Buchbinder Rent a Car Austria

Old Apr 15th, 2013, 11:13 PM
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Buchbinder Rent a Car Austria

Buchbinder, Austria's domestic rental company, refused to take responsibility for having provided me with a car with faulty board computer (and no car owner's manual!!) which caused me to buy a new winter tyre at a cost of Euro 320 to replace a flat tyre which burst after driving flat for 60km (unnoticed because of the faulty board computer). Furthermore the car did not have a spare wheel but only the foam spray which of course is useless when the tyre bursts. Just in passing, the car had already logged 53,000 km and its tyres were completely worn out. To explain their position, Buchbinder said that they "checked the tyre condition" when they rented the vehicle. No word about the missing car owner's manual and the non-functioning board computer. What a grossly negligent behavior. NEVER AGAIN Buchbinder cars. Too risky and too self-serving customer care.
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Old Apr 15th, 2013, 11:28 PM
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So what you are telling us is that you drove on a flat tyre for 60K's and couldn't tell? Regardless of whether the on board computer registered the deflated tyre or whether the tyres were of the run flat type, you can still tell if you are anything of a driver.

The speed on run flat is limited to 50mph over which the tyre will burst if driven for such a distance. This is more to do with your experience as a driver than a faulty computer.
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Old Apr 15th, 2013, 11:30 PM
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"burst after driving flat for 60km (unnoticed because of the faulty board computer)." great story Luigi but 60km????



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Old Apr 16th, 2013, 02:19 AM
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Rentals never come with a handbook in my experience. Foam repair kits are standard in many vehicles nowadays.

How on earth do you drive for 60km without feeling a flat tyre, never mind a burst one? Quite often flat tyres are only covered with extra insurance too.

Who says the board computer was faulty anyway? Maybe it just didn't have a tyre pressure indicator in the first place. Not that unusual to not have one.
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Old Apr 16th, 2013, 04:59 AM
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New book coming out titled " How To Travel W/O Computers, IPads, IPhones, etc.

Chapter 1: Visually Inspecting The Auto
Chapter 2: How To Read A Map
Chapter 3: How To Find And Use A Public Phone
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Old Apr 16th, 2013, 06:46 AM
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Chapter 4: How to check tire pressure
Chapter 5: How to fill the tank

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Old Apr 16th, 2013, 09:21 AM
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It is very easy to drive on a flat tyre -- because some tyres are specifically designed to be driven for MANY KILOMETERS(as the on-line owners' manual indicated) after starting losing pressure.

QUOTE FROM THE OPEL ASTRA DRIVER'S MANUAL
Driving with a damaged tyre
A loss in tyre pressure is indicated by
the tyre pressure monitoring system
or the deflation detection system.
If a tyre has no pressure, continued
driving is possible
■ at a speed of max. 50 mph
■ up to a distance of 50 miles
UNQUOTE

If the board computer works, there is a light indicating low tyre pressure and, once this happens, the driver must immediately stop and either switch to the spare wheel or inflate the tyre with the foam spray. However, if the dashboard does not show low tyre pressure, because the board computer is faulty, there is no way that this emergency repair can be done before the tyre gets fully damaged.

Buchbinder was grossly negligent for having provided a car without a functioning board computer (and without owner's manual). Period. And their refusing to take up responsibility for this very risky condition of their vehicle is APPALLING.
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Old Apr 16th, 2013, 09:21 AM
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Chapter 6: What the plasticy sticky things on the side of the driver's steering wheel are for
Chapter 7: What to do if you can't read the sign in the rear window of the car ahead, get closer.
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Old Apr 16th, 2013, 09:23 AM
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QUOTE COMES FROM PAG 181 OF THE OPEL ASTRA OWNER'S MANUAL AVAILABLE ON LINE. PLEASE CHECK DIRECTLY IF YOU STILL ARE IN DENIAL.
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Old Apr 16th, 2013, 09:26 AM
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FURTHER FROM PAGE 181 FOR THOSE WHO ARE DISMISSIVE:

Run-flat tyres
Run-flat tyres have reinforced, selfsupporting
sidewalls, which ensure
that the tyres always have a certain
amount of driveability, even when
there is no pressure.
Run-flat tyres are only permitted on
vehicles with electronic stability
program and tyre pressure monitoring
system or deflation detection system.
Caution
Check tyre pressures regularly
even if run-flat tyres are fitted.
Depending on tyre manufacturer, runflat
tyres can be identified from
a marking on the tyre wall. E.g.
ROF = RunonFlat for Goodyear or
SSR = Self Supporting Runflat Tyre
for Continental.
Use of run-flat tyres is only permitted
in combination with factory approved
alloy wheels.
Do not use a tyre repair kit.
The ECO tyre pressure must not be
used.
Run-flat tyres must not be combined
with standard tyres.
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Old Apr 16th, 2013, 09:27 AM
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AND PAGE 183:

Tyre pressure monitoring
system
The tyre pressure monitoring system
continually checks the pressure of all
four wheels when vehicle speed
exceeds a certain limit.
All wheels must be equipped with
pressure sensors and the tyres must
have the prescribed pressure.
Otherwise, the tyre pressure will be
monitored by the deflation detection
system 3 183.
The current tyre pressures can be
shown in the Info-Display 3 110.
Vehicle messages, tyre pressure
3 105.
Control indicator w 3 93.
If a complete set of wheels without
sensors is mounted (e.g. four winter
tyres), no error message will be
displayed. The tyre pressure
monitoring system is not operational.
Retrofitting of sensors is possible.
The use of commercially available
liquid tyre repair kits can impair the
function of the system. Factory
approved systems can be used.
External high-power radio equipment
could disrupt the tyre pressure
monitoring system.
System initialisation
After a wheel change, the system
must be initialised: inflate the tyres to
the prescribed pressure, switch on
the ignition, press and hold the DDS
button for approx. 4 seconds, control
indicator w flashes three times.
Tyre deflation detection
system
The tyre deflation detection system
continually checks the rotation speed
of all four tyres.
If a tyre loses pressure the control
indicator w illuminates red. Stop
immediately and check tyre pressure.
Control indicator w 3 93.
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Old Apr 16th, 2013, 09:28 AM
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IF BOARD COMPUTER DOES NOT WORK, THERE IS NO WAY TO DETECT THIS MALFUNCTIONING -

BUCHBINDER SHOULD STOP RENTING CAR WRECKS OF > 50,000 KM.
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Old Apr 16th, 2013, 01:26 PM
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Ok Luigi it is clear, have you sent all this evidence to the supplier and have you received an email response??
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Old Apr 16th, 2013, 02:04 PM
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>IF BOARD COMPUTER DOES NOT WORK, THERE IS NO WAY TO DETECT THIS MALFUNCTIONING -<

How to determine if you have a flat tire:

Car pulls in one direction
Car sways in turns
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Old Apr 16th, 2013, 04:03 PM
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Most any driver with any experience does not need a board computer to dedect a flat tire. It can be felt through the steering wheel and poor handling.
It seems this problem occurred in winter.
Winter mandatory by law in Austria autos must have winter tires. Rental company had to have winter tires on the auto.
Please read above quote .
" If a complete set of tires without sensors is mounted ( eg. four winter tyres no error message will be displayed.
Thus computer working or not will not show flat.

Poster should concede that he is just wrong and a poor driver.
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Old Apr 16th, 2013, 11:16 PM
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I admit I did not notice any significant impairment of maneuverability of the car, driving at reasonable speed. This is EXACTLY how run-flat tyreS are supposed to perform.

You seem to absolve Buchbinder's GIGANTIC RESPONSIBILITY to rent cars that are unsafe to drive. They should have tested the board computer (and provided a car manual). And then, once the accident had happened, and I paid to replace one of their worn-out tyres of 55,000 km, they could have made a goodwill gesture to reimburse me of all or part of thIs cost.
NOTHING. Buchbinder's Customer Care service did not act appropriately either. Therefore people must be aware that BUCHBINDER is not a good and reliable rental company for their rental needs in Vienna. PERIOD.
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Old Apr 17th, 2013, 05:19 AM
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Chapter 8: When To Be Take Responsibility For Your Actions
Chapter 9: I Always Know That It Is Not My Fault, I Ignored Chapter 8
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Old Apr 17th, 2013, 08:23 AM
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Chapter 10: CAVEAT EMPTOR
Chapter 11: Get clients to pay up to their throat
Chapter 12: Nobody reads the Fodors Blog.
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