Senator Challenges Rental Car Companies On Recalled Autos

California Sen. Barbara Boxer is challenging three big auto rental companies to agree to not rent or sell vehicles that are under safety recall before they're fixed. Boxer sent letters to Avis Budget, Dollar Thrifty, and Enterprise, which also owns the Alamo and National brands. The letters ask the companies to pledge that they are "making a permanent commitment" to not renting or selling recalled vehicles "until the defect has been remedied."

A letter was also sent to Hertz, thanking the company for its "efforts to improve rental car safety" and asking it to reaffirm its policies pertaining to vehicle recalls by making the pledge. Hertz immediately made the pledge. "Hertz does not rent or sell recalled cars until they've been repaired," said company spokeswoman Paula Rivera. "We do and will continue to comply with the voluntary policy articulated by Sen. Boxer."

In February, Hertz struck an agreement with safety advocates to put recall oversight of the rental car industry under the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. NHTSA has been investigating the auto rental industry for more than a year after the industry was accused by safety advocates of renting and selling vehicles that were recalled by automakers but not repaired.

Boxer set a thirty-days deadline for the companies to agree to the pledge. She says she'll announce "which companies have agreed to make this pledge and which companies have instead chosen to continue putting their customers' lives at risk."

Rosemary Shahan, President of the Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety, supports Boxer's initiatives. Boxer says she plans to introduce legislation based on a proposal by Shahan's group and Hertz to ban rentals or sales of autos until they're fixed.

Enterprise spokeswoman Laura Bryant says the company takes Boxer's letter "very seriously" but says it thinks it's already operating "very similarly to what Sen. Boxer is requesting." Enterprise supports legislation proposed by the American Car Rental Association that would, under NHTSA oversight, regulate the use of vehicles subject to recalls, she says. That legislation would allow recalled vehicles to be rented without being fixed if the recall is disclosed to the renter, or if the manufacturers and NHTSA recommend interim measures to address problems until repairs can be made.

Avis Budget and Dollar Thrifty did not comment on the challenge.

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