Check the rental car's tires before you leave the lot
If you've even rented a car you know the drill -- you walk around the vehicle and fill out a little form to show where you found dings, dents or other damage.
Here's a tip based on personal experience -- check the tires before you leave the lot.
The rental car I got while on vacation last week had four bad tires: the treads were all chewed up.
I could actually grab sections of the tread and pull them away from the rest of the tire. That's scary! This car should never have been on the road.
And make sure the car has a spare in the trunk. From time to time people get stuck without a spare back there.
One more tip -- take the time to check the inside of the car -- for damage to the seats or serious carpet stains.
If you don't make a note of that before you head off, the rental car company could try to ding you for it.
To protect myself, I now use the camera on my cell phone to document damage.I still mark the paperwork, but I also take pictures or video of anything that's really stands out.
And because the camera puts a time and date stamp on the picture, it's easy to prove when it was taken.
Here's a tip based on personal experience -- check the tires before you leave the lot.
The rental car I got while on vacation last week had four bad tires: the treads were all chewed up.
I could actually grab sections of the tread and pull them away from the rest of the tire. That's scary! This car should never have been on the road.
And make sure the car has a spare in the trunk. From time to time people get stuck without a spare back there.
One more tip -- take the time to check the inside of the car -- for damage to the seats or serious carpet stains.
If you don't make a note of that before you head off, the rental car company could try to ding you for it.
To protect myself, I now use the camera on my cell phone to document damage.I still mark the paperwork, but I also take pictures or video of anything that's really stands out.
And because the camera puts a time and date stamp on the picture, it's easy to prove when it was taken.
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