Originally Posted by ezmonee
rental cars use leasing agreement nowadays. When a car sustains damage in the undercarriage (and they are very specific about it), the car is yours, you cannot turn it back to the car company. a company like avis/Cendant will buy 40,000 cars and not even blink per month. Those cars are "leased" under specific programs with GM and other manufacturers. After a certain amount of time, and a certain amount of miles, the car is eligible for "turn back" to the manufacturer. If the car exceeds that mileage, or exceeds that time, the car is yours and the full price of the car is charged to you.
At turn back, an inspection is done. 99% of the time that cars are rejected, (other than too many miles or too long) the cars are turned back due to undercarriage damage, from off road driving. This is the primary reason they do not want you going off road. Sure its safe if you go slow but if you bottom out once, and bend the wrong part (even if the car operates properly) the car is theirs and they must liquidate it through auto auction yards (and up until recently, car dealerships owned by the rental company).
Technically, if the car was inspected and the rover agent upon checkin spotted the undercarriage damage, you would be responsible for the damage to repair the car. However they do not have the time or the means to jack up every car and inspect for off road damage.
You are making the assumption that driving on an unpaved road results in undercarriage damage. This is like assuming that driving on an urban road results in a collision.
It's simply not true, again, unless people drive like idiots.
Many unpaved roads are in excellent condition. I drove a rental from Alaska on unpaved Yukon highways in 1986 at speeds exceeding 60mph. The roads were in better condition than similar Alaska roads due to the absence of pavement buckling from frost heaves.
As roads get more difficult, speed must be reduced. And, at 5 or 10 miles an hour, one can clear many problem areas easily. There is no undercarriage damage.
All it takes is good sense.
I drive these roads in a rental car in the same manner as I drive my own car on them.
Stop discriminating against unpaved roads! The commentary sounds like people have never driven on unpaved roads.
BTW, what happens in a construction zone, when pavement has been removed from a highway for 10 miles? Does the rental car trip come to a stop?