Originally Posted by
bkafrick
Read your rental agreement (yes, the multiple page document that you agreed to in very small fine print). You'll see you're responsible for pretty much everything about the car.
You're responsible for it for anything over which you have control. If it gets a flat because you drove over a nail, you're responsible. If the battery dies because you left the lights on, you're responsible. If you get in a car with 40k miles, drive it off the lot, and the engine seizes up 200 yards down the road because the oil had never been changed, no way that's your fault. Similarly, if the engine seizes up because of a manufacturing defect, definitely not your fault.