[Enterprise] spent five years pounding these parents, said the Houck s lawyer.... Your daughter was

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Under current law, rental car companies like Hertz, Enterprise, Avis, Budget, etc. can rent you a vehicle that has been recalled for a safety defect ... and you might never even know it. A NHTSA study last year showed that Enterprise repaired only 65% of recalled vehicles within 90 days. Avis/Budget repaired only 53% of recalled vehicles within 90 days. Hertz was even worse, with only 34% of recalled vehicles repaired within 90 days.
Rental car companies have been fighting to keep renting defective vehicles to their customers. Finally, however, safety group Consumers for Auto Reliability and Hertz have reached an agreement calling on Congress to give NHTSA authority to prohibit rental car companies from renting, leasing, or selling recalled vehicles until the vehicles are repaired.
Though mostly unknown to rental car customers, this problem is massive . Just two rental car companies - Hertz and Enterprise - had nearly 184,000 vehicles las vegas luxury sport car rental recalled last year. In 2010, those same companies had 350,000 vehicles under recall (many of them subject to Toyota s sudden acceleration recall ).
The public outcry over the practice of renting vehicles under a safety recall stems from a tragic crash in 2004 that killed two sisters, Rachel and Jacquie Houck , on Highway 101 in California. I featured the Houck family as part of my Faces of Lawsuit Abuse series detailing the despicable lengths Enterprise Rent-A-Car las vegas luxury sport car rental went in defending an indefensible las vegas luxury sport car rental case.
Rachel and Jacquie were rented a defective PT Cruiser las vegas luxury sport car rental by Enterprise. Enterprise knew about the defect, but chose to rent the vehicle out at least 3 times without repairing the defect. As Rachel and Jacquie drove down Highway 101, the defective PT Cruiser caught fire in the engine compartment. The vehicle filled with smoke. The girls could not see. They could not steer the vehicle. The car swerved across the median strip and the car was hit by an oncoming las vegas luxury sport car rental truck. las vegas luxury sport car rental Both girls were killed.
This would seem to be an open and shut case. The PT Cruiser was defective -- it had been recalled because of a safety defect that could cause engine fires. Enterprise knew about the defect, but rented the car to the unsuspecting girls. The defect caused the car to catch fire and the girls tragically died. In depositions, an Enterprise manager admitted even admitted he never considered the possibility that Enterprise should not rent defective vehicles to the public las vegas luxury sport car rental even after Enterprise had received recall notices.
[Enterprise] spent five years pounding these parents, said the Houck s lawyer.... Your daughter was negligent in the manner las vegas luxury sport car rental in which she drove the car, and she killed herself and her younger sister. And they continued las vegas luxury sport car rental to maintain that position until two weeks before the trial, at which time they finally admitted that they were the only cause of the deaths of Rachel and Jacquie, said [the Houck s attorney].
A jury ultimately agreed and ordered Enterprise to pay $15 million in damages. Nevertheless, Enterprise and other rental car companies continued to rent defective and recalled vehicles to the unsuspecting public and continued to lobby against las vegas luxury sport car rental legislation that would prohibit rental car companies from renting unrepaired recalled vehicles .
Let s hope rental car companies like Hertz and Enterprise have truly seen the light. These were needless deaths that would have been avoided if only Enterprise had done the right thing and fixed the defective recall before renting it to these unsuspecting girls.
Despite this tragedy and despite Hertz s agreement with Consumers for Auto Reliability, the industry group American Car Rental Association (representing 105 car rental companies, las vegas luxury sport car rental including Hertz), is still lobbying against this common sense rule. The American Car Rental Association said its members will not rent recalled vehicles unless the company makes an exception when the rental company believes the vehicle is safe to operate.
What is the car rental association really saying: it wants car rental companies to be able to rent you a defective vehicle without las vegas luxury sport car rental you knowing it. The car rental association doesn t want NHTSA to say car rental companies can t rent you a defective vehicle, so that the car rental companies can and will rent you defective vehicles if they want to.
According to USA Today , safety advocates aren t convinced that rental las vegas luxury sport car rental car companies are so conscientious about fixing their vehicles. Frankly, neither am I. If NHTSA or a manufacturer las vegas luxury sport car rental has issued a recall, that means - by definition - that there is an unreasonable safety las vegas luxury sport car rental risk. Car rental companies should not be permitted to simply disregard such recalls and send these defective vehicles out onto the streets las vegas luxury sport car rental with unsuspecting drivers.
The rental car companies have been playing rental car roulette with their customers lives, [says Consumers for Auto Safety president Rosemary Shahan]. When they run out of safe vehicles, they want to be able to rent ones that are unsafe.
Not only may rental car companies rent defective vehicles to customers, but many of them eliminate las vegas luxury sport car rental critical safety equipment that is standard on vehicles sold to the general public in order to save costs. Such moves blatantly put profits over the safety of rental las vegas luxury sport car rental car customers. USA Today referred to a 2009 Kansas City Star investigation that found Enterprise Rent-A-Car saved millions of dollars by deleting a standard safety feature - side curtain air bags - from 2006-08 Chevy Impalas purchased from General Motors.
Want to know which car rental companies are fighting in order to rent you a recalled vehicle? I suggest you contact them to let them know you don t think they should be renting defective, recalled vehicles to unsuspecting customers:
Senators Charles las vegas luxury sport car rental Schumer and Barbara Boxer intend to include the rental car amendment las vegas luxury sport car rental in the surface transportation bill after the Senate reconvenes on February 27. Let s hope all members of Congress stand behind this commonsense requirement that rental car companies must not send defective vehicles out on our roads and highways.
It should have rules as to limits as to severity of the recall. Most people drive recalled vehicles until they can get an appointment - did that for recent las vegas luxury sport car rental F150 fuel tank rare event recall. If I had a recalled Toyota for mats they would have come out. (Hope all rental agencies did that at least). The sticky CTS Toyota las vegas luxury sport car rental pedal problem didn't cause many accidents but it would have been parked until I could get brake override installed. In fact saw a report they were putting it in for free on non-recalled Toyotas if computer memory was OK. I will not accept a rental Toyota - unless it's a 2012 with overide.
Frank, las vegas luxury sport car rental Your suggestion is what the rental car companies want to do. Here's my problem with that. (1) Recalls are by definition due to safety-related defects. If it's important enough for either the government or the auto maker to issue a recall, it is important enough for rental car companies to take the vehicle out of service. (2) When you continued to drive your recalled vehicle, that was your informed las vegas luxury sport car rental decision. You were familiar with your vehicle. You received a recall notice. You made an informed decision to continue driving the vehicle in spite of defect. Car renters, like Rachel and Jacquie Houck, do not have that information. The rental companies - not the renters - got the recall notice. The rental car companies do not give their customers the choice to make the decision, they just stick them in the defective car and hope nothing happens.
Hertz is one of the only companies to stand next to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and cooperate with reviews over recall practices to enhance consumer safety. It's clear that Hertz is quickly las vegas luxury sport car rental learning from lessons learned in the 2004 lawsuit involving Enterprise and the Houck family. Hertz is defining itself as a leader in the industry, will other companies step up? Voice your opinions on the ExpertINSIGHTS blog here: More ...
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