Need some advice. My son and I spent the afternoon in the Rockies on rented Artic Cat ATV's. We went through a deep puddle and hit a sharp rock that bent the right front aluminum rim and popped the tire. No other damage was sustained except for a sore wrist. I agreed to pay to replace the rim and tire ($180), but the owner of the ATV rental is charging me $780 because he doesn't have any rims, none available locally, no rims in the state of Colorado, and has to get one special ordered from the factory, thus is charging me $150 a day for each day he can't rent out the ATV which is "in my contract" I signed.

I feel like I'm getting taken advantage of and argued that common sense would dictate keeping a few rims in stock if you own an ATV rental business in the Rockies. I noticed that most of his ATV fleet had banged up rims and the terrain of the trail was full of huge rocks and figured replacing tires and rims was probably a normal occurance with these vehicles being used 7 days a week and 9 hours a day. He counter claimed that he hasn't had to replace a rim in two or three years, thus he doesn't stock them.

Furthermore, when we finally and slowly returned back to the trailhead, his assistant knew exactly the spot the bent rim occurred and said that there's a "huge rock" in that puddle. Of course, no one warned us or no sign is posted. When I mentioned this to the owner, he said we should have approached the puddle slowly and cautiously.

So my question for you ATV experts is, isn't rim damage somewhat typical along rocky terrain? Am I getting screwed over by this guy or is rim damage so infrequent, he has a point? Looking for any advice. Thanks.

 

He should legally only be able to charge you for the cost of replacement. If he's running a business, he should be aware that there is a real possibility of a rim being damaged and needing replaced. If he's not prepared for that, it's not your fault.

And yes, it's not uncommon to bend a rim.

 

I've heard of banging up a rim before, that can happen. But the guy sounds like he's really hosing you on an accident. I understand charging for the damage, but how can you charge for theoretical time you can be renting it I don't see why he can't find a rim that would fit, or one on Ebay, or something like that. Seems like stock rims shouldn't be too hard to find with the fact that alot of people change them out for aftermarket ones. Not sure about offset and bolt pattern but I wonder if there is some other rim that would fit.

 

I agree that he is hosing you for the time he could have rented it. It sounds like he did not look very hard and is taking advantage of you. I would do everything I could to fight it, but in the end, if you signed the contract, he has a right to do that. Hindsight is always 20/20, but always read the contract for stuff like that. Good luck. I hope you can find a way out of it.

 

It sounds like he is trying to take you to the cleaners. I would ask to see his rental agreements for the past month and see how many of the quads that are similar to the one you rented are rented each day. If he is not renting out every quad in the size and style of the one you used every day, I can't see how he has the nerve to say he "lost" money. If all the quads like the one you used were rented almost everyday, then he has a legitimate complaint. I would call a dealer of the brand that you used and ask how much it would be to get the rim, and tire, with shipping and give him that much.

 

there was another guy on here i think last week looking for a rim for his atv and has the same issue as you. no one has any factory rims. i think he just gave in and bought after market. You know, just incase you Do end up having topay him $780.00. id look online and try to find factory size rim and tires for that atv. You may be able to find some for around $500 and the atv rental place my go for that idea as they will get all 4 new rims/tires and then they will have 3 extra tires incase this happens again. plus you will only pay about $500 instead of $780 which still sucks for you but better than the whole price. good luck!

 

He would have no obligation to show anyone his contracts and he could easily claim that doing so would violate privacy laws depending on what information is on the contracts. I would ask him to see the contract that you signed and show you specifically where it says that. Do you have a copy of the original contract you signed at the time? You have a legal right to obtain a copy of any document you sign. I would like to tell you to take the contract to a lawyer, but chances are, that will be just as much if not more than paying the guy off.

Do a little homework and find out if any of the local dealers carry the rim that is needed. Find out if there is a local Better Business Bureau and send them a letter. Small Business's hate to be listed with them in a negative manner. You can also check with the local Chamber of commerce and file a complaint with them as well. If you do all that, he will probably get tired of having to deal with you and drop the 4 days of rental fee's, or at least reduce it by a significant amount.

 

Bent rims on a rocky trail are a common occurance, and the fact that an atv rental place didn't have spare rims and tires is total BS. If u end up paying out all that cash tell him that u want to take home the rim and tire u paid for as a souviner and a reminder for you, your family, and friends not to business with him again...also that'll make sure he doesn't make repairs to the damaged items and pocket your cash.
P.S. Sorry about your negative experience with a sport we all love!!

 

I would say that you are definately getting taken advantage of. If I was running a rental business and planned on renting out Arctic Cats, the first thing I would do is get the stock rims replaces. They are so prone to dents and other damage that causes air leaks or worse. If I was a shady business owner like the one you went to I would leave the stock rims on because of the same reason to take advantage of less knowledgable people like yourself. This is extremely shady in my opinion. You should be charged for the rim and tire at most. Especially if they knew exactly where the rock was, **** they probably placed it there. Very shady.

 

I second what HawkeyeRider says as well. If he doesn't keep spare things like that around he's running a ****ty business.