This morning, we headed off to Hertz to rent a car to hold us through the duration. Since we’re paying for the car out of our own pockets, I wanted to get something inexpensive, and $23/day seemed like a tolerable price, even if the car was a Chevy Cavalier.
Wrong!
I’m not sure I’ve ever driven such an unpleasant car — the seat doesn’t quite go up all the way, the steering wheel seems to be at a slight angle, the seatback is lumpy — in short, the car is a piece of junk. I don’t know if this is a typical Cavalier or if it’s been specially mistreated by previous renters, but I’m getting rid of it as quickly as I can (with any luck, tomorrow morning). Paying a few bucks more every day will be worth it, though I hope it won’t be for very long.
On a different note, I also called Toyota to ask why the side airbag didn’t inflate; they said that it’s basically there to protect against impact into the B-pillar (the one between the doors). The door itself is reinforced and foam-filled so that it’s able to absorb the impact of a vehicle hitting directly on the door, which is what happened in our case.
I haven’t heard from the insurance adjuster yet; I hope to hear tomorrow.