Moonface773

Hi,

I recently blown a tyre on my rental car. It is on the side wall of the tyre so I am sure I am safe to say it cannot be fixed.
I had a look at insurance document for the rental company I am using(I paid for full insurance from them) and seems tyre and rim damages aren't covered....
Also this rim has a bit of damage on it which was already there as I took photos before taking the car so they might blame that one on me. Doubt they will care about my photos.

So I was thinking of just changing the tyre at some car shop myself as the tyres on the car are some budget tyres anyway and I'll just keep the spare on the car. But the spare is a different brand of tyre from the rest of the car. Do you think the rental company will notice the different tread/brand of tyre on the spare I will leave on the car?

IAHtraveler

I'd say it's highly doubtful they'll notice the brand difference unless it's obvious (white writing on the side w the new tire or something). In the US, I'd say you're >95% that they won't notice. Can't speak for other areas as I know they inspect the cars a bit more thoroughly upon return.

Good luck!

Moonface773

Thanks for your reply. I might just replace the damage tyre with a new one and put it away in the back.
It's obvious the rim damage has been there for a long time as it has brake dust on it and black gritty duty all around it but it is a budget rental company and I reckon they will all of a sudden notice 'new' rim damage.

LondonElite

Replacing the tire will inevitably create smudges and fingerprints on the brake dust, making the change obvious. I'd probably go through a car wash as well.

jackal

FWIW, depending on where you are and who you rented from, it might just be cheaper to let the rental company replace it.

The company I worked for charged customers the wholesale price (what we paid TireRack.com) plus shipping (~$15 for one tire) plus $25 mount and balance. That ended up being cheaper than just about any place you could get it done in town.

I blew out a tire on a Hertz car in California on a Volvo S60 and the rental agent put a $45 charge on my contract at return. That tire retails for probably close to $200 and even the best wholesale price a large company like Hertz would get is ~$150. I think it was an uninformed rental agent, but hey, I wasn't going to point it out!