It’s no new thing that most car rental companies have a no-smoking policy. A typical example of this is the Enterprise smoking policy we wrote about recently.
But have you ever wondered how these companies use to detect when a renter smoke? Are they even accurate or do they just make accuses and watch the renter’s reaction? How Can Rental Cars Tell if You Smoke?
This post will go into detail about everything you need on how car rental companies know if you smoke and what you can do about it.
How Can Rental Cars Tell If you smoke?
For smokers, it could be difficult to tell when you or a car smell smoke. This is because, after a long time of being exposed to smoke, your brains get accustomed to it, thanks to olfactory adaptation, a system where the brain cell adjusts to a smell it’s used to over time.
However, for non-smokers, it’s typically easy. And for car rental companies, it’s even easier.How Can Rental Cars Tell if You Smoke? Below is a list of ways a car rental company can tell you smoke:
Most car rental employees are trained to detect smokes
How Can Rental Cars Tell if You Smoke? Smoking in a rental car is a big deal for most companies, as it’s against their policies. For this reason, they take out time to inspect their cars after a rental period to detect smoke, alongside other checks such as car rental damage.
In fact, some car rental companies also train their employees just to detect smoke. They could do this by searching for any physical signs of smoke, such as:
- The presence of cigarette butt, remnants, or ashtrays around the car’s floor or interior, in general.
- Trace of yellow burns that could come from a smoke
- The smell of tobacco
They make use of smoke detectors
How Can Rental Cars Tell if You Smoke ?
Smoke detectors are gradually becoming a toolset for most people, especially before buying a used car. Well, car rental companies are not an exception to this, as well.
Car rental companies make use of detectors, although not all types.
They could do this by either installing the smoke detector on the air conditioning system of the car or only bringing them out to inspect, after a particular rental period.
Generally, most car rental companies won’t use a pre-installed smoke detector, as this could be seen as a bridge in privacy.
How Can Rental Cars Tell if You Smoke? You would mostly find rental companies making use of handheld smoking detectors. to check your rental car after being returned.
However, we won’t be surprised to find car rental companies using pre-installed smoking detectors.
Why do car rental companies not allow people to smoke?
How Can Rental Cars Tell if You Smoke ?
There are a number of reasons why car rental companies don’t allow smoking in their cars. One of which is the fact that smoking in cars is generally dangerous.
Of course, cigarettes and other smoking materials always contain a small fire ignition while using them. With just a little mishandling with flammable material around, you could set the car on fire.
No car rental company wants that.
Also, most smokers usually leave the remnants of their smoke on the floor, hence leaving the car floor with a permanent yellow burn. How Can Rental Cars Tell if You Smoke?
This will cost hundreds of dollars and time (a few days) to be fixed. Yeah, the renter would be responsible, however, no car rental company would want to keep their car off work for any day unless they’re paid for it.
One more reason why car rental companies would explicitly decline smoking in cars is that not everyone finds the smell of smoke pleasant or even manageable.
Recall, the goal of all car rental companies is to provide service to everyone who can afford the rental fee, regardless of whether they’re smokers or not.
It’s worth mentioning that while not many car rental companies don’t allow smoking, you could still find some that would. Hence, as a smoker, it’s vital you ask a car rental company about their smoking policy before renting.
How to avoid being caught smoking in a rental car
How Can Rental Cars Tell if You Smoke ?
So what if you’ve already smoked in a rental car, and didn’t even bother to check on the company’s policy regarding smoking? Is there something you can do?
Well, yes, but there’s no guarantee it would work since most car rental companies would have dedicated measures (which we might not know of yet) to detect smoke.
Regardless, below are the list of what to do if you’ve already smoked in a rental car whose company prohibits smoking:
- Take the car to professional cleaners – To get the smoke stench off a car, you’ll need to seriously wash the car. Paying off professional cleaners could help. However, make sure to tell them to properly clean the interior and get rid of the smoke.
- Air out the car – After cleaning the car, you could also try opening the car door in a spaced environment where it could get air. Make sure to keep a close watch on the car to avoid it from being stolen.
- Smoke Responsibly – Since it could be against the company’s policy, you shouldn’t smoke in the rental car as you would do in your personal car. Littering cigarette butts or ash on the car’s carpet is something you wouldn’t want to do. Also, best practices suggest that you should only smoke close to an open window of the vehicle.
Final Thoughts -How Can Rental Cars Tell If you smoke?
How Can Rental Cars Tell if You Smoke? Generally, it’s advisable you follow a car rental smoking policy – don’t smoke if there’s no smoking policy, and smoke if there isn’t one. This is because the actual measures taken to detect smoke could be peculiar to a car rental company.
However, this all depends on whether you are ready to pay an extra $250 – $400 for nothing.
