortage in some European countries/destinations as you may have read in the national press.
True as I found out to my cost this year on holiday in Spain. In August I was left with one week to hire a car for a fortnight in Malaga. Searching the web, the vast majority of firms including most of the big brands had no vehicles at all and the few that did had some sort of cartel sorted where anything Fiesta/Clio size was £1,200+ everywhere or £3,000 for a Mondeo. We taxi'd when we couldn't bus or walk and looked local to where we were staying for a 3 or 4 day hire to get some sight seeing in but calling in at five separate hire companies confimed nobody had anything free until September.
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