I had to drive from the interior of BC to Vancouver for the holidays ( around 430 miles) and with the bad roads , snow and the rocks they us to sand the roads here I decided to rent a car for a week at $299 and 1200 miles included ..

I got a 2006 Taurus v6 auto with cruise and tilt and thats about it .. talk about crap for a car .. noisey ( roads were washboard with ice ) ... underpowered.... super cheap on quality. Gas milage was about the same as my TL. Only 2 pluses .. 1) Cup holders were better and the arm rests actually conformed to me a lot better than the TL ...

 

basically, rent a shitty car so you can appreciate your car more. lmao

 

^lol

 

Nah .. so I didn't have to beat the crap out of mine on the trip .. which it would have .. so far in 2 winters I have 3 very small rock chips and I want to keep it that way.

 

The Taurus is crap?! You haven't driven any Chrysler rental recently, have you?

I drove a Ford Taurus rental when I had some work between Oakland and Napa in NoCal- it wasn't as comfy, quiet or fast as the TL, but it wasn't as underpowered or noisy as the Chrysler Cirrus or PT Cruisers, and seemed to feel/respond better than the 4 cylinder Camry rentals. Gas mileage in the Taurus was worse than the TL for the 200 or so mixed miles. The PT Cruiser I had earlier this year only got 22 mpg during the week I had it.

Yes-- you'll appreciate the TL a lot after driving most rental cars for a couple of days or more.

 

Well what did you expect, the TL is a luxury sport-sedan, of course it is much nicer than an average car like a Taurus.

 

I knew what to expect ..

 

i use to drive a motor cycle, so I realli appreciate a TL. I always wanted to listen to the radio.

 

I wonder why they gave you a 2006??? Usually rental car companies always have brand new cars 2008s 2009s....we recently rented a car from Enterprise and it was a 09 Maxima....

 

I had to drive a Honda Fit for a day, I was happier then hell to get back in the TL

 

my TL got stuck in front of my house...thus, i used my mom's rx350 for 3 weeks. finally got my child out today - took her for a long drive. oh how i missed her... lol reunited NEVERTHELESS!!!

 

Just looking at my TL-S and it's sexiness is all I need to appreciate her

 

Three and a half years ago, my wife and I were invited to a family wedding which was in Alexandria with the reception being in the Old Town section. Rather than take either one of my 3G TL's into that area, I rented a brand new Volkswagon Pissant.. err, Pissat. Nothing about that car came close to comparing with the TL, especially mine since mine's a manual. The sound system, the A/C, handling and road feel, roominess.. nothing was as good as the 3G TL. It was a very nice looking car, but I found myself itching to tell people that it was just a rental and our real cars were home safe in our garage. The only thing really good about the Passat was the fact that it kept our TL's from getting damaged or stolen. The $60 was well spent for that kind of peace of mind.

 

I rented a 2006 Chevy Malibu once. I wanted to but a brick on the accelerator and run it off a cliff. It was absolutely horrible.

 

Was Rent-a-wreck

 

If it was an entry level Passat then some of your comments are valid.. I came from an 03 Passat GLX and I'll tell you .. the TL falls short in a few areas compared to it. 5 levels of heated seats that actually worked quickly... rain sensing wipers.... leather that was heads above the TL for quality... body fit and finish was far superior ... better paint quality and body parts color match. Climatronic that is far superior to the TL... no rattles ...

 

I rent a lot of cars since I travel a lot for business. After about 2 dozen, the only one I can honestly say felt better than my TL was an Infiniti M35.

 

When my TL got rear-ended by an inattentive driver, I got hooked up with a 2008 Chevy Malibu, talk about a big piece of plastic crap!
I was so happy to get my girl back

 

This one had 1500 miles on the odometer and was a 2005. It was an automatic and had an anemic 4-cylinder engine. The car was reasonably well equipped with options and I think it had fabric seats. I really liked the Passat when they first came out and considered buying one but I cannot for the life of me remember the distinct reason I decided not to.

Anyway, the rental Passat mentioned above was not even in the same league as my '04 manual TL.

 

It's a little odd that people are renting cars and paying extra money instead of driving their TL.

C'mon people...the TL is a 30k car. Not a 300k car.

Unless you are on business or vacation in another State where you flew there.

 

To each his own, my friend. My car, be it $20K or $40K or more is my car. That means no valet parking, care taking where she sits, and my decision to take as to how I treat her and own her. Whether or not I rent a car to save my car from any potential harm and gain me peace of mind is my business and mine alone. The price has absolutely little or nothing to do with it. The fact that it's my property has everything to do with it.

Besides, cars don't heal.

 

Hmmm........let me reach into my pocket and pull out 30K.....yea right!

 

i had my car in for service and Acura was out of loaners, so enterprise gave me A PT Cruiser, then a Colbalt with crank windows . talk about crap, couldnt wait to get back into mine

 

LOL. So I guess you don't drive anywhere where there are other people to avoid parking in the street where it might get dinged or bumper scraped? Or maybe just leave your car in the garage so that there is no wear and tear as well?

I'm not saying don't take care of your car. But to rent a car seems a tad bit too much.

 

Took my TL up the mountains yesterday for some fun in the snow. The TL was lowered and it didn't stop me from the elements. The car is filthy from all the snow and salt. So this gives me time to baby her again. Also I have been getting 18mpg/city so it was good to see it getting low-hi of 27-40mpg/highway from the trip.

 

I was *thrilled* to drive an 08 Mitsubishi Galant for a couple days while on a trip. A few things I couldn't believe: the shifter had a screw hole placed such that I felt it every time I touched the shifter, the engine sounded like it had rocks in it, i felt like i was sitting in a fishbowl because all of the glass is so big.

Love my TL

-edit- just configured a galant on the mitsubishicars.com website. Fully loaded, it's 30 grand. I bought my TL for 30.5

LOVE MY TL!!!

 

It's actually less since it loses it's value everyday. So that would make it even more weird to rent a car to avoid driving your own.

 

I rented a Nissan Armada during a recent trip, and it was actually nice for a big SUV. I was the first to rent it, so when people were eyeing it's newness, I wanted to tell them "my real car is much nicer"

 

I said the same exact thing when I rented a base Dodge Charger when I was out of town once. I felt just like a gold fish because of the way the windows were. I hated it.

 

I drive where I wish and I also pay very close attention to where I park my car. For those times when the wife and I go out to a restaurant where parking is crowded or slim, we take my Ford Ranger pickup and leave the TL's in the garage.

Renting a car to save my car is not one bit "too much" in my opinion. I love my property and want to take care of it. Be it my cars or my guns or my boats (when I have a boat) or my house. Property is sacrosanct.

 

$300 bucks to save the winter wear & tear on your car for this road trip seems reasonable to me.

 

I fly from time to time for my job. I was in Arkansas for a week two weeks ago and got a Chrysler Sebring. After five days with that car, it is clear to me why they are going out of business. I always try to get a Toyota camry. The car is plain and all but it sure is a nice driving car. American car builders need to step it up.

 

I drive my moms 01 Accord and it makes me appreciate my TL. Hell I drive my dads 07 RX400H and it still makes me appreciate my TL. I'm very attached to my car.

 

By the way, I dunno how you managed the drive. How were the Highways? You take Coquihalla? I couldn't even get out of my driveway!!!

 

I left Last thursday to Delaware from New york on my TL. about 300 miles round trip. Saturday, I drove my TL from New York to Richmond, VA, stayed for a day, drove around with a friend and drove back, around 800 miles.

All good, On the way back to new york, when i was on I95 in NJ, I think, I saw another TL driver and I could tell he was checking me out, so he got up behind me and i popped my hazards, he drove in front of me and popped his hazards as well and i flashed my lights, we followed each other for a few miles zipping through traffic and parted ways when he had to get off at the exit

Was a fun drive!

 

I rented a 2008 Dodge Caliber for a week. The A-Pillars in that thing are like oak tree trunks. It was slow, and it was quiet until you put the pedal all the way down.

WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

Only thing good, I'm growing fond of CVT's. I wouldn't want one for my "toy car" or anything to have fun in. But as an everyday driver, or a highway cruiser, I love the smooth feel. It like flows through intersections. Otherwise, car really blowed.