For my trip to Tucson I needed a rental car. I couldn't imagine getting on a public bus, besides the time it would take to bus across the city over and over again during my stay. I wanted to traverse freely. However, there is a huge risk in renting a car.
Cars can stink in a variety of ways. Previous renters stink. They aren't allowed to smoke in the rental car, but some do. They wear perfumes, colognes, lotions, deodorants, shampoos, and sometimes have their dogs with them.
The rental companies then clean the cars. If the car stinks badly, they use ozone which I have found from past experience is deadly for me. Would they also use smelly cleaners or spray air fresheners? I called and was told they normally don't use scented cleaners, but if the car is returned exceptionally smelly, they do everything possible to rid it of stink and that may involve using chemicals of some kind. I was also told I would get a choice of cars so if it was too smelly, I could request another.
I reserved a small, compact, economy car, but at the counter the customer service agent thought it wise and helpful to upgrade it to a mid-sized SUV. Ah...no thanks. I also didn't realize the SUV was a 2024 so brand new and offgassing formaldehyde in that familiar "new car smell." Definitely not. I also drive a tiny car so I wasn't comfortable driving in an unknown, unfamiliar city in a huge car. I requested the smallest and oldest car they had.
I ended up with a 2022 Toyota Camry. It still had a slight "new car smell", but I turned on the air conditioning AND rolled down all the windows. It aired out perfectly. Note to self: old and small is best. It was an awesome car and made me want to buy a new car!
I survived my first rental car experience in thirty years! Hooray!!
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