You’ve done your online due diligence and gotten the best rental-car deal you could find. You’ve resisted upsells. You’ve done your homework on insurance coverage. You’ve signed on the dotted line and received the ignition key. You’re standing in front of your rental car.
Like it or not, you still have another series of hurdles to clear.
First, in what condition do you find the car? Is it brand new and shiny without a scratch on it? Is it dirty or dusty enough that it could hide big dents? Do the tires have plenty of tread? Is the registration current? Does the interior smell of cigarette smoke? Is it "gently used," as they say in the (gentle) used-car business, with a paint chip here and a small ding there? Is the windshield pitted, even slightly? Are there any dents in the roof or dimples in the undercarriage? (Not joking; keep reading.)
If you spot a scratch, dent, chip, ding, or pit while you’re examining the car – anything that could come back at you for not being noted beforehand – inform an attendant. You’ll either need to document the damage or, in extreme cases, request a different vehicle. A lazy, incompetent, or malicious attendant might try to slough off a ding or a scratch, saying something like, "It doesn’t count," or "That won’t be held against you." But don’t believe it. Everything counts. Everything will potentially be held against you. You’ll be held accountable if you don’t have incontrovertible proof that the car wasn’t perfect when you found it. On occasion, you’ll be held accountable even if you do have incontrovertible proof.
Which is why the experts strongly recommend that you allot plenty of time to not only closely examine the car before you accept it, but also photograph or videotape it after you do. In short, pull out the cell phone or camera and start collecting evidence.
If you’re in a dark or dim parking garage, drive the car to where the light is adequate for picture-taking. Shoot at least two close-ups of the exterior of the car, including the front and rear windshields and bumpers, the fenders, tires, roof, and even the undercarriage. (Sound excessive? In researching this QoD, we read a story in which Enterprise, which showed up repeatedly as one of the most aggressive rental companies when it comes to damage claims, billed a customer weeks after he returned the car for several hundred dollars in damage it supposedly found underneath the car. Who knows when, or even if, it happened?)
Several shots of the interior should include the dashboard, all seats, ceiling, and trunk. If you want to be extra careful, take snapshots of the wheels and under the two bumpers. You can’t take too many photographs as evidence. And whether you’re shooting stills or video, hold the camera steady and time-stamp the photos, or state the date and time into the video.
Retain the images or videos (ideally transferring them to your computer) for six months. According to one ombudsman, six months was "the longest I’ve seen a car rental company wait to file a damage claim."
In addition to the photos and/or video, a lot attendant should provide a form with a diagram on which you note the condition of the vehicle and identify any problems. Don’t leave the lot without recording any pre-existing damage on this form and having a car-rental employee sign it and give you a copy.
Finally! You’ve attended to all the condition details and now it’s time to get into the vehicle and drive off. But … not so fast. Do you know how to start the car? To put it into gear?
Don’t scoff; new cars these days have all kinds of tech you might’ve never seen before. Anthony Curtis had occasion to rent a car recently and wound up in a pickup truck; he spent ten minutes looking for the gear shifter before asking someone where it was. (It turned out to be the round knob near the radio that looked like the volume control.)
Do you know how to turn on the ignition, lights, and windshield wipers? Do you know how to open the trunk and the gasoline fill door? When in doubt, ask. Also, check to see that there’s an operating manual in the glove compartment. If you’re renting the car for any length of time, chances are that at some point, you’ll have to refer to it.
An excellent precaution is to have AAA or another road-rescue service, with the an extended-towing option. You never know when you might need it, especially in a rental car for which you’re liable, but it’ll almost always be in some sort of emergency.
Speaking of which, what if the worst happens and you’re in an accident?
This is an area of major controversy. These days, rental companies take a hard line with customers who damage their vehicles. Indeed, we’ve heard a number of stories from Vegas visitors who insist car-rental companies trumped up damages; they claimed scratches or dents for which they were billed were either pre-existing or didn’t exist at all.
God forbid you’re in a major accident, but if you are, the claims process is straightforward, since no one, presumably, is disputing the damage. (One or another party might dispute the fault, but that’s for the insurance companies to determine.)
Most of the disputed damage claims are for little scratches, dings, and dents that you didn’t notice, that probably occurred when you were parked and out of the vehicle, or perhaps when a pebble hit the windshield on the freeway. (Windshield cracks are the number-one source of rental-car damage claims.)
If you’re aware of damage that occurred while you had the vehicle and alert an employee to this fact, you’ll most likely fill out a claim form on the spot. Signing the form is your admission of the damage and your agreement to pay for it. Think you shouldn’t be responsible for damage to the car while it was parked or for a pebble that dinged the windshield? Think again. If the car was damaged while it was in your possession, you’re liable.
One ombudsman writes, "Recently, some rental companies have begun charging a renter’s credit card a deductible even when there’s been no formal damage estimate. I’m skeptical of that practice. While it may be legal, I think you’re better off waiting for a bill before paying up, or asking your insurance to settle the claim."
If you paid for the rental-company insurance, you just won the wager. But if you didn’t, you’ll have to file a further claim with your personal-insurance or credit-card company (and do it promptly; there’s often a time limit on filing claims).
If you’re not aware of damage to the car, you’ll be surprised to learn about it when you receive a letter from the rental-car company (or its insurance carrier). That’s why you should go through the same evidence-collecting process upon returning the car that you did before accepting it. Date- and time-stamp the photos or video. Then find an employee, walk around the car, and have him or her sign off on the condition form, presumably certifying that you’re returning the car in the same condition in which you rented it.
The ombudsman adds, "If no one is available, go inside, ask for the name and email address of the branch manager, and send the manager a brief email with your name, rental number and a few snapshots of the car as you returned it. Is that overkill? No, and especially not if you are using your own insurance, as opposed to the optional Collision Damage Waiver offered by the rental company. It signals to the rental location that filing a frivolous claim against you will be difficult."
What if you receive a letter from the rental-car company, accusing you of damaging the car and billing you for the average $800, including the cost or repairs and loss-of-use and diminished-value fees? Naturally, you’ll peruse everything carefully, paying particular attention to the license-plate number; if it’s not the same as your car, you’re obviously in the clear. (This is also true if you receive a letter with a parking ticket or photographic evidence of a moving violation, such as failing to pay at a tollbooth or running a red light.) And obviously, if you have your own photographic evidence disputing the company’s claim, send it back and chances are the whole thing will be dropped.
What if it isn’t? Then, you’ll have to go on the offensive, which is beyond the scope of this answer; google "disputing rental-car damage claim" and good luck.
However, we will say that you should be alert to possible scams. Signs of those include an amount that approaches $500 (the usual car-insurance deductible); damage to the roof or undercarriage (yes, here we go again); exorbitant cleaning fees (for example, for pet hair or cigarette smoke, when there were no animals or smoke in the car); and other suspicious claims that quiver your red flag.
So there you have it, everything that commonly goes wrong during the car-rental process. Are you deathly afraid to rent a car now? Don’t be. The original question mentioned that one in six people who rent a car experience some sort of damage to it. This means, of course, that five in six people (83%) don’t have any problems and, presumably, most of those who do are adequately insured.
So grab your best rental-car deal, make sure you’re adequately insured, collect evidence of the car’s condition before and after the rental, and don’t worry, be happy.
