Road Paint/Overspray Damage?
 

Hello! Somehow I managed to run over some yellow road paint on my first day of vacation, and the rear left tire, wheel well, mudflap, lower rear left door, and probably the underside are all spattered. My husband is very insistent that this should be covered in the cost of the rental as wear and tear, and I am not at all convinced about that. I don't think I'll have time to clean it off myself, and the detailers around here quote around $200 to remove overspray.

Anyone have any experience with this, and know what Hertz might charge? Should I go ahead and try to take care of it one way or another, leaving Hertz out of it to avoid administrative fees? Or should I take a chance on Hertz being generous with their cleaning policy?

Try using Vim or some abrasive cleaner to conceal the paint. A clay bar appliqué could possibly remove it too. Surely there has to be some guide online.

It is not wear and tear - it is damage and is something that will be charged for

It may polish out relatively easily, but there is no guarantee that the commission-based returns staff will see it that way. But I'd be investing in a bottle of T-cut, a microfiber cloth, and a gas station pressure wash as a precautionary measure.

You'd be surprised at what one of those blue Scotch-Brite non-scratch scrub sponges can remove without leaving a mark!

Definitely not normal wear and tear. I've gotten the white road paint on my personal vehicle and the high pressure soap/rinse and the local DIY carwash took it off without too much effort.

1 simple cheap item: Mr. Clean Magic Eraser

Pro detailers use this on cars too. It actually leaves very fine micro-scratches about equivalent to 1600-5000 grit sandpaper depending on how wet it is (wetter = higher grit equivalent, finer scratches, not visible to the eye), but no Hertz staff will honestly notice or care.

i agree with glostix. its definitely better for you to take care of this yourself, instead of leaving it to Hertz to charge you a hefty damage fee.

A detailer can clean this up in a heartbeat for super cheap so if they make it worse THEY can fix it.

Bottom line is that your husband is 100% wrong. If there are trace damages left on inspection at return, Hertz will repaint the vehicle and bill you for it unless you have other arrangements, e.g. LDW. I would be reading the insurance policy carefully to confirm that the damage is covered if that is what you will be relying on.

You think they'd really respray the vehicle? Or do you mean they'd bill OP for a respray and then have their on-staff detailer clean it?

Definitely not wear-and-tear though.

Wouldn’t surprise me if Hz just puts those little inspection stickers all over the infected areas. They do that for dents that obviously never got repaired.