First off, you are authorized to get a car worth up to $45 a day BECAUSE you drive a Lincoln rather than a Ford. Hooray, you think. That's a Cadillac or other luxury rental, you see on the website. But when Enterprise fills the order, and your rental guy says he's going to get the Altima, you realize that's not a Cadillac or a Lincoln. That's a Nissan Altima worth $25 a day. Granted, it's the $30,000 SL version of the $23,000 car, but still. If I was using this time to consider whether or not I'll be buying another Lincoln, I want a Lincoln approved by Matthew McConaughey, and I am sure he doesn't drive around in an Altima.
Next, you've got storage concerns to deal with if you get your rental. Do you want your nice Lincoln or rental Altima sitting out in the sun and out at night in the driveway? Maybe someone steals new Nissan Altimas, especially SLs. But why would I want to leave my Lincoln out as bait? The main point is that Lincoln isn't going to store your car, even if it ALMOST admits it's not safe to drive by providing a rental car. Nobody in Jacksonville has enough storage room for extra cars, so this is a real concern.
My biggest concern is about insurance. Here's the deal: I am insured, and Progressive says it's all cool that I have a rental for a recall. But I'm a little unclear just how much or what is covered if I get into a scrape. And if I leave the Altima out at night, what happens when someone breaks a window to steal the gun I don't have in the (unlit) glove compartment? Enterprise wanted me to pay an extra $20 a day for some kind of insurance, as well as an extra $15 a day for another. That would have made my free rental $35 a day out of pocket, on top of paying my own insurance company for some kind of coverage. That's why I contacted Lincoln Concierge to ask why, if I was getting an economy car, couldn't the company at least throw in some added coverage, just in case:
Now, if I was paying for the full rental with my credit card, then I'd have some sort of coverage through Discover or MasterCard. But I'm not paying for the car myself (besides the deposit). Maybe I'll still get some love for using my card for the deposit.
I guess I'm jittery about insurance because I got in my first Jax fender-bender the same day I got the rental. Not my fault, but what if, right?
My cousin was right when he said it was a good deal to get a rental. It's safer and Lincoln is paying for wear and tear until I get the MKZ fixed, but it's only a good deal if nothing goes awry. And if my wife can handle the Altima's seats when we take a road trip. (I think the seats are a bit sketchy.) Oh yeah, it does get 32 mpg compared to the MKZ AWD's 20ish mpg combined, so that's cool, too.
Maybe we'll fall in love with the Altima over the next 1-12 months while we wait for our parts. I could even offer to buy this exact car. It's already synched with my phone, whatever that does (not much, from what I can tell).
My advice for Lincoln owners is to strongly consider getting a rental vehicle, but make sure you understand what you're getting into and what kind of replacement you'll probably end up with. And where you're going to store all the cars in your stable. Good luck and stay safe.