Be Careful Renting From Hertz!
 

Hertz has started using AI to scan cars when you leave the lot and when you return. Apparently the high resolution scanners are picking up damage that is not visible to the naked eye.

The AI can “detect 5X more damage than manual checks” and generate “6X higher total value of damage captured.”

If the AI detects “damage” you are charged an exorbitant amount including the damages and a processing fee that may be more than the damages.

In one case, a couple was
charged $195: $80 for the damage and $115 in fees, including those incurred “as a result of processing” the damage claim and the “cost to detect and estimate the damage” that occurred during the rental.

After reading this, I am very hesitant to rent from Hertz.

Has anyone had this happen to them?

Customers Are Outraged With Hertz AI Scanners They Say Automatically Charge For Questionable Damages - The Autopian

Hertz rental
 

Thank you for sharing this. We rented a car for a week in Colorado and a few days after turning it in. We got an email saying there was a chip on the window. They had a picture, but we were not sure if this was done on our trip. We are still awaiting resolution. We did purchase insurance on the car since it was a long rental. Motto is, maybe we all need to take pics of the car before and after.

We would avoid using Hertz for now with that information available. However, I think it's somewhat like the plague, it will keep spreading. Other car rental companies will soon be joining the parade.

If you had insurance, what is the problem? Shouldn't the rental company be dealing with them and not you?

Maybe the rental companies know they are using insurance and find many problems for the money.

Sounds like a money grab. Since the damage is discovered after the renter is gone, how many times do you suppose they charge for the same damage? The odds of someone getting a lawyer involved for a couple of hundred dollars is likely very low. Sounds to me like a money tree add on for Hertz. I would not use Hertz. Watch the insurance premiums for rental skyrocket. Roof damage anyone?

Are they still arresting customers?

Hertz will pay $168 million to customers it falsely accused of stealing its cars : NPR

Has that once, they charged for the time the car was out of service. Contact your insurance if not already.

Question for people with insurance expertise.

Would the damage be covered by your personal auto insurance? For example, if you had comprehensive and collision with no deductible, would your insurance company pay Hertz for the damages?

I don’t think they would. It appears to be normal wear and tear and I don’t believe insurance pays for that.

And if you lease from ford, they do not charge for “normal” wear and tear.

https://www.ford.com/finance/content...se_7.17.24.pdf

Maybe Hertz should use the “before” or “exiting” pictures to verify the vehicle’s overall cleanliness and preparation for rental. I’ve rented numerous vehicles from them over the years that were absolutely filthy.

I ALWAYS take a video walk around, supplemented by pictures as needed.
Picked up a car without a company person to walk around the car one time. Got the nice letter a few weeks later of several dents, wanting lots of money. I called them telling them I bet my video/pictures match their concerns. They thanked me and hung up, no further action.
I would not doubt this company tried to collect for damages on multiple renters for the same damage. Again and again. And this was from a “reputable” company.

before and after pictures would likely cut down on the nonsense!

We have been doing videos as well but luckily have never run into the issue. Perhaps due to not renting cars very often.

Always video’s inside/out, 90% of the time with employee presence that always includes name. Only once received a letter with window crack, sent video, problem went away. Most will not contact insurance because it’s a pain for rental company

No, it doesn't. Even if you have ironclad proof that the "damage" was on the car BEFORE you left the rental lot, it is impossible to talk to a real person to get this resolved. Hertz just charges your credit card and your bank is likely to side with Hertz since they show "proof" of damage. This IS A MONEY GRAB, adding hundreds to many rentals.

Solution is, NEVER rent from HERTZ, DOLLAR, FIREFLY or THRIFTY (all the same company) unless you don't mind being arrested and thrown in jail for a few days because they had your rental vehicle tagged as STOLEN when a passing cop ran the plate.

Take a closeup video of the entire car BEFORE you leave the lot, for all other brands too.

Hertz is headed for it's bankruptcy again with this behavior.

I had a problem with Avis last year; I got a notice in the mail of damage to the front right tire on the car I rented. The damage happened 11 months ago. Took them that long to see a flat tire? Luckily I found the right person in the Avis corporation to talk to. Hertz doesn't have a customer service department evidently.

Skip

Would never use Hertz again after they sent tow service to our house in Marsh Bend threatening to call the police if we did not open our garage to give them access to our rental car furnished by George Nahas Chevrolet while our Tahoe was being repaired under warranty. The dealership was upset with Hertz and tried several times to remove our name from their “do not lease to list” without success. We tried to rent from Herz a few years later and were denied. Never again.

Not according to the articles that I have read.

They don’t care about your photos. Instead, Hertz relies on its AI photos and it is apparently very hard to dispute since you don’t deal with a person - only AI.

I don’t think Hertz paid all that money for high resolution scanners if they were going to accept IPhone photos in place of their own photos.

When my husband rented a car he quickly video taped the entire inside and outside of the car before he drove it. Then again before he returned it. When he was younger he was in the leasing business.

If I rented vehicles often, I would get a credit card that covers the collision damage waiver (CDW), even if I had to pay an annual fee for the card.

Our Amex covers rental cars at no charge. I emailed video and letter to Customer service with the “we will take care of it” no worries on your part. Its one of many reasons I have Amex since 1971

AI has to GO AWAY!
 

This AI Crap has got to go. Put humans back to work and deal with people face to face. I crrently have to get a windshield replaced due to a chip and I tried calling Safelite which the insurance co. uses and I couldn't find a phone number for the local shop!
I prefer talking to people, not some AI robot that thinks they have all the answers. You call a general phone number and end up spending 15 minutes or better going through a bunch of AI nonsense to finally talk to someone half way across the country. That's on a good day!

I've had good results at this location, new, clean shop.

Safelite
1720 Leesburg Commons Ct, Leesburg, FL 34748

+1 (352) 383-4169

Was that with hertz and the new technology? Did your credit card company pay it? Or did the car rental company drop the claim?

Car rental
 

I really wish Enterprise, Lake Sumter Landing, was more 'average consumer' friendly. Their rates are always very high. I've been told Enterprise is used primarily by people who have a corporate number, which then gives them a discount.

What responders before me here have said about Hertz is likely true. I am anxious every day I drive a rental car from them. Before I return it I vacuum the inside, clean off food stains left from prior renter, and wash the outside. Even so I have had to sit in their waiting room while the manager and clerk viewed 'something' through the chrome grill in front. They had to look at photos on the internet of the car new to conclude it was supposed to look that way.

Another complaint is closing at 5 pm and most of the weekend. I have to tailor my flight and bus trips to their schedules.
The Hertz in Leesburg has the same hours, but I've read better comments about them here on the forum.

Most rental car operations, unless you're at an airport, are "franchises". They don't all operate the same. They do their own pricing, hours, policies, etc.

Even Enterprise at the Tampa Airport was a franchise until about 10 years ago.

:Lumping all '"Hertz" or "Enterprise" lcoations into the same basket, it like saying all the Paneras, McDonald's or Dunkins, are the same. They are not. They are individually owned and operated in most cases.

I frequently use Hertz. Never had an issue. Not only do I video tape the employee doing his walk-around, I continue the video in a slower more methodical pace to just cover all the vehicle. I even noted the plastic cowl was degrading (cracked and small piece gone) around the hood vent/wiper area and pointed this out to him. I then did the exact same thing on the after-hours return/key drop. Slow filming and then a wide video pull-out of what other vehicles were parked around it, so they couldn't say it was filmed somewhere else. Next day, no issues. But I had enough evidence that I would have won in a court.

As for AI, if they film it leaving and film it returning and find damage, then YES, it is your fault, unbeknownst to you it happened while in your charge. Right type of insurance will cover it (USAA for me). I can't blame them. With the way half of America is right now, it's all about entitlement and when they don't agree with something or get their way, they start losing their minds and start setting cars on fire.

LOL, totally agree

What is the right type of insurance?

You may not have had a problem with hertz but no one had this problem before last fall.

Hertz just started using it last fall and they only have the scanners at six airports. It is in use at Atlanta, Newark Liberty International Airport, Charlotte Douglas International Airport, Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, Tampa International Airport and George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston.

Have you rented from hertz in the last nine months from any of those airports?

Yes Hertz in May. No idea how it was handled because as usual Amex just took care of the problem. Just received an email within 2 hours of sent info that issues were being handled and “Thank You for being a Amex Member since 1971.

Was the rental at one of the six locations that have the scanners?

If it was, have you contacted Amex to to see how it was resolved?

It would be helpful to know if the credit card companies are just paying these claims or if the car rental companies are dropping them once insurance companies get involved.

Here is an article about having to pay for hail damage to a rental car.

The latest car scam: hail damage?