A Man May Be On The Hook For $35,000 After Vandals Smash His Rental Car’s Windows

More often now it seems more people are finding themselves in screwed up situations with rental cars. From being overcharged for days they didn’t have the vehicle to being arrested over false claims of theft. Another person has gotten themselves in trouble for borrowing a car backed by a corporation, but this time they might have to open their wallet for the damages.

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L.A.’s ABC7 reports that a man who wished to be identified as TQ rented a vehicle off the car sharing platform Turo in August 2023. One night while he still had the vehicle, surveillance video from the outside of his home caught two suspects who appeared to be walking along the sidewalk one night. They then crossed the street shattered every single window on the car. Now he might be responsible for the damages, which his insurance and credit card companies have declined to cover.

Screenshot: ABC 7 Los Angeles YouTube

TQ says he was drawn to Turo because of the low rates but feels like he was misled now. “I was initially attracted to Turo by its competitive rates, but I feel the rates are deceptive because it does not factor in insurance.” Turo sent TQ an email saying that he could be responsible for the damage to the vehicle to the tune of $35,000. An expert from the California Department of Insurance explained why TQ’s insurance isn’t covering the damage and why he might have to pay.

“The primary difference is they are different legal entities, and therefore there are different laws that apply to them,” said the department’s Tony Cignarale. “It’s a vehicle-sharing program. It’s defined differently and therefore handled differently by insurance companies, as well as a consumer’s credit card company that may have a damage waiver attached to it.”

TQ thinks something more is going on though. After hiring his own investigators, he’s come to believe that the $35,000 estimate for the damage is “inflated” and that this all might be an attempt at fraud by the car’s owner.

Screenshot: Turo

TQ might have some part of the blame in this though. When renting from Turo, the company offers coverage through Travelers insurance. There’s five plans to choose from as well as $750,000 in liability which all gets factored into the total cost of the rental. However in a statement to ABC7, Turo says that TQ declined insurance coverage.

Our teams have worked with the local police to investigate this unfortunate incident… The guest had opted out of a protection plan and was therefore responsible for the damage. The guest could have limited his responsibility by choosing a protection plan.

TQ is claiming that the language of the coverage wasn’t clear and if it had been he would have gotten insurance coverage. “I believe that if this was more clear and transparent upfront, I would’ve purchased insurance. I consider myself pretty travel savvy, and if this could happen to me, I believe this could happen to anyone.”