Originally Posted by
jim32190
You can expect no compensation because Hertz makes no guarantee as to the merchantability or fitness of the vehicle for any purpose. This clause is present in the rental agreement terms you should have received in a jacket when you rented the car, or previously agreed to by using Hertz GPR.
I agree that there is no compensation due, but not for that reason. Those clauses in any consumer contract anywhere in the United Kingdom or the EU would be void. Had the car been faulty, the renter would have been entitled to recover reasonable and direct losses (i.e., if the renter had been given an Astra instead, that would have been reduced value. A like-for-like replacement would not represent any reduction in value and the time and inconvenience of fixing it, if reasonable, would not represent a loss, just an inconvenience of life).
However, in this case, the issues appear to have been confined to a warning light that the car would require maintenance after the rental was over. They did actually exchange the vehicle and the advice given to go to Halfords was really not very helpful (do Hertz want to retail a used BMW with Halfords service history?) but the fundamental issue is, as has been said above, that the renter brought the problems on himself.