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)
They want to do this, they should be required to provide a complete damage and repair history for the car.
And road debris is part of driving, the customer should not be responsible for it.
Great way to kill the rental car business eventually
Cool. Goodbye Hertz
Who in their right mind would rent from Hertz after their history of having renters arrested and now making a big deal out of a tiny scratch or scuff mark on a tire ?
Just dispute it as a fraudulent charge.
The surviving and most profitable car rental company will be the one that chooses not to engage in this scheme to exploit customers for the fair wear and tear of operating a vehicle.
Only fair way to do this would be to scan the cars on the way out and the way in and make them both available to the customer. Otherwise, the rental car company can keep charging for a scratch over and over and over again. Right now I am renting a thrifty car, that was actually picked up from the Hertz lot as they are the same company. I don’t usually rent from Hertz anymore as I am afraid of being arrested. But I rented this thrifty car because it was so inexpensive compared to the other companies. I am driving it with kid gloves on. But you never know if you park in the parking lot and someone dings your door. I sure don’t like this new
Agree with JeffK
Otherwise, I can see fraud and expensive legal battles.
There should never be a separate charge for normal wear and tear on a vehicle. Does Hertz really expect us to believe that that was not previously factored into rental rates? Charging separately for it now is clearly double-dipping, in addition to the likelihood of them charging subsequent renters for the same things. Or do they expect renters to spend the entire rental period in their garage to avoid normal wear and tear?! Insane!
How about Hertz scans the vehicle when it goes out and makes that part of the rental record? And by the way, minor scratches are going to occur as part of normal “wear and tear,” so why are they not ignored as we have been told every time we mention scratches upon vehicle pick-up?
Highway robbery!!! A detailer can buff this scratch out for $15. Even if the tire blew out and you managed to dent and severely scratch the rim, replacing the entire rim is less than $150 so you’re better off buying a new rim and replacing it before returning the rental to Hertz! LOL
Rent from National. Their service is much more superior to Hertz.
I have two rentals I’ll be making shortly. They were going to be Hertz (I’m a Gold member) but this is just downright scary and just reeks of being just a money-maker. (an ‘admin fee’ to process the processing fee?? Really??)
I’m switching over to Avis or at least as long as they continue to do visual/photo inspections and not this “AI system”.
I don’t see how AI can see a scratch on a dirty car!
Hertz is the worst. They’ll do anything they can to make (extort) an extra buck.
This is how you go bankrupt a 3rd time in a decade. Hertz is just good at screwing customers and taking shareholder money.
Bye hertz….bad for your business.