Renting a Renault in Australia
Dec. 29th, 2023 03:06 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
canyonwalkerAustralia Travelog #14
Mascot, NSW - Wed, 27 Dec 2023, 9:30am
When we decided on this trip to Australia a mere 6 weeks ago we quickly identified enough different things we'd like to do to easily fill a month-long trip. Alas we only have 8 days in country. To keep things manageable we decided our trip would have just two parts: a few days in Sydney, which we just finished; and a few days in the mountains for going hiking, specifically in the Blue Mountains National Park. Thus this morning we're back at the airport— not to go home but to pick up a rental car for the second half of our trip into bush country.
With a bit of negotiation at the car rental counter we upgraded our ride for the next few days to a Renault Koleos.
"What's that?" I asked when the desk agent named the vehicle.
"A Renault is a French car—" he began to answer.
"I know what a Renault is," I chuckled. "I used to drive one; my spouse owned it as her first car! But Renaults haven't sold in the US for decades now so I'm not familiar with their model names."
A Koleos is a mid-sized SUV. It's a sort of vehicle that would be right at home in the US... except that the steering wheel is on the "wrong" side of the car.
BTW, the old Renault my wife used to own was from the 1980s, I think it was a 1985 model. It was a hand-me-down from her father when we moved out to California. As she notes it was a car he should have gotten rid of by selling to a wholesaler. Instead he fobbed it off on her.
Hawk's dad had been keeping it running through his automotive skill and determination not to trade it in. We didn't have his expertise— or tools, or space to work on a vehicle.
I remember when Hawk took it to a dealer for service— a Jeep dealer, as they were the closest thing to a Renault service center left in the US. (Renault vehicles had been sold by then-bankrupt AMC, which owned the Jeep brand for many years.) The salesguys at the dealership all came out of the building to stand on the curb and hoot and holler as she drove up to the service bay.
The car didn't stay in our family long. Hawk's dad had fobbed it off on her rather than trading it in. She traded it in to a wholesaler about six months later and bought a newer car.
Anyway, this Renault is a 2022 model. It's about 37 years newer than the last one we drove! How is it?
Well, it's too early to tell how it drives. We haven't even left the parking lot yet! But one strange thing I notice right away is the HUGE key fob. This this is enormous. Like, it fills my whole pocket. WTF is up with this??
Mascot, NSW - Wed, 27 Dec 2023, 9:30am
When we decided on this trip to Australia a mere 6 weeks ago we quickly identified enough different things we'd like to do to easily fill a month-long trip. Alas we only have 8 days in country. To keep things manageable we decided our trip would have just two parts: a few days in Sydney, which we just finished; and a few days in the mountains for going hiking, specifically in the Blue Mountains National Park. Thus this morning we're back at the airport— not to go home but to pick up a rental car for the second half of our trip into bush country.
With a bit of negotiation at the car rental counter we upgraded our ride for the next few days to a Renault Koleos.
"What's that?" I asked when the desk agent named the vehicle.
"A Renault is a French car—" he began to answer.
"I know what a Renault is," I chuckled. "I used to drive one; my spouse owned it as her first car! But Renaults haven't sold in the US for decades now so I'm not familiar with their model names."
A Koleos is a mid-sized SUV. It's a sort of vehicle that would be right at home in the US... except that the steering wheel is on the "wrong" side of the car.
BTW, the old Renault my wife used to own was from the 1980s, I think it was a 1985 model. It was a hand-me-down from her father when we moved out to California. As she notes it was a car he should have gotten rid of by selling to a wholesaler. Instead he fobbed it off on her.
Hawk's dad had been keeping it running through his automotive skill and determination not to trade it in. We didn't have his expertise— or tools, or space to work on a vehicle.
I remember when Hawk took it to a dealer for service— a Jeep dealer, as they were the closest thing to a Renault service center left in the US. (Renault vehicles had been sold by then-bankrupt AMC, which owned the Jeep brand for many years.) The salesguys at the dealership all came out of the building to stand on the curb and hoot and holler as she drove up to the service bay.
The car didn't stay in our family long. Hawk's dad had fobbed it off on her rather than trading it in. She traded it in to a wholesaler about six months later and bought a newer car.
Anyway, this Renault is a 2022 model. It's about 37 years newer than the last one we drove! How is it?
Well, it's too early to tell how it drives. We haven't even left the parking lot yet! But one strange thing I notice right away is the HUGE key fob. This this is enormous. Like, it fills my whole pocket. WTF is up with this??
