Compensation for Trouble???
 

I am 5 star with hertz, and have generally had pretty good service. I currently have a rental with a flat tire. I could put the spare on myself, but the prinicipal of thing told me to call hertz. They said they would have a tow service come a put the spare on, and I then would have two options...1) Have the tire fixed and Hertz would "probably" reimburse me or 2) drive back to Hertz (45 minutes one way from where I am at) and exchange the car.

I am probably going to do the exchange, just so I don't have to mess with anything. I was just wondering what kind of reimbursement I should be fighting for when I get to the location for the exchange. I am sure others of you have had experiences similar to this, so just wanting to see what you all had to say.

Thanks.

See ya in the skies!!!

How much driving are you planning on doing? I would probably just drive around on the donut spare and wait until you returned it unless you're planning on a lot of driving before then.

As for compensation, personally I wouldn't ask for any unless Hertz had something to do with the flat tire (which I would kind of doubt).

I had a flat on a Avis rental a few years ago and was about 7-8 miles away from the nearest location. Not wanting to deal with changing the tire or wait for Avis to send someone, I drove the car to the lot.

No hassles, they gave me that day for free, upgraded me, and didn't worry about the fuel level either. Frankly I was a little surprised with their nice service.

Another rental, Hertz in the Bay Area. Picked up a Taurus at SFO and problems the whole day with the transmission slipping. Was near SJC that evening and dropped by the lot. They exchanged the car with no questions asked. The replacement had the same problem, though.

Had a flat this weekend and Hertz offered reimbursement for the repair up to $25. Since I was home in SFO, I just drove the mile to return the car on Mason St. rather than deal with the repair and had no problems with the exchange.

I tend to think that Hertz would reimburse you for any reasonable tire repair expenses. Why don't you call Roadside Assistance again?

I wouldn't expect more than a new car if you decide to exchange the vehicle.

I've had a couple of cars from Hertz with slow punctures, you exchange the car and the staff give you a warning you may be billed for the puncture .

Is it really Hertz fault that the tire went flat? I don't think you deserve any compensation for your trouble. That said, I don't think you should be billed for the tire, either. The way I see it -- there's three choices in this situation:

1. Drive the car around with the spare on it until you return it.

2. Drive back to Hertz and exchange the car after the spare is on it.

3. Pay someone to fix (or replace) the tire and hope that Hertz will reimburse you for it.

All seem fairly reasonable. Just decide which one meets your needs and don't let a stupid flat ruin your trip! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

Well here are the results:

I had the tire fixed and drove the rest of the week on the fixed tire. Got back to Hertz and they not only reimbursed for the tire fix, but they gave me a $30 certificate to use later. All I had asked is that they reimburse the tire fix.

I am more than pleased with the outcome and it just helps to reassure my decision to stick with Hertz. I just hope that everyone else's experiences can have happy outcomes like mine did.

Thanks everybody for the comments.

See ya in the skies!!!

That's great news! I'm glad to hear that things worked out so well in the end.