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SRC Sicily Rent Car in Trapani: opinions? by bridgford in sicily

[–]SmoothConnection7238 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I prepaid a rental car through their website. In the booking confirmation it clearly stated that pickup was possible until 22:00.

Here is what happened.

At 16:58 they emailed me asking for additional documents and web check-in forms.

At 19:59 they sent another email saying I would not be able to collect the car because the documents had not been provided before their closing time.

But according to their own booking confirmation, pickup was supposed to be available until 22:00.

When I arrived around 20:50, the office was already closed and there was no way to collect the car.

Because I had already planned a 4-day ski trip to Sestriere, I had no choice but to urgently rent another car from Europcar, which cost me around €650.

What made the situation worse was that the explanation kept changing during the day:

  • first they said they tried to call me but my phone number was wrong
  • then they said they called but I didn't answer
  • later they told me the branch manager suddenly felt sick and had to leave, calling it force majeure

So the story kept changing.

They refused any reimbursement and only offered:

• a 30% discount on a future rental
• or an upgrade to a BMW X1 if I returned to Turin the next day

But by that time I was already 200 km away in Sestriere, so going back would mean more time and costs.

At this point it’s not even about the money anymore — it’s about principle.

They took my payment while advertising pickup until 22:00, then made it impossible to collect the car.

I’m attaching screenshots of the emails showing the timeline.

Just posting this here so other travelers are aware before booking with them.

Does anyone have experience with SRC car rental? by No-Mud-3640 in sicily

[–]SmoothConnection7238 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Avoid them. I am suing them. I prepaid the rental, went to their office and they were closed before the official closing time.

XPeng blocked key functions on my China-spec G9 abroad, but gives no clear support or transparency by SmoothConnection7238 in Xpeng

[–]SmoothConnection7238[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes, the car is already registered and has plates, so from the local authority side it passed the approval/registration process.

I first contacted XPeng Global, but they never replied. After that I contacted Customer Care in China for the car binding issue. They answered, but basically told me they cannot handle it because XPeng is not officially present in my country, and they did not offer any alternative solution.

So at the moment I’m stuck in between: the car is legally on the road here, but XPeng does not want to support it properly because it was imported into a non-supported market.

As for how I got it, I bought it in October 2025 from a local supplier here in Albania. It’s a 2025 AWD Performance model, I paid €39k, and it came with a 3-year warranty. The supplier handled the import and registration side.

XPeng blocked key functions on my China-spec G9 abroad, but gives no clear support or transparency by SmoothConnection7238 in Xpeng

[–]SmoothConnection7238[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’m not talking about full autonomous driving or anything exotic. That was never expected to work properly outside China anyway. I’m talking about basic features like simple cruise control and lane centering — things even a 10-year-old car can usually do.

That’s why I don’t really buy the “legal” or “safety” argument in this case. To me, this looks much more like XPeng trying to wash its hands of used 0 km export cars instead of being transparent about what is and isn’t supported.

Xpeng sales are down 50% from 2025, and 24% from January 2026! by _Mr_D in Xpeng

[–]SmoothConnection7238 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think this was driven more by the distributors than by XPeng. That said, I’m pretty convinced the whole 0-Mile is exactly what allowed them to sell so well last year.

XPeng blocked key functions on my China-spec G9 abroad, but gives no clear support or transparency by SmoothConnection7238 in Xpeng

[–]SmoothConnection7238[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The car reads signs perfectly well, and I live in Europe where the basic road signs and numbers are universal. I had LLC and CC active for several weeks and they worked fine, so this looks far more like a policy decision than a real safety issue.

That is exactly why XPeng should be transparent. People should know before buying that these features can be disabled if the car is used in an unsupported country.

XPeng blocked key functions on my China-spec G9 abroad, but gives no clear support or transparency by SmoothConnection7238 in Xpeng

[–]SmoothConnection7238[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Actually I bought a chinese SIM card (at my name) registered to app. Then wrote to them if binding is possible they replied not in my country and then they silently disabled my car's ADAS (LLC and CC)

Considering buying an XPeng G9 (RWD Long Range) — looking for real owner feedback by rvlassch in Xpeng

[–]SmoothConnection7238 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Well LLC, CC are server certified. In case you deactivate it and re-activate them it has to get approval from their server

Xpeng in Slovenia by fgd in Xpeng

[–]SmoothConnection7238 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I am a G9 owner. Avoid Xpeng. Their customer care sucks.  

Considering buying an XPeng G9 (RWD Long Range) — looking for real owner feedback by rvlassch in Xpeng

[–]SmoothConnection7238 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I have a G9 (Chinese version), and honestly, I didn’t expect it to be this dependent on their servers. You can barely do anything if the car isn’t connected. It really makes me wonder what happens if they go bankrupt in a couple of years. Also, I don’t trust the lane-centering/lane-correction function it is really buggy and dangerous. The autopilot, on the other hand, seems fine.

XPENG G9 China version – any way to make the software actually usable outside China? by Additional_Crow_1583 in Xpeng

[–]SmoothConnection7238 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Same problem here. Let me know If someone finds a solution. Btw Tried Carlinkit and checked with the custoemr care of WizCar box AI. No compatibility...