Rental Car Damaged Prior to Pickup

[Ralphie]

We had pre-booked a rental car for our NZ trip. There was a breakdown of organisation at the Thrifty station we picked it up last night (they had overrented their cars, so there was an average wait of 45 minutes while they tried to find replacements for those that had booked) and after almost an hour we were hurriedly given a different car.


The front desk staffer who handed us the keys said "it's been fully looked over and anything of concern is wear and tear", however the condition report handed to us has no mention of any damage to the car.


We've picked up the car and there are dents and scrapes on one side where it clearly was once hit by something, not to mention stains on the internal seats. I've taken time stamped photos but are there any other suggestions of how else we can best protect ourselves against being charged for damage that we didn't do? Having had mysterious unexplained charges from rental companies before, I'm a bit anxious that we could be charged an excess with no recourse.

 

[serfty]

Never - ever - leave the rental lot with such damage until it is noted on all copies of the condition report.

Also, always check fuel, rental rate and any insurance as provided in the documentation that is handed to you.

I have at times gone back to the rental counter more than once to sort out discrepancies befere leaving the car park/lot.

If you have left the lot, go back if possible amd sort it out.

 

[RooFlyer]

Fully agree with serfty.

As an aside, the increasing practice of one not being given a paper condition report but to simply be told "come back and tell us if there are any problems" is another way to forget a thorough inspection prior to driving off.

 

[Fifa]

Check under the spare tyre (if it's in the boot/under the rear floor) as they often put their own copy of the condition report there.

 

[drron]

Only happened to me once since I took photos of the damage.I did not go back to office as much the same situation as yours-was in the UK though.Had taken an age to pick up and we had a 3 hour drive to where we were staying-flight was in very late.Different drop off depot.They walked straight to the damage and said you had an accident.Said no and I have the photos to prove it and I am now taking the photos to prove that it is no different.So you will not charge me for the pre existing damage or I will be doing a charge back on my CC and notifying the authorities.Backed off straight away

 

[kpc]

Never - ever - leave the rental lot with such damage until it is noted on all copies of the condition report.

Also, always check fuel, rental rate and any insurance as provided in the documentation that is handed to you.

I have at times gone back to the rental counter more than once to sort out discrepancies befere leaving the car park/lot.

If you have left the lot, go back if possible amd sort it out.

I'm very paranoid about preexisting damage and do a thorough check of the car...many tines I've gone back to get them to mark additional damage. ...amazing isn't that they do a thorough inspection when you return, and I just say look at the report with the preexisting damage!!

 

[drivatruk]

i rented a van in Bali. Took pics before hand and when i got back they said new damage. I showed them the pics and then they said new damage underneath. I told them in no uncertain terms i was not responsible and walked out. I got back to the villa and told my friends. One started to smile and said when he borrowed the car he did a u turn and got bogged in a ditch. Four locals lifted him out of the ditch. He decided not to tell me because i would argue harder about the damage no being mine. hate to say it worked.

 

[Ralphie]

Thank you.

Yes, a rookie error not checking immediately. We noticed at the hotel once we arrived, in all honesty going back didn't occur.

After a rummage, we found a copy of another vehicle inspection report in the car that does note the damage, even notes very different tyre pressures.

I've a photo of both copies of the inspection reports and of the damage and sent them through in an email to Thrifty, and will follow up with a phone call today.

 

[sausagefingers]

I usually do a quick Video walk around of any scratches etc around the car, and take photos as well. I may be paranoid, but I've never had any issues either.

 

[kpc]

I usually do a quick Video walk around of any scratches etc around the car, and take photos as well. I may be paranoid, but I've never had any issues either.

I like the idea of the video walk...how do you time stamp the video / photos? I guess including video of the speedometer may be one way but how about the photos?

 

[kelvedon]

I always do the walk around on collection, ( the photos/video is a good idea) but sometimes at night or in underground car parks it's difficult to see things properly. I nearly always find some mark that I hadn't noticed a few days into the hire.

 

[Flying Fox]

I recently hired a vehicle from Budget and they were very reasonable about damage.

They stated up front that minor paint scratches on the bumpers and a few other items are explicitly classified as normal wear & tear and excluded as any form of damage on my part.

I thought that was very reasonable.

 

[marki]

AVIS parked the car early dropped the keys off( so no checks) ...... Next thing 2000 for car damage.
I knew it was not me. I explained to them it must be on security vision after I left the car.
In the end had to dispute the charge.

 

[marki]

Another time with AVIS plates stolen from front of car.
Fines started pouring in for parking infringements then speeding. The AVIS processing at times costing more than the fine. I had done a police report. Again Avis was impossible to deal with. Disputed the charge after presenting the evidence.

 

[Mattg]

Did you have any issues when returning the car?

 

[lovetravellingoz]

Never - ever - leave the rental lot with such damage until it is noted on all copies of the condition report.


If you have left the lot, go back if possible amd sort it out.

100% agree. I am very cough on this and get them to mark on the minor scratches that they leave off and say are ok. (the person checking at that or another depot may not)

I take pics and include one with the rep in it.

 

[clifford]

I've been a Hertz Gold customer for over 20 years and never had a hint of a problem, until now. I also get good rates in Australia though the organisation I am affiliated with. I am always fastidious about the condition of a car when renting, ensuring there is no undocumented damage (as best I can in dimly lit garages). I always take photos (including the instruments) before, during and at the end of each rental, but haven't needed to refer to them, until now. I regard myself as a careful driver and have never had an accident or even a speeding ticket in any vehicle (including my own).

So, I was a little taken aback with the treatment I received when returning a rented SUV to the Sydney International Terminal early one morning last week. As usual, I had several photos of the vehicle, although a couple were less clear than I would have liked because in was pitch black in the parking garage where I picked the vehicle up.

When I pulled up at the depot, a Hertz employee pounced on me and started checking the vehicle for damage (in a dimly lit garage). While I was unloading my bags from the rear of the vehicle, the Hertz employee was studying the car’s bonnet. He then pointed out what he said was a slight dent at the front centre of the bonnet, and I said I couldn't really see anything, and in any case nothing happened to the car on my watch.

Well, nothing I could say made any difference to this fixated person, and he promptly annotated the agreement document to the fact that previously undocumented damage had been found and that I would have to pay for it. I documented my views including that I had many photos and would certainly contest any charge for damages. When I later enhanced and scrutinised all the photos, I still couldn't see any damage.

I didn't have to wait long to find that my credit card had been charged with the vehicle LDW excess. However, I thought I'd wait a day or two until Hertz formally contacted me with their decision on this "damage". A couple of days later I received a sheepish email (with a smiley face) from Hertz saying that all charges for this “damage’ had been removed. I can only conclude that the parking garage returns team were completely incompetent or running a scam or Hertz local management were pressing to achieve more "results" and higher short-term income.

In my case all it's done is to lose Hertz my business. I wonder how many others have suffered a similar fate when returning a rental car to Sydney airport.

 

[N860CR]

You do have to be careful... It takes only a few minutes to have some additional damage listed however an eternity of stress to deal with a company like Hertz after the fact.

I hired a car in JNB recently that was fairly new but had a number of small scratches and chips on it. I went inside and told the hertz person who tried the "oh small scratches don't count". I politely said I'd still like them marked. She (clearly getting frustrated with me) put a few numbers on my copy of the form and signed it before shooing me away.

When I returned it a day later.... What do you know, they're a bit more pedantic. "There's a scratch on the bumper that you've caused" I'm told. They shut up pretty quickly when I showed them my document that their staff had signed.

It doesn't matter if your Gold, Platinum, Titanium... Hire car organisations are all scum and it's very important to remember that. No better example of that than here in LA right now - I have a brand new very expensive Ford Explorer parked in the hotel. It cost me $40 for 24 hours. The money they make is in what they can screw out of you.

 

[ithongy]

I'm the same with Serfty, been taking out rental trucks, vans, cars too many times & always inspect the vehicle with staff to mark on paper work for any scratches, damages etc... Never ever have I been ever stuffed around for damages I didn't do. It lets the staff know that you're not a person to stuff around with.

Never - ever - leave the rental lot with such damage until it is noted on all copies of the condition report.

Also, always check fuel, rental rate and any insurance as provided in the documentation that is handed to you.

I have at times gone back to the rental counter more than once to sort out discrepancies befere leaving the car park/lot.

If you have left the lot, go back if possible amd sort it out.

 

[JohnPhelan]

I can only conclude that the parking garage returns team were completely incompetent or running a scam or Hertz local management were pressing to achieve more "results" and higher short-term income.

In my case all it's done is to lose Hertz my business. I wonder how many others have suffered a similar fate when returning a rental car to Sydney airport.

I've also had a bad experience with Hertz at SYD airport, wanting to charge a large amount of excess for very minor pre-existing 'wear and tear' damage. It's quite obvious from the way a team of people immediately start looking at the car in minute detail that they have been told to find something, anything. I am a regular Hertz customer and I have never seen this level of scrutiny at any other Hertz rental depot in the world - but it is a common experience at SYD airport.

Interestingly, an Avis rep commented to me just this weekend that Hertz staff have been told to find any damage, however minute, and charge for it. He also noted that Avis has picked up a significant number of disgruntled Hertz customers because of it!