On June 16, I rented an Optima Kia from Enterprise car rental in Harriman, NY. I picked up my grandchildren and on June 18th headed to Washington, D.C. To meet up with my wife and son for a much-needed holiday. On I-95, in Essex Maryland, just north of Baltimore, we encountered a massive traffic jam, (the result of a 24-car pileup we later discovered).
After sitting in traffic for over an hour the car began to overheat. Eventually, I was forced to pull over onto the shoulder in order to avoid blowing a head gasket. Once the engine cooled, I pulled back onto the highway, but traffic was still not moving and I had to repeat the performance twice more when the car began to over heat again. Finally, I called Enterprise, and happily discovered a local agency not far from the next exit. I crept down the shoulder to the exit and made my way to the local Enterprise agency without much effort.
As long as we were moving, the engine coolant stayed within the green zone. At the Enterprise agency, the car was checked and we were given and new car and sent on our way. A week later I returned the replacement car to the original Enterprise agency in New York State as instructed. Several days later I received a damage claim from Enterprise and subsequent to that a bill for nearly $4,000 for internal mechanical damage to the engine, the cooling system and the radiator.
Pictures sent by Enterprise showed that the radiator was bent (even though there was no external damage to the car when I returned it), with hoses dangling from the vehicle and other damage that is unclear. What is clear is that the engine of this car was either damaged prior to my renting it (but not so badly that the car would not run) or was damaged by the Maryland agency after I returned it.
In any event, this claim is bogus. I was the one who was put out when the car overheated on the highway (with two young children in the car) and I did all I could to prevent damage by not driving the car when it overheated. I am appalled by this action on the part of Enterprise. I have reported this incident to VISA (my insurance company for this rental), but I have serious questions about the ethics of this claim.
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