| No one wants to be dinged for damage to a rental car. Until now, it was you against the humans who inspected the cars after drop off. In a rush of returns, slight damage might go undetected. That's not going to be the case anymore at one major rental agency. Hertz has introduced AI scanners at six U.S. airports. The machines, which look like the shell of an automated car wash minus the brushes and water, scan your car upon exit and return. A white light flashes a few times during the process. Hertz calls them digital inspections. They capture 360-degree images of the vehicle's body, tires, glass and undercarriage. I tried one at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport this week given recent reports of renters getting hit with big bills they said were hard to contest. In addition to Phoenix, the scanners are being used at Hertz airport locations in Atlanta, Newark, Houston, Charlotte and Tampa. What happened on my test-drive I was surprised there were no public notices about the new scanners anywhere during the rental process. Employees had little knowledge of how they worked or what to do if it showed damage you didn't think was yours. I asked if I could get a copy of the before and after scans for my rental Jeep. No one knew how I would go about that except by calling corporate customer service. I didn't have any issues. At least not yet; I only returned the car yesterday. The employee who handled my return said it usually takes 24 hours to receive any damage bills. Based on a quick visual inspection of my car he didn't think I was going to get dinged. (I only drove it to and from my house and through a Starbucks drive-thru.) He said he thought the new system could work in customers' favor because of the before-and-after photos. A Hertz spokesperson said more than 97% of vehicles scanned so far have showed no billable damage. Renters aren't charged for ordinary wear on any rental, the company says. "By automatically scanning vehicles at both pickup and return, customers get a more streamlined rental experience, greater confidence that they won't be charged for damage that didn't occur during their rental, and a more efficient resolution process when damage does occur,'' Hertz said in a statement. So consider this your heads up next time you rent a car. Drive extra carefully (she says in her best mom voice). And always check your rental-car bill. Hertz added a $20 upgrade charge for my Jeep even though I was told to pick any car on the lot due to low inventory and my loyalty status. | 
