Budget - Tire Blowout - who is liable?

I recently rented a car from Budget in Toronto. On the highway I heard a loud rattling and when I pulled over, I saw that the tire sidewall was completely shredded. There was no other damage to the car.
I haven't heard from Budget yet.
I didn't sign for CDW. I had coverage via my Visa card. However, when I filed the claim with Visa I was told that the incident may not be covered because there was no collision.
I am not sure if the damage was caused by nail or some other object; I didn't see anything on the tire.
The car had less than 5000 miles on it, so it was close to new.

I'm wondering in such a case, who is liable - me or Budget?

First of all FGoose welcome to Flyertalk.

This situations sucks, first of all, but determining liability can be difficult. If the car is brand new, it wouldn't be a maintenance issue. Now if the car had something like 55,000 km on it and was pulling in one direction, that'd be a different case. Think of it this way, Budget owns the car, but you're driving it. So it'd be like if I was driving the car that you owned, and something happened. As the person responsible for the car at the time, I would probably pay for the repair of the tire.

There will probably be differing opinions posted after mine, but ime whatever happens to the car while it's under your name is your responsibility.

Tires are cheap. Consider yourself lucky it didn't blow out at speed. If Budget wants to charge you for it, I wouldn't argue much.
On a related note; I've traveled for over 35 years. Every time I rent a car, I'll do a walk-around checking for damage and tires that look properly inflated. I even pop the trunk and make sure there's a spare with air and a jack.
I've found one or both missing three times. There's something that could really ruin your day...

Thanks tuneman and zippypinhead...maybe I will have to take the charges; hopefully since it's just the tire it won't be excessively expensive.
Btw, this board is great. Already gotten lots of useful info just by searching the forums.

Even if I do agree to the charges, I have heard of cases where the rental company has come back more than once, and added additional charges.
Any tips on how I can ensure that if I do make a payment, I'm not open to any more charges?

I think nowadays it is specifically written in the contract that therenter is liable for any damage to tires, windscreen and undercarriage.

Of course, if you can prove there's neglect on part of Budget involved then matters are different.

S.

That's the message I seem to be getting from other people as well. :(
If it's not a big amount perhaps it'd be easier to just settle it...as long as they don't come after me with additional charges later.

I recently rented a car from Budget in Toronto. On the highway I heard a loud rattling and when I pulled over, I saw that the tire sidewall was completely shredded. There was no other damage to the car.
I haven't heard from Budget yet.
I didn't sign for CDW. I had coverage via my Visa card. However, when I filed the claim with Visa I was told that the incident may not be covered because there was no collision.
I am not sure if the damage was caused by nail or some other object; I didn't see anything on the tire.
The car had less than 5000 miles on it, so it was close to new.

I'm wondering in such a case, who is liable - me or Budget?

That is a maintenance issue. I have never heard of a car company requiring payment for a tire. A new tire would be replaced by the tire company for free anyway. I wouldn't worry too much about it.

That is a maintenance issue. I have never heard of a car company requiring payment for a tire. A new tire would be replaced by the tire company for free anyway. I wouldn't worry too much about it.

That's a good point, I didn't even think about that. Yeah I think that's more likely, the car will go in for warranty work and the tire will be replaced then.

That's encouraging to hear...thanks!

Let me see if Budget comes back to me with anything.

1. With regard to your tire. Last week I rented a car from Budget with no coverage, and experienced a flat tire. I called Roadside Assistance on my contract, Budget arranged for a service to come out and remove the flat and put on the spare. Then I was directed to the nearest Budget location for a car swap. All without any expense or charges to me. Very pleased.

2. You said you would be relying on your MasterCard for coverage, etc. If it's the same coverage that I have (and used) a collision is not necessary. It simply covers any expense that your primary insurance, if any, does not cover. In my case my front windshield totally split from end to end, and MasterCard picked up the expense (I only have liability with my regular auto insurer).

Hope the above helps.





I recently rented a car from Budget in Toronto. On the highway I heard a loud rattling and when I pulled over, I saw that the tire sidewall was completely shredded. There was no other damage to the car.
I haven't heard from Budget yet.
I didn't sign for CDW. I had coverage via my Visa card. However, when I filed the claim with Visa I was told that the incident may not be covered because there was no collision.
I am not sure if the damage was caused by nail or some other object; I didn't see anything on the tire.
The car had less than 5000 miles on it, so it was close to new.

I'm wondering in such a case, who is liable - me or Budget?

I recently had something similar happen to me. I rented a SUV from Budget at St Louis and later the same day whilst having another look around it found a nail through the side wall of the rear O/S tyre. There was no way I had picked that nail up on 50 miles of Interstate driving. I rang Budget and they told me to go to the nearest Firestone depot (the car was driveable with no losss of air from the tire) and get the guy to ring them for an order number. After a bit of messing around a new tyre was fitted and nothing was said about me being responsible. As I was on holiday for a month, 3 hours out of my day was not a big problem. It taught me to check the car over very thoroughly next time. I noticed when I eventually took the car back to them the off hire inspection was mainly looking for serious body damage, they did not check the tyres. It was a good rental averall. I had that SUV for the price of a compact.

Thanks for the replies. It turned out to be a non-issue as everything has been cleared and Budget has taken care of it on their end.

Nice to have had a pleasant experience where a company didn't try to gouge a customer for all they could.

I picked up a car from Alamo in Tucson and drove out and had a blow out. I called AMEX and they took my claim over the phone and asked me to replace the tire which I did and faxed them the receipt. THey sent me a check two weeks later. Alamo never even knew about it as I am sure they would not cover it. I am suprised Budget ate the blow out costs but am glad you were taken care of.

I recently had something similar happen to me. I rented a SUV from Budget at St Louis and later the same day whilst having another look around it found a nail through the side wall of the rear O/S tyre. There was no way I had picked that nail up on 50 miles of Interstate driving. I rang Budget and they told me to go to the nearest Firestone depot (the car was driveable with no losss of air from the tire) and get the guy to ring them for an order number. After a bit of messing around a new tyre was fitted and nothing was said about me being responsible. As I was on holiday for a month, 3 hours out of my day was not a big problem. It taught me to check the car over very thoroughly next time. I noticed when I eventually took the car back to them the off hire inspection was mainly looking for serious body damage, they did not check the tyres. It was a good rental averall. I had that SUV for the price of a compact.

1. Why is it not possible to pick up a nail on the Interstate?
2. If it is not possible to pick it up on the Interstate, is it possible to get it on the way to or from the Interstate?