Chipped Windshield on Rental Car

[Robbie0723]

What is the name of your state? Missouri

We received a letter from Dollar Rental Car after that they found a chip on the passenger side of the windshield of the vehicle after we returned the car and the windshield would have to be replaced.

No chip was noticed by us before or after driving the vehicle for a week.

Charges claimed are $220 for the windshield + $108 for 2 days for loss of use plus a $100 processing fee.

1) Is Dollar required to provide any documented evidence of the damage and/or that the damage occured during our rental? (The parking lot is gravel so there is a possibility the damage occured on their lot after we left.)

2) Any suggestions to minimize the charges?

 

[shell007]

What is the name of your state? Missouri

We received a letter from Dollar Rental Car after that they found a chip on the passenger side of the windshield of the vehicle after we returned the car and the windshield would have to be replaced.

No chip was noticed by us before or after driving the vehicle for a week.

Charges claimed are $220 for the windshield + $108 for 2 days for loss of use plus a $100 processing fee.

1) Is Dollar required to provide any documented evidence of the damage and the damage occured during our rental? (The parking lot is gravel so there is a chance the damage occured on their lot after we left.)

2) Any suggestions to minimize the charges?What is the name of your state?

There should have been an inspection of the vehicle BEFORE you drove it off of the lot.
There ALSO should have been an inspection of the vehicle AFTER you returned it.

Do you have any of this documentation?

 

[Robbie0723]

Dollar did not inspect upon return, we do not know when they noticed the damage.

Dollar provided no documentation related to the damage other than a copy of the windshield replacement bill and the superfluous charges.

 

[shell007]

Dollar did not inspect upon return, we do not know when they noticed the damage.

Dollar provided no documentation related to the damage other than a copy of the windshield replacement bill and the superfluous charges.

So...the windshield was NOT damaged when you drove off...and AFTER you returned it....damage was found, but YOU have no documentation.

Therefore...he said/she said. I think you will loose in the end, and you'll have to pay up.

As for the excessive charges...I can't say!

Stand by for more advice/opinions.

 

[Robbie0723]

Thanks for the quick replies Shell007, I suspect you are correct but am curious to hear any other thoughts.

They got hit by a really bad hail storm a week later, glad we weren't renting then

 

[shell007]

Thanks for the quick replies Shell007, I suspect you are correct but am curious to hear any other thoughts.

They got hit by a really bad hail storm a week later, glad we weren't renting then

Good Luck to you.

Sorry I couldn't be more helpful!

 

[Betty]

Since you have no documentation that chip was there/was not there when you rented car & when you returned it, you will probably have to pay.
In the future inspect any car yourself that you rent for any damage - even minor (ie scratches) & have them document this damage so the car rental co. can't say the damage wasn't there when you rented it. The car should be checked for damage when you rent it & right when you return it. (& get documentation)

 

[xylene]

Dollar did not inspect upon return, we do not know when they noticed the damage.

Dollar provided no documentation related to the damage other than a copy of the windshield replacement bill and the superfluous charges.

In writting CRR, demand an exact accounting of when the damage occured, all paperwork concerning the return inspection of the vehicle, when it was repaired, and exactly how the loss of use occured. A glass pro should be able to replace window within an hour. Review your rental contract carefully. What does it say about a "Processing Fee" if anything. Tell them you will pay nothing without such documentation.

When and if they reply, look at what they give you. If there is a time gap, or they did not immediately inspect the vehicle and notice the damage, inform them that you will not be held liable for damages that occured when you were not in possesion of the vehicle. That the damages arose from the traffic of their vehicle fleet operating in a gravel lot. Furthermore under any circumstances you will not pay for the loss of use of a vehicle which arose from the failure to immediately effect repairs that take hours not days to perform, and that repair to the vehicle is there responsibilty owe to the fact that the damages occured when it was firmly in the care of Dollar Rent-A-Car. Lastly no processing fee will be paid as this fee was not in the rental contract.

 

[Robbie0723]

Good advise Xylene, exactly the direction I am taking but you added several useful tips -- thanks!

Funny thing is we have used this rental agency almost monthly for over two years. If they just would have sent the bill for replacing the windshield, I would have paid.

Now at a minimum I'll make them earn the extra fee's and they have lost my future business.

 

[Robbie0723]

Since you have no documentation that chip was there/was not there when you rented car & when you returned it, you will probably have to pay.
In the future inspect any car yourself that you rent for any damage - even minor (ie scratches) & have them document this damage so the car rental co. can't say the damage wasn't there when you rented it. The car should be checked for damage when you rent it & right when you return it. (& get documentation)

I've driven a rental car an average of a week a month for over ten years and this is the first time such an insignificant and inflated claim has occurred. Expecting to verify the non-existance of a "small chip" on a windshield with 1,000+ mi of smashed bugs, bird dirt and road grime leaves more than a little to the imagination.

It seems to me the rental agency should have the obligation to identify any damages before the renter pays the final bill. But I understand that may not be the law and will deal with the situation accordingly.

 

[Mike703]

Just out of curiousity...

This seems similar to a thread I had posted regarding a car I dropped off the have serviced and was returned with a cracked windshield. The responses I recieved from the thread was that it would be impossible to prove neglegence and therefore did not have a leg to stand on.

My question is how does this instance vary from mine? (no derogatory answers please, just not a educated in the legal system as others) It seems to me that the rental company is looking for somebody to incur the cost and are looking to the person who last rented the car. As it was explained to me, there are a number of things that could have caused damage to the windshield and it should not be assumed that the individual who had posession of the car caused the damage.

 

[Robbie0723]

Interesting question Mike. Probably depends on who blinks first

 

[Robbie0723]

Update -- For proof of damage, we were supplied with the invoice from the repair and the Check-in slip from the following renter as evidence of the chip was noted at this drivers check-in (5 days later).

The Check in slip from the following renter shows the car was in this renters posession the same dates the vehicle was claimed to be out of service and repaired.

Recommendations on best approach given this documentation?

 

[xylene]

Update -- For proof of damage, we were supplied with the invoice from the repair and the Check-in slip from the following renter as evidence of the chip was noted at this drivers check-in (5 days later).

The Check in slip from the following renter shows the car was in this renters posession the same dates the vehicle was claimed to be out of service and repaired.

Recommendations on best approach given this documentation?

Tell them to bite the rocks in their gravel parking lot that caused the damage.

 

[Robbie0723]

I'm not so sure there was ever any damage considering the car was rented at the same time it was suposedly repaired.