Rental Car Nightmare

Happened to me back in the summer. Kathy and I were ready for vacation. We were going to the National Association Meeting in Oklahoma City. Since driving there would take us through Arkansas, guess what we did. That’s right! We drove! (The reason for those of you who don’t know is that my grandson and my daughter live in Arkansas, so any excuse to get to see them is good enough for us.)

Now, in case you haven’t driven it lately, its a good long way to Oklahoma City. Since Kathy and I were not having to purchase airline tickets, we decided to splurge and rent a car for a couple of weeks. Being frugal (my wife has another name for it, but this is my message!). Being frugal, I got the car on Price line. I found a deal. I could rent a luxury car for less than $200 per week. I jumped on it. But I didn’t read the fine print.

You see, when we got to the counter to pick our car, on the way out of town, they told us about the “additional driver” charge. That’s right, they charged us another $10 a day to add my wife as a driver, and, since I’m notorious for falling asleep behind the wheel, doing all the driving myself was not an option. All of a sudden my “great deal” went down the tubes.

Then, of course, they asked me if I wanted to add insurance. I hesitated. I knew that if something happened, I’d be up the creek. But they were already into me for over $600 for the two weeks. I just couldn’t bring myself to pay more. So I made the choice: I turned down their insurance.

Well, you know what that meant, don’t you? I was on pins and needles! I knew that if I had any kind of an accident, this rental company would stick it to me. I was being so careful. Everytime I backed out of somewhere, I looked behind me twice. I looked both ways twice before I pllued through and intersection. I was doing great, or at least I thought I was. But then I stopped at McDonalds for a cup of coffee. I looked behind me, saw nothing, and backed out. All of a sudden there was that sickening thud. I couldn’t believe it. A guy had been backing out of another slot at the exact same time as me and, in a kind of freak circumstance, we collided. My heart sank. After I had been so careful, I still had an accident. Running through my mind was one thought. “You should have taken the insurance.” Believe me, I’m still paying for my choice.