Start gambling our games for free or start gambling with real money and win some of our top promotions and online video poker casino or poker games rule. Michael klatt misses the days when rental cars were shiny and new. in june, he rented a ford taurus in fort lauderdale, florida, that had loose steering and stained seats. "i was literally touching it to see if it was wet, " he says. the car, which had 20, 000 miles on it, also had brakes that were a little wonky--he had to push down hard on the pedal to make them work. "before, you didn't get a car with 20, 000 to 25, 000 miles, " the new hill, north carolina, resident and longtime hertz customer says. "you can tell: they ride rough; they have a shimmy going down the road; the seats have stains on them. it's like rent-a-wreck." paula rivera, a hertz spokeswoman, says the company's fleet age--typically 8 to 12 months and 16, 000 to 20, 000 miles--hasn't changed, and that its cars are maintained in accordance with manufacturer guidelines. but while customers and carrental companies debate whether the quality of rental cars is sliding, u.s. rental companies are indeed implementing stingier policies as they look to cut costs. vanguard car rental, which operates national car rental and alamo rent a car, says that there are about 2, 000 more miles on its vehicles on average fleetwide now compared with a year ago. hertz is being less generous with its loyalty program and afterhours drop-offs. and some customers say rental-car companies are being more nitpicky about where they refuel, with some renters being slapped with fuel fees if they fill up more than a few miles from the airport. rental-car companies have been pinched because auto makers, desperate to get their own finances under control, are curtailing the practice of selling lessprofitable "program" cars to fleets. program cars are vehicles that rental companies buy at a reduced cost, then resell at prearranged prices through auction lots, usually after around nine months. the auto makers used that avenue to rid themselves of excess production. so rental companies are now filling their fleets with a larger share of "risk" cars-- cars they ultimately have to sell themselves, possibly at a loss. companies say that consumers shouldn't notice a difference in their rental cars--even if they have more mileage. vanguard, which enterprise rent-a-car co. recently bought, says the additional 2, 000 miles on its cars is nothing dramatic. also, the cars are maintained by manufacturer-certified mechanics and generally disposed of before they reach 20, 000 miles. industry observers agree. "the cars are maintained fairly well, " says chris brown, managing editor of the trade publication auto rental news. higher gasoline prices may also be spurring some companies to be a bit more stringent about refueling. before jason smith returned his rental car at chicago's o'hare international airport in august, he date where renters refuel. the problem with having to refuel so near the return site, consumers say, is that some gas stations use their proximity to rentalcar drop-off areas as an excuse to gouge customers. "that does go on, " says geoff sundstrom, a spokesman for aaa, the automobile association. mr. smith, the national renter, says that's why he filled up 15 miles away from o'hare. some new car-rental policies are hitting the companies' most loyal customers. hertz has become a bit less generous with its loyalty program and has added some new fees. the company--which ford motor co. sold two years ago to a group of investors the carlyle group, clayton dubilier & rice and merrill lynch global private equity ; --recently announced that, in many cases, the cost of redemptions in its #1 awards program will rise starting march 1. the cost of a non-peak free rental day certificate, for example, will increase to 600 points from 500. generally, members get one point per dollar spent. ; in addition, hertz in february instituted new charges for afterhours returns. returns made after the rental location has closed now incur charges until the location reopens. the company says it made that change because of an increased number of disputes over both vehicle damage and the exact time when cars are returned!