Whenever you rent a car, there’s a risk that you’ll get charged for repairs for things that you didn’t do or weren’t your fault. Do this one thing, and you’ll GREATLY reduce the likelihood of this happening to you - and it’s NOT buying their insurance (have your own)!

We recently rented a car from Budget/Avis (they are both the same company as of this filming), but what happened to us could happen at any car rental company. We got charged 6 months after the rental to repair something we didn’t do.

On the last day of our rental, we noticed a bubble forming on the front driver’s side tire sidewall. It wasn’t readily visible, only sunlight causing a shadow under it made it apparent. There were no scuffs, cuts, abrasions or apparent evidence of object damage. DirtFarmerJay was the sole driver and is certain there was no curb or similar object strikes. We had a 30-mile drive to the airport, so we drove there carefully and reported the bubble to the staff member in the return area.

We wanted to be sure that the bubble was seen and that the car did not go out to the next person, putting that driver at risk.

Six months later, we got a letter from Budget indicating they were getting ready to charge us $97 against the card on file. We wrote them a response in a very courteous manner, asking them not to charge this back to us, as we are confident that we did not cause this and sharing the same narrative mentioned earlier. About a month later, we got another letter indicating that it was their position it was our fault and the charge was made.

HOW CAN YOU MAKE SURE THIS DOESN’T HAPPEN TO YOU?

Simple. Whether it’s the policy of the company or not, or if they or you are rushed when it comes time to pick up your car, do this simple but highly effective thing. INSPECT THE CAR. Take a couple of walks around the car, checking fenders, mirrors, glass, head and tail lights, trim, paint, AND the tires. Even is something appears minor, have the staff person note it. They have the form and diagram right there with them to do so.

If we had done this (shame on us!), it’s highly likely we would have avoided this. It’s possible that the bubble was forming during our week-plus rental, so they still could have taken the path they did, but having an inspection would have put the odds of this not happening in our favor.

One last thought. Budget had the opportunity to rise to the occasion and invest in the relationship and value a customer that they invested tons of advertising dollars to acquire. Instead, they choose to invoke their contract. We’re not mad, just disappointed. Our trust with them is broken and so really think twice before renting from them again.

Insights? Comments? Experience with this type of situation? Let us hear from you in the comment section below!

IMPORTANT NOTE: It goes ALMOST without saying, but honesty is the best policy. If you damage the car or someone damages it while it was in your possession, own up to it. That’s the right thing to do. And, that is what we would have done if we had indeed damaged the car. Just sayin’!