Hertz's new AI scanners charge renters instantly, even for tiny scratches
The skinny of it is a Hertz customer, Patrick, rented a Volkswagen from Hertz out of the Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta, which is actually the first location to implement the scanners, reported The Drive. Patrick later returned the car, albeit with a one-inch scuff on the driver's side rear wheel. Apparently, "minutes" after putting the vehicle through the scanner, he said received a damage charge for the curb rash: $250 to repair it, $125 for "processing," and an additional $65 for an "administrative fee."
In total, the charge was for $440.
Ouch, that's a lot of scratch — and fast
It's not clear what typical Hertz repair costs are, or how quickly human-scanned damage turns into a repair estimate and charge for a customer, but the company defines the processing and administrative fees as "the cost to detect and estimate the damage that occurred during your rental" and "cover[ing] a portion of the costs [Hertz incurs] as a result of processing your claim," respectively, according to The Drive.
We also figure that a human eyeing a rental for damage, inputting any such damage into a company system, and that system generating a repair charge estimate would surely take longer than a process seemingly automated end-to-end and initiated immediately upon the rental car's return.
To put things into perspective, a professional curb-rash repair job typically costs between $100 to $250 per wheel. Heck, an entirely new wheel (the rented VW appears to be a late-model Jetta, based on the pictured wheel at The Drive) might even be price-competitive with the repair estimate given to Patrick, given its list price is a little over $500.
Patrick claimed if he agreed to the terms and paid within two days, Hertz would give him a $52 discount. Or he could get a $32.50 discount if he paid within a week.
Patrick told the outlet he wanted to speak to someone and ask about the charge. Though the Hertz website is able to connect customers with live chat agents, it doesn't seem as though the same can be said of the apps just yet; they're only able to flag a claim for later review. Patrick followed company prompts and sent an email, though a response can take up to 10 days to appear. The discount is only good for seven days, remember.
As of Monday, June 23, Patrick has not paid the charge, telling The Drive: "Saving $30 to accept responsibility is not worth it."
What can be done?
Following this, MotorTrend has reached out to company reps to ask what Hertz is doing to make live agents more accessible to customers in the face of more automation in the rental process. We also asked if rental prices and rental repair costs were higher for customers who rent from locations that employ the scanners, as compared to those who rent from locations without them.
On the record, a Hertz spokesperson responded, "The vast majority of rentals are incident-free. When damage does occur, our goal is to enhance the rental experience by bringing greater transparency, precision and speed to the process. Digital vehicle inspections help deliver on that with clear, detailed documentation that is delivered more quickly, as well as a more technology-enabled resolution process.'
On the other hand, say you pick up your rental car at the start of your trip and you forget to take photos or overlook an existing bit of damage. The scanners could ensure you aren't falsely charged for dings that were already there. You're free to depart the rental lot without having to worry; ditto when returning the car — you can walk off without stress that you missed something when initially picking up the car, and (if true) confident you didn't add any patina to the car during your rental.
Hertz announced its use of the AI scanners back in April. It's partnered with Israeli ex-defense and current AI vehicle inspection system company, UVeye. The scanners can measure treadwear and provide a 360-view of a car's undercarriage, body and glass. Rather than have a human come out and do a visual inspection, the scanner can do it consistently and more frequently. UVeye claims its system increases damage detection accuracy by five times.
Hertz plans to implement 100 UVeye scanners at its approximately 1,600 United States airport locations by the end of 2025. It touts "transparency" as one of the main advantages its customers can expect from the tech, though it remains to be seen how transparent things remain when customers invariably require a live human to speak with to dispute the findings.
To note, this is the same company that has left a rental desk unmanned for six hours, attempted to charge a customer $10,000 despite an unlimited mileage policy, attempted to charge a Tesla customer for gas, and settled for $168 million after falsely accusing hundreds of customers of stealing its cars — some of which led to innocent people getting arrested, charged with felonies, and jailed.
Hertz filed for bankruptcy in 2020 but left bankruptcy after just a year when travel rebounded in full force. It was able to offload more than $5 billion in debt and invest in buying cars for its fleets and modernizing technology.
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