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A.I. Is Making Sure You Pay for That Ding on Your Rental Car

(www.nytimes.com)
42 points pseudolus | 1 comments | 13 Jul 25 01:25 UTC | HN request time: 0.305s | source
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kjellsbells ◴[13 Jul 25 02:17 UTC] No.44546944[source]▶
Classic MBA scam. Hertz dont own the cars outright, they borrow money to pay for them. So they have an interest in driving down the value of the cars so they can refinance at lower costs. Then, on the income side, they'll be gouging customers for fees to cover damage (or take out curiously expensive damage insurance). It's a continual shakedown and I imagine there were high fives all around when the Finance intern came up with the idea.

Of course, Hertz has been a dumpster fire of a business for the last five years. Burning billions on electric vehicles, torching the share price, switching CEOs, not to mention falsely accsuing customers of theft. Maybe best to stay away from them for a bit.

replies(1): >>44547527 #
1. citizenpaul ◴[13 Jul 25 04:31 UTC] No.44547527[source]▶
You have part of it but miss the whole picture. Hertz doesn't want to do business with "poor's." Its part of the bigger continuing stratification of classes. Unless you represent a company account with over $500 million in market cap (or gob) in which case you can negotiate actual Fair terms with them. Or a rich enough to pay enough that the rental costs equal to or greater than paying for the car's monthly cost outright. They simply don't want to do business with you. And they will get what they want because this country is ruled by corporations.

Providing a good or service with a profit margin is so old fashioned what is this 1920? Nowadays you use your big MBA brain to do a business with another big brain MBA that also has rich parents that your parents are friends with. Then both ride away from the smoldering rubble of the company on their yachts when their options vest in 3-5 years.

Because if you are a big brain MBA you know that is about how long it takes for your yacht to be constructed