Hertz Deploys AI to Detect Vehicle Damage — Helpful Innovation or Customer Risk?
In an effort to modernize its rental experience and reduce costly disputes, Hertz (along with its Dollar and Budget subsidiaries) will soon deploy AI-powered vehicle inspections designed to automatically detect damage to rental vehicles before and after your trip. But will this protect you as a consumer, or leave you more vulnerable?
Hertz Adds Artificial Intelligence To Vehicle Inspections
Let’s start with what Hertz is doing. Through a partnership with Ravin AI, an Israeli company that specializes in computer vision vehicle inspections, Hertz is piloting a new system that uses 360-degree imaging to scan vehicles for damage before and after rental. The scans are processed by machine learning algorithms that can detect scratches, dents, cracks, and other imperfections–likely with greater accuracy than a human inspector.
With more than half a million vehicles around the globe, keeping vehicles in well maintained condition before, during, and after rentals is a critical priority for Hertz. Vehicle assessments in the rental industry have always relied heavily on manual inspections conducted in varying conditions. By implementing UVeye’s advanced AI-driven inspection technology, Hertz can significantly enhance the frequency, accuracy, and efficiency of its vehicle maintenance processes, ensuring reliable service, improved vehicle availability and transparency for its customers.
UVeye’s AI-powered camera systems and machine learning algorithms enable real-time, automated inspections of a vehicle’s body, glass, tires, and undercarriage. The technology enables improvements in safety and vehicle availability by detecting maintenance issues with unprecedented speed and precision. UVeye’s tire treadwear system captures high-resolution images that are instantly analyzed to determine whether a tire needs replacement, reducing the need for manual checks and ensuring timely, proactive service. By complementing manual checks with UVeye’s technology, customers will enjoy more efficient and transparent automated checks when picking up and dropping off their vehicles.
The technology has been trialed by Hertz in Sweden and Norway and now comes to the USA, first to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) and by the end of the year to 100 airports across the United States.
Why This Matters (And Why I’m Cautious)
On its face, this seems like a win-win: faster check-ins, fewer arguments about “that scratch that was already there,” and better record-keeping. I find it annoying and antiquated to have to go around the car taking photos and videos (though this is still smart to do). But if you’ve rented from Hertz lately—and I have—you know that technological progress at the rental counter often lags behind the promise in the press release.
More importantly, AI is only as good as the people who use it. Who controls the final decision when a machine flags damage? Will customers have access to the photos before and after rental? What if the AI flags a blemish that’s imperceptible or already documented? I can’t see the practice of still taking your own videos and photos changing.
And remember, Hertz has not had a great track record in this area. This is the same company that falsely reported customers for auto theft and had them jailed over administrative errors. Color me skeptical until this is implemented with full transparency and customer access to the same inspection data Hertz is relying on.
I suspect this is more about revenue generation for Hertz than anything else…which is fair enough, but still disappointing.
Why Using the Right Credit Card for Rentals Matters More Than Ever
With Hertz soon employing AI to scan for even the slightest damage, it has never been more critical to rent with a credit card that offers primary rental car insurance coverage. If a machine flags a scratch or dent (rightly or wrongly) you could find yourself responsible for hundreds or even thousands of dollars unless you’re covered.
That’s why I always recommend using a card like the Chase Sapphire Preferred or Chase Sapphire Reserve, which both offer primary rental coverage when you decline the rental agency’s collision damage waiver and pay with your card.
Rental companies, especially in the US, are notoriously aggressive when it comes to post-rental damage claims. If AI becomes the new standard in detecting “damage,” having the right coverage is no longer just smart, it’s essential.
CONCLUSION
I love technology when it enhances the travel experience—but only when it serves the customer, not just the bottom line. If Hertz uses AI to make the rental experience more efficient and eliminate disputes, I welcome it. If it becomes a new way to automatically charge renters for questionable damage, then this system could make things worse.
Even when this new technology rolls out, take your own walkaround video before and after renting a car. AI may be watching–but it is common sense to have your own backup.
What do you think about Hertz’s new UVeye technology?
image: Hertz // hat tip: View From The Wing
@Matthew, the only problem with the primary rental coverage is that many times it will not cover the loss of use fee nor the administrative fee.
I had Chase tell me that in my case National did not provide the proper documentation for the loss of use fee and. Chase does believe the Administrative fee is valid and thus won’t pay it.
EAN DRU contacted me directly and demanded the loss of use fee and the Administrative fee that Chase would not pay.
So, while primary rental coverage is nice, it is not the same as the cdw which waives the renter from all damage to the vehicle.
Just a warning
Every time anything is posted about car rental in North America, I always wonder how on Earth people continue to rent from Hertz and Avis when National is an option. It’s not like choosing DL over AA or UA; National is simply better in all cases. I really don’t think there’s empirical evidence to say otherwise. Hertz is famous for being customer unfriendly, and they’ve given us no indication that this will do anything other than help the company.
This has been my experience renting cars for over 25 years.
In the US: Always National. I basically never had to interact with any agent while renting from National. I have Executive membership from Amex Platinum and always choose full size or SUV depending on my need but when you get there you can get whatever type of car is parked at the Executive Aisle. I was never asked to check the car for damages and they never checked it for damages when I returned. To be clear,I never damaged any rental car. I never select any insurance and always pay with m Chase Sapphire Preferred and first case scenario I have my own car insurance which will cover damages if for some reason I have a problem with Chase. I do not trust Hertz anywhere in the world.
In Europe: Always Sixt or Avis. Why? Because they have the best and newer cars. Now, in Europe I always pay for full insurance because I don’t want to have to worry about a rental car. In my experience, no matter how careful you drive a car in Europe, the rental car companies will ALWAYS find a hidden scratch that for sure was already there but not disclosed in the rental agreement. Thus, full insurance is a peace of mind. Last summer in Italy I rented a BMW from Sixt. When picking up the car I had to sign a disclosure of the exciting damages in the car. The car was fairly new but had 3 pages of damages. Yes, 3 full pages. I drove it for 10 days, never let anyone else drive it and was as always very careful with the car. Well guess what? When I returned the car to a different airport I was told there was a “new scratch” in a totally scratched wheel. I smiled at the guy and told him I had paid for full insurance and just left. No questions asked.
BTW, this technology is being used at some car dealers when you bring your car for service. It basically does a full scan of the car and when you sign the paperwork it shows what damages there are in the car so if you ever claim a new damage when you pick the car after service they will be able to check if it was there before or not.
Sixt have had this tech in the US for years, especially common at FL locations.
Not sure how this is news once it’s at Hertz.
I’ve never experienced it or heard of it until today.
Sixt call it Car Gate and helps to at least put a stop to the typical he-said-she-said car rental damage dynamic.
Should be a positive across the industry but then there is always the Hertz effect to factor in to everything…
It’s a fantastic technology already used by General Motors and Amazon. People see pictures before and after and if someone really crashed the car in the parking lot sorry but it really is their problem. I would just buy protection and drive safely while welcoming the fact I don’t need to do an annoying walk around before I take the car out!
Maybe they should use AI to figure out which of their cars are out on rental and not stolen first.
So if a wheel is all scratched up, what does another little scratch do? The repair costs are the same. Likely, they don’t repair it. In both cases, a lot of profit can be made from repeated charges. Isn’t this fraud? If not legal fraud, then cheating.
It used to be that damages were always overlooked in the US but not in Germany. Once someone left a note saying their door got caught in the wind and swung open, making a dent. It was my Hertz rental car. Hertz didn’t charge me. That was before Hertz became crazy in the last 5 years or so. In contrast, Hertz Germany is known to catch a lot of scratches. They caught me once but luckily I didn’t do it and it was documented in the damage sticker in the trunk.
I wonder if it will ever become where most rental result in a damage charge? If so, that would be sad and would result in extra insurance being charged. The car rental companies might turn into car damage businesses that just happen to rent cars.
It’s the same race to the bottom that the airlines have had to deal with. I love Sixt and have a platinum card with them, but their cheapest car for my next rental (just 1 day between flights at MAD – hotels in the city are very expensive so I’m staying in a commuter town 20km away) is €79 while Goldcar (the low-cost subsidiary of Europcar) will give me an electric car for €14 and won’t charge me anything for fuel, I’m at liberty to return it empty!
It may not be a huge amount of money in the grand scheme of things, but I can’t bring myself to pay a 500% premium , so I will need to invest 20 minutes in looking for damage and taking photos when I go to pick it up, because Goldcar are notorious for discovering previously undocumented damage and charging customers a fortune for it.
Sixt clearly have an incentive to stop being relaxed about charging for damage and to lower prices wanting to start profiting from those charges instead of hoping to find customers willing to pay the money they’re asking. If/when that happens, Goldcar will have to find a way of selling for even less, and so on …
@derek: it is a scam so knowing about it I get full insurance. I usually rent while on family vacation so I don’t want a scratch in a wheel ruin my time with my family. Of course they don’t fix the scratches, I mentioned the car had 3 pages of listed damages so clearly they never fixed anything but I wonder how many customers got charged for stupid scratches they never caused it.
I’m more accustomed to the two sided cameras you drive through that videos the car. Common in Europe. This is acceptable. It helps to determine damage at departure and arrival.
As to Hertz, would not trust them at all. They are criminals in my opinion. Or Avis, who once billed me $2K for a “damage” three months after I rented the car. With no additional information. They insisted I should just file it with insurance. I told them to piss off.
National is the only company that seems legit anymore. Sixt perhaps as well but my use is limited. Anyone else are grifters.
Sixt charged me for a tank of gas even though I returned it full.
That’s another one I always pay in Europe. Pay for full tank and don’t even worry about it.
I think this is the really important bit. I don’t want to drop the keys and wait for the invoice, I want the staff to be there and finalise the contract in my presence. The risk isn’t just with them intentionally defrauding customers, it’s also about something getting noted in error or any other administrative type of cock-up. If I have to return the car out of hours, I always at least seriously consider buying the extortionate full insurance coverage in order to avoid any hassle in relation to this.
Good luck with that in a small airport in Europe. I rent in Italy a lot and if you have an early or late flight the rental location is closed and the only option is to park the car, lock it and drop the keys. Another reason to get full coverage and don’t worry about it.
Late departures are normally fine, early ones are the problem, but I generally don’t have this issue as I avoid booking myself on anything departing before 09:30 or so. When that’s not possible, it usually boils down to a choice between public transport, airport hotel, or renting with full coverage.
Just checked a reservation I have in Italy for this summer. The total rental cost is €1645 and the “all inclusive protection” is €185. No brainer.
This sounds abnormally small – normally they charge a good 35-40% extra for full coverage with zero excess. Is that with Sixt, or someone else?
It is Sixt in Italy. All Inclusive Protection for 30Euros/day. They always have great deals if you book way in advance.
No deductible
Collision Damage Waiver for collision damages, scratches and bumps
Theft Protection
Tire and Windshield Protection
Interior Protection
Mobility service
30 Euros per day is a fair bit of money in my book. So the cost of the rental without it is something like €1500 for 6 days? Is it a Ferrari you’re going to hire? 😀
@PM: It is for 8 days but a few things make the entire rent expensive. First, I am picking up in one city and returning in different one. Second, when you rent in Sardinia or Sicily (islands) you are charged for a “Premium location fee” which is almost €300. Then you add taxes. The rent alone with the full protection is €1,100 for 8 days for a luxury station wagon (usually BMW or Mercedes) and all the fees and taxes are another €600.
Wow, that does add up! Certainly a far cry from the €14 I’ll be paying Goldcar in a few weeks.
More importantly, when the AI detects damage, does it say, “Hertz, don’t it?”
Matthew, you have rented cars many times. How many times has a car agency said the car has damage when you have returned it?
At least 12 times.
I have seen this at Munich airport for ALL rental returns.
In the US my auto insurance covers me when I’m driving a rental car. And so does my credit card.
When I bought a car in Germany and drove it thru several countries I made sure I had an International Drivers Permit (through
AAA) and bought international no deductible car insurance. I was hit in France and I just submitted the claim and got the car repaired and never got a bill. Worked great!
1) Car must be scanned immediately after customer takes possession.
2) Business must supply the before scan to the customer prior to the customer leaving to avoid any data manipulation.
3) The data, not just images or the results, along with a viewer for the data verified by an independent third party must be supplied.
4) While comparison of before and after scans may be done by AI, a human must manually evaluate the results. Otherwise a customer should be able to demand source code and training data as part of a lawsuit.
5) The rental agree must not contain any language that would require any dispute to go to an arbiter.
I usually rent in Munich. I learned that all the rental agencies outsource their returns to a single company. When you return, you have no involvement with the company that takes the car and cleans it and checks for repairs. And the rental agency themselves also have no visibility about prior damage. They assume that damage or broken items are handled for them. I’ve had several rentals there with broken things (radio, air conditioning, mirrors, scratches). You have to look in the glove box or trunk to find any notes from the cleaning company about stuff they didn’t fix. I can’t imagine an AI system helping this – as a renter, you’ll have absolutely no say and the rental company may not have a say either. I hate the cost, but I just go for full coverage. Even with that, I still make a full video of the car before I leave, and if I find things I don’t like, I’ve learned to return to the counter (and wait in line again) and ask for a different vehicle.