Let me tell you a story about a woman who just wanted to go home. My adorable nephew asked me to come visit him, and I couldn’t say no. My mother said she wanted to give me her old China cabinet for my new house. So I decide to rent a “Tacoma or similar” pickup truck from #BudgetCarRental in PNS. I go to claim my rental, and I’m slightly in a hurry because my husband is taking me to do this on his lunch break, so I don’t give it the once-over I normally would. A mistake never to be made again. They bring me a 2020 Jeep Gladiator with a rag top. First off: not a truck, but it has a bed, so ok fine. Second: a rag top is going to be noisy for a 1,200+ mile trip. While on the road I realize the truck handles kind of funny. The tires are slick. Great. I can deal with it as long as it doesn’t rain. It rained. The windshield wipers were ineffective when it was only drizzling, but completely useless when the rain got heavier. Water soaked through the rag top, and because I could feel the wind coming in around me, I got slightly damp and a lot cold. Thank God the heater was decent! I’m at the Alabama/Georgia border when all of a sudden, the truck starts shaking uncontrollably as if I were the salt in a shaker of someone with a serious sodium addiction. I slow down to almost a complete stop, and the shaking stops. Ten minutes later, the same thing happens. I call my dad he advises me to just drive slowly and try to get home (NC). I’m trucking along 😉 until I get just past Newnan, GA, when it happens again. Third time’s the charm. I get off the interstate in downtown Atlanta at 10:00pm and manage to make it to a semi-safe hotel parking lot. I look in the glove box to find the roadside assistance phone number only to find that the membership associated with #BudgetCarRental at that number expired in 2016, and they plan to charge me for the tow and repairs. No flippin’ way! I cancel the call, find ANOTHER phone number, and thankfully get a tow ordered. It’ll be a half hour wait. (Right.) 11:55pm: I’m still waiting in this “truck” for the tow truck. I’m tired. I’m hungry. I’ve witnessed what I’m sure are two drug deals among “other” kinds of bargains. And BOY am I Hulk-smash-angry. I call RSA again, and ask the status of the tow truck. Hold. Keep holding. Hold some more. Driver isn’t answering. Ok, can I just risk my life and try to make it to the ATL rental myself? RSA: sure! I make it to ATL without incident while going 20mph. Get my replacement vehicle (not a truck but it’s now after midnight, and I don’t need to state my current state to you again). 12:20am: I’m Willie Nelson and “on the road again.” Phone rings. This is your tow truck driver, I’m 90 minutes out. 90 MINUTES?! (Maniacal laugh) Cancel this call and move on to your next. I did it myself. 2:30am exhausted after being on the road in some capacity or another for 14.5 hours only to make it as far as my brother’s house, which is still 2.5 hours from my actual destination. After everything is said and done, a 9.5 hour drive turned into a 22.5 hour adventure, and I finally got to my sweet Troyboy! Thanks #BudgetCarRental, I’ve learned my lesson. I will NOT use your services again, and I’m going to use my big mouth to make sure no one I know and love does either. Oh and I didn’t get to bring home my mother’s china cabinet either.