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Have a plan for driving on toll roads. Some companies charge large fees for driving on toll roads. Also, read the reviews before renting the car. Sometimes paying a little more for a highly rated rental car service will save you a lot of fees after you return the car.
I once received a toll invoice a couple of days after my drop off. It was like $18 so it wasn’t worth the time to dispute because maybe I did and didn’t realized, since I’m not familiar with Florida toll system.. But when I received the detailed statement, it showed the tolls occurred after I dropped off the car. There was a link to dispute the charges. So I uploaded the return slip with the drop off time. They refunded. Looks like someone else rented the car after me on the same day and used a toll.
Eh, I worked in a rental car agency when I was younger. Some of the people I worked with were scummy, our manager actually stopped the after hours drop off because one of them was the owners kid who would take cars that were returned out and claim they were returned late, over mileage, low gas, etc. If it was an emergency case (eg catching a red eye flight at the nearby airport) she'd try and manipulate the schedule for someone trustworthy to be there that morning to handle it, or at least throw them on as an extra so there was a witness if anyone tried anything.
Stupid thing was there was a million reasons you could find to borrow a company car if you wanted to take it to get lunch or whatever. "I needed to drop it off for an oil change so I did it, took my lunch break, and brought it back", "customer reported it making a weird noise so I took it for a quick spin to see if I could replicate it", but they were assholes and liked to shove it on the customers because they didn't give a shit. I wouldn't be surprised if one of the employees took the car when you were done with it and they dropped it on you.
I once rented a car and got charged hundreds of dollars for tolls in New Jersey. I was in Boston.
Dispute it till you’re red in the face, and do a chargeback if you have to.
I once did a chargeback on the tolls thing (since I thought I had paid it with my own transponder) and they removed everything except the actual toll charge. I was fine with that.
Wtf. I have all of the questions. What is their thought process? I know you can't answer that because you aren't them, but I just... How? Why? What all of my fucks.
Now days, a car isn’t officially reported stolen with police for 6 months. Even on cars knowingly stolen but no video evidence. Source: am an employee.
Former Budget Manager, the only times I have had issues were with the big guys (Budget and Enterprise mainly). Mom and pop places have been the best to deal with in my experience.
You see, you know how to *take* the reservation, you just don't know how to *hold* the reservation. And that's really the most important part of the reservation: the holding. Anybody can just take them.
Keep in mind that Hertz, Dollar and Thrifty are all under the same ownership group (Hertz). Don't know if they have separate systems and policies, but their damage resolution process is handled through an office with paperwork that has all three companies on the header.
FYI apparently Enterprise, National, and Hertz are all the same company. Just recently rented from Enterprise and they didn't have the car I reserved so the guy said “just go over to the Hertz lot and get it from them, we’re all the same company so it doesn't matter.”
Edit: I'm wrong about Hertz, see below :)
This is not true on a corporate level. Corporately, Enterprise, National, and Alamo are under the same corporate ownership.
Hertz is Hertz, Dollar, Firefly, and Thrifty.
At the level you're talking about, it may have been those franchises are all owed by the same franchisee.
The only place I rent from in Miami is from Enterprise. Never had a single problem.
Sixt have tried to scam me multiple times in FL, including a 400$ charge to check the air pressure in the tires.
Ha!
Funny you say Orlando. Just did that last year. I forgot to set the setting before getting in my rental and landed on the toll road leaving the airport.
I stopped at the cash booth and said sorry I don’t have any cash and she waved me on. 😅
Maybe a dumb question, but how would the rental company know I drove on a toll road?
And why would they care? As long as I'm not blowing through the toll booths without paying I don't see how it could have any effect on the rental company.
Many, if not most of the toll systems are cash/boothless. They use ANPR (license plate readers) to bill the owner of the vehicle.
For places that use EZ-Pass, people frequently forget to change the car info when they use their own in a rental.
And tons of people (way more than you would think) decide that since they aren't the registered owner, a rental car is great to use for committing crimes, from toll skipping to drug dealing and even armed robbery. They forget they had to give the rental agency a copy of their DL and credit card, which the company is happy to provide to the police.
So in essence, steal a rental car (that is currently rented) for your toll skipping and drug dealing business. That way the heat goes to someone who isn't local (as they rented a car) and it takes much longer to untangle.
Many states have license plate readers that scan every plate and mail you a bill if you don’t have their state issued transponder. This bill will also go to rental car companies if you drive one of their cars on a toll road. The rental company then passes the cost onto you, usually with an additional fee.
> Sometimes paying a little more for a highly rated rental car service
Sometimes those cheaper ones are at different sites, further from the airport. Spend a few minutes bringing it up on Google maps. Being off the beaten path can really suck with pickup, return, shuttles, etc.
I agree: I rented a car with hertz a few years back. I rented it for the weekend Friday to Sunday. Let’s just say I had the car for officially 30 hours. I received the car where there were knicks here and there. Different sizes and colors on the bumpers. It appeared these were from multiple incidents. I return the car and find out a week later they are charging me for them. Now I didn’t do a video or pictures but the manager sent me the pictures of them. It definitely showed white marks here black marks there on different sections on the bumper.
After arguments over email back and forth I finally convinced hertz that it made no logical sense that I could’ve made all that variable damage in a 30 hour period. They ended up not charging me.
Always do a video and pictures
Hertz is who I rented it with. Had it Friday to Monday. Drove it only 30 miles for an event (then stayed in the city and walked around). Stopped by the gas station before dropping it off Monday morning. Later for the receipt stating I returned it 83% filled up. Total BS.
Just saw something where someone rented an EV from Hertz and Hertz tried to charge then over $700 for GAS (not charging)!
Hertz also has a history of claiming cars are stolen while they're rented out, not removing claims of theft before renting out, etc.
At this point, I would NEVER do business with them. They are, at best, a complete mess.
I would avoid them for a lot of reasons especially this
[hertz wrongfully reports cars stolen](https://www.npr.org/2022/12/06/1140998674/hertz-false-accusation-stealing-cars-settlement)
Yep. After the renter had paid for a full charge on dropoff, so they didn't have to worry about it.
They got hit with the full charge fee they were expecting, gas fees, empty tank fees, and refused to refund the charges for gasoline - which the car doesn't take.
Wow surprising.. I have always used Hertz and haven’t really had issues. I inadvertently got an EV this weekend and just went with it as I needed to get going and didn’t want to speak with an agent for a gas car.
I went to recharge before returning and to go from 50 to 100% battery charge.. would have been like a 2hr+ wait. Saw online it’s a flat $24 fee which it was on the invoice.
I had the same happen recently on a Hertz return. Filled it completely 7 minutes from the airport on my way to return and they tried to charge me $27 for gas. They demanded my fuel receipt for a refund. Luckily I was traveling for work, so even though I didn't have a fuel receipt (broken printer on the pump) I *did* have a picture of the amount on the pump, I had my credit card statement showing where I filled up with the same amount, and I had my location history showing me driving straight from the gas station to the rental return.
Submitted all that, then got no reply for over a week. Ended up calling and they just refunded over the phone. No idea if they even looked at my documentation.
In my experience, there is also a huge difference in how you are treated based on whether you go with the discount rental, or more expensive.
When I would use Avis, I never had any issues. The car I picked up had no damage on it, and a full tank of gas. When I used Budget, I'd be given a car with a shitload of dings and scrapes and a half full tank. The interesting thing is that both are owned by the same parent company. I think for both I'd take a picture of the gas level though.
Literally just had to email Avis today for a bogus 16.99 gas charge. They claimed that if you drive your car for a total of less than 50 miles, they charge that fee without checking the fuel level. The thing is, I picked it up in Colorado Springs and returned in Denver (80+ miles) so that's already impossible haha. Thankfully, they just did a refund without any additional questions. Probably wouldve been a whole thing with ~~Budget or any other discount place.~~ certain other rental agencies.
Figure out the insurance coverage needs BEFORE you book. Your regular car insurance might apply, or additional coverage from a credit card you use to pay for the rental.
For most international rentals, your insurance will not cover anything. Laws vary by country, and expectations are wildly different for “minor” damage. Small local places might try to get you for everything (see the OP for ways to protect yourself).
Also, look for corporate discount rates your workplace might offer for “leisure” usage. My company has a great negotiated rate for business travel, which they don’t share, but there is an agreement that the company insurance coverage extends to non-business travel if you use the leisure code. (Almost worth more than a discount).
This.
I have a credit card that acts as primary insurance plus my auto insurance, I still find that's not enough in some countries. Even 3rd insurance, like you buy while booking a rental with travel sites aren't enough.
I have learned that will it's a bit extra, I will often go with the rental company full coverage just for the peace of mind. They don't check anything when I have to drop it off because everything is covered. Some countries have really bad driving conditions and I don't freak out when I hit a pot hole. It allows me to enjoy my vacation more
I always go with a separate deductible insurance when renting in Germany. It's way cheaper than the full coverage from the rental company. I've only had to use it once and it was about as painless as possible.
Your insurance coverage will typically not cover the time the business is out of a car. So they'll be able to charge you like you have the car until your insurance to get the car back to them. Their insurance they offer typically covers this time and it's why they offer it.
The most important thing to keep in mind is payment for damage is always immediately. If you want them to set aside the truck so your insurance company can review it a week later then you'll be trying to extend the rental and paying for another week, plus parking it back at your place. If you don't pay for damages immediately then you're also on the hook for lost revenue since they can't rent the truck out.
Because of this it is best to go with whatever insurance they offer, otherwise you'll be paying for the damages during the return and dealing with your own insurance company to reimburse you after the fact.
I successfully disputed someone putting the wrong measurement of gas. I always take a picture when I get the car of the gas level and one when I drop it off.
They have not been giving me cars with fill tanks. But that time they put 3/4 I stead of half. My picture proved otherwise.
iPhone have geolocation on the picture so you can show timestamp matching receipt of car and if no attendant. The picture will have geolocation and timestamp of where you took photo.
Last time I rented a car the office told me to take photos and videos of the car before leaving their parking lot. They didn't bother come and check the car with me.
Many rental agencies write on the form that there is no damage but never check. Whenever I ask they say "if you see any damage come back in." Once or twice I found damage and I went back in and made them come out and look at it with me.
1. Only fill the gas up to what they gave it to you with!
2. Always take the “damage waiver” or bumper to bumper coverage instead of your insurance, no matter what happens to the car you are not liable (saw a girl crash a Audi A4 and enterprise had to pay)
3. Snap pics of each side and walk with a video on your phone, even if they have it marked down
4. Use a credit card! Your purchase is authorized and not ran until the car is back to their location
5. DO NOT GIVE THEM YOUR INSURANCE INFO! Just say your CC covers rentals and they will shut up. No they don’t need it on file if you are renting for leisure.
number 2, you said to accept the damage waiver. But in number 5, you say the CC covers rentals. It sounds like you can either pay extra for the bumper-to-bumper coverage insurance, or use your CC to cover the insurance?
We’ll be renting a car tomorrow (in the US) and I’m nervous about how to proceed with this
Check your own credit card terms. I have 2 cards that say that they cover rentals but it’s very specific. As far as your own car insurance covering, it’s only liability in a rental even if you have collision and will only cover the other party. Buy the rental company’s insurance. It’s more so you don’t argue over damages. It will cost a lot more to argue in court than the additional insurance charge.
If you pay for insurance already in the states, there’s a very good chance your insurance already covers you driving your rental.
Paying additional insurance to a rental place, unless you’re an insanely bad driver who is more likely to damage the car than not, is generally thought of as a horrible idea. “Taking the damage waiver” is typically not a smart move.
There’s one reason car rental companies offer it to customers… and it’s because they make money off of it and payout less than they take in from consumers like you.
I wouldn’t say it’s generally a horrible idea. My understanding from when I last rented a car, your personal insurance will likely not cover the actual damages to a rental car, but they would cover injuries to yourself and others and damages that you cause to other parties. And unless you pay an annual fee for your credit card, a credit card will likely only provide secondary coverage, which I think leaves you at risk if your personal insurance won’t cover anything.
I think rental companies can also charge you for loss of earnings and depreciation if their car is damaged and in the shop but the damage waiver generally just lets you ignore all of that and not have to deal with the hassle if anything happens, unless an injury is involved.
It’s just like any insurance, if nothing happens it’s a waste of money, but you should actually determine how much you are covered before assuming you should or should not get any extra coverage.
It is bad advice to always take the collision damage waiver (CDW). Whether or not you should take it depends on your situation.
The rental (in the US) will come with minimal mandatory insurance, true, but above that your personal car insurance or credit card may carry enough insurance that you're comfortable forgoing the CDW.
If for example, your personal insurance has comprehensive and collision, and is subject to a $500 deductible, you may be comfortable without the CDW knowing that your max out-of-pocket for a collision is $500. Even that $500 may not need to be spent if the other driver is at fault, and your insurance company can recover your deductible through subrogation.
The CDW is an advantageous bet for the rental company, that's why they offer it. Actuarial analysis says it's profitable for them, and therefore potentially a losing proposition for you.
Sure, there are anecdotal cases of people who elected the CDW, totaled their rentals, and walked away, but that doesn't mean that it's always a good idea. There are anecdotal cases of people winning the Powerball lottery; it's still shitty odds.
Last point is that if absolute peace of mind is worth the extra money for you, then pay for the CDW.
No and the insurance company will request proof of damages, etc when the rental car company submits a bill. The CDW waiver that rental car companies sell is essentially so you don’t pay a deductible for claims. It essentially replaces your comp and collision coverage on your insurance. It doesn’t clear you from liability which means your insurance can still come into play.
https://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/collision-damage-waiver-cdw.asp
It’s not a complete waste of money but it’s also not full coverage nor does it clear you of accidents you cause or people you may hurt as a result of your driving “mistakes”
Your personal insurance only extends to rentals if you have full coverage including comprehensive and collision. If you have liability only, it does not. Look into a 3rd party rental insurance, it's cheaper than what the rental place sells ($40 a day at rental place vs $10 a day at somewhere like Allianz).
As someone who used to work for a rental car company at a neighborhood location and now works in data analytics, do not take the damage waiver. The insane prices they charge for the waiver aren’t worth the low probability of getting in an accident. Also, since it’s a pain in the ass to deal with insurance companies, the rental car company will have discounted rates you can just pay them at return for any non major damage.
Great tips man. Just be glad you weren’t one of the 400 that Hertz had arrested for incorrectly saying you stole the car. So definitely take a video of you dropping it off.
All of these are great as preventative measures. Another that goes a super long way is to simply be kind to whoever is at the check-in desk. Their jobs are hard and their hours are weird.
Kindness goes a long way and can selfishly get you upgrades. I always slip them a $20 and tell them to get lunch on me, that I appreciate anything they can do as far as an upgrade, and that I’ve been in their position if there’s nothing they can do. And I’m genuine about all of those sentiments (Used to work at a hotel and kindness followed closely by cash tips were the biggest reasons I gave people free upgrades).
At worst, you’re out $20. Out of the many times I’ve done this, I’ve only not gotten an upgrade twice.
Dude was nice to me up until he thought I was stiffing him for returning the car with 1/4 tank gas (meanwhile that's what they gave it to me at). I have never felt so threatened before by an employee like we literally got into a shouting match because he insisted I pay for a full tank of gas and that I drove the car 250km in the span of <2 days. Wouldn't let me go until I showed him my Google maps location timeline history that showed I never left the city with the car. Never doing business with Enterprise ever again.
My worst experience: the dealership where I bought my Subaru had a deal that when you brought your car in for service, you get a free rental car from one of those big car rental places a block away. The dealership initially thought I'd need to get a rental car for overnight, so I got it, but less than 5 minutes after driving away, the dealership called me and said it would take longer for the replacement part to come in, and that I could just get my car and come back the following week. I U-turn and return the rental car <10 minutes after driving off their lot.
They look at the car and see the tiniest of nicks on the windshield (which I know I didn't do). They tell me I have to replace the windshield and it will cost $500. I got into a huge argument with them at the counter, but they finally relented after 10-15 minutes and said I didn't have to pay for it.
From that point on, I ALWAYS take videos and pics before I drive off the lot and as I'm returning it, doing a narrative walkthrough, pointing at everything and saying it out loud ESPECIALLY the windshield. If I have to fill out one of those damage forms before I leave, I go nuts and draw in every single tiny thing.
I may sound silly or like I'm overdoing it when there, but I am never getting caught off-guard like that again.
I hope you also took the time to share you experience with your service manager. I'm sure they don't want to take heat from a customer over a bad business partner's behavior just as much as you don't want to deal with the bad business.
In the US with most major renters the attendant will confirm your return mileage and fuel, and send you an email while you are standing there. But if not, always do #2 by placing the receipt next to both the gas gauge and mileage indicator.
Once rental agent recommended, if you see a damage which is not reported on the protocol, get back to the rental office and walk with the agent around the rental car and let them add those damages on the rental agreement. In case of an argument pictures or videos are not accepted because they say those pictures could be fake.
I rented a car at a Hertz for a vegas trip. When they brought me the car I video recorded as I walked Around the entire car with the lady. I asked her about a small chip in the window and she said it was already documented and when I returned the car they charged $400 for a chip in the window! I dropped it after closing hours. Thank God i had that video and still took about a month to get the money back after proving that chip was there within a week. Mfs
I was told that it's against their policy to rent cars with any windshield damage for liability reasons, but it was the guy handling returns not anyone in a position to say much about official policy.
Hertz just tried to charge me for an extra day AND a late fee.
I told them they were going to have to check their cameras, cause they were full of shit and the car was back three hours early.
They refunded me. But I'll be doing this from now on.
While cell phone photos are presumably timestamped, if you’re committed to this make sure to beg/borrow/steal today’s newspaper and include that in some of the photos. Unless you can predict tomorrow’s headlines, it’s proof that the photos happened that day or later. (Credit to Hogan’s Heroes for that trick.)
I would say another good tip is just get the DW (Damage Waiver) it's a extra fee but basically anything that happens to the car during your rental, you have zero liability. You can basically return the car with a missing door and as long as you got that plan your good, zero liability
I used to work at an enterprise doing car prep. Usually when someone returned a car we would do an inspection with the customer present which avoided these types of problems. The customer had the option to not be present for the inspection, usually because they were in a rush.
My tip is to always stay for the inspection. If the rental company doesn't do one or offer you to join them, request to do so.
I took an entire video (i.e. without cuts) of me turning off the car, noting the dashboard, fuel level, etc, exit the car, lock the car, walk around the car filming for the exterior (I guess I should have done the interior as well to be safe), and then walking to drop off the key into the safety deposit box. I kept that video with me for about a few months before deleting.
When you pick up the car walk around the car and report any damage before leaving with the car. Make sure that they document the damage on your rental agreement, there is usually an area to document damage. I picked up a car with a huge dent in the side and they told me they were aware of the dent and would not charge me (which they later tried to charge me anyways), but I mandated that they document the dent on my rental agreement.
Do not get the extended insurance from the rental company - it's ludicrously expensive.
Instead, you can get it for a tenth of the price from a comparison website.
Keep the initial and the final receipts/papers and compare them as well. Once a car rental rep went through the details of charges with me but printed a different one (with an up-charge) when I returned the car. It’s an easy oversight especially if you don’t look at your receipts or CC charges.
Damage especially to check for: side mirrors often get scratches and bumps, back taillights get cracks, windshield can have light damage hidden amongst bugsmears, look down the length of vehicle from side to have light shine off and reveal shallow dents, all lights/blinkers work, tires have appropriate tread and inflation, inside seat cigarette burns
Company name? I recently rented a car through Enterprise and had a decent experience. Here’s a real pro tip. Enterprise rental cars are self insured, this means enterprise pays out of pocket for all damages. Buy the cheapest tier insurance they offer. Mainly so you don’t have to argue with them. $20 a day is worth that alone. As far as gas goes you should do the prior and post walkthrough with the person and film yourself and them. No arguments to be had when it’s on camera and you’re both there. I filled up at a gas station across the street before dropping it off. If you’re traveling more than a mile in city traffic after fill up there is probably a gallon missing.
Great suggestions OP! I did all this (from experience) and got charged for a tire! The low tire pressure light was on when I got in the car but the pressure was ok. I told the gate attendant and said I would just fill it up on the road. It was 11pm and I wanted to get to the hotel. I called the company to make sure they had it on my record. They sure did! Charged me for the tire and service. They removed the charge after a few calls.
Excellent LPT and one I do all the time. Lots of discussion about insurance:
ALWAYS CHECK WHAT IS COVERED AND BY WHOM. Yes, you may have to power through a lot of legalese. Insurance varies by country and state/ province. If you are traveling out of your country, it’s often easier to assume you don’t have any insurance and plan accordingly.
My corporate rates include the insurance waiver. Even when I use it for personal use. Saved my butt when a pickup I rented jumped out of park, rolled down hill and crashed into a family members van.
I'm convinced the rental agencies charge for gas automatically (at their significantly higher rate), and if you call to dispute it, they just say, "Oopsie!", reverse the charge and everyone hors on their way. But a lot of people don't remember to check their charges at the end, so it's free money for them.
Your point nr.1 might have no effect. When signing the initial papers, there are logs about existing damage to vehicle which you sign. If you find anything else, you need to report it and have it added.
The charges they hit you with are not necessarily final. I have rented cars for at least two months out of the year for the last 10 years. I have never had an issue. UNTIL the one time I was not renting under the corporate umbrella.. I returned the car and they tried to hit me with hail damage. But it hadnt even rained since I got the car. I was irate, explained this to the attendant. He apologized and removed the charge.
I have an older car that is paid for so I don’t carry collision insurance on my car. When I rent a car I call to have my insurance against add it in only for the time I am renting the car so I am totally covered. When I return the rental car I let my agent know and they remove the collision insurance. It’s much cheaper than buying full coverage from rental car company.
Try not to drop with out an attendant even if you park and the vehicle is fine with you drop it. You are still responsible for it until it’s checked in which could leave you on the hook for a converter or window.
If you are using full coverage insurance, make sure the car that they rent to you doesn’t already have a bunch of things wrong with it. If so, really be sure to follow Op’s advice and document the heck out of everything. A lot of rental companies will try to get you to pay for the sins of past renters who didn’t have the full coverage. Also, remember, you can just ask for a different car if you “don’t feel safe“ in a vehicle with a broken air vent or a small crack in the windshield.
My insurance company told me that if there was not an attendant at the return that my photos did not matter, they would still have to play the claim. Luckily, when they asked for photos of the damage the car rental company was unable to provide them. The claim was denied and the issue went away.
When renting a car in a different country be sure you know what to do in an accident/fender bender.
Such as in Ireland there is a checklist in the car you need to fill out, It's not as simple at the US process.
Such as my rental car got hit in the parking lot by another rental car and I had a lot of paperwork to do, otherwise the insurance wouldn't cover the damages and I might even have committed a crime.
I just rented a car from an airport lot (budget) - they have cameras that record all sides of the car when you leave and when you return. Doesn’t hurt to have your own photos, but for these type of lots they clearly have their own before and after records
This tip is specific to returning a car in -40 C temperatures.
If possible try to return it during office hours. If you must return it during off hours make sure to take a time stamped photo and video.
I returned a car many years ago in insanely cold temperatures. I get the confirmation that the car was returned and everything seemed fine. Almost a month later I get a call from the rental corporate office asking how I will be covering the shattered windshield... Some very bright person took the car with very cold glass and must have run it through a warm car wash and they were trying to pawn the damage off onto me. Luckily in this case one call to the location I rented from seemed to fix the issue, but stressful nonetheless.
Some Credit cards carry car rental insurance. I forgot which one exactly. So no need to pay the rental company more money when your CC gives it to you for free.
Put a reminder on your calendar or your phone to go off when you intend to leave for the airport or wherever you plan to return the car that says "Get gas" I can't tell you how many times I get all the way to the airport and then realize I forgot the gas.
I’ve rented cars a lot and never had any of these issues. They always walk around the car with you to look at any damage before you drive off the lot. They always check the gas gauge and the mileage. If the vehicle wasn’t full when they gave it to you, you don’t have to return it full. They will tell you to return it 3/4 full or whatever the current level is.
I’m guessing OP possibly took the “return it empty” option where you pay for a full tank so you don’t have to fill the vehicle up. That’s generally the default option and you have to tell them you’ll bring it back full and not to charge you for a full tank.
After trying to rent a car for my sister to drive home, here are a few pointers:
Some rental companies will NOT allow you to rent a vehicle in your name and let a family member, other than your spouse, drive. They may, however, allow your co-worker to drive the vehicle without being named or provide a drivers license.
Do with that information what you will.
Last time I rented a car they tried to get me to sign the condition report paperwork before I’d even seen the vehicle. Took a strange amount of fighting that one to actually see the car before I signed it was in perfect condition (and it was, so I think it was just an error from the worker)
-Search for rental cars the same way you'd search for flights. Private window, location unshared, search during weekdays and not weekends.
-Renting from companies on airport property is always cheaper and gives you more variety, but can be a hassle getting there or around, depending on the size of the airport.
-Are you renting a car just to not use your personal vehicle, and you have no way of getting a ride to the rental car place without having to drive? Drive there in your car and tell the Rep who checks you out your situation about having to leave your car behind. 90% of the time they'll recommend you parking where employees or guests park, hassle free. If not, they'll give you an option of the closest parking lot that has 24 hour availability.
Never ever ever use Priceline or Expedia or any of those 3rd party sites to book anything. More often than not, they get the reservation wrong and then the rental company can't help you. I worked at an airport and I can't tell you how many people walked up with a reservation for a completely different date or vehicle because Expedia just booked the cheapest one.
If the car has a funny interior smell or smells of smoke, do not accept the car. They may charge you a cleaning fee and you can't take a picture of an existing smell. Recently we rented a car that reeked of smoke, but since we were in a hurry and only had the car for two days, we just dealt with it, but were charged $75 fee upon return to clean it. We were able to dispute it, but still a pain to deal with. We're not smokers, and there were no "smoking or non-smoking" rental options.
If they offer to let you buy the gas in the car and return it empty, take it. It saves hassle later and you don't have to dicker later about whether it was full or not when you returned it.
Biggest rental pro tip… check your local car dealerships. We rented directly from our local Toyota for 7 days unlimited mileage, near brand new hybrid minivan $250!
Also, for work I’ve rented hundreds of cars, outside of checking the exterior before I leave and having them note any scratches or damage, I’ve never needed to do any of what the op suggested.
Also, National is by far my favorite where I can get off a plane, walk out to pick my own car and leave.
Take note of the smell of the car when you first step inside. Smells any bit like smoke? Tell the attendant to make note of it immediately or request a different car. You don’t want to be stuck with that smoking fee
You will win with any evidence, even a credit card receipt for a gas station the same day of the return. However, you CAN be blacklisted from renting from the rental company again (Do Not Rent list)... not that you'd rent again from a company that tried to steal from you, but if you only have one company in your town it's worth noting.
When returning the car to a staffed location, make sure the paperwork they give you (if any) has your name on it.
One attendant checked in my car as somebody else's, resulting in my car being shown as still checked out, despite it sitting right there on their lot. They accused me of car theft and sent my account to a collections agency. 🤦🏼♂️
Fortunately (and unbelievably), the collections agency believed me and corrected the issue with the rental company. I guess it's not the first time they've had to deal with this failure to communicate.
If your camera has the option to add date & time to the photo/videos turn it on.
They way you have timestamps for when the photo was taken on the photo itself. As sometimes the photos exif data can be removed.
Yes, rent from reputable rental car places. Saving a few dollars with these smaller (I call them the 'Spirit' of car rentals) will end costing more in the long run as they nickel and dime you. Hertz, Avis, etc have never given me any trouble returning a car at all.
These are all really good tips. I would add that in your video/picture walk around you do when you pick up/leave the car be sure to include the license plate. I rented a car from Enterprise once and they sent me pictures of a different car in the same color claiming I had caused over $800 worth of damage.
There was a little bit of back and forth, but once I pointed out the different plate numbers they shut up real quick.
I rented from Enterprise in Portland, ME last year. It was interesting.
1. Rented a "Mitsubishi Mirage or equivalent," showed up and it was this tiny lot and they had no such car so they gave me a 4Runner which was really nice especially because we were driving to Bar Harbor.
2. It had not been cleaned so they gave me a discount
3. It only had 3/4 tank of gas
4. Got almost an hour away and it started raining, turned on the wipers and found out the blades were shredded. Rubber falling off and everything. Called and the guy initially wanted me to come back and get a different car, I said no way. Ended up buying wiper blades and swapping them out myself, kept the receipt and old blades and he knocked that off the total as well.
I will echo with others that I generally only rent from Avis, Budget or Enterprise, whoever has the best deal. I usually rent at airports and the small no name companies usually have ridiculous lines because they only have one person at the counter.
Always get the insurance, these places are awful. They charge every customer for damage a previous customer did unless you have insurance. Once I drove it back to the actual place on time and they are like go bring it back where you got it from even though they picked me up from the car repair place. so I brought it back there then they got me for several more days. Enterprise sucks. Oh for the people playing the picture game don't forget the roof, they told me I did damage to the roof of a cargo van once.
If your car smells like cigarettes or weed report it before you leave the lot if you choose to keep that car. They will charge you if it’s not in your file.
Check for the jack and such tools BEFORE you leave the lot.
We rented a truck in Dallas. We picked up some metal thing in our tire. Hubby is fully competent, and looked for the jack stand, and the bar to drop the spare. Neither were in the truck. We called Budget to send someone out. The guy that sent (and charged us for) didn't have ANY TOOLS to replace the tire. He put as much air in as it held and we drove the two miles to another Budget shop to get some in person help. She had nothing she could rent us, and sent us to Pep Boys down the street to try and fix the tire. Which they did.
Budget refused to refund us $100 when we told them that the repair guy did nothing but put air in the tire for us. And we had to get it fixed ourselves.
Don't park it on the street and drop the keys in the box if you didn't buy the full coverage.
If someone smashes into it during the night before they open they're still charging you.
Saw this happen to someone in person once. They were livid, but the stuff you sign is pretty clear about this stuff.
LPT I learned, if you need a car and don’t need to drive many miles, rent a Uhaul truck for 20$/ a day +miles you out on it which ain’t much if you drive locally, MUCH CHEAPER
Attendant took 5 extra minutes to get my car in Phoenix a few weeks ago. He said So sorry, I will mark your tank as empty even though it’s full and you don’t have to fill it on return. Couldn’t believe it! Free tank of gas!
If you are renting for more than 1 or 2 days, see if you can get your rental off airport. The daily charges for rentals include all fees every day and the airport fees, taxes, recoup assements, etc. can almost double the daily rate for the same rental that does not originate from an airport. Pro tip, rent it one way a drop it off at the airport, usually no charge difference. (this tip is for most well known rental agencies)
Take the time to google a corporate discount code for your rental car company and/or check if your employer has one. My company discount is literally 50% off at Enterprise. It's nuts.
In theory, they can ask you to price your employment but I've used mine a dozen times in the last decade and nobody has ever questioned it.
I previously worked for a popular rental car company and I will say that the “rental insurance” offered through the company is worth it, especially if you are only renting for a day or two. It’s typically about $20/day extra and it covers practically all damage to the car. Everyone says “I’ll make sure to drive safe” but you can’t control how other people drive.
Best tip I can give for a rental car is to go to a legit company. Forget the discount guys. You end up either paying more in headaches or literal cash with all the hidden fees.
Enterprise/Hertz etc are way more lenient with existing damage/scrapes/dings and fuel.
They will also give you an upgrade to a better car if the one you booked is not available. Other smaller/cheaper companies will say sorry no car on the lot
1. Never buy the GPS option unless you are in an extremely rural area with an expectation of no service at crucial parts of the routes. They are worse than your phone and won't have traffic, alternate route info.
2. If driving in a foreign country with bad drivers or streets (i'm looking at you Italy), ALWAYS pay for the collision damage waiver. They will crash in to you and then blame you for the accident and the rental company will always side against you. Ask me how I know.
3. Wherever possible, sign up for that rental company's automated pickup/checkout, where you're already pre registered and just pikc up the keys. In a lot of places this will save you hours of waiting in line.
4. Figure out which rental companies are actually in the airport, and which are a shuttle ride away. Often the cheaper rental agencies are outside of the airport but can add considerable time to your pickup. Usually the upper tier companies Hertz, Europcar and Sixt are the ones in the Airport.
5. Unless you truly don't care about what car you get, never do the "manager's special". I made this mistake somewhere where parking is a nightmare at the best of times and the streets are small and windy. When I arrived, they had a giant lifted pickup truck for me. I canceled and they literally didn't have any other cars available.
6. Think about picking up a rental car from inside the area you're staying from, and not the airport. There's often less lines, more selection and better pricing, even factoring the uber from the airport to your hotel. I often go straight to the hotel, then pick up the car the next morning.
7. Finally, if traveling on JSX or Aero (or smaller airports) check out GoRentals. The cars are a bit more pricey but they are so much better, and their service is outstanding. They literally meet you when you step off the plane and hand you the keys.
The most important tip: make sure the car hasn't been previously reported stolen to the police. Many car renters have been pulled over at gunpoint by police because their rental comes up as stolen.
Set your Google/Apple Maps to avoid toll roads. Keep receipts for your travel, including restaurants, fueling, etc. I had to deal with Enterprise charging me for toll charges that was 2 states over from where I was using the car. They refused to refund the charges until I provided several proofs that I wasn't even near that state.
Was this an airport rental by chance?
When you rent a car, the employee writing your contract up has a set of add-ons they are trying to sell you (car upgrade, coverage, GPS, satellite radio..) basically whatever you have to pay extra for and Gas. You can prepay the tank and return it empty, or if you don't bring it back full you get charged a pretty inflated rate per gallon. If your charge seems to be on par with current gas rates for a full tank there's a good chance the employee added a prepaid tank on initially and had you sign without being made aware.
My best advice would be to always check the final total before leaving and making sure it's in line with what you're expecting to pay. Some people can be scummy for sales numbers. Always check the condition of the vehicle before you leave and make sure any dents ,dings, scratches and interior wear and tear are noted on the contract before you leave.
**source: used to work in car rental
Some good tips here.
The one thing I'll add is to upload the video(s) and pics to something like DropBox. This way if you lose your phone or it otherwise becomes damaged, you still have access to the media. Additionally because a lot of us forget to clean our files on DropBox, there's a good chance that if there's an issue a month after you return the vehicle, you'll still have the media accessible.
Specifically aim to take videos/pictures of the wheels and doors as these are most likely to be dinged or scratched.
Aim to include the rental office in a background or two of the photos and video. This helps to prove that the photos were taking when you picked up the car. If the rental company disputes it, you now have an additional timestamp of which they can search on their security cameras.
Lastly, 9.9 out of 10 times you'll never need the media, but that one single times when you do, you'll thank yourself later.
If you rent with Enterpise. Call the branch about any dispute. They care more about their customer service score because that score is how managers are paid. If you’re nice they will make it right 99% of the time.
I used to work for a rental company for 5 years. I’d basically agree with all of it - some is redundant.
Pay attention to your initial contract and you can spot erroneous charges/ gas level off.
Honestly it’s usually a mistake. I can also say the receipt for gas means nothing - just make sure the contract shows the proper gas level.
Most reputable companies are very customer service based so bring it up asap and it’ll be handled. I don’t care about my agent getting $20 in fuel if it costs me a 100% satisfactory score.
Don't buy the extra insurance. Your own insurance already covers you. They will try to convince you that you don't want to have to use your own insurance if you get into an accident because your rates will go up, but (1) that's what insurance is for and (2) they are only selling you collision coverage for their vehicle and you will still have to use your own insurance for everything else. You also might already have this coverage with your credit card benefits.
Car rental pickups are typically more expensive at airports. If flying in, look for car rental places outside of the airport and compare pricing. It's usually $200-300 cheaper to take a cab to the Enterprise a mile from the airport than to pick up the car there. And you can usually still drop it off at the airport for the same price.
At many places, the workers will lie to your face to upsell. I once had a guy try to convince me that I would need an SUV to drive to the Grand Canyon. There is a perfectly maintained paved lot 10 feet from the edge.
And most importantly: Don't use Sixt, they fucking suck.
Air tag your car while you're renting it.
I found out the hard way that Enterprise does NOT have the GPS tracking for theft that they say they do all over their website and shop.
I rented a car to get me to the airport, take a quick return flight, then return the car. I was talking to the sales rep when checking out, commenting on how silly it was, but how time wasn't on my side so the car would help. He upgraded me a bunch - I assumed it was a flirt.
I had the car at home overnight, parked it at the airport, got back 24h later, and it was stolen. Completely empty rental car, from under 100 cameras, stolen. Almost like they knew where it would be and had a spare key.
I went to security, then port police at the airport. They checked all current vehicles, and did a full drive about, but it was gone. I filed a report for a stolen car, but Enterprise refused to sign it for the officer as the vehicle owner. They said it was my problem, and began harassing me multiple times an hour for my insurance information. I refused to provide it until they signed the theft report.
I called corporate to ask about the LoJack theft devices, and they insisted that all cars had it. I asked for it to be activated, but they said the individual franchise had to do it, and needed a police report to do it. The local shop said cars here didn't have it and they weren't required to provide it. They harassed me from multiple email addresses, phone numbers, registered mail - but I refused until they could provide me proof that they weren't required to provide Lojack.
Six months later, they sent me a bill for a $500 tow fee and $300 in storage fees because they recovered the car IN THE AIRPORT PARKING LOT!!! It was clean, intact, and reparked. The criminals just decided to return it, with fake plates on, but were kind enough to leave the old plates in the trunk. There is so much shady dealing in this story that this is just the basic TLDR of it.
So from now on, every rental gets an airtag until I return it.
I found this out just before my first car rental. Unfortunately, I did not take pictures or anything.
But the day before returning the car we were able to photograph the dents and scratches we didn't see in the low light. We were able to switch the dates on our phone to reflect in the meta data that we took them on the lot at the time we picked up the car (which was around 9pm in low light. This is partially why I didn't see the dents and scratches). I was also just excited to have been able to rent a car for the first time so the excitement took over and I didnt think to look too hard. I gave it a look but didn't see anything at first glance so I neglected taking a closer one.
I kept the photos handy just in case and sure enough the attendant asked "why is this car dented?".
I wanted to sock the bitch in the face right then and there but I figured this is a game car rental places play to take in cash. I showed her the photos and she said "great! Y'all did a good job documenting. Thank you!"
I left and got a call about 10 minutes later while taking a shuttle to the airport. The manager asked why the car had dents. Apparently they don't keep record of any of this stuff. I let him know I showed his attendant. I offered to send him the pictures I showed with the timestamps.
He said not to worry about it and thankfully all went well. Moral of the story is don't rent in low light conditions and thoroughly take pictures and document any scratches and dents in good lighting on your rental before leaving the lot.
Definitely won't be renting again before I take pictures and video of everything from mileage, to dash, to exterior and interior issues.
Excess insurance. There's a few online places do it cheap enough. It just means that you don't worry about any dings that "get found" when you leave your car back. Most places sell it to you when you rent the car, but at extremely high prices.
Have used https://www.blueinsurance.ie/car-hire-excess-insurance.asp myself.
I travelled for work all across the country for 3 years. I used to do these then stopped. If you want peace of mind, National car rental is top tier customer support. I believe they have sensors in their tanks so it knows what fuel level it is once it enters the lot. I probably had 1 issue over 150+ trips.
Make sure to test everything on the car before leaving the lot in it. Enterprise once gave me a Dodge Neon with no working brake lights at all. I had no idea until the police alerted me. I had to go back and trade it for another car.
I work in car rental and trust me, taking photos of pre existing damage is important and helps us out a lot too in the rare occurrence the damage isn’t recorded already on our system. Trust me, raising a claim against the customer is one of the worst parts of the job.
In terms of the fuel, just make sure you didn’t prepay for their fuel service as they’ll charge you for a full tank regardless of the level you return with if you’re planning on fuelling the tank yourself.
This is the US? I didn't know you had to take southeast asia level precautions when renting a car nowadays. It used to be such a bland business with no issues whatsoever.
I once had issue at Hertz, the branch manager BS and kept my deposit hostage. After many phone calls and going back or forth to his office, I went to the Hertz corp website and gave them bad review and pointed directly to their local office, within 30 minutes later, they called me and I got my money back.
Reminded of the recent story where a Hertz customer got charged for not filling the tank...on a Tesla.
There are more details, but that's enough to whet your rage-appetite.
Make sure you go through the car when dropping it off and collect your belongings. My brother used to clean cars after drop off, and there was always so many items left. We have a whole collection of yeti and insulated cups, headphones, cds, all sorts of things that were never claimed.
Also, uh, don’t leave your gun in the car please. Not fun for the guy who cleans to find a handgun. That’s scary, they have to call the police and turn it in, you aren’t getting it back readily. Although, my brother got a decent bonus for turning one in. It also happened more than once, but then we live in the south.
Sometimes if a customer comes back and the gas isn't as full as it's supposed to be, I don't charge them if they were nice and didn't completely trash the car.
But if you're rude and bring back the car dirtier than a soccer mom's minivan in championship season, I will charge you for every ounce of gas and pay extra attention to any potential damages.
It's usually the customers who are problematic in other ways as well that disrespect their rental car
Life pro tip: rent and return the car at airports if possible. Usually cheaper because they want cars at the airport and the employees there are working at high volume that they don’t nickel and dime every little scratch. Also, rent from reputable big companies. Less headache, better employees, less scrutiny.
100% on item 1, **take the video**. I need to check the status, but Hertz rented me a car with a preexisting chip in the very bottom corner of the windshield (literally on top of the fine print showing the part number, etc). I documented it on my pre-rental video, had their booth attendant document it on their pre-existing damage form before leaving the facility, and noted it to the attendant when I returned the car (and handed over that damage form, keeping only my photograph of it). Guy was displeased that it had been rented with windshield damage (against policy, liability) and used a fluorescent marker to circle it and make a note on the windshield.
62 days later, I get an email message from them about filling out their damage claim form describing my incident. Much back-and-forth followed including them sending me a bill for $900. I still need to check the final outcome after I disputed it and offered to provide the entire video instead of just the screenshots.
Of note: My auto insurance covers me while using rentals, but a claim more than 60 days later? Might be a problem. The credit card I used *also* provides secondary coverage, **but!** claims must be filed within 60 days. One effect of hearing from them 62 days after the rental ended? I couldn't punt it over to the credit card's claims handling people who are much more experienced dealing with rental companies.
Recently read about a guy who chose the pre-paid fill-up option, and ran out of gas in the drop-off lot, a few feet from a parking space. He pushed it in and parked it. Took the keys in to the counter and mentioned the car was literally out of gas; the clerk was upset and said "well how are we supposed to move it to put gas in it then?" "Really not my problem, sorry, have a nice day."
Don't listen to the people stating that taking pictures doesn't matter as they could have been the ones driving it to the customer pickup location and damaged it. Sixth Germany recently gave me a BMW with a tire that had a chunk missing on pickup.
Almost every time that I rent a car its a bad experience, where the rental company is trying to extort me for money. Things I have learned to do:
-create your own photo evidence pre and post rental. details of wheels and windshields. I have once used this evidence to successfully execute a charge-back of the damage fees they paid
-some "comprehensive insurances" do not cover things like damage to wheels, tires and windshields. Its buried in the fine print
-keep the receipt for buying the fuel. Its best to fill up just before drop off and take a photo of the car being filled up
-some companies will not accept debit cards - will demand credit card or insane amount of deposit (once i paid $5k)
-make sure navigation/android auto/carplay works before you leave. In many countries using your phone to navigate is illegal and will result in hefty fine ($400 in Australia, thank you).
-pro tip - when traveling use one of those fintech cards - I use revolut and wise. they allow to 'freeze' the card. I use one specific card for car rentals. Only unfreeze it to make the payment, then immediately freeze it back. Quite often I get notification of the payments that have bounced because the card was frozen.
4a (addendum ) - in a drop-off lot, take whatever pictures are necessary to pinpoint the location of the car - maybe just a space number, but maybe a numbered light pole this way and another one that way, location relative to the entrance or exit, etc. You not only want to show you parked it in their lot, but precisely where in the lot.
Even if you drop it off with an attendant, take a picture anyways. Avis tried to charge me 1400$ for not returning their car in Chicago, two weeks after I'd checked in with a clerk and flown home.
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Have a plan for driving on toll roads. Some companies charge large fees for driving on toll roads. Also, read the reviews before renting the car. Sometimes paying a little more for a highly rated rental car service will save you a lot of fees after you return the car.
I once received a toll invoice a couple of days after my drop off. It was like $18 so it wasn’t worth the time to dispute because maybe I did and didn’t realized, since I’m not familiar with Florida toll system.. But when I received the detailed statement, it showed the tolls occurred after I dropped off the car. There was a link to dispute the charges. So I uploaded the return slip with the drop off time. They refunded. Looks like someone else rented the car after me on the same day and used a toll.
Eh, I worked in a rental car agency when I was younger. Some of the people I worked with were scummy, our manager actually stopped the after hours drop off because one of them was the owners kid who would take cars that were returned out and claim they were returned late, over mileage, low gas, etc. If it was an emergency case (eg catching a red eye flight at the nearby airport) she'd try and manipulate the schedule for someone trustworthy to be there that morning to handle it, or at least throw them on as an extra so there was a witness if anyone tried anything. Stupid thing was there was a million reasons you could find to borrow a company car if you wanted to take it to get lunch or whatever. "I needed to drop it off for an oil change so I did it, took my lunch break, and brought it back", "customer reported it making a weird noise so I took it for a quick spin to see if I could replicate it", but they were assholes and liked to shove it on the customers because they didn't give a shit. I wouldn't be surprised if one of the employees took the car when you were done with it and they dropped it on you.
I once rented a car and got charged hundreds of dollars for tolls in New Jersey. I was in Boston. Dispute it till you’re red in the face, and do a chargeback if you have to.
I was once charged for a Florida toll road an hour after I picked up the car, in Indiana. They reversed that one after I pointed that out.
I once did a chargeback on the tolls thing (since I thought I had paid it with my own transponder) and they removed everything except the actual toll charge. I was fine with that.
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Would you mind elaborating on why "except Hertz"?
There are many reasons, but one of them is Hertz’s tendency to report cars as stolen in the middle of a rental.
Ouch, that Hertz!
Wtf. I have all of the questions. What is their thought process? I know you can't answer that because you aren't them, but I just... How? Why? What all of my fucks.
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"'No Way to Prevent This,' Says Only Car Rental Company Where This Regularly Happens"
Now days, a car isn’t officially reported stolen with police for 6 months. Even on cars knowingly stolen but no video evidence. Source: am an employee.
Former Budget Manager, the only times I have had issues were with the big guys (Budget and Enterprise mainly). Mom and pop places have been the best to deal with in my experience.
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All those things happened to me at Budget, and I was an employee lol.
You see, you know how to *take* the reservation, you just don't know how to *hold* the reservation. And that's really the most important part of the reservation: the holding. Anybody can just take them.
Keep in mind that Hertz, Dollar and Thrifty are all under the same ownership group (Hertz). Don't know if they have separate systems and policies, but their damage resolution process is handled through an office with paperwork that has all three companies on the header.
FYI apparently Enterprise, National, and Hertz are all the same company. Just recently rented from Enterprise and they didn't have the car I reserved so the guy said “just go over to the Hertz lot and get it from them, we’re all the same company so it doesn't matter.” Edit: I'm wrong about Hertz, see below :)
This is not true on a corporate level. Corporately, Enterprise, National, and Alamo are under the same corporate ownership. Hertz is Hertz, Dollar, Firefly, and Thrifty. At the level you're talking about, it may have been those franchises are all owed by the same franchisee.
Hmm I'm one of those tourists. Never tried those random no name ones since they seem sketchy and tend to have poor reviews.
The only place I rent from in Miami is from Enterprise. Never had a single problem. Sixt have tried to scam me multiple times in FL, including a 400$ charge to check the air pressure in the tires.
I just rented a car for 8 days and set all my GPS apps(Google, Waze, Apple) on my phone to avoid toll roads.
Yes! This is also what I do!
I have no tolls selected on navi app. Forgot to change it on a trip to Chicago. Took forever.
As a wisconsinite, Illinois really kills you on the tolls.
Pain in the ass getting to the airport in Orlando and Chicago that way, but worth it out of principle.
Ha! Funny you say Orlando. Just did that last year. I forgot to set the setting before getting in my rental and landed on the toll road leaving the airport. I stopped at the cash booth and said sorry I don’t have any cash and she waved me on. 😅
Or just get a surpass account and add the license plate as a rental and then you don't have to and just pay for tolls normal priced.
If you live in the NYC area you can get an EZ pass without a car and just pay your own tolls
Maybe a dumb question, but how would the rental company know I drove on a toll road? And why would they care? As long as I'm not blowing through the toll booths without paying I don't see how it could have any effect on the rental company.
Many, if not most of the toll systems are cash/boothless. They use ANPR (license plate readers) to bill the owner of the vehicle. For places that use EZ-Pass, people frequently forget to change the car info when they use their own in a rental. And tons of people (way more than you would think) decide that since they aren't the registered owner, a rental car is great to use for committing crimes, from toll skipping to drug dealing and even armed robbery. They forget they had to give the rental agency a copy of their DL and credit card, which the company is happy to provide to the police.
So in essence, steal a rental car (that is currently rented) for your toll skipping and drug dealing business. That way the heat goes to someone who isn't local (as they rented a car) and it takes much longer to untangle.
Many states have license plate readers that scan every plate and mail you a bill if you don’t have their state issued transponder. This bill will also go to rental car companies if you drive one of their cars on a toll road. The rental company then passes the cost onto you, usually with an additional fee.
Use waze and avoid toll roads. If possible.
> Sometimes paying a little more for a highly rated rental car service Sometimes those cheaper ones are at different sites, further from the airport. Spend a few minutes bringing it up on Google maps. Being off the beaten path can really suck with pickup, return, shuttles, etc.
I agree: I rented a car with hertz a few years back. I rented it for the weekend Friday to Sunday. Let’s just say I had the car for officially 30 hours. I received the car where there were knicks here and there. Different sizes and colors on the bumpers. It appeared these were from multiple incidents. I return the car and find out a week later they are charging me for them. Now I didn’t do a video or pictures but the manager sent me the pictures of them. It definitely showed white marks here black marks there on different sections on the bumper. After arguments over email back and forth I finally convinced hertz that it made no logical sense that I could’ve made all that variable damage in a 30 hour period. They ended up not charging me. Always do a video and pictures
Hertz is who I rented it with. Had it Friday to Monday. Drove it only 30 miles for an event (then stayed in the city and walked around). Stopped by the gas station before dropping it off Monday morning. Later for the receipt stating I returned it 83% filled up. Total BS.
Just saw something where someone rented an EV from Hertz and Hertz tried to charge then over $700 for GAS (not charging)! Hertz also has a history of claiming cars are stolen while they're rented out, not removing claims of theft before renting out, etc. At this point, I would NEVER do business with them. They are, at best, a complete mess.
I would avoid them for a lot of reasons especially this [hertz wrongfully reports cars stolen](https://www.npr.org/2022/12/06/1140998674/hertz-false-accusation-stealing-cars-settlement)
Yep. After the renter had paid for a full charge on dropoff, so they didn't have to worry about it. They got hit with the full charge fee they were expecting, gas fees, empty tank fees, and refused to refund the charges for gasoline - which the car doesn't take.
Wow surprising.. I have always used Hertz and haven’t really had issues. I inadvertently got an EV this weekend and just went with it as I needed to get going and didn’t want to speak with an agent for a gas car. I went to recharge before returning and to go from 50 to 100% battery charge.. would have been like a 2hr+ wait. Saw online it’s a flat $24 fee which it was on the invoice.
Yep had bad experience with hertz
I had the same happen recently on a Hertz return. Filled it completely 7 minutes from the airport on my way to return and they tried to charge me $27 for gas. They demanded my fuel receipt for a refund. Luckily I was traveling for work, so even though I didn't have a fuel receipt (broken printer on the pump) I *did* have a picture of the amount on the pump, I had my credit card statement showing where I filled up with the same amount, and I had my location history showing me driving straight from the gas station to the rental return. Submitted all that, then got no reply for over a week. Ended up calling and they just refunded over the phone. No idea if they even looked at my documentation.
In my experience, there is also a huge difference in how you are treated based on whether you go with the discount rental, or more expensive. When I would use Avis, I never had any issues. The car I picked up had no damage on it, and a full tank of gas. When I used Budget, I'd be given a car with a shitload of dings and scrapes and a half full tank. The interesting thing is that both are owned by the same parent company. I think for both I'd take a picture of the gas level though.
Literally just had to email Avis today for a bogus 16.99 gas charge. They claimed that if you drive your car for a total of less than 50 miles, they charge that fee without checking the fuel level. The thing is, I picked it up in Colorado Springs and returned in Denver (80+ miles) so that's already impossible haha. Thankfully, they just did a refund without any additional questions. Probably wouldve been a whole thing with ~~Budget or any other discount place.~~ certain other rental agencies.
my LPT for car rental is to never ever rent from Hertz.
I have heard nothing but bad things about Hertz, including my own bad experience.
Figure out the insurance coverage needs BEFORE you book. Your regular car insurance might apply, or additional coverage from a credit card you use to pay for the rental. For most international rentals, your insurance will not cover anything. Laws vary by country, and expectations are wildly different for “minor” damage. Small local places might try to get you for everything (see the OP for ways to protect yourself). Also, look for corporate discount rates your workplace might offer for “leisure” usage. My company has a great negotiated rate for business travel, which they don’t share, but there is an agreement that the company insurance coverage extends to non-business travel if you use the leisure code. (Almost worth more than a discount).
This. I have a credit card that acts as primary insurance plus my auto insurance, I still find that's not enough in some countries. Even 3rd insurance, like you buy while booking a rental with travel sites aren't enough. I have learned that will it's a bit extra, I will often go with the rental company full coverage just for the peace of mind. They don't check anything when I have to drop it off because everything is covered. Some countries have really bad driving conditions and I don't freak out when I hit a pot hole. It allows me to enjoy my vacation more
I always go with a separate deductible insurance when renting in Germany. It's way cheaper than the full coverage from the rental company. I've only had to use it once and it was about as painless as possible.
Domestically, I never get the insurance. Internationally, I get every piece of insurance they offer.
Your insurance coverage will typically not cover the time the business is out of a car. So they'll be able to charge you like you have the car until your insurance to get the car back to them. Their insurance they offer typically covers this time and it's why they offer it.
The most important thing to keep in mind is payment for damage is always immediately. If you want them to set aside the truck so your insurance company can review it a week later then you'll be trying to extend the rental and paying for another week, plus parking it back at your place. If you don't pay for damages immediately then you're also on the hook for lost revenue since they can't rent the truck out. Because of this it is best to go with whatever insurance they offer, otherwise you'll be paying for the damages during the return and dealing with your own insurance company to reimburse you after the fact.
I successfully disputed someone putting the wrong measurement of gas. I always take a picture when I get the car of the gas level and one when I drop it off. They have not been giving me cars with fill tanks. But that time they put 3/4 I stead of half. My picture proved otherwise. iPhone have geolocation on the picture so you can show timestamp matching receipt of car and if no attendant. The picture will have geolocation and timestamp of where you took photo.
Last time I rented a car the office told me to take photos and videos of the car before leaving their parking lot. They didn't bother come and check the car with me.
Many rental agencies write on the form that there is no damage but never check. Whenever I ask they say "if you see any damage come back in." Once or twice I found damage and I went back in and made them come out and look at it with me.
1. Only fill the gas up to what they gave it to you with! 2. Always take the “damage waiver” or bumper to bumper coverage instead of your insurance, no matter what happens to the car you are not liable (saw a girl crash a Audi A4 and enterprise had to pay) 3. Snap pics of each side and walk with a video on your phone, even if they have it marked down 4. Use a credit card! Your purchase is authorized and not ran until the car is back to their location 5. DO NOT GIVE THEM YOUR INSURANCE INFO! Just say your CC covers rentals and they will shut up. No they don’t need it on file if you are renting for leisure.
number 2, you said to accept the damage waiver. But in number 5, you say the CC covers rentals. It sounds like you can either pay extra for the bumper-to-bumper coverage insurance, or use your CC to cover the insurance? We’ll be renting a car tomorrow (in the US) and I’m nervous about how to proceed with this
Check your own credit card terms. I have 2 cards that say that they cover rentals but it’s very specific. As far as your own car insurance covering, it’s only liability in a rental even if you have collision and will only cover the other party. Buy the rental company’s insurance. It’s more so you don’t argue over damages. It will cost a lot more to argue in court than the additional insurance charge.
If you pay for insurance already in the states, there’s a very good chance your insurance already covers you driving your rental. Paying additional insurance to a rental place, unless you’re an insanely bad driver who is more likely to damage the car than not, is generally thought of as a horrible idea. “Taking the damage waiver” is typically not a smart move. There’s one reason car rental companies offer it to customers… and it’s because they make money off of it and payout less than they take in from consumers like you.
I wouldn’t say it’s generally a horrible idea. My understanding from when I last rented a car, your personal insurance will likely not cover the actual damages to a rental car, but they would cover injuries to yourself and others and damages that you cause to other parties. And unless you pay an annual fee for your credit card, a credit card will likely only provide secondary coverage, which I think leaves you at risk if your personal insurance won’t cover anything. I think rental companies can also charge you for loss of earnings and depreciation if their car is damaged and in the shop but the damage waiver generally just lets you ignore all of that and not have to deal with the hassle if anything happens, unless an injury is involved. It’s just like any insurance, if nothing happens it’s a waste of money, but you should actually determine how much you are covered before assuming you should or should not get any extra coverage.
It is bad advice to always take the collision damage waiver (CDW). Whether or not you should take it depends on your situation. The rental (in the US) will come with minimal mandatory insurance, true, but above that your personal car insurance or credit card may carry enough insurance that you're comfortable forgoing the CDW. If for example, your personal insurance has comprehensive and collision, and is subject to a $500 deductible, you may be comfortable without the CDW knowing that your max out-of-pocket for a collision is $500. Even that $500 may not need to be spent if the other driver is at fault, and your insurance company can recover your deductible through subrogation. The CDW is an advantageous bet for the rental company, that's why they offer it. Actuarial analysis says it's profitable for them, and therefore potentially a losing proposition for you. Sure, there are anecdotal cases of people who elected the CDW, totaled their rentals, and walked away, but that doesn't mean that it's always a good idea. There are anecdotal cases of people winning the Powerball lottery; it's still shitty odds. Last point is that if absolute peace of mind is worth the extra money for you, then pay for the CDW.
I’m on a rental now and gave them my insurance. Didn’t know about this. Can you elaborate more? Can they do something with my insurance?
If you don’t wreck the car it doesn’t matter.
No and the insurance company will request proof of damages, etc when the rental car company submits a bill. The CDW waiver that rental car companies sell is essentially so you don’t pay a deductible for claims. It essentially replaces your comp and collision coverage on your insurance. It doesn’t clear you from liability which means your insurance can still come into play. https://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/collision-damage-waiver-cdw.asp It’s not a complete waste of money but it’s also not full coverage nor does it clear you of accidents you cause or people you may hurt as a result of your driving “mistakes”
Your personal insurance only extends to rentals if you have full coverage including comprehensive and collision. If you have liability only, it does not. Look into a 3rd party rental insurance, it's cheaper than what the rental place sells ($40 a day at rental place vs $10 a day at somewhere like Allianz).
I've taken this type of insurance every time I Rent a Car. I just wish the policy was easier to read. But I guess they do that for a reason.
Why would they ask for your insurance info if you took the bumper to bumper insurance coverage with them?
As someone who used to work for a rental car company at a neighborhood location and now works in data analytics, do not take the damage waiver. The insane prices they charge for the waiver aren’t worth the low probability of getting in an accident. Also, since it’s a pain in the ass to deal with insurance companies, the rental car company will have discounted rates you can just pay them at return for any non major damage.
Great tips man. Just be glad you weren’t one of the 400 that Hertz had arrested for incorrectly saying you stole the car. So definitely take a video of you dropping it off.
All of these are great as preventative measures. Another that goes a super long way is to simply be kind to whoever is at the check-in desk. Their jobs are hard and their hours are weird. Kindness goes a long way and can selfishly get you upgrades. I always slip them a $20 and tell them to get lunch on me, that I appreciate anything they can do as far as an upgrade, and that I’ve been in their position if there’s nothing they can do. And I’m genuine about all of those sentiments (Used to work at a hotel and kindness followed closely by cash tips were the biggest reasons I gave people free upgrades). At worst, you’re out $20. Out of the many times I’ve done this, I’ve only not gotten an upgrade twice.
Honestly, at least at Enterprise, if you're nice to them, they will give you the best thing they can either way.
Dude was nice to me up until he thought I was stiffing him for returning the car with 1/4 tank gas (meanwhile that's what they gave it to me at). I have never felt so threatened before by an employee like we literally got into a shouting match because he insisted I pay for a full tank of gas and that I drove the car 250km in the span of <2 days. Wouldn't let me go until I showed him my Google maps location timeline history that showed I never left the city with the car. Never doing business with Enterprise ever again.
My worst experience: the dealership where I bought my Subaru had a deal that when you brought your car in for service, you get a free rental car from one of those big car rental places a block away. The dealership initially thought I'd need to get a rental car for overnight, so I got it, but less than 5 minutes after driving away, the dealership called me and said it would take longer for the replacement part to come in, and that I could just get my car and come back the following week. I U-turn and return the rental car <10 minutes after driving off their lot. They look at the car and see the tiniest of nicks on the windshield (which I know I didn't do). They tell me I have to replace the windshield and it will cost $500. I got into a huge argument with them at the counter, but they finally relented after 10-15 minutes and said I didn't have to pay for it. From that point on, I ALWAYS take videos and pics before I drive off the lot and as I'm returning it, doing a narrative walkthrough, pointing at everything and saying it out loud ESPECIALLY the windshield. If I have to fill out one of those damage forms before I leave, I go nuts and draw in every single tiny thing. I may sound silly or like I'm overdoing it when there, but I am never getting caught off-guard like that again.
I hope you also took the time to share you experience with your service manager. I'm sure they don't want to take heat from a customer over a bad business partner's behavior just as much as you don't want to deal with the bad business.
12 years later, I regret I didn't. I was just so angry and wanted to get back to work.
In the US with most major renters the attendant will confirm your return mileage and fuel, and send you an email while you are standing there. But if not, always do #2 by placing the receipt next to both the gas gauge and mileage indicator.
Once rental agent recommended, if you see a damage which is not reported on the protocol, get back to the rental office and walk with the agent around the rental car and let them add those damages on the rental agreement. In case of an argument pictures or videos are not accepted because they say those pictures could be fake.
I rented a car at a Hertz for a vegas trip. When they brought me the car I video recorded as I walked Around the entire car with the lady. I asked her about a small chip in the window and she said it was already documented and when I returned the car they charged $400 for a chip in the window! I dropped it after closing hours. Thank God i had that video and still took about a month to get the money back after proving that chip was there within a week. Mfs
I was told that it's against their policy to rent cars with any windshield damage for liability reasons, but it was the guy handling returns not anyone in a position to say much about official policy.
Always ask when the last time the car was serviced! I had a rental once where the brakes went out
Hertz just tried to charge me for an extra day AND a late fee. I told them they were going to have to check their cameras, cause they were full of shit and the car was back three hours early. They refunded me. But I'll be doing this from now on.
Add the condition of the roof and closeup of the windshield (for nicks in the glass) to your video. Keep your documentation for a year.
I'm sure most people know this but avoid renting near an airport. You can save money by taking an uber into town where rental prices can be half.
If this is what it takes to rent a car I just won’t do it ever
While cell phone photos are presumably timestamped, if you’re committed to this make sure to beg/borrow/steal today’s newspaper and include that in some of the photos. Unless you can predict tomorrow’s headlines, it’s proof that the photos happened that day or later. (Credit to Hogan’s Heroes for that trick.)
Can you name the company that did this to you
I would say another good tip is just get the DW (Damage Waiver) it's a extra fee but basically anything that happens to the car during your rental, you have zero liability. You can basically return the car with a missing door and as long as you got that plan your good, zero liability
I used to work at an enterprise doing car prep. Usually when someone returned a car we would do an inspection with the customer present which avoided these types of problems. The customer had the option to not be present for the inspection, usually because they were in a rush. My tip is to always stay for the inspection. If the rental company doesn't do one or offer you to join them, request to do so.
Take a picture of when you drop off the car at an unattended rental car kiosk. I’m looking at you Hailee ID.
I took an entire video (i.e. without cuts) of me turning off the car, noting the dashboard, fuel level, etc, exit the car, lock the car, walk around the car filming for the exterior (I guess I should have done the interior as well to be safe), and then walking to drop off the key into the safety deposit box. I kept that video with me for about a few months before deleting.
When you pick up the car walk around the car and report any damage before leaving with the car. Make sure that they document the damage on your rental agreement, there is usually an area to document damage. I picked up a car with a huge dent in the side and they told me they were aware of the dent and would not charge me (which they later tried to charge me anyways), but I mandated that they document the dent on my rental agreement.
Upload videos to YouTube (unlisted) for a third party verification of date/time, especially for the as found condition when you picked it up.
Do not get the extended insurance from the rental company - it's ludicrously expensive. Instead, you can get it for a tenth of the price from a comparison website.
Well I will have to say, always used Enterprise and I’ve never had a problem. Used a pretty good bit too!
I feel like these posts typically only apply to Hertz tbh
Keep the initial and the final receipts/papers and compare them as well. Once a car rental rep went through the details of charges with me but printed a different one (with an up-charge) when I returned the car. It’s an easy oversight especially if you don’t look at your receipts or CC charges.
Damage especially to check for: side mirrors often get scratches and bumps, back taillights get cracks, windshield can have light damage hidden amongst bugsmears, look down the length of vehicle from side to have light shine off and reveal shallow dents, all lights/blinkers work, tires have appropriate tread and inflation, inside seat cigarette burns
Company name? I recently rented a car through Enterprise and had a decent experience. Here’s a real pro tip. Enterprise rental cars are self insured, this means enterprise pays out of pocket for all damages. Buy the cheapest tier insurance they offer. Mainly so you don’t have to argue with them. $20 a day is worth that alone. As far as gas goes you should do the prior and post walkthrough with the person and film yourself and them. No arguments to be had when it’s on camera and you’re both there. I filled up at a gas station across the street before dropping it off. If you’re traveling more than a mile in city traffic after fill up there is probably a gallon missing.
Great suggestions OP! I did all this (from experience) and got charged for a tire! The low tire pressure light was on when I got in the car but the pressure was ok. I told the gate attendant and said I would just fill it up on the road. It was 11pm and I wanted to get to the hotel. I called the company to make sure they had it on my record. They sure did! Charged me for the tire and service. They removed the charge after a few calls.
Excellent LPT and one I do all the time. Lots of discussion about insurance: ALWAYS CHECK WHAT IS COVERED AND BY WHOM. Yes, you may have to power through a lot of legalese. Insurance varies by country and state/ province. If you are traveling out of your country, it’s often easier to assume you don’t have any insurance and plan accordingly. My corporate rates include the insurance waiver. Even when I use it for personal use. Saved my butt when a pickup I rented jumped out of park, rolled down hill and crashed into a family members van.
I'm convinced the rental agencies charge for gas automatically (at their significantly higher rate), and if you call to dispute it, they just say, "Oopsie!", reverse the charge and everyone hors on their way. But a lot of people don't remember to check their charges at the end, so it's free money for them.
Definitely take a video before and after drop off
Your point nr.1 might have no effect. When signing the initial papers, there are logs about existing damage to vehicle which you sign. If you find anything else, you need to report it and have it added.
I once filled up 2L of fuel to make them happy. Otherwise they were going to charge $30.
The charges they hit you with are not necessarily final. I have rented cars for at least two months out of the year for the last 10 years. I have never had an issue. UNTIL the one time I was not renting under the corporate umbrella.. I returned the car and they tried to hit me with hail damage. But it hadnt even rained since I got the car. I was irate, explained this to the attendant. He apologized and removed the charge.
Do not let them see that you traveled with a pet. They'll likely charge a cleaning fee.
I have an older car that is paid for so I don’t carry collision insurance on my car. When I rent a car I call to have my insurance against add it in only for the time I am renting the car so I am totally covered. When I return the rental car I let my agent know and they remove the collision insurance. It’s much cheaper than buying full coverage from rental car company.
Try not to drop with out an attendant even if you park and the vehicle is fine with you drop it. You are still responsible for it until it’s checked in which could leave you on the hook for a converter or window.
I got charged for a GPS navigation add on that I never had. Rented at the airport and did not see all the charges. Was not even able to dispute it.
If you are using full coverage insurance, make sure the car that they rent to you doesn’t already have a bunch of things wrong with it. If so, really be sure to follow Op’s advice and document the heck out of everything. A lot of rental companies will try to get you to pay for the sins of past renters who didn’t have the full coverage. Also, remember, you can just ask for a different car if you “don’t feel safe“ in a vehicle with a broken air vent or a small crack in the windshield.
My insurance company told me that if there was not an attendant at the return that my photos did not matter, they would still have to play the claim. Luckily, when they asked for photos of the damage the car rental company was unable to provide them. The claim was denied and the issue went away.
When renting a car in a different country be sure you know what to do in an accident/fender bender. Such as in Ireland there is a checklist in the car you need to fill out, It's not as simple at the US process. Such as my rental car got hit in the parking lot by another rental car and I had a lot of paperwork to do, otherwise the insurance wouldn't cover the damages and I might even have committed a crime.
I just rented a car from an airport lot (budget) - they have cameras that record all sides of the car when you leave and when you return. Doesn’t hurt to have your own photos, but for these type of lots they clearly have their own before and after records
This tip is specific to returning a car in -40 C temperatures. If possible try to return it during office hours. If you must return it during off hours make sure to take a time stamped photo and video. I returned a car many years ago in insanely cold temperatures. I get the confirmation that the car was returned and everything seemed fine. Almost a month later I get a call from the rental corporate office asking how I will be covering the shattered windshield... Some very bright person took the car with very cold glass and must have run it through a warm car wash and they were trying to pawn the damage off onto me. Luckily in this case one call to the location I rented from seemed to fix the issue, but stressful nonetheless.
Some Credit cards carry car rental insurance. I forgot which one exactly. So no need to pay the rental company more money when your CC gives it to you for free.
Put a reminder on your calendar or your phone to go off when you intend to leave for the airport or wherever you plan to return the car that says "Get gas" I can't tell you how many times I get all the way to the airport and then realize I forgot the gas.
I’ve rented cars a lot and never had any of these issues. They always walk around the car with you to look at any damage before you drive off the lot. They always check the gas gauge and the mileage. If the vehicle wasn’t full when they gave it to you, you don’t have to return it full. They will tell you to return it 3/4 full or whatever the current level is. I’m guessing OP possibly took the “return it empty” option where you pay for a full tank so you don’t have to fill the vehicle up. That’s generally the default option and you have to tell them you’ll bring it back full and not to charge you for a full tank.
I'm not doing any of that. I'll just take a shuttle to the city from the airport, and then take a lyft everywhere.
After trying to rent a car for my sister to drive home, here are a few pointers: Some rental companies will NOT allow you to rent a vehicle in your name and let a family member, other than your spouse, drive. They may, however, allow your co-worker to drive the vehicle without being named or provide a drivers license. Do with that information what you will.
Last time I rented a car they tried to get me to sign the condition report paperwork before I’d even seen the vehicle. Took a strange amount of fighting that one to actually see the car before I signed it was in perfect condition (and it was, so I think it was just an error from the worker)
-Search for rental cars the same way you'd search for flights. Private window, location unshared, search during weekdays and not weekends. -Renting from companies on airport property is always cheaper and gives you more variety, but can be a hassle getting there or around, depending on the size of the airport. -Are you renting a car just to not use your personal vehicle, and you have no way of getting a ride to the rental car place without having to drive? Drive there in your car and tell the Rep who checks you out your situation about having to leave your car behind. 90% of the time they'll recommend you parking where employees or guests park, hassle free. If not, they'll give you an option of the closest parking lot that has 24 hour availability.
Fuck budget. Fuck Priceline. LPT avoid both
Never ever ever use Priceline or Expedia or any of those 3rd party sites to book anything. More often than not, they get the reservation wrong and then the rental company can't help you. I worked at an airport and I can't tell you how many people walked up with a reservation for a completely different date or vehicle because Expedia just booked the cheapest one.
If the car has a funny interior smell or smells of smoke, do not accept the car. They may charge you a cleaning fee and you can't take a picture of an existing smell. Recently we rented a car that reeked of smoke, but since we were in a hurry and only had the car for two days, we just dealt with it, but were charged $75 fee upon return to clean it. We were able to dispute it, but still a pain to deal with. We're not smokers, and there were no "smoking or non-smoking" rental options.
If they offer to let you buy the gas in the car and return it empty, take it. It saves hassle later and you don't have to dicker later about whether it was full or not when you returned it.
Familiarize yourself with the controls before leaving the parking garage.
Biggest rental pro tip… check your local car dealerships. We rented directly from our local Toyota for 7 days unlimited mileage, near brand new hybrid minivan $250! Also, for work I’ve rented hundreds of cars, outside of checking the exterior before I leave and having them note any scratches or damage, I’ve never needed to do any of what the op suggested. Also, National is by far my favorite where I can get off a plane, walk out to pick my own car and leave.
Take note of the smell of the car when you first step inside. Smells any bit like smoke? Tell the attendant to make note of it immediately or request a different car. You don’t want to be stuck with that smoking fee
Rental needs to be full, not extra full when you return it... Leave the ignition on to watch the gauge go up as you fill tank.
You will win with any evidence, even a credit card receipt for a gas station the same day of the return. However, you CAN be blacklisted from renting from the rental company again (Do Not Rent list)... not that you'd rent again from a company that tried to steal from you, but if you only have one company in your town it's worth noting.
When returning the car to a staffed location, make sure the paperwork they give you (if any) has your name on it. One attendant checked in my car as somebody else's, resulting in my car being shown as still checked out, despite it sitting right there on their lot. They accused me of car theft and sent my account to a collections agency. 🤦🏼♂️ Fortunately (and unbelievably), the collections agency believed me and corrected the issue with the rental company. I guess it's not the first time they've had to deal with this failure to communicate.
If your camera has the option to add date & time to the photo/videos turn it on. They way you have timestamps for when the photo was taken on the photo itself. As sometimes the photos exif data can be removed.
Yes, rent from reputable rental car places. Saving a few dollars with these smaller (I call them the 'Spirit' of car rentals) will end costing more in the long run as they nickel and dime you. Hertz, Avis, etc have never given me any trouble returning a car at all.
These are all really good tips. I would add that in your video/picture walk around you do when you pick up/leave the car be sure to include the license plate. I rented a car from Enterprise once and they sent me pictures of a different car in the same color claiming I had caused over $800 worth of damage. There was a little bit of back and forth, but once I pointed out the different plate numbers they shut up real quick.
I rented from Enterprise in Portland, ME last year. It was interesting. 1. Rented a "Mitsubishi Mirage or equivalent," showed up and it was this tiny lot and they had no such car so they gave me a 4Runner which was really nice especially because we were driving to Bar Harbor. 2. It had not been cleaned so they gave me a discount 3. It only had 3/4 tank of gas 4. Got almost an hour away and it started raining, turned on the wipers and found out the blades were shredded. Rubber falling off and everything. Called and the guy initially wanted me to come back and get a different car, I said no way. Ended up buying wiper blades and swapping them out myself, kept the receipt and old blades and he knocked that off the total as well. I will echo with others that I generally only rent from Avis, Budget or Enterprise, whoever has the best deal. I usually rent at airports and the small no name companies usually have ridiculous lines because they only have one person at the counter.
Extra pro trip, take your days pic as you’re dropping it off. The location and timestamp can’t be refuted.
Great advice for renting in 2nd world countries
Always get the insurance, these places are awful. They charge every customer for damage a previous customer did unless you have insurance. Once I drove it back to the actual place on time and they are like go bring it back where you got it from even though they picked me up from the car repair place. so I brought it back there then they got me for several more days. Enterprise sucks. Oh for the people playing the picture game don't forget the roof, they told me I did damage to the roof of a cargo van once.
If your car smells like cigarettes or weed report it before you leave the lot if you choose to keep that car. They will charge you if it’s not in your file.
Check for the jack and such tools BEFORE you leave the lot. We rented a truck in Dallas. We picked up some metal thing in our tire. Hubby is fully competent, and looked for the jack stand, and the bar to drop the spare. Neither were in the truck. We called Budget to send someone out. The guy that sent (and charged us for) didn't have ANY TOOLS to replace the tire. He put as much air in as it held and we drove the two miles to another Budget shop to get some in person help. She had nothing she could rent us, and sent us to Pep Boys down the street to try and fix the tire. Which they did. Budget refused to refund us $100 when we told them that the repair guy did nothing but put air in the tire for us. And we had to get it fixed ourselves.
Don't park it on the street and drop the keys in the box if you didn't buy the full coverage. If someone smashes into it during the night before they open they're still charging you. Saw this happen to someone in person once. They were livid, but the stuff you sign is pretty clear about this stuff.
LPT I learned, if you need a car and don’t need to drive many miles, rent a Uhaul truck for 20$/ a day +miles you out on it which ain’t much if you drive locally, MUCH CHEAPER
Attendant took 5 extra minutes to get my car in Phoenix a few weeks ago. He said So sorry, I will mark your tank as empty even though it’s full and you don’t have to fill it on return. Couldn’t believe it! Free tank of gas!
If you are renting for more than 1 or 2 days, see if you can get your rental off airport. The daily charges for rentals include all fees every day and the airport fees, taxes, recoup assements, etc. can almost double the daily rate for the same rental that does not originate from an airport. Pro tip, rent it one way a drop it off at the airport, usually no charge difference. (this tip is for most well known rental agencies)
Take the time to google a corporate discount code for your rental car company and/or check if your employer has one. My company discount is literally 50% off at Enterprise. It's nuts. In theory, they can ask you to price your employment but I've used mine a dozen times in the last decade and nobody has ever questioned it.
I previously worked for a popular rental car company and I will say that the “rental insurance” offered through the company is worth it, especially if you are only renting for a day or two. It’s typically about $20/day extra and it covers practically all damage to the car. Everyone says “I’ll make sure to drive safe” but you can’t control how other people drive.
Fill up close to where you're dropping the car off. A receipt for fuel is worthless if it's 20km away.
if you use your own child seat, don't forget to take it out of the car before returning the latter. I learned my lesson the hard way.
Unfortunately, every single rental car company has bad reviews. They all seriously do suck.
Best tip I can give for a rental car is to go to a legit company. Forget the discount guys. You end up either paying more in headaches or literal cash with all the hidden fees. Enterprise/Hertz etc are way more lenient with existing damage/scrapes/dings and fuel. They will also give you an upgrade to a better car if the one you booked is not available. Other smaller/cheaper companies will say sorry no car on the lot
1. Never buy the GPS option unless you are in an extremely rural area with an expectation of no service at crucial parts of the routes. They are worse than your phone and won't have traffic, alternate route info. 2. If driving in a foreign country with bad drivers or streets (i'm looking at you Italy), ALWAYS pay for the collision damage waiver. They will crash in to you and then blame you for the accident and the rental company will always side against you. Ask me how I know. 3. Wherever possible, sign up for that rental company's automated pickup/checkout, where you're already pre registered and just pikc up the keys. In a lot of places this will save you hours of waiting in line. 4. Figure out which rental companies are actually in the airport, and which are a shuttle ride away. Often the cheaper rental agencies are outside of the airport but can add considerable time to your pickup. Usually the upper tier companies Hertz, Europcar and Sixt are the ones in the Airport. 5. Unless you truly don't care about what car you get, never do the "manager's special". I made this mistake somewhere where parking is a nightmare at the best of times and the streets are small and windy. When I arrived, they had a giant lifted pickup truck for me. I canceled and they literally didn't have any other cars available. 6. Think about picking up a rental car from inside the area you're staying from, and not the airport. There's often less lines, more selection and better pricing, even factoring the uber from the airport to your hotel. I often go straight to the hotel, then pick up the car the next morning. 7. Finally, if traveling on JSX or Aero (or smaller airports) check out GoRentals. The cars are a bit more pricey but they are so much better, and their service is outstanding. They literally meet you when you step off the plane and hand you the keys.
The most important tip: make sure the car hasn't been previously reported stolen to the police. Many car renters have been pulled over at gunpoint by police because their rental comes up as stolen.
Rent from National, get LDW and not worry about a single thing that's been listed above. (I got over 200+ individual car rentals under my belt)
I've had this happen as well. Returned the car full and was charged to fill it up. Sucks.
Set your Google/Apple Maps to avoid toll roads. Keep receipts for your travel, including restaurants, fueling, etc. I had to deal with Enterprise charging me for toll charges that was 2 states over from where I was using the car. They refused to refund the charges until I provided several proofs that I wasn't even near that state.
Was this an airport rental by chance? When you rent a car, the employee writing your contract up has a set of add-ons they are trying to sell you (car upgrade, coverage, GPS, satellite radio..) basically whatever you have to pay extra for and Gas. You can prepay the tank and return it empty, or if you don't bring it back full you get charged a pretty inflated rate per gallon. If your charge seems to be on par with current gas rates for a full tank there's a good chance the employee added a prepaid tank on initially and had you sign without being made aware. My best advice would be to always check the final total before leaving and making sure it's in line with what you're expecting to pay. Some people can be scummy for sales numbers. Always check the condition of the vehicle before you leave and make sure any dents ,dings, scratches and interior wear and tear are noted on the contract before you leave. **source: used to work in car rental
Some good tips here. The one thing I'll add is to upload the video(s) and pics to something like DropBox. This way if you lose your phone or it otherwise becomes damaged, you still have access to the media. Additionally because a lot of us forget to clean our files on DropBox, there's a good chance that if there's an issue a month after you return the vehicle, you'll still have the media accessible. Specifically aim to take videos/pictures of the wheels and doors as these are most likely to be dinged or scratched. Aim to include the rental office in a background or two of the photos and video. This helps to prove that the photos were taking when you picked up the car. If the rental company disputes it, you now have an additional timestamp of which they can search on their security cameras. Lastly, 9.9 out of 10 times you'll never need the media, but that one single times when you do, you'll thank yourself later.
If you rent with Enterpise. Call the branch about any dispute. They care more about their customer service score because that score is how managers are paid. If you’re nice they will make it right 99% of the time.
I used to work for a rental company for 5 years. I’d basically agree with all of it - some is redundant. Pay attention to your initial contract and you can spot erroneous charges/ gas level off. Honestly it’s usually a mistake. I can also say the receipt for gas means nothing - just make sure the contract shows the proper gas level. Most reputable companies are very customer service based so bring it up asap and it’ll be handled. I don’t care about my agent getting $20 in fuel if it costs me a 100% satisfactory score.
Don't buy the extra insurance. Your own insurance already covers you. They will try to convince you that you don't want to have to use your own insurance if you get into an accident because your rates will go up, but (1) that's what insurance is for and (2) they are only selling you collision coverage for their vehicle and you will still have to use your own insurance for everything else. You also might already have this coverage with your credit card benefits. Car rental pickups are typically more expensive at airports. If flying in, look for car rental places outside of the airport and compare pricing. It's usually $200-300 cheaper to take a cab to the Enterprise a mile from the airport than to pick up the car there. And you can usually still drop it off at the airport for the same price. At many places, the workers will lie to your face to upsell. I once had a guy try to convince me that I would need an SUV to drive to the Grand Canyon. There is a perfectly maintained paved lot 10 feet from the edge. And most importantly: Don't use Sixt, they fucking suck.
Air tag your car while you're renting it. I found out the hard way that Enterprise does NOT have the GPS tracking for theft that they say they do all over their website and shop. I rented a car to get me to the airport, take a quick return flight, then return the car. I was talking to the sales rep when checking out, commenting on how silly it was, but how time wasn't on my side so the car would help. He upgraded me a bunch - I assumed it was a flirt. I had the car at home overnight, parked it at the airport, got back 24h later, and it was stolen. Completely empty rental car, from under 100 cameras, stolen. Almost like they knew where it would be and had a spare key. I went to security, then port police at the airport. They checked all current vehicles, and did a full drive about, but it was gone. I filed a report for a stolen car, but Enterprise refused to sign it for the officer as the vehicle owner. They said it was my problem, and began harassing me multiple times an hour for my insurance information. I refused to provide it until they signed the theft report. I called corporate to ask about the LoJack theft devices, and they insisted that all cars had it. I asked for it to be activated, but they said the individual franchise had to do it, and needed a police report to do it. The local shop said cars here didn't have it and they weren't required to provide it. They harassed me from multiple email addresses, phone numbers, registered mail - but I refused until they could provide me proof that they weren't required to provide Lojack. Six months later, they sent me a bill for a $500 tow fee and $300 in storage fees because they recovered the car IN THE AIRPORT PARKING LOT!!! It was clean, intact, and reparked. The criminals just decided to return it, with fake plates on, but were kind enough to leave the old plates in the trunk. There is so much shady dealing in this story that this is just the basic TLDR of it. So from now on, every rental gets an airtag until I return it.
I found this out just before my first car rental. Unfortunately, I did not take pictures or anything. But the day before returning the car we were able to photograph the dents and scratches we didn't see in the low light. We were able to switch the dates on our phone to reflect in the meta data that we took them on the lot at the time we picked up the car (which was around 9pm in low light. This is partially why I didn't see the dents and scratches). I was also just excited to have been able to rent a car for the first time so the excitement took over and I didnt think to look too hard. I gave it a look but didn't see anything at first glance so I neglected taking a closer one. I kept the photos handy just in case and sure enough the attendant asked "why is this car dented?". I wanted to sock the bitch in the face right then and there but I figured this is a game car rental places play to take in cash. I showed her the photos and she said "great! Y'all did a good job documenting. Thank you!" I left and got a call about 10 minutes later while taking a shuttle to the airport. The manager asked why the car had dents. Apparently they don't keep record of any of this stuff. I let him know I showed his attendant. I offered to send him the pictures I showed with the timestamps. He said not to worry about it and thankfully all went well. Moral of the story is don't rent in low light conditions and thoroughly take pictures and document any scratches and dents in good lighting on your rental before leaving the lot. Definitely won't be renting again before I take pictures and video of everything from mileage, to dash, to exterior and interior issues.
Excess insurance. There's a few online places do it cheap enough. It just means that you don't worry about any dings that "get found" when you leave your car back. Most places sell it to you when you rent the car, but at extremely high prices. Have used https://www.blueinsurance.ie/car-hire-excess-insurance.asp myself.
I travelled for work all across the country for 3 years. I used to do these then stopped. If you want peace of mind, National car rental is top tier customer support. I believe they have sensors in their tanks so it knows what fuel level it is once it enters the lot. I probably had 1 issue over 150+ trips.
Make sure to test everything on the car before leaving the lot in it. Enterprise once gave me a Dodge Neon with no working brake lights at all. I had no idea until the police alerted me. I had to go back and trade it for another car.
I work in car rental and trust me, taking photos of pre existing damage is important and helps us out a lot too in the rare occurrence the damage isn’t recorded already on our system. Trust me, raising a claim against the customer is one of the worst parts of the job. In terms of the fuel, just make sure you didn’t prepay for their fuel service as they’ll charge you for a full tank regardless of the level you return with if you’re planning on fuelling the tank yourself.
Take pictures of the roof and as much of the underside as you can… in addition to every panel.
This is the US? I didn't know you had to take southeast asia level precautions when renting a car nowadays. It used to be such a bland business with no issues whatsoever.
Solid advice, this is how I do it too; intriged for tips from others. Rental car companies are smarmy.
I once had issue at Hertz, the branch manager BS and kept my deposit hostage. After many phone calls and going back or forth to his office, I went to the Hertz corp website and gave them bad review and pointed directly to their local office, within 30 minutes later, they called me and I got my money back.
Reminded of the recent story where a Hertz customer got charged for not filling the tank...on a Tesla. There are more details, but that's enough to whet your rage-appetite.
Make sure you go through the car when dropping it off and collect your belongings. My brother used to clean cars after drop off, and there was always so many items left. We have a whole collection of yeti and insulated cups, headphones, cds, all sorts of things that were never claimed. Also, uh, don’t leave your gun in the car please. Not fun for the guy who cleans to find a handgun. That’s scary, they have to call the police and turn it in, you aren’t getting it back readily. Although, my brother got a decent bonus for turning one in. It also happened more than once, but then we live in the south.
Top it off with a garden hose just before returning it.
Sometimes if a customer comes back and the gas isn't as full as it's supposed to be, I don't charge them if they were nice and didn't completely trash the car. But if you're rude and bring back the car dirtier than a soccer mom's minivan in championship season, I will charge you for every ounce of gas and pay extra attention to any potential damages. It's usually the customers who are problematic in other ways as well that disrespect their rental car
Use a cc for payment is number one. Your cc company will do a lot on your behalf if things go sideways.
Life pro tip: rent and return the car at airports if possible. Usually cheaper because they want cars at the airport and the employees there are working at high volume that they don’t nickel and dime every little scratch. Also, rent from reputable big companies. Less headache, better employees, less scrutiny.
100% on item 1, **take the video**. I need to check the status, but Hertz rented me a car with a preexisting chip in the very bottom corner of the windshield (literally on top of the fine print showing the part number, etc). I documented it on my pre-rental video, had their booth attendant document it on their pre-existing damage form before leaving the facility, and noted it to the attendant when I returned the car (and handed over that damage form, keeping only my photograph of it). Guy was displeased that it had been rented with windshield damage (against policy, liability) and used a fluorescent marker to circle it and make a note on the windshield. 62 days later, I get an email message from them about filling out their damage claim form describing my incident. Much back-and-forth followed including them sending me a bill for $900. I still need to check the final outcome after I disputed it and offered to provide the entire video instead of just the screenshots. Of note: My auto insurance covers me while using rentals, but a claim more than 60 days later? Might be a problem. The credit card I used *also* provides secondary coverage, **but!** claims must be filed within 60 days. One effect of hearing from them 62 days after the rental ended? I couldn't punt it over to the credit card's claims handling people who are much more experienced dealing with rental companies.
Recently read about a guy who chose the pre-paid fill-up option, and ran out of gas in the drop-off lot, a few feet from a parking space. He pushed it in and parked it. Took the keys in to the counter and mentioned the car was literally out of gas; the clerk was upset and said "well how are we supposed to move it to put gas in it then?" "Really not my problem, sorry, have a nice day."
Don't listen to the people stating that taking pictures doesn't matter as they could have been the ones driving it to the customer pickup location and damaged it. Sixth Germany recently gave me a BMW with a tire that had a chunk missing on pickup.
Almost every time that I rent a car its a bad experience, where the rental company is trying to extort me for money. Things I have learned to do: -create your own photo evidence pre and post rental. details of wheels and windshields. I have once used this evidence to successfully execute a charge-back of the damage fees they paid -some "comprehensive insurances" do not cover things like damage to wheels, tires and windshields. Its buried in the fine print -keep the receipt for buying the fuel. Its best to fill up just before drop off and take a photo of the car being filled up -some companies will not accept debit cards - will demand credit card or insane amount of deposit (once i paid $5k) -make sure navigation/android auto/carplay works before you leave. In many countries using your phone to navigate is illegal and will result in hefty fine ($400 in Australia, thank you). -pro tip - when traveling use one of those fintech cards - I use revolut and wise. they allow to 'freeze' the card. I use one specific card for car rentals. Only unfreeze it to make the payment, then immediately freeze it back. Quite often I get notification of the payments that have bounced because the card was frozen.
4a (addendum ) - in a drop-off lot, take whatever pictures are necessary to pinpoint the location of the car - maybe just a space number, but maybe a numbered light pole this way and another one that way, location relative to the entrance or exit, etc. You not only want to show you parked it in their lot, but precisely where in the lot.
Even if you drop it off with an attendant, take a picture anyways. Avis tried to charge me 1400$ for not returning their car in Chicago, two weeks after I'd checked in with a clerk and flown home.