Concluding Updated on November ane, 2021 by Michael

smoking-in-rental-car

Want to smoke or vape in a rental car? The major rental machine companies in the United States and Canada run fume-free rental auto fleets. In fact, smoking volition commonly hateful y'all'll end up paying cleaning fees.

A small subset of renters insist on smoking in rental cars anyway, and the consequences are not pretty.

Cleaning Fee for Smoking or Vaping in a Rental Car

If the rental auto company discovers that someone smoked or vaped in your rental vehicle, it will accuse you lot a very hefty cleaning fee. Not-smokers frequently will not accept a rental auto that smells similar smoke, so companies have to go to great lengths to get smoky odors out of a machine. The visitor will need to have the vehicle out of service to make clean and deodorize it.

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If you break the rules and smoke in the car, the amount of the penalisation depends on the rental motorcar visitor but it is always substantial. For case, Budget assesses a cleaning fee of up to $250. Hertz and Dollar impose a penalty of $400.

How Do Rental Auto Companies Know if Yous Fume or Vape

When you return the vehicle, an amanuensis will inspect the vehicle. If an amanuensis witnesses you lot or a passenger smoking, or if at that place is physical evidence of smoking (ashes or butts in the vehicle, cigarette burns, etc.) or the smell of tobacco, you will likely receive a bill a week or more after returning the car. Vaping produces a much less powerful odor, only if you leave behind paraphernalia that suggests yous were vaping in the car, be prepared to be penalized.

How to Get the Smell of Fume Out of a Rental Car

Consider paying for a professional person cleaning before returning the motorcar. The rental car visitor will not await the other way if y'all return the car with tobacco odors. Many car washes offer interior cleaning services for nether $30, often including a choice of deodorizing olfactory property. Consider ponying up for this service, as the toll is much less than what the rental machine company would accuse for de-odorizing.

How to Fight a Cleaning Fee for a Rental Car

If yous pick up a rental car that smells like smoke, it's of import not to accept it and bulldoze abroad. When you return the car, if the agent detects the smell of tobacco, you lot can be on the claw for the cleaning fee.

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Anytime you selection upwardly a rental car, it's a smart thought to accept a few precautions so that you tin can protect yourself from false claims when you return the car.

  • If you smell tobacco or see evidence of smoking or vaping, refuse the vehicle and enquire for a replacement.
  • When you pick upwards your car, accept a few minutes to look over the car earlier driving away. Take pictures of every dent, ding, and scratch on the vehicle's exterior and interior. Take photos of the wheels and the windshield. Don't believe the rental agent when he tells y'all that small dents or scratches "an inch or smaller" don't count. You could be held answerable for those dents later on. Unless the automobile is make new, at that place will probable be some damage y'all'll want to capture. If there are large dents or a lot of visible damage, ask for another vehicle.
  • Before y'all drive away, document all scratches and dents on a class where you lot can note the condition of the vehicle. There will be a diagram of a motorcar where you tin notation where yous find whatever dents or damage.
  • When y'all return the machine, take another round of photos of the car's exterior and interior. Cover the aforementioned basis every bit you did when you picked up the motorcar and pay attention to the windshield. Ideally, the before and after photos will exist virtually identical.
  • Inquire the motorcar rental agent to walk effectually the automobile with you. Enquire the employee to sign off on the inspection course, confirming that the car was returned in the same shape as when you picked it upward.

Related:

  • Can I Bring My Dog in a Rental Car?
  • How to Avoid Landing on a Rental Machine Exercise Not Rent List