Detail a Rental?!?!?!

[NewlyCarCrazy]

My grandpa is in town and he rented a late model Dodge Neo for a week. It is in fair shape, but the gloss is lacking. I think this would be the perfect car to hone my new PC skills. AM I CRAZY TO CLEAN A RENTAL?!?!

[travisdecpn]

It's worry free, even if you mess up it's still better than it was when you started.

[Vandelete]

I did the same today... sorry i have no pictures.

I had a rental becaus they broke into my own Honda Civic.. it`s in the garage for making all the stuff... so i got a rental.. I was car crazy enough to detail this one... i hate driving nasty filty cars..
so i decided to clean up...:D

[NewlyCarCrazy]

God, now I know that I am insane. This saturday is officialy "Neo Detail Day".

[Tim Lingor]

Ah.....hey guys....ah..................

You are detailing RENTAL cars???? :eek: Yep, you ARE car crazy!!!

:rofl:

Tim

[hirosh]

are you going to clean or detail this rental?
clean as in wash/dry, i think is okay. i had the new F-150 as a rental with a really nice dark red metallic paint job and i wanted to see what it looked like when clean.
detail, as in bust out the PC and polish 'er up.....er :db:

heh heh, i wonder if you get a discount for making it look nicer? :D

[Don]

From the "Why Do People Think We're Nuts?" thread at D.C.:

Originally posted by CharlesW

Hey, I even have to wash a loaner from the dealer before I drive it. :( :crazy :(:crazy :(:crazy

Charles


Originally posted by Don

I got a rental neon (black) when my car was in the shop, I finally couldn't stand it anymore and broke out the buffer & some SMR. The rental people just gave me 'the look' when they picked the car back up.

Don

[NewlyCarCrazy]

Now now now, I am not that bad. I was planning on washing it and maybe using some old cheap wax on it.

[4.6GT]

Detail a rental --you guys are over the top. I guess it would be good practice, if you screw it up - so what.

[mhoffman]

I've heard of people learning how to use rotary's on rentals before. I bet it'd be the best way to learn because if you accidentally burn the paint no one at the rental company is really going to care. If you feel its worth spending an hour or two to clean a filthy car that you are going to be driving for a week or more go for it. You're definitely car crazy but who cares, make it shine and see if they'll give you a discount. :D

-Matt

[oldmodman]

Whenever I travel and know that I will be driveing a rental I bring the essentials. One small bottle of QD, some MF towels, a bottle of #9, and some NXT (used to be #7 before NXT came out). I would spend 30 min on the rental cleaning up the worst spots, just enough so I wouldn't scare customers or valets!
And yes, I was frequently called insane!

[Beercan31]

The only water a "RENTAL" will see from me will have 10" of mud rapped around it.


Detail a rental
http://archive.meguiarsonline.com/gallery/uploads/528/apeno_1_.gif

Your not "car crazy"
your nutz.

[Rusty Bumper]

I detailed a loaner from my mechanic last year...It was a Chrysler convertable that had been painted, but the hood looked like it had scratched up by someone using a can of compound.

Never the less, I decided to give it the PC treatment...After I brought it back, the mechanic liked the looks of it so well that he refunded some of my repair bill!

I would not hesitate to detail a rental...After all, I would want it to look better than when I received it anyway.

[Jbirk]

I hate people who thrash rental cars.

The number one thing I notice about rentals is they are vaccumed and washed, so on the surface they are clean.

However, they are swirled, scratched, marked, and the seats have wierd spots.

Anyway, I rented one today because my car is getting a new transmission. I have a crappy Dodge Neon . I am in no way going to detail the car, but I do respect teh rental place because it was somewhat shiny and not badly swirled.

Regardless, in the rain, I missed some very light scratching near the back and near the keys and some white patch that is on top of the paint not within it. Chances are they will probalby not blame me, but I don't want to run the risk. I think 10 minutes of Scratch X and some wax in that area may be a good idea. I am only going to wax it if it doesn't look perfect or if I think they have the car waxed. If the entire car is unwaxed already, I am not going to even bother to wax that area. However, if they have the car protected, I will not work on an area and leave it bare. As for the driver side key area, some people are too stupid to put a key in the lock to open a door. Even stupider is it comes with a fob that can unlock the door.

I plan to also clean the outisde windows becuase they **** and are a slight driving hazard. Last but not least, I plan to vaccuum the pasenger side because my sister got in and there is some dirt from her shoose on the black carpet floor. :wall:

[LiquidBlack]

My (now ex) girlfriend had a nice rental car a few months ago, yet the tires were kind of brown. So I hit them with Endurance High Gloss, and that baby was set.

[the other pc]

Geez, what kind of nut case would detail a rental?!

http://www.mousebox.org/mousegallery/albums/Toyz/kca2006trip_017.jpg
Oh, um, in this pic that would be me (and it wasn't even my rental :rolleyes: ).

(Thanks to Paulvr4 for sharing his rental. (http://meguiarsonline.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=11898&perpage=10&pagenumber=4) :xyxthumbs )


PC.

[Murr1525]

Heck of a rental.

[Larry A]

If I rent a car or borrow someones car , and use it for a couple of days , I will clean it up. I will vaccum the interior and clean it with some spray foam or a little ammonia and water. I will clean the windows and wheels and dress the tires. On the outside I will just use a cleaner wax.On a rental car it just makes me feel better. On a friends car it just my way of saying thanks. Ive have yet to get a discount on a rental car when I bring it back cleaner then when I got it.

[TrufflePig aka Calogero]

seems like good practice to me. i wish i had my PC when my sis had a rental.

ah well. instead i just practice on my old truck or scrap doors/hoods etc...

the g/f's car...she don't care...but i won't ruin it.

[6Robert2]

Omg lol I had a loaner car from the Dealer while they put a new trans in my truck. They loaned me a silver Ford Fusion it was brand new only 200 miles on it So I detailed it, the weekend I had it. Luckily all it needed was a wash and some M21 and detail the inside but boy were they happy when I brought it back. LOL I thought I was nuts and didnt want to say anything lol.

[Paulvr4]

thanks the other pc,

As you can see I manage to go to Megs when I can when I go to LA. So far i've been there 3 times and each time I meet up with old MOL buddies and make new ones...as well as learn on some rentals ;) I feel good about the rotary now - it's not as hard as I thought it was!!!


2004 Toyota Solara Convertible
http://www.mousebox.org/mousegallery/albums/Toyz/allpics_137.jpg

http://www.mousebox.org/mousegallery/albums/Toyz/allpics_191.jpg

http://www.mousebox.org/mousegallery/albums/Toyz/allpics_196.jpg

2004 Jag Convertible (as shown above)
http://www.mousebox.org/mousegallery/albums/Toyz/kca2006trip_028.jpg

http://www.mousebox.org/mousegallery/albums/Toyz/kca2006trip_013.jpg

2005 Ford Mustang Convertible

http://www.mousebox.org/mousegallery/albums/Meguiars-May-06-Trip/meguiars_may_06_002.jpg

http://www.mousebox.org/mousegallery/albums/Meguiars-May-06-Trip/meguiars_may_06_055.jpg

[Paulvr4]

another note:

If you ask for a car that just came in and promise them you'll drive it through the car wash they will give you a discount, in my case I was offered $25 off my overall rental...but i didn't get it anyways.

=)

[Skuz]

I once washed a beater Tercel the garage lent me while they were fixing my own old Tercel.

I didn't wax it, but I couldn't stand seeing it dirty like that.

[foris2]

Maybe I'm among the nuts because I always wash and dry rental vehicles. I just believe in treating other peoples property as if it belonged to me. I have the same attitude towards my customers vehicles as well. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

[Gipraw]

I actually polished the cab portion of the U-Haul I had two weeks ago .. I just couldn't stand looking at that faded orange paint.

Made the girl at the return counter laugh, but they didn't give me a discount.

[Paulvr4]

she laughed b/c no one else would do such a silly thing.

did you get her #? ;)

[pcfxer]

Don't get her number she calls us "crazies." Get the number from the girl that says, "Holy ****, you're car crazy AND you use Meguiar's."

Don't laugh at that, I'm dating one that said exactly that.