We flew BA to Kalamata Greece and went through BA to book a car for the duration. I don't like the tiny cars that struggle up the hills so went for a VW Polo or similar so it would be slightly better.
At the Avis rental desk in the airport they couldn't find the key for the vehicle reserved for us so gave me a free upgrade to a Volvo V40. So far so good. Never driven a Volvo before and never seen myself as a Volvo driver. Nice central info display in the dash telling me helpful things in Greek. Kind of keyless system - insert the key body into a slot then press a start button. Driving more auto than manual now I had my foot on the brake pedal took a while to work out it wanted the clutch pressed to start.
Anyway off and away no problem. Phone nav to first accommodation. Next time I start the car some message in Greek showing a P with a spike next to it. Google translate just showing random words. Check tyres press OK button message goes until next stop.
Drive to next location with same irritant message. Last few days didn't use the car at all. Last day leaving 2 hours for a one hour journey OVER THE MOUNTAINS back to the airport I start the engine and get a barrage of warning lights and a new Greek message. Google translate says Brake systems failure stop safely.
I took it round the block and the brakes worked but there was a continuous chime that got faster with speed. Stopped the engine then restarted hoping the fault might clear and of course it didn't. Got the hotel English speaking guy to look at message and he said the same as google.
Phoned the breakdown number on the rental paperwork and got pre recorded Greek. Phoned the rental office and spoke to an Avis guy and explained the problem. He claimed Volvos were fussy about brake changes so it was just complaining. He said do the brakes work? I had proved they did work on the short test ride so said yes. he then suggested I drive it back and if it broke down call a taxi and they would pay for it!
Faced with the time constraints i drove it. Constant bing bing bing the whole time. As i drove it became obvious to me it was an electrical problem. The indicators didn't work (like most Greek drivers cars) the rev counter and vacuum gauge ECO thing also didn't function and pretty much every warning light was on.
Once I realised it was electrical not mechanical the downhills through the mountains with the dash saying brake systems failure stop safely was a little easier to ignore even if the chime wasn't.
Relief at arriving at the airport was a good feeling. As i paid BA for the car BA will be getting the complaint. The avis guy just said I write brake failure on the form goodbye.
I don't like Volvo V40s. Something was weird about the rear view mirrors and judging distance was a nightmare. Rear visibility was generally awful and I hated having to reverse it. So no Volvos in my future.
At the Avis rental desk in the airport they couldn't find the key for the vehicle reserved for us so gave me a free upgrade to a Volvo V40. So far so good. Never driven a Volvo before and never seen myself as a Volvo driver. Nice central info display in the dash telling me helpful things in Greek. Kind of keyless system - insert the key body into a slot then press a start button. Driving more auto than manual now I had my foot on the brake pedal took a while to work out it wanted the clutch pressed to start.
Anyway off and away no problem. Phone nav to first accommodation. Next time I start the car some message in Greek showing a P with a spike next to it. Google translate just showing random words. Check tyres press OK button message goes until next stop.
Drive to next location with same irritant message. Last few days didn't use the car at all. Last day leaving 2 hours for a one hour journey OVER THE MOUNTAINS back to the airport I start the engine and get a barrage of warning lights and a new Greek message. Google translate says Brake systems failure stop safely.
I took it round the block and the brakes worked but there was a continuous chime that got faster with speed. Stopped the engine then restarted hoping the fault might clear and of course it didn't. Got the hotel English speaking guy to look at message and he said the same as google.
Phoned the breakdown number on the rental paperwork and got pre recorded Greek. Phoned the rental office and spoke to an Avis guy and explained the problem. He claimed Volvos were fussy about brake changes so it was just complaining. He said do the brakes work? I had proved they did work on the short test ride so said yes. he then suggested I drive it back and if it broke down call a taxi and they would pay for it!
Faced with the time constraints i drove it. Constant bing bing bing the whole time. As i drove it became obvious to me it was an electrical problem. The indicators didn't work (like most Greek drivers cars) the rev counter and vacuum gauge ECO thing also didn't function and pretty much every warning light was on.
Once I realised it was electrical not mechanical the downhills through the mountains with the dash saying brake systems failure stop safely was a little easier to ignore even if the chime wasn't.
Relief at arriving at the airport was a good feeling. As i paid BA for the car BA will be getting the complaint. The avis guy just said I write brake failure on the form goodbye.
I don't like Volvo V40s. Something was weird about the rear view mirrors and judging distance was a nightmare. Rear visibility was generally awful and I hated having to reverse it. So no Volvos in my future.
