questions about rental cars

[ER_Hopeful]

just for future references, haven't had this happen to me yet. What if my rental car breaks down on the road while doing a road trip. what is my course of action? do I call my own AAA and have it towed to my hotel and wait for a new rental? Am i entitled to a new rental and any discount/reimbursement for the trouble it has caused me? I have the basic AAA which only covers the first 7 miles, i guess I'll be responsible for the extra towing cost?

 

[Drake3287]

Generally you would call the customer service number and they'd most likely handle it from there assuming it's something they're responsibly for. I've heard people say that flat tires are the responsibility of the renter. Not sure how that truly works.

My guess is that if you had an accident it would be on you to have the vehicle towed back to the rental office or where ever they decide it should go.

 

[audreyh1]

just for future references, haven't had this happen to me yet. What if my rental car breaks down on the road while doing a road trip. what is my course of action? do I call my own AAA and have it towed to my hotel and wait for a new rental? Am i entitled to a new rental and any discount/reimbursement for the trouble it has caused me? I have the basic AAA which only covers the first 7 miles, i guess I'll be responsible for the extra towing cost?

Talk to the rental car company first.

 

[CindyBlue]

Generally you would call the customer service number and they'd most likely handle it from there assuming it's something they're responsibly for. I've heard people say that flat tires are the responsibility of the renter. Not sure how that truly works.

My guess is that if you had an accident it would be on you to have the vehicle towed back to the rental office or where ever they decide it should go.

We had a flat on our trip through Arizona last month. A screw somehow got into the side of the tire, so it couldn't be fixed - had to be replaced. It took a while, but they reimbursed us.

 

[Alan]

We had a breakdown once in a rental car and we called the rental car company who sent out roadside assistance. I would think that the emergency assistance number is on the rental agreement but can’t remember.

 

[DrRoy]

Talk to the rental car company first.

+1

 

[MichaelB]

Here’s a thread from a few months back discussing a rental car flat tire and how it was charged. https://www.early-retirement.org/fo...lusions-with-american-express-ins-114918.html

 

[misanman]

I locked the rental car keys inside the car once in Las Vegas. When I called the rental agency they told me to "call a locksmith". I was definitely on my own for that situation.

 

[JoeWras]

Here’s a thread from a few months back discussing a rental car flat tire and how it was charged. https://www.early-retirement.org/fo...lusions-with-american-express-ins-114918.html

The thing I learned from that thread is "it depends." A lot depends on what you signed. Rental agencies are sneaking in exclusions that you could pay for with an extra charge. One of them being "Premium Emergency Roadside Service."

I also learned One Weird Trick from one of our esteemed moderators: consider getting a new tire from Bubba's Discount Tire Outlet (tm) instead of paying their fee for a new tire.

 

[Aerides]

This is probably a good time to make sure you are a member with that rental agency, and know where their locations are (before your trip). I often rent from the airport, then drive half a day to my location. NO way I want to have to go back to the original office to resolve issues.

And while all the agencies can pull shenanigans, I would never consider a real low cost rental from a non-national chain.

 

[braumeister]

I've only had it happen once, over 20 years ago, but a rental car died on me (electrical system fault). I called the rental agency (I think it was probably Avis) and they sent a driver out who took me back to the office where I got a replacement car. This all happened within San Francisco; I don't know how it would have worked if I had been farther away.

 

[sengsational]

Depending on who you rent from, your strategy is different. Rent from an outfit that's trying to make up for a low price by selling add-ons like tire hazard insurance (that you don't buy), then get Bubba to plug it. You should probably ask when renting "if a tire develops a leak and goes flat, is the repair included in this price?"

The last car I rented in Portugal had a 12V compressor where the spare should have been

 

[COcheesehead]

We were on the far side of the Big Island of Hawaii near Volcano NP, so pretty remote. A tarp blew off a utility truck going the other direction and tore off the drivers side mirror. We drove the car back to the airport to see if we could get another. They told us there was a state law(?) that if you are involved in an accident, you could not get another rental - say what? So we kept the car until the end of the vacation. The utility ended up paying the rental car company direct and we incurred no loss.
I had another time where we got a flat and the rental agency gave us another car.
No rhyme or reason.

 

[Out of Steam]

The last car I rented in Portugal had a 12V compressor where the spare should have been

With the proliferation of tire types and sizes in modern cars, going without a spare is probably a worse idea than it was 25 years ago. Tire stores appear to have to get the tire you need from a warehouse the vast majority of the time.

With TPMS systems, the likelihood of a total failure is lower, but the consequences of being without the tire is higher.

 

[COcheesehead]

With the proliferation of tire types and sizes in modern cars, going without a spare is probably a worse idea than it was 25 years ago. Tire stores appear to have to get the tire you need from a warehouse the vast majority of the time.

With TPMS systems, the likelihood of a total failure is lower, but the consequences of being without the tire is higher.

Tell me about it. I had run flats on my BMW. I got a side blow out so it was no longer a run flat. A new tire was 3-4 weeks out.

 

[Spock]

Rented a car from Hertz in 2.5 months ago (late Sept 2022) . The person at the counter explicitly stated we were on our own for any flat tires/road breakdowns.
I replied that I have no control over whether or not Hertz has maintained the vehicle and they repeated that we were on our own for any breakdowns.

 

[Donno]

Rented a car from Hertz in 2.5 months ago (late Sept 2022) . The person at the counter explicitly stated we were on our own for any flat tires/road breakdowns.
I replied that I have no control over whether or not Hertz has maintained the vehicle and they repeated that we were on our own for any breakdowns.

I had a Hertz rental breakdown (engine died and wouldn't re-start) on my way back to the airport in Orlando about 20 years ago and they sent a wrecker and dropped me off at the terminal.

I looked up their policy just to see if it had changed since they recently filed for bankruptcy, and it clearly states that they only cover vehicle mechanical breakdowns, which is what happened to me. Flat tires, dead batteries and the like are only covered if you purchase their "premium" roadside service.

https://www.hertz.com/rentacar/prod...Selection=globNav_3_5_1&selectedRegion=Canada

 

[JoeWras]

I looked up their policy just to see if it had changed since they recently filed for bankruptcy, and it clearly states that they only cover vehicle mechanical breakdowns, which is what happened to me. Flat tires, dead batteries and the like are only covered if you purchase their "premium" roadside service.

Yep. More crappy service. It spreading everywhere.

This is a great example of the shrinkflation we have discussed.

 

[njhowie]

On our last trip to Orlando in mid-September, we rented from Hertz, didn't take their insurance. When we were driving out of the rental parking deck, almost immediately the tire pressure monitor alarm came on for the drivers side front tire. The tire wasn't losing air, it was just a bit low. Once out of the airport, I stopped at a gas station to fill it, and saw a nail in the tire. We turned around, back to the airport rental car return, and they immediately took care of us. Very quick, no hassle, filled out an incident report, told us not to worry about it - we had put less than 10 miles on the car. Told us to just go pick out another and we were back on our way in maybe 30 minutes tops. Gave us new paperwork, with new car info, same rate/discount, etc. I fully expected to receive a bill for some additional charge in the following weeks, but nothing. Hertz just gained a loyal customer.

 

[JoeWras]

On our last trip to Orlando in mid-September, we rented from Hertz, didn't take their insurance. When we were driving out of the rental parking deck, almost immediately the tire pressure monitor alarm came on for the drivers side front tire. The tire wasn't losing air, it was just a bit low. Once out of the airport, I stopped at a gas station to fill it, and saw a nail in the tire. We turned around, back to the airport rental car return, and they immediately took care of us. Very quick, no hassle, filled out an incident report, told us not to worry about it - we had put less than 10 miles on the car. Told us to just go pick out another and we were back on our way in maybe 30 minutes tops. Gave us new paperwork, with new car info, same rate/discount, etc. I fully expected to receive a bill for some additional charge in the following weeks, but nothing. Hertz just gained a loyal customer.

That's great. What kind of contract did you have?

When I was w*rking, I could use my corporate contract for personal use. It was awesome. The contract covered everything up to, but not including, wiping your nose.

Now that I am retired, I'm on my own. The standard contracts look pretty sparse.

 

[audreyh1]

We had a battery start misbehaving on a long trip and finally pulled into a same brand dealership in Victoria TX to take care of it. First largish town from home. Yep once the car turned off it would not restart. Dealership determined yes battery was indeed bad and replaced it and were kind enough to call the rental company to get the replacement covered. Finally reached who they needed to but I had just paid the bill. About a half hour later I got a call from my home local rental office letting me know that they had applied the discount against the cost of the rental.

When I returned the rental car and mentioned the incident the office politely pointed out that Discount Tire or Firestone would have take care of it for me for free. Part of our issue was that at first we weren’t sure it was the battery, but eventually decided that it must be. That was part of the reason we headed to a dealership - in case it was the alternator or something.

For most roadside issues such as tire repair, need start, etc. I would call AAA as needed if I expected to be able to continue with no issue, but beyond that I know to call the rental company first.

 

[audreyh1]

On our last trip to Orlando in mid-September, we rented from Hertz, didn't take their insurance. When we were driving out of the rental parking deck, almost immediately the tire pressure monitor alarm came on for the drivers side front tire. The tire wasn't losing air, it was just a bit low. Once out of the airport, I stopped at a gas station to fill it, and saw a nail in the tire. We turned around, back to the airport rental car return, and they immediately took care of us. Very quick, no hassle, filled out an incident report, told us not to worry about it - we had put less than 10 miles on the car. Told us to just go pick out another and we were back on our way in maybe 30 minutes tops. Gave us new paperwork, with new car info, same rate/discount, etc. I fully expected to receive a bill for some additional charge in the following weeks, but nothing. Hertz just gained a loyal customer.

Avis at Atlanta airport, no perks purchased. We didn’t get the warning until we were almost out of the airport that one tire was only 15 pounds! DH was afraid the tire might come off the rim that low. I drove slowly back and explained our problem. They immediately sent us to get another car, no issues switching.

The car tire pressure monitors take a while to get readings. You can go a ways before you realize there is a problem. DH carries a tire pressure gage when we travel, but I can’t say we’ve used it since, but we do visually inspect the tires as well now.

Another time, also Avis, key fob wasn’t working well. Was getting an error about starting the car even though I’d just unlocked it using the fob. Called in and was sent to phone tech support. The fella explained to me all secrets of the key fob including how to access and use the physical key inside as last resort. The trick about holding the key near a certain spot worked well enough to get through that rental. The car only occasionally complained about the fob.

 

[njhowie]

...but we do visually inspect the tires as well now.

Seriously! I was saying the same thing to DW on the way out with the new car. We always do a walk around and take pictures of anything not perfect, even the normal wear and tear type stuff and filling out the damage card they have before leaving the lot. So now we also have to check the tires? We wouldn't even be able to see a nail if it were lodged facing upward or downward.

 

[braumeister]

We always do a walk around and take pictures of anything not perfect, even the normal wear and tear type stuff and filling out the damage card they have before leaving the lot.

One of the nice things about renting through Turo is they require you to take photos of everything through their app when you pick up the car, and again when you return it. Never had a problem, but it saves you from a possible source of stress.

 

[Dash man]

I've only had it happen once, over 20 years ago, but a rental car died on me (electrical system fault). I called the rental agency (I think it was probably Avis) and they sent a driver out who took me back to the office where I got a replacement car. This all happened within San Francisco; I don't know how it would have worked if I had been farther away.

Similar with me about 20 years ago with Avis. Difference was I rented at the airport in Phoenix and the car just stopped and all electrical systems died as we were adjacent to the nuclear power plant. My cellphone couldn’t get a signal, but fortunately my son’s did. The agent brought us a new car and he waited for a tow truck. Couldn’t ask for more.