Shortage of rental cars following last week's storm

Last week's nor'easter has left local car rental agencies a little swamped.

Motorists flocking to rent vehicles while flood-damaged cars are being repaired has created a shortage of cars available for rent in Hampton Roads.

On Tuesday, an employee at the local offices of Hertz said no cars would be available to rent until Friday. A sales representative for Avis Budget Group Inc. said no cars would be ready in the area until Thursday.

In an attempt to remedy the shortage, Enterprise Rent-A-Car is bringing in 400 to 500 extra vehicles from outside Hampton Roads to meet local rental demand, said Christy Conrad, a spokeswoman.

"Normally we'd have enough supply for everybody, but when you have a situation when everyone is rushing to get their cars fixed, you can have a problem," she said.

Enterprise is giving priority to customers whose cars were left completely inoperable from the flooding, she said.

Hampton Roads is the only region in the country where Enterprise is having to send in additional vehicles after last week's storm, Conrad said.

"It's an unusual situation," she said. "Usually you hear about hail damage from storms."

Josh Brown, (757) 446-2318, josh.brown@pilotonline.com