While perusing the disclosure sheet from a recent car rental, I noticed that the agreement provided for “unlimited miles in the states of Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, D.C. and North Carolina”. What is the purpose of this restriction? It might be an attempt to limit the total mileage put on the vehicle, but I could (and, given my job, might well have reason to) drive back and forth near-continuously between Roanoke, Richmond and Charlotte for the duration of the rental; this would rack up just as many miles as if I’d taken it to, say, Georgia and back. Beyond that, the only reason I can come up with would be to keep the car within a certain distance from “home base”, but I can’t think of any practical reason why the rental agency would care.
Furthermore, how would they even go about tracking such a thing? I suppose they could track the vehicle using GPS, but that would be quite the expensive undertaking, not to mention a humongous pain in the butt.
It strikes me as one of those rules – similar to a “no one under 21 goes upstairs after 10pm” rule we used to have at a bar where I managed – that is rarely if ever enforced, but exists as a CYA measure in case the need arises to do so. In this case, though, I can’t quite put my finger on exactly what the rental agency is trying to C their A’s from…or how. Anyone care to enlighten me?