‘This was difficult to watch’: Customer catches airport rental workers being careless with Chevrolet Malibu, Dodge Hornet. Here’s what to watch out for

When you get a rental car, the company expects you to be gentle with it. But are they gentle with these cars themselves?

During the car rental, there's a general air of "you better treat this car right, or else." Agents try to upsell you on getting their car insurance and protection plan to cover damage you may cause to their car or another vehicle while driving, personal injuries, or even stolen belongings.

But that's an extra $30 to $50 a day that you may not be able to or want to spend.

As much as the agents get on you about avoiding damages, those same car rental companies may be treating their vehicles even more precariously than customers.

But former car rental employees say there's a simple explanation.

What did this Avis customer notice while renting a car?

In a viral TikTok with more than 2.3 million views, frequent traveler Sarvesh Ramakrishnan (@sarvesh.ramakrishnan) shares the shocking thing he saw at the Avis car rental parking lot at the airport. It's not pretty.

"This is how big brand rental car companies treat their cars," Ramakrishnan claims.

In the video, Ramakrishnan shows that the rentals, one of which he'd presumably be driving, were parked literally bumper to bumper.

And that's not an exaggeration. They weren't just close together with little space in between. The front and back of each car were literally touching.

"This was kind of difficult to watch, walking through the lines of cars crushed together to save space," Ramakrishnan laments.

Commenters weigh in

People in the comments section had varied viewpoints. Some explained why the rental company might do this. Others warned Ramakrishnan to be careful not to get blamed for external damage the company may have inflicted itself.

"Enterprise alum here! we call this parking airport tight- learn it on the first day of internship. Keeps the cars safer & gives more space on the lot," a former worker said.

"They have to park them close so they can’t get stolen," a commenter added.

"We do it to fit all the returns we got for the week with the little space we got . We can expect 1200 vehicles throughout the week in space that can only hold 900," another chimed in.

"Take pictures all around the car. I’ve seen them charge people for damage they didn’t cause," a person shared.

"And then they bill us for dents & scratches it had when we picked it up!!" another said.

Do you need car insurance for a rental?

While you, of course, want the peace of mind of knowing you're protected, even in a rental, the insurance doesn't necessarily have to come from the rental place itself.

• Personal car insurance: If you already have personal car insurance, it'll likely cover your rental car, too, as long as your policy includes comprehensive and collision coverage, Nerd Wallet reported. But, if you only have your state's minimum required coverage, you might want to opt for the rental company's extra coverage.
• Credit card benefits: Another way to get around getting the pricey rental company-offered insurance is to check your credit card benefits. Many credit cards have rental car coverage that may even apply overseas.
• Independent option: If you still need insurance, you can get a standalone policy that will likely be cheaper from another company.

@sarvesh.ramakrishnan this was kind of difficult to watch, walking through the lines of cars crushed together to save space #carrental #rental #rentalcar #hertz #enterprise #budget #avis #airport #airportrental #crash #carcrash ♬ เสียงต้นฉบับ - ????????????????

The Daily Dot reached out to Ramakrishnan for comment via Instagram and TikTok direct message and to Avis via email.

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