Last year, in the midst of the economic crisis, car hire firms across the US scrambled to reduce their fleets in the face of mounting overheads. This led to several situations where car hire companies were forced to deploy second-hand or well-worn models to meet demand.

Frequent travellers were often irked to find rentals with tens of thousands of miles on the clock – something that was unheard of before the recession. Most rental vehicles nominally have around 10,000 miles before they are turned over, often to second-hand dealerships of corporate fleet programs.

USA TODAY, which operates the Road Warrior Panel, invited 1,300 business travellers to inform them of their experiences in the past year when it came to car rental, and the results were less than positive. There were frequent complaints, not just over the high mileage already accrued, but of falling cleaning standards, fewer makes and models to choose from and less sales staff with a resulting drop in customer service.

Although the slow recovery in the industry will take some time to trickle down to the customer, most car hire groups have reported that they believe the worst is over. The Toyota scandal seems to have abated, and Chrysler and GM – who this week announced massive March new vehicle sales – look to have solidified their post-bankruptcy position.

Shareholders have reflected the newly restored confidence, with Hertz, Avis, Budget and Dollar Thrifty all receiving a raised credit rating over recent months from Standards & Poor’s.