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Damage to Rented Car

I lent my car to a friend. We made up he will pay me $100 for the 3 days. This is about half he would have paid for a rental. He returned the car to me with a rip in the tire. I got the tire replaced. The standard by rentals in this country is that he would have had to pay for any damage on the vehicle that happened during the rental. Is he mechuyav to pay for it?

Answer:

If he did nothing out of the ordinary, and the tire was damaged by ordinary use of the car, he will be exempt from payment.

The way of rental companies might be to charge for this, but based on Torah law he is not liable (this is a case of meisa machmas melacha for which even a sho’el is exempt), and because your agreement was made privately the custom of rental companies will not be binding (but rather, Torah law).

However, if he drove in an unusually aggressive and risky way, and this caused the tire to rip, he will be liable (for the peshia).

Best wishes.

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