Artificial intelligence is now being used by the car rental company Hertz to determine whether their cars have sustained any damage during the rental.
Car rental companies have long relied on human workers to check vehicles both before and after rentals for any damage, but a renter in Atlanta returning a vehicle to Hertz subsidiary Thrifty recently had a much different—and expensive experience. Atlanta is a pilot airport for Hertz’s partnership with UVeye, an AI-driven vehicle inspection system.
When Hertz launched the partnership in April, they touted it as a “transformation to its vehicle maintenance process,” but the renter’s experience was somewhat more punitive. The renter said they drove through the scanner at the return point, and then received a notification via the Hertz app that there had been damage—a one-inch scuff on the driver’s side rear wheel.
The app stated that the charge would be $250 to repair the scuff, $125 for processing, and a $65 administrative fee (which is apparently separate from processing), totaling $440. The app also offered gradual discounts based on how quickly the renter was willing to pay the charges.
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The renter also expressed frustration that the chat system wouldn’t connect him to a human agent, so he could request further review of the damage and charges—it only offered to flag the request, allowing an agent to review and follow up in about a week.
Also of concern, Jalopnik noted, was that the administrative and processing fees were not well explained, nor detailed in advance.
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Hertz reported a significant loss in 2024 after reversing its ambitious plan to add a large number of electric cars to its fleet, partly due to losses incurred from selling electric vehicles that proved unpopular with renters and carried higher repair and maintenance costs.
When renting a car, regardless of the method the rental car company uses to determine whether damage has occurred, renters can successfully dispute claims of damage if they take their own videos of the vehicle at the time of rental and at the time of return. Renters should also carefully review their rental agreements to determine the types of damage for which they are liable.
It’s also essential for anyone renting a car to check their personal auto insurance policies to ensure they’re covered, or they should rent and pay for their rental with a credit card that provides insurance in the event of damage (and they should check the fine print, because those policies do not typically cover all states, countries, or vehicle types). Drivers without insurance also elect to purchase the car rental company’s Loss Damage Waiver (LDW), which will effectively waive any charges associated with unintentional damage to their rental. However, it’s worth noting that car rental companies typically use tightened damage and inspection policies as an incentive to sell LDW and associated products at the time of rental, which are sizable profit centers.
Most car rental agencies will not hold renters liable for normal, minor cosmetic damage to vehicles, such as nicks or scratches smaller than about a quarter. Some companies even hand out a sizer tool for customers to assess the vehicle prior to renting it, saying small damage doesn’t need to be noted because renters won’t be held liable for it.
In addition to the Hertz brand, the company also operates Dollar, Thrifty, and Firefly, Hertz car sales, and a car-sharing service in the European market. Hertz is the third-largest car rental company in the world, following Enterprise (which also includes Alamo and National) and Avis Budget Group (which also includes Payless).
At press time, it was unclear whether the renter in Atlanta ultimately accepted the charges for the damage detected by the AI scanner, or whether he was successful in disputing the damage with Thrifty.