Before I get to my thoughts about a possible Hertz scam, let me give some background.
I�ve had to go to the L.A. area several times over the past months, as executor of my mother�s estate, flying in from Atlanta. So far, I�ve rented cars from Hertz. I will not rent from Hertz again, for many reasons, culminating in my most recent �adventure,� thus:
Somehow, before my last trip, I was made a �Gold Plus Hertz member� without asking for this. The apparent upside to this is that I can change to another car, no questions asked, if I don�t get the one I want. So, last time, flying in to LAX, I got some car other than the 2016 Toyota Camry I had asked for. So, I decided to go to the LAX Gold Plus Hertz �change your car� area and wait around to see if a 2016 Toyota Camry appeared.
Why did go to this trouble?
Because on the previous trip (flying into Burbank), I happened, by chance, to get a 2016 Toyota Camry. It was wonderful to drive, and not at all hard to figure out various things that had caused me �car rental hell� on four previous trips. Just one example of that: Like how to change the mirror to �night view,� which on one previous trip, driving a rental car of a brand I can�t remember, I tried to change the mirror view, and instead I ended up pushing a button on the mirror that got me in voice contact with some internet site. Just what I didn�t need.
So, my waiting for a Camry at Hertz LAX was rewarded (or so I thought). I got a Camry. I drove the Camry to the exit gate. Gold Plus members can just drive to the exit gate, and they get all the rental ticket stuff printed out there. And so I did. But, I asked �don�t I/you have to fill out the form that notes all damage/ imperfections to the car?.�
I asked because on the previous trip, Camry Hertz rental from Burbank, the woman at the exit asked me for this �damage form� (what damage form? I wasn�t given one.) So, she filled it out for me (at Burbank).
Back to most recent experience at LAX. I was told that was not necessary to fill out this �damage form� because I was a Gold Plus member. Note this detail. It becomes important later in this rather long story.
So, I drove out of the LAX Hertz lot in the Camry, and got on to the 405 North, to drive to the Valley. A neighbor was waiting there, to give me dinner. It was rush hour, stop and go on the 405, after dark. For an hour and a half, I felt every bump in the road, and every time I had to put on the brakes. I am especially prone to motion sickness, and by the time I arrived at my neighbor�s for dinner, I was close to throwing up. Instead of eating dinner, I sipped an Alka-Selzer on the rocks for about an hour, and then was able to eat a bit of dinner. But, I took a bowl with me when I went to bed in her guest room, in case I had to throw up. Thankfully, I didn�t throw up.
The next day, I drove the LAX Camry on various errands. I knew that there was something wrong with this particular car. Remember, I�d driven another Camry on my previous trip, and had had no complaints. It was as if the suspension on this particular car was damaged-- again I felt every slight bump in the road to the max.
I decided to take advantage of the �Gold Plus exchange this car� priviledge. I phoned Hertz, and arranged to exchange the LAX Camry at Burbank Airport, giving the reasons stated above. It was a Saturday, and thankfully a good friend in L.A. had driven to my place of abode in the Valley. He went with me to exchange the car at BUR. I simply wouldn�t have driven there alone, because I was afraid of getting motion sickness again.
And, my (our) experience exchanging the car at BUR was gawd-awful. I�ll abbreviate the story, so that I can get around to the part where I started wondering if Hertz was running some kind of a scam.
So, every person, from the moment I (we) drove into the return lot at BUR was rude from the get go. The general theme was �you can�t park here.� Okay, fine. And lots more that I am leaving out.
After many travails, I finally made it into the desk of the �Gold Plus� place. As things progressed, I happened to hear a woman standing at a nearby computer telling the person at the computer-- �The windshield is cracked. It has to be replaced.� I said �Are you talking about my original rental car (LAX Camry)? �Yes�, she said. �Show me,� I said. So, we went outside to the car, and she pointed out a small nick on the outer side of the winshield, driver�s side, about halfway up. It was maybe 1/8 an inch in diameter. I felt the spot, and yes, it was slightly rough.
And now I get into the �hmmm, I wonder if this is a profitable Hertz scam� part.
So, in discussing this nick, the woman said �Maybe you got it on the freeway.� (That would be me driving on the 405). Given the speed I was going, 5-10 mph, I thought to myself that this was very unlikely, and also, I didn�t remember anything hitting the windshield. The woman said repeatedly, staring sternly at me �But the windshield will have to be replaced.� She didn�t say that I would have to pay for this, but that was the strong implication. The friend who was with me witnessed this, and had the same impression.
I finally said �I have a loss-damage waiver�, or whatever that expensive daily insurance Hertz provides, is called. Her tone changed immediately. �Oh, then you�re golden.� No worries.
So, the Hertz scam part-- supposing you or someone else didn�t have the expensive insurance that I did. And, you happened to overlook this tiny nick when inspecting the rental car, assuming you were given the damage form at all. I�d never been given such a form in all of my previous rentals from Hertz. You would be on the hook for considerable dollars for a windshield replacement.
I very much doubt that Hertz replaced the windshield on the rental Camry I returned. I suspect that they put the car back in rental circulation. I wonder if some poor �fool� will eventually be entrapped. Seems like it makes for a great Hertz scam, no?
And, back to the suspension problem with the LAX Camry I returned. Dave, the mechanic at BUR, yes, that was the name on his shirt (he was the only Hertz person who had a name) was eventually called up to assist my friend and I in resetting the clock on my �new� rental. Dave was the only person I encountered who was polite from the get go. It took him only 20 mins to figure out how to reset the clock.
After this was done, I told him about the suspension problem in the Camry. His response-- �Those idiots at LAX-- the tire pressure was probably 400 when it should have been 300.� Made immediate sense to me-- if the tires are overinflated, then they have no �give.� Stiff as a wooden wheel on those old Conestogas. No ability to absorb irregularities on the road surface.
Scam or not, I�m done with renting cars from Hertz.
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