I’ve always loved renting cars at airports – even with all the extra fees – because the major rental car companies just haven’t worried about minor nicks and scrapes on vehicles when I return them. Hertz, Avis and National are high volume, and these locations tend to be high revenue as well. So renters tend not to get nickeled and dimed for minor damage that they probably didn’t do to the vehicle themselves.

While it’s always advisable to take photos and videos of vehicles prior to renting, the hassle over minor dings just tends not to come into play with major car rental chains at major airports. That’s changing at Hertz.

Hertz is installing UVeye inspection portals at its biggest U.S. airports this year. Atlanta was the first, but they expect to hit 100 airports before 2025 is oer.

Now they scan cars as they’re being returned – vehicles drive through a camera‑and‑sensor tunnel and get an ‘MRI for vehicles’ to log damage in a way that rental staff never did before. It also finds hard to spot damage such as under the vehicle, uneven tire wear, hairline cracks in the windshield.

Here’s how it cashed out for one renter in Atlanta.

• There was a “1-inch scuff on the driver’s side rear wheel” of the Volkswagen he rented
  
• Within minutes of the return he got a message about the damage along with a bill for $440: $250 repair cost, $125 “processing” and $65 “administrative fee.”

Hertz defines the processing fee as “the cost to detect and estimate the damage that occurred during your rental.” The admin fee, meanwhile, “covers a portion of the costs [Hertz incurs] as a result of processing your claim.”

The processing fee is supposed to cover the cost of processing, but it’s the admin fee that covers the cost of processing and the processing fee that covers the cost to “detect and estimate the damage.” You have to pay them to inspect the vehicle and decide how much to charge you.

• They ask for payment right away

• In this case there was a $52 discount for payment within 2 days, or a $32.50 discount for payment within a week. That strikes me as an offer you make when you’re not confident in your position.

• Asking Hertz questions or to review the claim takes up to 10 days for a response though – so if you question the invoice, you’re stuck paying more.

According to Hertz,

The vast majority of rentals are incident-free. When damage does occur, our goal is to enhance the rental experience by bringing greater transparency, precision, and speed to the process. Digital vehicle inspections help deliver on that with clear, detailed documentation that is delivered more quickly, as well as a more technology-enabled resolution process.

The vast majority of Hertz rentals are arrest-free too, but that was little comfort to the customers who wound up in jail because the company failed to track returns properly.

Expect this to spread to other rental companies. Enterprise – known for their excruciating vehicle walkarounds (which help upsell insurance in addition to catching vehicle damage) – is piloting similar technology and Avis has discussed plans for trials.

(HT: Paul H)