Uh Oh: Hertz’s New AI Technology Detects Vehicle Damage

I rented a car through Priceline and got assigned a contract with Thrifty. Picked up the vehicle and asked about taking photos of existing damage. I was told there was no need that the new system at Hartsfield Jackson International Airport in Atlanta does before amd after photos. I was skeptical so I took five minutes to carefully walk around the car looking for and taking photos of any existing damage. The attendant was not interested to sign off anything again noting it was all handled by the automated system. Upon returning the vehicle ten days later and in less time than I could get to my gate, I got an email noting reported damage. I reviewed the before and after images and there was a very small (less than size of a dime) red box on the after image showing what I assume is a reported ding to the trunk top side. The images are very grainy and the reported damage is within a Barry white line, I am guessing from some lights of the automated system. Further, the before image white light lines do not line up with the after image thus if there was a ding (I do not believe there is) it could easily have been in the area between white lines (car is blue) and again, images are grainy and do not clearly show damage. To make this even more upsetting, the $80 damage has added on fees of $129.88 with a countdown timer that apparently started with 40 hours to “save 61%” by accepting the damage report and paying promptly. I did not accept and now the discount is at 41%. I also question the reliability of this system because some of the photos I took myself showing damage do not show when reviewing the report where it shows existing and new damage. I have a 30+ year career in technology and love automation and even like AI for the many benefits it can offer including this new system. That said, I truly believe it made a mistake in my case as I was very gentle with this rental and nothing was placed on the trunk during the time I had the vehicle and I would even walk around it when returning to parking lots to make sure no one dinged it. I even would park it further away from other cars to avoid damages. I hope Thrifty can produce better before and after images of the reported damage as I believe in this case it is a false positive. What is most frustrating is the “scare tactic” to hurry and save by just accepting the report. It’s not like Throfty it os costing Thrifty any more to wait for a customer to request better proof of damages nor saving them money if someone hurries to pay. To me that is a very poorly business practice just to try and pressure customers into paying without asking questions.

Sounds terrible and will be abused. I'm definitely avoiding Hertz locations with this tech. In practice, most rental places don't care (explicitly or effectively) about very minor damage. But this lets them care and charge aggressively. No doubt when the numbers aren't going "up and right" enough, they can re-tune it to be more aggressive or issue higher charges. The absolute wrong outcome from AI-usage, but the one we can expect from American-style late-stage capitalism.

Light Scratches and Dings are normal wear and tear. While you are at it, why don't you charge me for the amount of tire thread that I used? If you charge for light scratches and dings, I won't rent from you. I would be better off Ubering & Lyfting every where.

Scam and will get abused. Minor scratches are expected with usage and nobody cares on their rental car. Will be used to fleece customers for $100-300 per rental. They'll never fix these because again nobody cares. Also will force people to buy their insurance. Will effectively double cost of car rentals. Total money grab. I suspect Ackman going big on Hertz sees this huge revenue stream. Maybe the industry will differentiate here and they'll be a clearly indentifiable company that doesn't fleece the consumer. Worst of all, it'll be a hidden random surcharge after the fact. This is terrible for the consumer.

Scam and will get abused. Minor scratches are expected with usage and nobody cares on their rental car. Will be used to fleece customers for $100-300 per rental. They'll never fix these because again nobody cares. Also will force people to buy their insurance. Will effectively double cost of car rentals. Total money grab. I suspect Ackman going big on Hertz sees this huge revenue stream. Maybe the industry will differentiate here and they'll be a clearly indentifiable company that doesn't fleece the consumer. Worst of all, it'll be a hidden random surcharge after the fact. This is terrible for the consumer. Have fun fighting AI.