Anyone ever get hit with an extra cleaning fee?
 

I just returned a jeep that me and the kids used for 11 days. It was, um, dirty. All sand, dust, etc... No stains, just everyone getting in and out of the car with dirt on their boots kind of thing, but it did make it's way everywhere eventually. I was half expecting an extra cleaning fee, but nope. How bad does it have to be before they charge extra?

BTW, I paid about $40/day, way cheaper than owning it and put about 1500 miles on it. If you live close enough to a jeep spot, this is a great quarantine activity!

Who knows. I once rented an F Pace which was vomited in the back, with bits of food still on the door sill. The car smelled funny, and about an hour after getting I took it right back to the airport. Shows how much they care about cleaning their cars or to what extent. This vehicle wouldn’t have made it back into the fleet if it was cleaned properly, and I believe the previous customer didn’t get charged (if they did, why was the car still dirty?)

Sort of off topic, but just beware that most rental contracts forbid going off of paved roads with the vehicles. Typically it's never a problem, but two issues could pop-up:
1. If there's any accident or towing need, any insurance will most likely be void. Even 3rd party insurance will be void if you break the contract.
2. More and more vehicles have GPS tracking available. While not likely, it's entirely possible that agencies could put you on the DNR list if you abuse the cars and/or violate an agreement with them.

It's all going to be subjective. Smart thing to do if you have to even think about this, is to run the car through a quick wash including an interior clean. Best way to avoid the issue.

The warning above regarding off-road is critical. Having one's insurance voided for a ding is annoying, but if someone else is injured, being on the hook for hospitalization & medical treatment, gets expensive.

^I've always wondered about the "off-road" situations and how they would be handled by Hertz/insurances, given Hertz's own marketing and that of social media influencers it sponsors shows their cars in "off-road" areas (often with said social media influencers posing atop the cars).

And what's the point of renting a Jeep anyway if it can only be used to crawl to the mall? I understand why they do this as a business and in their contracts but it's unfair to consumers. By their language renters technically violate the terms (and thus nullifies insurance etc.) just by taking a short unpaved path to the trailhead at your local state/national park. What about a gravel/dirt pullout on a highway? Is that now off the road?

It is so subjective. On a trip to Hawaii earlier this year, I had one final beer that we had not consumed that I left in the back of the car -- figured that the rental car cleaners might appreciate it and better than throwing it away. The guy who checked the car back in at Hertz noted the beer and said, "oh, you better take that out -- if you leave anything in the car, I have to charge you a $40 cleaning fee". :

The only time I ever washed a rental car before returning it was after some exploration on muddy roads in Red Rock Canyon -- the Yukon XL was mud spattered so to be safe I took it through a car wash. There were 3 or 4 other rentals being returned to LAS at the same time with much more mud and I didn't see the return agents blink an eye.

I did once return a car with some dog hair in it, and was given the opportunity to "vacuum it more thoroughly" before checking it in, which I did (there was a vacuum at the HLE) to avoid a charge. It was fair.

OT, but I often leave unopened bottles of water in the car when I return it. I'll also sometimes leave one in the bus to the terminal or on some shelf in the (landslide) terminal for anyone who wants it rather than tossing them in the trash.

Some regions have many normal roads that are unpaved. Similarly, it might be necessary to take an unpaved road into a resort, to a park's entrance or parking lot, or to some tourist attraction, such as a small zoo or winery. It's common for overflow parking to be unpaved. Moreover, one can be driving on a major highway and come to a construction zone where cars are forced to follow some unpaved path. I've never thought of these situations as violating rental car contracts in the same way as taking the car along a tractor path or onto a beach or through sand dunes would forbidden.

Be careful about the suggestions of cleaning.

I recently returned a prestige vehicle that the valet had graciously offered to clean for me. I think the scent of the cleaning product was cucumber...

Return agent didn’t care. Some other agent gave me a mouthful about them possibly having to detail it because of the scent...eye roll...

Called the 800 line a few days later and they said nothing materialized about the cucumber scent. LOL. So subjective, like the agents doing the returns.

800 like suggested using non scented cleaning products (she said Hertz does this - but not all locations do IME) but in current times, that is a difficult ask.

I may be out of the norm, but I treat my rental cars like my own. I routinely wash and vacuum my rentals. A lot of time the vehicle goes back to Hertz (or whatever rental company) cleaner than I received it.

In my 6-week Camaro SS Conv rental over last summer, it was washed probably 3-4 times a week and vacuumed at least once a week. FYI, I have a monthly wash package though.

I would suggest vacuuming the vehicle if you take it to the beach multiple times, especially if you’re somewhere with a truck beach, just to be safe. When I had a Jeep in Sedona, I removed the roof and there was red dust everywhere. It needed a significant cleaning before I returned it, as I’m sure I would have been hit with cleaning fees and off-road discussion.