A Cadillac - or a Kia?

Bruce Ingebretsen is promised a Cadillac or “similar” vehicle when he rents a car from Enterprise. Instead, he’s handed the keys to a Kia. Did the car rental company make a mistake? If so, what can the customer do about it? Find out what you can do to ensure your next rental car isn’t a clunker.

Q: We attended a wedding in New York recently, and because it was a special event, we wanted to rent a luxury car. Enterprise offered some pretty decent prices, so we decided to reserve a car with it. The description was for a “Cadillac DeVille, Lincoln Towncar or similar.”

We arrived at the airport in Islip, NY, and were picked up by the shuttle driver, he began telling us how much we were going to enjoy the car that was waiting for us. After doing the paperwork, we were taken to our car.

But it wasn’t a DeVille — it was a Kia Amanti!

According to the Enterprise representative, the vehicle fit the description of “similar.”

Right. If I’m shopping for a luxury car and can’t find what I want at the Cadillac or Lincoln dealer, my next stop is the Kia dealer. Not! That being the very best they had on the lot we took it and intended to follow-up after our trip.

To add insult to injury, the car was dirty and muddy in the driver’s side and the trunk. Plus, it was supposed to be a non-smoking car and the previous renter had smoked in it, and the car really smelled bad. They sprayed the interior and ended up giving us the spray bottle saying that we might need to spray it some more.

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Any advice?

— Bruce Ingebretsen Port St. Lucie, Fla.

A: The Kia Amanti is not “similar” to the Cadillac DeVille or Lincoln Towncar. According to Jato Dynamics, an independent provider of automobile product information, the Amanti’s closest competitors are the Ford Crown Victoria, Mercury Grand Marquis and Toyota Avalon. Indeed, the sticker price on the Kia is $25,200; the DeVille’s list price is $46,740.

Car rental companies create classes of vehicles because it allows them to be as flexible as possible with their fleets. I’m sure you can imagine the chaos if a rental company promised a particular car, but then couldn’t deliver the make and model you expected. Having these vehicle classes allows a practical substitution.

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But customers expect the swapped-out cars to be comparable to the ones they wanted. Enterprise’s Web site is somewhat vague when it comes to describing a “similar” vehicle in the luxury category. It only lists amenities such as four doors, automatic transmission and air conditioning (among several others) under the luxury slot.

Never mind the condition of the downsized car you rented. There’s no excuse for that. All vehicles should be properly cleaned and disinfected before being returned to use, and there’s no cutting corners — especially when a previous renter has smoked in the car.

I think this was easily preventable. If you had called the Enterprise location at Islip and politely explained that you were driving this car to a wedding and that it needed to be something special, and maybe even stated a preference, I think you would have gotten a different car.

The car-rental industry is a service business, and when it comes to special events such as weddings, I have personally seen employees go the extra mile.

When you received the keys to the Kia, you should have gone back to the front desk and requested another car. Once you leave the lot, you have waived almost all of your rights to future compensation.

I brought your case to Enterprise’s attention, and I was impressed by the speed with which they responded. A regional vice president called you almost immediately and apologized for your rental mix-up. He agreed with you that no matter how nice the Kia was, it was no Cadillac.

Enterprise refunded the cost of your entire rental.

Christopher Elliott is National Geographic Traveler's ombudsman and a nationally syndicated columnist who specializes in solving your travel problems. Got a trip that needs fixing? Send him a or visit his . Your question may be published in a future story.