TERRIBLE!My booking was made via a broker, but that shouldn't matter. I opted to rent a small car to travel from Scotland to Wales over the Xmas period. On arrival at the europcar office, St. James centre Edinburgh I was politely greeted followed by "would you like to upgrade?". I had no desire to upgrade as it was already expensive and I didn't need a bigger vehicle. This was before I even knew exactly what make and model of car I was about to receive. When I did finally get the keys to my rental car, having had a £700 pound deposit taken from me, I discovered I had unintentionally rented an MG3. My heart sank. The deposit, whilst huge in my opinion wouldn't have bothered me so much, however it had to be taken from my debit card as that was the card I had used to make the booking. I asked to use my credit card for this but was told that wasn't allowed. Now I'm £700 short over the Xmas period with a mortgage and bills upcoming!!I drove the car away, having travelled no more than a mile and already I found the car to be unbearable, the thought of a 5.5hr journey on the M6 when I hadn't even yet reached 30mph was frightening.The road noise was so intrusive I could barely hear my own thoughts, my skeleton was starting to feel the effects of the terrible chassis and suspension.I can only describe this car as a very basic vehicle barely meeting the definition of a car, nevermind a modern car. The engine was so gutless, it was like it was powered by a sewing machine but with the noise of a tractor. The suspension felt like it was made of wood and bricks rather than springs and dampers. The headlights when it became dark were she equivalent of 2 candles and the whole time I'm starting to develop a head ache and ringing ears. I hated this car, really hated it. A quick search on auto trader revealed from 41small cars the MG3 to be the worst at #41.My experience got worse when I returned it. I returned the vehicle early as I was keen to get my deposit back, so wanted to be present when it was inspected on its return. However, I was told that that vehicle wouldn't be inspected until the following day, where it would sit in a public multi-storie car park overnight. The car could be in a very different condition over that time to when it was returned. With regards to the car when I complained, the agent's response was "it's because it's a cheap car". Wow!Now, the car has been returned, but not inspected at that point. I phoned the branch the next at 14:00, but the office is closed, so I phoned customer services. They couldn't even confirm the car had been returned and didn't even know where it was. What??Following day, I phoned the branch to ask for confirmation that the vehicle had been returned and it's condition so I could be assured I was going to receive my deposit. I was told a manger would email me, that didn't happen. A 2nd phone call later in the day and I was told they hadn't emailed me because it was via a broker. They had my email address which had been provided no less than 3 times. I had to push hard for them to agree to send an email confirming the condition of the vehicle and that I was going to get my deposit back. Unbelievable!Having hired many cars from other vendors I've always had a good experience,where the vehicle has been checked on return and good communication, not with EUROPCAR. I will never use them again. Ever!By the way not only was the car rated 41/41, it only has a 3* euro cap rating, meaning it's just about safe.
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