英语小故事第336期：The Rental Car (1)

What is this for, Ryan wondered as he looked at the bill from Enterprise car rental company. He and Amelia had traveled to Tucson over a month ago. He had wanted to take his car, but she said she didn’t trust his car.

“It’s a piece of junk,” she said. “Besides, it’s February. What happens if the heater stops working?” So, even though he trusted his car, he rented a mid-sized Buick. As usual, Enterprise had the best rental rates. The agent asked if he wanted to buy the collision damage waiver for $15 a day. The waiver would cover any damage to the Buick from accidents, vandalism, or theft. Ryan declined; it was only a Friday to Sunday trip. He figured that, if anything happened, his own auto insurance would cover the rental car.

“You should pay the extra $45,” Amelia said. He told her that the extra money was just another corporate rip-off, like the extended insurance that Best Buy offers customers on new computers. Only one percent of the time is the insurance ever needed; the rest of the time, the company makes a fortune off customers' fear. Ryan figured he would take his chances. He had used rental cars many times without any problems.