A rental car employee reports that a customer dropped a car in the return box right as their location was closing – and when staff checked it the next morning,
- the windows had been left down during rain, and
- there was a full plate of red-sauce spaghetti with a utensil sitting on the passenger seat.
The prompted the staffer to make their first TikTok which garnered seven figures in views.
They reported $9,000 in damage, but my sense is that’s high (though rental agencies like to overbill!). Still, a four-figure amount is likely real given water damage in addition to pasta provisions.
Most customers never think to ask at the rental counter, “What’s your spaghetti policy?” Rental companies don’t even think they need to have one! But the next driver is likely to be “upsetti” over the stains from the red sauce. Any why was the spaghetti on a plate and not in a bowl?
- Who goes about their life so stress-free that they just leave behind a plate of spaghetti in a rental car?
- It’s gross. It’s rude. And it’s going to come at a cost. How disrespectful to the employees who are going to have to clean up this vehicle? (Some former rental employee commenters report that they’ve found cup holders filled with ketchup – and worse.)
After-hours returns, rain damage, broad cleaning clauses, discretionary fees, and billing drivers for damages they can’t even document are all real issues.
The driver’s responsibility doesn’t end at an unattended, after-hours dropoff. When a location is closed, the customer remains responsible until the vehicle is checked in the next business day. The car isn’t ‘returned’ until that happens.
Spaghetti is both a cleaning issue and vehicle damage when there are stains and odor. This car wold also have wet seats, carpets, and potentially seat sensors, wiring, and window switches that need to be checked – not to mention potential mold remediation.
There’s no actual need for a spaghetti policy in rental agreements. There’s already broad language covering trash, food, stains, and odors. Those trigger extra cleaning fees as well as repair or replacement costs.
- cleaning fee
- stain removal
- drying and remediation
- damaged components
- loss of use
- administrative fees
A collision damage waiver or credit card rental coverage tends to cover damage to the vehicle but not cleaning fees, and there are generally negligence exclusions.
People don’t trust hidden rental car company fees for good reason. Hertz charged renters for failing to fill gas tanks of Teslas. But this one seems like it’s going to be fair – albeit damage that the new AI scanners aren’t going to pick up.
Don’t leave spaghetti in the seat of your rental car. And if you do return after-hours, you want full time-stamped video of the car’s exterior, interior, odometer, fuel or charge level, showing windows up, trunk closed, condition of the roof, windshield, and tires, and also keys dropped with content for the location. Remove all trash and food from the car. You’re still responsible for damage that occurs after you leave it, but it helps shift proof onto the agency to explain how damage occurred.
Uh oh… spaghetti o’s… ($9K is absurd.)
It’s very likely that the renter DID NOT leave spaghetti on the drivers seat. Anyone who rents cars understands that there are going to be stiff penalties for such an offense.
A much more likely explanation is that the driver accidentally left the window open. This allowed a street person to occupy the vehicle overnight and leave a mess.
My question: who in their right mind would leave over a perfectly good plate of spaghetti?
$9000. ? Hmm I’ve raised kids and have the equipment, cleaning supplies vacuums with extraction and a garage with fans. They can have it in 8 hours , maybe less ! ;. )