Charged for a broken windshield that I didn't break I recently had to rent a car after my car was rear-ended and was in the shop for a month. I picked up the car just before closing time on a Friday afternoon, and the salesman took me out to the car, said "I noted the burn hole in the passenger seat--sign here", and that was the extent of my "walk-around". I was not told that I should inspect the car for any small damage. The salesman also stated that he had cleaned the car up for me. When we drove off, my daughter noticed a partially eaten chicken bone in the back window area. YUK! When I returned the car, the same guy went out to inspect it and came back saying there was a crack in the windshield that was not there when I picked up the car. The crack was on the passenger side of the windshield in the blind-spot area from the rear-view mirror, so I never noticed it. My daughter said "mom, that was there the whole time we had the car. I noticed it when we first got it". I argued repeatedly with the salesman that I had not caused this damage, but he insisted that I was responsible for it. I also called the district manager to complain and was told he would look into it and get back to me, which he never did. The bottom line is I am stuck with a $100 deductible from my insurance company to cover damage that was not my fault. I just want to warn people not to trust these salespeople to do their jobs like they are supposed to. You had better inspect the car thoroughly and make sure any little damage is documented. I will never rent a car from Enterprise again. I have reported them to the Better Business Bureau but I don't expect any action to be taken. I am also planning on writing a letter to their national manager. |