flyerfmaz

Well, this is a first. About halfway through my rental this week, the windshield started to crack -- from the bottom-up! Had a closer look, and there was a rock ding at the very bottom of the windshield, completely out of view. Exchanged the car at the nearest Hertz location, and filled out a damage form. Nothing hit the windshield on my watch, but the most that the Hertz reps would say is that "all cars are pre-inspected", and that if the damage wasn't previously noted that I'd be held responsible. Really? And just what is this "inspection" -- would they have noticed a small rock ding out of sight on the bottom of the windshield? Anyone have any advice or thoughts on this?

guv1976

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"Anyone have any advice or thoughts on this?"

Yes: conduct your own inspection before you drive a rental car of the lot.

Did you use a credit card that provides rental-car coverage?

flyerfmaz

I did an inspection of the vehicle on pickup and didn't immediately see the ding in the very bottom of the windshield. Who would? I did see it when I was cleaning the windshield within about an hour of picking the car up, but the ding was so small it seemed insignificant. However, after sitting in 110 degree heat in a hotel parking lot in Phoenix today the ding expanded into a crack about 4 or 5 inches long.

Yeah, I'm fully covered with other insurance (AMEX premium rental, which pays for everything), but my sense of justice says that Hertz is full of crap on this. I had nothing to do with the ding in the windshield.

If this is the way Hertz is going to be, I will become their worst nightmare on rental pickups.

azepine00

It is unreasonable to expect every renter to thoroughly inspect their cars especially since most garage lots are rather dimly lit.
Unfortunately hertz takes a position of charging customers for whach should be considered wear and tear while keeping card for 20-30k and beyond.

guv1976

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"I had nothing to do with the ding in the windshield."

That may be so, but if neither you nor Hertz noted pre-existing damage before you drove the car off the lot, how is Hertz to come to that conclusion?

As to the "justice" of it, since Amex is paying, let them worry about that. I'm sure that Amex is quite capable of looking after its own interests on questionable damage issues. After all, you're paying for Amex's Premium coverage so that you do not have to worry about things like this.

flyerfmaz

Exactly. The garages are dim and can have a great deal of glare, making it difficult to thoroughly inspect the car. I've asked Hertz reps before about inspections, and their response was "don't worry, all the cars are pre-inspected and any damage is noted for you". Oh, REALLY? So, now I'm going to trust that your people who process dozens or maybe hundreds of cars a day are doing an accurate job on the "pre-inspections"? Give me a break!

Yesterday when I swapped out the car with the windshield crack at PHX, the replacement car had a card in it telling me how clean and well-prepared the car was. The windshield was a buggy and bird-pooped mess that I had to clean off myself, and all the windows were spotty and looked like they had been cleaned with a dirty rag. The inside had not been well vacuumed. If the same person who cleaned that car was also responsible for "pre-inspection" it's not a trustworthy situation. At least the replacement car hadn't been smoked in.

flyerfmaz

Hertz's approach as of late is that all cars are "pre-inspected" for you. Hertz MAY or MAY NOT have previously noted the windshield ding, there's no way to know. The reps at the counter appear to have no access to the data. Also, there's no longer any form to note damage on. Example: several weeks ago Hertz at TUS tried to hand me a car with significant hail damage. I went back inside to the counter, told them that the car was seriously damaged and I didn't want to be held responsible. Their reply? "We're sure it's already noted in the file, you don't have to worry about it". No forms, no evidence of anything. They just expect you to trust their "mystery system" of inspection with data held at corporate headquarters somewhere.

Yesterday evening I called AMEX to report the windshield crack issue. The AMEX rep laughed when I told him about Hertz's "pre-inspection" game. We both agreed it was stupid. AMEX will take care of the windshield I'm sure. BUT...just fair warning to anyone renting from Hertz...BEWARE of their "pre-inspection" system.

guv1976

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When I pick up a car from any car rental company and see any damage that I think might raise an issue on return, I go back to the rental counter and insist that an agent note the pre-existing damage on my contract. And I keep my copy of the contract after I have returned the car.

Damage forms may be convenient, but they are not the sole method of noting pre-existing damage. And when my wallet's at stake, I do not rely on an agents assurances as to what's already been noted. Take photos with your cell phone, and get the damage noted before you drive off the lot. That's the only way to protect yourself -- or your insurer.

Westcoaster

This thread reminds me of last fall when it sounded like a rock hit the windshield of our almost new car. When we stopped I scanned the windshield carefully from inside the car and didn't see any damage. The next morning there was a 7 inch crack starting from the bottom of the windshield, from below what's visible from inside the car. When we had the windshield replaced the technician said that damage from that area (the very bottom of the windshield) is very hard to fix and almost always results in replacing the windshield. A regular Novus type repair doesn't generally do it. It sounded like a rock chip in that area is much more likely to result in a big crack than a chip in the center of the windshield too.

So whether it's a rental car or your own car that chip at the very bottom of the windshield is bad news. I've added checking for chips in that area to my list of things to check when picking up a rental car.

I assume you're talking about the windshield here. As an aside I noticed in the fine print that my Amex Premium Car Rental Protection doesn't cover tire damage "...unless other Damage occurs to the Rental Car from the same Accident, or Theft of the entire Rental Car occurs..." So a regular flat tire may not be covered. Just thought others who have this same coverage would want to know. If this is too off topic then Mods do what you must.

flyerfmaz

Ditto. It's always pretty dark in the garage where I pick up the weekly rentals, so I'll pull over outside of the garage when leaving and double-check things. Any unnoticed rock dings in any of the glass will cause an immediate rejection of the car -- period.

As an update, I turned the cracked windshield issue over to AMEX and they're handling it. So, there won't be any issues with resolution. Still, Hertz's "pre-inspection" game should give everyone great pause when picking up a rental from them. Inspect, inspect, inspect!!

guv1976

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"Still, Hertz's "pre-inspection" game should give everyone great pause when picking up a rental from them."

Is there any reason to believe that Hertz' "pre-inspection" is anything more than the check-in inspection done at the close of the previous rental? If not, then Hertz is no better -- and no worse -- than any other car-rental company.
Unless you are willing to rely upon the thoroughness (and integrity) of your car-rental company, you must always do your own thorough inspection before driving any rental car off the lot.

flyerfmaz

It's CONSIDERABLY different than Enterprise. Every single time I've rented from Enterprise, the agent took the initiative to go with me to the car and do a walk-around, with an inspection form in hand, helping me look for problem areas. I didn't even ask. Hertz just tosses you the keys and isn't interested. For example, a few weeks ago Hertz was going to rent me a hail-damaged car. When I went back to the counter, they weren't interested in seeing the car, they just said "it's probably already in the system as a pre-inspection issue". Probably??!!? They didn't look in the system or write it down anywhere. They just "said so". I didn't take the car, it was all too iffy of a situation.

I'd rent more from Enterprise but their rates tend to be on the high side and my client will probably balk at the cost.

bhunt

Moot point since AMEX taking care of it. But unless it was an HLE most airports have 360 degree cameras at checkout gate that films every inch of the car just for this reason.

BugsyPal

You would think with all the pre-rental physical checks and whatever Enterprise wouldn't need to place such huge holds on credit cards, but yet.....

orr333

EXACTLY what I do. My previous employer had a contracted rate that included the LDW. One time I pointed out a huge dent and they said, "Don't worry, you have the LDW and it will take care of it". At that point I started changing out cars with dings and scratches so they could not just get it fixed on the LDW prepaid by my company. I am certain they use that as a 'free' way to fix the cars. Wait until some schlup buys the LDW and attach all old dings to that for repair.