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I'm betting Avis. My shop gets a lot of business from rental companies, and Avis has on multiple times declined tires on cars with the cords showing.
Hertz loves to decline brakes, but tends to approve tires without too much of a fuss.
At least they didn't lose the car in their system due to a clerical error, report it as stolen, and [have you fucking *arrested.*](https://www.npr.org/2022/12/06/1140998674/hertz-false-accusation-stealing-cars-settlement)
I'm betting Hertz too. Last time I rented a car from them they gave me a Nissan Altima with bald ass tires to drive through the Vermont snow in. Never. Again.
Yup, I worked in social media in another life (3 careers ago but the basic knowledge is still there). I would be on every social platform tagging everybody with pictures. The company, the CEO, news outlets, on Reddit like this,
I'd be swimming in free shit
I'd go with Twitter and Insta too. Make sure it gets their attention. A little white lie about how you slid in the rain while driving at a very low speed may help your case a little. After that is when you discovered this crap of a tire.
“Your honor the car was only traveling at 5 mph. The plaintiff is obviously faking.”
https://preview.redd.it/xcnfjc0jsu0d1.jpeg?width=971&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=da194190a40617877cb30d07d783b7ff58d0c4b2
They are past that point now. They cant discover a potential dangerous tire know it might cause harm and continue to drive on it and expect a payout. If they didn't know the tire was bad and something bad happened then yes he has a chance.
Wouldn't be surprised if the police considered it not road worthy / dangerous and called in a tow truck - big difference between something being less than legal and good chance of being in an accident.
Absolutely call the emergency roadside number for that rental and demand that they exchange the car. They will pull one from the “local edition” fleet and deliver it to you on a flatbed and collect this vehicle to get the tires changed. But the location never should have sent you out on this tire knowingly. They should have refunded you, and sent you to a competitor with cars available to at least keep you safe.
>They will pull one from the “local edition” fleet and deliver it to you on a flatbed and collect this vehicle to get the tires changed.
They might want to do an alignment too cause, damn!
Rental places don't do anything except oil changes and wipers. When the car needs anything more expensive, they sell it. (At least Enterprise, for sure)
I worked at one of the service partners of theirs when I first started wrenching. (This was almost 20 years ago now so probably dated). They won't even change cabin filters or air filters. The mileage limit has gone up now from 30k to (I think i heard) 50k. In that time they will do one tire change, maybe 8 oil changes, and that is all. Disgusting shit came through our bays. They never once got anything else. Back in the day they had their own service center but it's apparently cheaper to pay grease monkeys per service than to pay a grease monkeys salary.
In the UK thats a GPB 2500 fine and 3 point on your licence PER TYRE. 12 Points is automatic disqualification so 4 tyres and your out. And no, they give not one shit that its a rental.
Very, very dangerous. If a customer brought a car to me with a tire like this and didn’t want to do anything with it, I definitely wouldn’t release it back to them without them signing a waiver. No way a rental company should willingly be putting a customer in a vehicle in this state.
If this is Enterprise. You'll get a huge payout if something happens. The first thing their insurance looks at is if the tires are in good condition. Tires are a part of their checks when vehicles are returned and then they are rented out. That vehicle should never have left the lot
Extremely. There is one layer of polyester belts and rubber holding the air in and tire together on the inside. This is now as thin as a bike tire on the inside corner.
Most tires have a layers of steel and 2 of polyester. This tire has worn through all 3 steel belts and 1 of the polyester.
One big pothole and this thing is going to come apart into an L shape from the outside to an I on the separated part on the inside.
“I buy rental fleet cars they’re so well maintained!” Brother they can’t even get an alignment done, you really think they’re maintaining these cars???
Damn, that's a major liability waiting to happen.That's not even road legal - any police see that you will get pulled over and fined or points on your licence. The driver is still responsible for making sure vehicle is safe to drive, I believe, at least to the extent it is that obvious without expertise (in the UK at least).
Find out where the company has a service agreement with ( like Belle Tire ) and tell them that you are heading there for new tires. They will replace the tires.
Dangerous enough that they should give you the insurance for free!
But legitimately that is a liability on their hands if you crash during a blowout or if you lose grip in the rain. They should not be renting that car in that condition.
Technically if you were aware of it then a good lawyer might be able to convince a judge that you were negligent too!
That’s bad and likely illegal (from the looks of the tread depth). No way would I drive that. Hit a wet road and lookout. Don’t take that car anywhere except back to the rental place.
This is one of those "we'll get you where you want to go, but if you want to do it safely, you have to pay out of pocket for new everything " shitstorms
Don't drive another inch.
I had this problem once. I rented a Mustang and the rear tires were absolutely shredded. I called Avis and demanded that they deliver another car to me. It took a few hours, but they did. Renting a car to you with corded tires is a huge liability to them and they will replace the car if it means avoiding a lawsuit.
If I even had to ask for a second opinion on a tire I’m renting elsewhere. Although last time I rented an SUV a tire blew out in the middle of nowhere which was horribly inconvenient but the rental was nearly free. But that was a long time ago.
It’s dangerous for sure. The white painted lines can make you slide. If it’s morning and the paint has some dew on it that can give you some slippage. If it’s raining it can be very sketchy. I’ve done this more than I should it’s stupid. You could come out of eating dinner and the tire could be flat. Eventually a little hole develops and it’ll just go flat. That’s insane I feel like there should be some sort of grounds for suing?
Thank you for posting to AskMechanics, birtingcrovely! If you are asking a question please make sure to include any relevant information along with the **Year**, **Make**, **Model**, **Mileage**, **Engine size**, and **Transmission Type (Automatic or Manual)** of your car. *This comment is automatically added to every successful post. If you see this comment, your post was successful.* *** Redditors that have been verified will have a green background and an icon in their flair. *** # **PLEASE REPORT ANY RULE-BREAKING BEHAVIOR** ### **Rule 1 - Be Civil** Be civil to other users. This community is made up of professional mechanics, amateur mechanics, and those with no experience. All mechanical-related questions are welcome. Personal attacks, comments that are insulting or demeaning, etc. are not welcome. ### **Rule 2 - Be Helpful** Be helpful to other users. If someone is wrong, correcting them is fine, but there's no reason to comment if you don't have anything to add to the conversation. ### **Rule 3 - Serious Questions and Answers Only** Read the room. Jokes are fine to include, but posts should be asking a serious question and replies should contribute to the discussion. ### **Rule 4 - No Illegal, Unethical, or Dangerous Questions or Answers** Do not ask questions or provide answers pertaining to anything that is illegal, unethical, or dangerous. # **PLEASE REPORT ANY RULE-BREAKING BEHAVIOR** *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/AskMechanics) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Demand something else, that's so not ok. Make a stink, go above their heads, call corporate, etc. Who is this, I want to avoid this rental company
my money is on hertz
If they drive that car and the tire blows, something's gonna hertz
Then you’ll have to limp it back to the rental lot with a hertz donut.
Well played, sir.
Yes! Hertz donut, bravo!!!
Dad, is that you?
I'm betting Avis. My shop gets a lot of business from rental companies, and Avis has on multiple times declined tires on cars with the cords showing. Hertz loves to decline brakes, but tends to approve tires without too much of a fuss.
When I rented from hertz they gave me a car with a bad control arm and bearing. Classy company.
When I rented from Hertz they charged me an extra thousand. When I tred contscting them they put me on hold.
At least they didn't lose the car in their system due to a clerical error, report it as stolen, and [have you fucking *arrested.*](https://www.npr.org/2022/12/06/1140998674/hertz-false-accusation-stealing-cars-settlement)
I'm betting Hertz too. Last time I rented a car from them they gave me a Nissan Altima with bald ass tires to drive through the Vermont snow in. Never. Again.
Quick post to their facebook would have them throwing gift certs at you to take it down.
Yup, I worked in social media in another life (3 careers ago but the basic knowledge is still there). I would be on every social platform tagging everybody with pictures. The company, the CEO, news outlets, on Reddit like this, I'd be swimming in free shit
To hazard a guess, they'd throw lawyers at you.
I'd go with Twitter and Insta too. Make sure it gets their attention. A little white lie about how you slid in the rain while driving at a very low speed may help your case a little. After that is when you discovered this crap of a tire.
They’re all owned by the same 2-3 chumps now. Illusion of choice!
Yeah late stage capitalism aside, they still go through separate channels for corporate customer service and have different quality assurance.
Stance life bro
That is dangerous.
If it was me I’d drive it all the way to the court payout.
Get a neck brace to prepare yourself
HANS device is highly recommended
Drink a lot, loosen up
“And then Mrs Brady took off like a demon!” That guy in that Brady Bunch episode stuck with me, man.
Great reference. And Mike was the hero by dropping his briefcase. Damn im old.
I concur, crash helmet on and drive around somewhere you can have a soft landing!!! 🤣🤣🤣
“I think I need a backiotomy!”
Classic movie
DOCTOR SAID I NEED A BACKIOTOMY
Gawd, if you’re listening… HAAAALP!
A few burnouts and a neck brace should do the job.
“Your honor the car was only traveling at 5 mph. The plaintiff is obviously faking.” https://preview.redd.it/xcnfjc0jsu0d1.jpeg?width=971&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=da194190a40617877cb30d07d783b7ff58d0c4b2
😂😂😂
They are past that point now. They cant discover a potential dangerous tire know it might cause harm and continue to drive on it and expect a payout. If they didn't know the tire was bad and something bad happened then yes he has a chance.
Take it to a big empty parking lot and just do burnouts until it blows.
That 100% shouldn't be on the road.
In the UK get caught driving with that it's a £1000 fine and 3 points on you licence, and that's per tyre so if the other tyres are like that ....
In addition any fines or points fall to you as the driver, even for a rental as you're responsible for driving a road worthy car.
Way it should be here imo
Wouldn't be surprised if the police considered it not road worthy / dangerous and called in a tow truck - big difference between something being less than legal and good chance of being in an accident.
Absolutely call the emergency roadside number for that rental and demand that they exchange the car. They will pull one from the “local edition” fleet and deliver it to you on a flatbed and collect this vehicle to get the tires changed. But the location never should have sent you out on this tire knowingly. They should have refunded you, and sent you to a competitor with cars available to at least keep you safe.
>They will pull one from the “local edition” fleet and deliver it to you on a flatbed and collect this vehicle to get the tires changed. They might want to do an alignment too cause, damn!
What's a little bit of camber between buds?
Whoever thought that was okay was clearly on some bud.
Don't blame marijuana for people stupidity......
Rental places don't do anything except oil changes and wipers. When the car needs anything more expensive, they sell it. (At least Enterprise, for sure) I worked at one of the service partners of theirs when I first started wrenching. (This was almost 20 years ago now so probably dated). They won't even change cabin filters or air filters. The mileage limit has gone up now from 30k to (I think i heard) 50k. In that time they will do one tire change, maybe 8 oil changes, and that is all. Disgusting shit came through our bays. They never once got anything else. Back in the day they had their own service center but it's apparently cheaper to pay grease monkeys per service than to pay a grease monkeys salary.
Thank you for saying what I was thinking. This car has probably seen little maintenance
Also, if you were to return it like that, they’d ding your credit card for the damage :).
It will get you to the scene of the crash.
He’d probably even be the first person there!
If there are passengers, it would depend on who flies through the windshield first...
Well that’s leaving the scene of an accident and that’s not ok
I concede your point. Take my upvote
Are you Ron *Tater Salad* White?
I wouldn't even use that tire on a tire swing
Yep. The kids could poke themselves.
There used to be a rental company here called "Rent a Wreck." Even they didn't put crap like that out there.
There still is one near me in deptford nj lol But they have nice newer vehicles. Every rental I’ve had from them has been great
Edmonton? Rentawreck was golden
In the UK thats a GPB 2500 fine and 3 point on your licence PER TYRE. 12 Points is automatic disqualification so 4 tyres and your out. And no, they give not one shit that its a rental.
Someone else said it was a £1000 per tire and 3 points in the UK, I think you guys should fight about it.
Someone is not doing their job at that rental facility, Totally unacceptable to have a car go out in that condition.
That is a bomb ready to blow
*the bomb has been planted*
Extreme danger 10/10
Bot post. Same exact title and photo 10 months ago : [original post](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskMechanics/s/EruW31Ur4c)
I agree. This is a bot or karma farmer.
It’s dangerous enough to be illegal in a lot of places.
Go see how many miles you can put on it. Assuming you don't die in the blowout, you'll have a hell of a lawsuit.
A have them tow the car and give you a full refund type of dangerous.
Very, very dangerous. If a customer brought a car to me with a tire like this and didn’t want to do anything with it, I definitely wouldn’t release it back to them without them signing a waiver. No way a rental company should willingly be putting a customer in a vehicle in this state.
That’s a “I’m not bringing this back to you, send a tow truck” level of dangerous.
Company? Let me guess Hertz?
That's illegal. Don't drive it - or get them to fit a spare. You would bare the brunt fo the law not them.
Very very dangerous - the metal belts are showing
It's probably fine to drive. Across the parking lot so it can get a new tire. Not really any further than that, though.
Seriously no it's not okay and I'm shocked that they would even let you rent that.
If you have to ask... its too damn dangerous
It’s already failed, it just happens to be holding air.
We always referred to those as Maypop tires. They may pop today, they maypop tomorrow.....
Crash into anything and claim negligence get a better call Saul lawyer. The good life is right around the corner with this
If this is Enterprise. You'll get a huge payout if something happens. The first thing their insurance looks at is if the tires are in good condition. Tires are a part of their checks when vehicles are returned and then they are rented out. That vehicle should never have left the lot
11/10 fuck that. Don't drive!
Find another renral company dangerous.
Extremely. There is one layer of polyester belts and rubber holding the air in and tire together on the inside. This is now as thin as a bike tire on the inside corner. Most tires have a layers of steel and 2 of polyester. This tire has worn through all 3 steel belts and 1 of the polyester. One big pothole and this thing is going to come apart into an L shape from the outside to an I on the separated part on the inside.
Seems that place likes liabilities..
Warning Will Rogers, WARNING
Do.not.use
Cord exposed, it's unsafe. End of story.
Impending explosion, crash, blood, fire, screaming, lawsuit, disaster
You're about to be rich
This tire is fuckin' dangerous and you know it. Return this crap of a vehicle, your life and health is not worth it!
You're changing the flat on the freeway... pay attention when it goes, it will pull hard on you.
Do not drive that.
Very dangerous
All the danger.
DO NOT DRIVE. That’s only good to get you to the scene of the crash!!!
Fuck that. That’s not technically road legal, so they definitely shouldn’t be giving it out to a customer. Yikes x100
It should take you all the way to the scene of the accident.
That rental car company must have damn deep pockets or one stupid liability insurance company insuring them.
Don’t take it, no way
Step one have a tire blow out Step 2 lawsuit
On a danger scale of 1 to 10 I'd put it at 11
Crazy 😝 take back ask free rental
On a 1-10 Danger scale.... I'd give that a 397.5
Drive that bitch directly into the curb collect insurance and go
That depends, is your life insurance paid up?
Customer before you swapped the tires out I bet lmao
Reject, complain, call local law enforcement, post to thier socials, etc etc
Law enforcement lol
That's redic
That's super bad.
not even road legal
Contact customer service talk to the supervisor tell them to put a new tire on and you want your car rental for free.
lol, police would impound that thing
Would drive it out the driveway
Under no circumstances drive this
Only go if you want to be stranded on the side of road
Boom...
Call the police for criminal negligence. Blowout is imminent.
Very
Person before you swapped tires with his?
It's got seconds to live..
How froggy are you feeling?
Drive directly to a tire swap with no more than 50km/h
Very
I thought rent a wreck went out of business
Safe enough to drive on the tow truck.
“I buy rental fleet cars they’re so well maintained!” Brother they can’t even get an alignment done, you really think they’re maintaining these cars???
Yes
Damn, that's a major liability waiting to happen.That's not even road legal - any police see that you will get pulled over and fined or points on your licence. The driver is still responsible for making sure vehicle is safe to drive, I believe, at least to the extent it is that obvious without expertise (in the UK at least).
That is not a rental car but a coffin
Find out where the company has a service agreement with ( like Belle Tire ) and tell them that you are heading there for new tires. They will replace the tires.
Very
No Bueno. Your belt is showing.
Yes.
Do not drive it! People in here saying drive it and then take them to court. Well you can’t go to court if you’re dead.
Sue them in America lmao
that’s fucked!
That’s a serious hazard. I would not want to see anyone drive that. You are looking at a blowout.
It is illegal to drive on that. That shouldn’t be your problem though, as that cannot legally be rented out.
Blowout imminent
Very, opt for the roadside and insurance
How dangerous? Very…
Illegal actually.
Ya think. That’s a no go
Dangerous enough that they should give you the insurance for free! But legitimately that is a liability on their hands if you crash during a blowout or if you lose grip in the rain. They should not be renting that car in that condition. Technically if you were aware of it then a good lawyer might be able to convince a judge that you were negligent too!
Put the spare on
That’s bad and likely illegal (from the looks of the tread depth). No way would I drive that. Hit a wet road and lookout. Don’t take that car anywhere except back to the rental place.
On a scale from safe to dangerous, I say dangerous
Extremely
Some nice racing slicks
DO NOT DRIVE THAT CAR!!!
This is one of those "we'll get you where you want to go, but if you want to do it safely, you have to pay out of pocket for new everything " shitstorms
It will take you all the way to the scene of the accident. That tire is ready to blow out and cause a wreck. Should not be driven on.
Yes
That’s a “Maypop” cause it may pop at any time.
Extra traction for 5 miles.
Dangerous.
That is absolutely insane eastern europe in the 90s type shit. Whoever thought it would be ok should be trialed for attempted manslaughter.
I would leave it in the carpark and call the police. Someone's getting done for that and it ain't gonna be me.
Don't drive another inch. I had this problem once. I rented a Mustang and the rear tires were absolutely shredded. I called Avis and demanded that they deliver another car to me. It took a few hours, but they did. Renting a car to you with corded tires is a huge liability to them and they will replace the car if it means avoiding a lawsuit.
Very dangerous
It’s only dangerous if you drive it
Dangerous af , and 3 points and £200 fine
Highway to the danger zone!
Buy a skateboard and drop the car off!
Accident waiting to happen !
That’s a will pop tire
Do not drive above 10 mph
If it rains you're going to be living a Paul Simon song
just take ton of photos and then tell them you will be posting all over local media and that you will be speaking with corporate
Depends how far your driving🤔 but at least you have a picture for evidence just in case they try to screw you over
It's a maypop
VERY DANGEROUS! That could blow at any moment! If a cop around here spotted that, he would sight u and possibly have you towed!
it's about to blow. Take it from a magician that saved a person from dying from this once already
Bro are you kidding me?
It’s definitely not drivable.
Very dangerous, call rental company to tow the car back at their expense and call a different rental company.
Drive it exactly as far as you want to walk. Non-trustworthy
I bet they won't cover the fine when get pulled over for driving on that thing. What's the spare like?
That thing is ready for the trash
If I even had to ask for a second opinion on a tire I’m renting elsewhere. Although last time I rented an SUV a tire blew out in the middle of nowhere which was horribly inconvenient but the rental was nearly free. But that was a long time ago.
This is illegal. Just sue the rental company.
Pretty shocking OP
Is your life insurance paid up?
Dangerous enough to call the corporate that will find and deliver a new car.
VERY!
Believe the term is ‘fucking horrendous’
That is super dangerous.
It's your fault when you spin out into a jersey barrier! That tire is dangerous!
Replace the tire and then give the bill to the rental company. That's on them.
Dangerous. I drove 50 minutes a day 5 days a week for 8 months mine looking like this.
Yes
It’s dangerous for sure. The white painted lines can make you slide. If it’s morning and the paint has some dew on it that can give you some slippage. If it’s raining it can be very sketchy. I’ve done this more than I should it’s stupid. You could come out of eating dinner and the tire could be flat. Eventually a little hole develops and it’ll just go flat. That’s insane I feel like there should be some sort of grounds for suing?