Gavin,
what do you think about that.
Last October (sic) we rented a SUV from a large rental company (not to mention the name but it starts with A) at DIA. We asked for winter tires because the tires on the car were aweful for gravel roads. No chance to get those or even chains. We made it to Leadville during a light snow storm but when we headed up Cottonwood Pass the next day to drive via Taylor Park and Alpine Tunnel to Gunnison we had to return. Even at slowest speed the tires had no grip on the 2 inches of snow.
We tried the same on Monarch Pass and app half way up after giving a brake to a plow car we left the road and hit the ground at app 5 mph speed. We went back on the road and noticed that app 50 % of the width of the drive belt was ripped off.
Contacted A and looked for repair shop, finally found one at Gunnison which built in a new belt for $ 110. But they could not mount the pully wheels correctly so at every start the belt was whining like a ghost (ok it was before Halloween).
During the ride the car was getting more and more dirty (thats what they should look like).
On a gas station in Durango later that month during filling I noticed a clean white SUV with a German couple beside (I am German too). Both were busy cleaning up the windshields and even the tires from dirt (b.t.w in my opinion, the car looked like it had never seen a dirt road) He said to her: "Look at those Americans, they drive an expensive car and do not take care of it.
I looked at them and answered in German: Do you really think I clean up a rental car every day !
They looked at me, got in the car and off they drove with screaming wheels.
We followed some 10 minutes later and at Bayfield
we saw police lights flashing from a far distance.
Guess who was in front of the police car ?
Right !
Steffen
