Hi there, Nissan lovers!
I rented a Nissan Sentra S 2006 for 3 weeks because my own car was rear-ended & totalled. After I returned the rental car, the rental company told me the left rear mud guard was loose and had caused over $900 worth of damage including:

Replacement of left rear wheel cover, left rear tire suspension, hub, left control arm, left strut S quarter panel, mud guard, emission vapor canister and control valve.

I am certain that I did not hit or drive over anything with the vehicle.
My question is, could a loose mud flap cause all this damage? Or was the car definitely in a prior accident/drove over something large?

The photos they sent me also show that the front of the car has a big dent at the junction of the front/underside of the car, which was not recorded when I picked up or dropped off the car, and which I did not notice before they sent me the photos (they are not charging me for the front-end damage--I think they sent me those photos by mistake.) I picked up the car when it was dark, and the rental guy and I did not look underneath it, so I did not see the front end damage or the loose mud guard.

Is it likely that the car was in an accident before I rented it?
Or could the mud flap have come loose and 3 weeks of driving (360 miles) caused all this damage? There is a photo of a coil inside of a casing (maybe the suspension??), and the casing has a large chunk missing. Could a loose mud guard do this???

Thanks very much in advance for any insight!

 

in all the years i worked at shops ive never seen a loose mud guard cause that much damage the most damage a plastic mudguard can do is probably scuff the paint. those damages sound like you backed into a curb at high speed or ran over a boulder but a mud guard no way could of caused that damage.

 

I completely agree with HXC. There is absolutely no way that those plastic composite mud guards on the new sentras can cause the damage you speak of. Complete and total BS. I would tell the rental company to kiss my butt. You should have an independent and objective mechanic go and look at the damage for which you are being held liable and see what he/she has to say about it. I guarantee they will not say that a loose mudflap caused all that damage. If the rental company won't let you independently inspect the car's damage that they are holding you liable for, then that is 100% ILLEGAL in every state.

 

Thank you very much for your help, HXC_sentra and Shane!

 

Hello, I just wanted to give you an update. I wrote to the rental company, including the information you both gave me, and they are only charging me $40 for the mud guard, because I should have reported it as soon as I noticed it (the day after I got the car). Thank you again very, very much for your help & expertise! Have a good day, and God bless you! Sal

 

hey no problem id rather pay $40 then $900 good job for fighting it and show them that your not a sucker.