We rented a 2010 Toyota Camry from the Vancouver Airport Location of Budget Rent-a-Car of B.C. in late November of 2010 for a period of 9 days. The counter staff was persistent in the extreme in trying to get us to purchase insurance, we refused because of coverage under our own auto insurance.
We put a total of 576 kms. on the vehicle, all on paved roads. When inspected on return, a small (3-5 mm) chip was discovered below midline on the right hand side of the windshield, a few inches from the edge. The repair charge was $778 plus usage and admins fees for a total of $891.
I am extremely suspicious of this for a number of reasons. The damage was very untypical of my experience with rock chips, it was deep with no attendant surface damage or cracking and only a very small starburst in the second layer of the windshield. In many miles of driving, including extensively on gravel roads, I have not seen one like it. Anything with a mass sufficient to damage the windshield to any extent should have made a very loud noise and created a very different type of damage. Any time I have been hit by road debris, even when only sufficient to just pit the windshield, the sound has been very pronounced, none was noted. I was the sole driver.
The replacement charge was high, I was quoted $445 from a chain only blocks from this location. If a Toyota windshield was indeed used, then the parts price is low compared to the quote I received from Toyota (~$800). The company shown as replacing the windshield was Inland transportation Ltd. I was unable to find any listing for the company, however the address listed comes out as a Budget Car Rental address! I phoned on a number of occasions and just reached a recorded message.
At the least, the damage should have been repaired on location for about $50. It was an ideal candidate for repair, well out of the line of site of either passenger or driver. In my experience, it would have been an invisible repair and not to do so shows disrespect for us as customers and for the environment.
This will cost us a $100 insurance deductable, so my principle reason for complaint is not financial but that it simply does not pass the smell test. We will all pay for it in our annual insurance fees. In light of this and similar complaints against this business, is this who you would really want to rent your next vehicle from?
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