Nail in rental car tire (1 Viewer)

[Terminalxylem]

So my rental car showed low pressure from the rear driver’s side tire. Got out, the tire wasn’t noticeably flat, but sure enough, there was a nail in it. Drove to the nearest gas station, which was about a twenty minute drive on a dirt road. The tire held out, and the pressure gauge confirmed PSI around 21, less than half the desired 45. Refilled to 45 and drove about 60 highway miles back to our lodging. Tire looked fine when we arrived.

I’m staying with friends, so I have alternate transportation, and will be here only two more days. The car rental agency is about 30 minutes away, and any repair costs would need to be filed through a supplemental insurance policy (purchased through Hotwire when I rented the vehicle).

So what should I do next?

 

[Terminalxylem]

Nail isn’t in the tire sidewall, and it isn’t noticeable while driving.

 

[fruity pebbles]

Probably just let them know when I turn it in

 

[gianmarco]

I would call the rental car company. Let them know it was low when you got it (assuming it was) and that you just discovered the nail. They'll let you know if they need you to do anything prior to returning it.

 

[culdeus]

Why not call their roadside when you get to a hotel. Roadside can plug a tire. Should be zero cost to you

 

[STEADYMOBBIN 22]

I would plug it myself. You can buy a kit at almost any gas station or auto store for under 15 bucks. Takes about five minutes.

 

[Terminalxylem]

I would call the rental car company. Let them know it was low when you got it (assuming it was) and that you just discovered the nail. They'll let you know if they need you to do anything prior to returning it.

It wasn’t low when I got it. The low pressure light came on 2 days into a 4 day trip.

 

[Terminalxylem]

Probably just let them know when I turn it in

As far as I can tell, I’ll be responsible then for filing a repair claim. That would certainly cause less disruption during the trip though.

 

[Terminalxylem]

Why not call their roadside when you get to a hotel. Roadside can plug a tire. Should be zero cost to you

It’s rented through Alamo. Roadside assistance is an additional fee, which I didn’t pay. Not sure if third party insurer does, but that’s a good thought.

 

[Terminalxylem]

I would plug it myself. You can buy a kit at almost any gas station or auto store for under 15 bucks. Takes about five minutes.

Hmmm. Sounds like about the same price as taking it to a tire place, but probably less waiting involved. Might be a good compromise if no roadside assistance included in ins policy.

 

[STEADYMOBBIN 22]

I would plug it myself. You can buy a kit at almost any gas station or auto store for under 15 bucks. Takes about five minutes.

Hmmm. Sounds like about the same price as taking it to a tire place, but probably less waiting involved. Might be a good compromise if no roadside assistance included in ins policy.

Agreed- if there a place close and they can get to it fast - I’ll just pay the $10-$20 bucks. I am still working on becoming a patient person. It’s just that most of the time I find it easier to just do it my damn self.


I buy a new kit and throw them in the emergency bag I have made for each car. They go bad after a few years.

 

[STEADYMOBBIN 22]

Why not call their roadside when you get to a hotel. Roadside can plug a tire. Should be zero cost to you

It’s rented through Alamo. Roadside assistance is an additional fee, which I didn’t pay. Not sure if third party insurer does, but that’s a good thought.

I just thought of this, but another reason, unlikely, but potential problem could be that any repair could be logged into a system, and then you could potentially get in trouble for an unauthorized repair.

Seems totally ridiculous, but we’ve all seen weird stuff like this happen.

I doubt it for just a flat tire, but you never know these days, man

 

[arrow1]

So my rental car showed low pressure from the rear driver’s side tire. Got out, the tire wasn’t noticeably flat, but sure enough, there was a nail in it. Drove to the nearest gas station, which was about a twenty minute drive on a dirt road. The tire held out, and the pressure gauge confirmed PSI around 21, less than half the desired 45. Refilled to 45 and drove about 60 highway miles back to our lodging. Tire looked fine when we arrived.

I’m staying with friends, so I have alternate transportation, and will be here only two more days. The car rental agency is about 30 minutes away, and any repair costs would need to be filed through a supplemental insurance policy (purchased through Hotwire when I rented the vehicle).

So what should I do next?

Stick it to the Man

 

[Terminalxylem]

I would plug it myself. You can buy a kit at almost any gas station or auto store for under 15 bucks. Takes about five minutes.

Hmmm. Sounds like about the same price as taking it to a tire place, but probably less waiting involved. Might be a good compromise if no roadside assistance included in ins policy.

Agreed- if there a place close and they can get to it fast - I’ll just pay the $10-$20 bucks. I am still working on becoming a patient person. It’s just that most of the time I find it easier to just do it my damn self.


I buy a new kit and throw them in the emergency bag I have made for each car. They go bad after a few years.

Also impatient.

There’s an Autozone 3 miles away. If it’s as simple as the videos make it look, DIY will definitely be the quickest…my guesses:

1. DIY. 30 minutes
2. Return car, file claim with car rental place and supplemental insurer. 3 hours
3. Tire shop. 10 min - multiple hours, taking longer the later my friends sleep in (I’m parked in).

 

[dgreen]

The one time this happened to me, I called Enterprise and told them there was a nail in the tire. They said if I felt safe driving it, I could drive it to their nearest location and they'd give me a new vehicle or they could bring a vehicle to me. I was pretty close to one of their locations, so I just took it to them. They swapped our vehicle and we were on our way. No need to file any kind of claim.

 

[Hawks64]

I would call the rental car company. Let them know it was low when you got it (assuming it was) and that you just discovered the nail. They'll let you know if they need you to do anything prior to returning it.

 

[zamboni]

Agree on calling the car rental place first to see what your options are. They may try to stick you with whatever costs they can, so better to be up front with what is going on and it will all be documented. Unfortunately, it's not always easy to find an actual person, let alone a competent one, to assist you but worth the effort to at least try.

 

[The Z Machine]

Had a buddy that rented a car on a biz trip (he worked for an Tier 1 Auto supplier). He and the other gear heads were doing donuts and other nonesense in their rentals and one of them went over a curb and cracked or tore open the oil pan, dumping the entire contents into the parking lot...

That's was not likely to be covered on the insurance. So what do these good ole boys do?

JB Weld the ripped part back in place and return it to the rental agency without saying a damn thing.

 

[DA RAIDERS]

I would have it repaired. It’s quick and cheap. If not that I would just turn it in and say the light came on. I put air in it.

 

[3C's]

1) 45 psi seems high
2) if there's a discount tire nearby they repair for free, but not sure how a rental would come into play if it comes up

 

[SWC]

Why not call their roadside when you get to a hotel. Roadside can plug a tire. Should be zero cost to you

for the record because the nail is in the rear tire this is the only time that you should not back into a space in order to make it easier for repair guys to get at the subject tire take that to the bank brochacho

 

[Terminalxylem]

1) 45 psi seems high
2) if there's a discount tire nearby they repair for free, but not sure how a rental would come into play if it comes up

Agree, but that’s what all the the tires were set at on TPMS.

 

[SWC]

where is your recommended 45 psi coming from the tire or the a pillar label and is that cold pressure or operating pressure take that to the bank bromigo

 

[BassNBrew]

Its called fix a flat. $5 for a can. Leave the nail in place, no one will ever know other than their AI bots scanning this thread.

 

[JAA]

If the nail was introduced while me driving and not in sidewall, I would have it fixed.

 

[krista4]

1) 45 psi seems high
2) if there's a discount tire nearby they repair for free, but not sure how a rental would come into play if it comes up

I had this exact scenario with a rental, and Les Schwab repaired it for free.

 

[Ministry of Pain]

In Florida, a vehicle may be declared a total loss if the cost of repairing the damage is greater than 80 percent of the car's pre-crash “actual cash value.”
Where are we at on this? Did we rent a Zephyr '78?