ULPT Request : How do I hide a chip in the windshield of a rental car?

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Professional_Goat981@reddit

I've used superglue to fix a bullseye chip that was cracking. Hot day, drop at a time and it should fill it in. Don't let it drip though.

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Take a picture of the chip as well as the bumper, back windsow, and some other random things. Download a meta data editing app and edit the time data to the date you rented the car. Return the car, say nothing. If they call you on it you have "proof" it was there when you rented it and you have pictures from that day when you did your own inspection.

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Retb14@reddit

Just turn off any Internet connection and change the date on your phone and it'll basically do the same thing without any other app. Also make sure to turn off location data for picture meta data.

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dirtmother@reddit

OK so I think the real ULPT is to just change the date on your phone to a few days before today, so you're just always ready for this kind of thing

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oxfozyne@reddit

All this metadata editing can be completed natively in iOS Photos since at least iOS 17.

Command line prompts will also change creation, date changed, last opened etc. timestamps on any file.

GIMP will be your friend if you must use third part software, I guess.

But damn, do not pay for anything or download anything but GIMP.

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AbriefDelay@reddit

Location can also be edited with a Mets data editing app, making it more believable

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useless_skin@reddit

I had a legit crack on a windshield that I took a picture of in the parking lot before taking my rental. I provided this proof to them and they still fought me saying that I could have easily edited the photos. I finally won, but it wasn't easy. It was Hertz and part of the reason I don't use them anymore. I travel every week and rent cars every time.

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LSDummy@reddit

Also buy a cheap $15 repair kit and put it in the glove box, like the maintenance guy just forgot lol

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oxfozyne@reddit

If you catch the chip small enough, use a glue with a formula similar to loctite or use loctite and fill it in nicely and smooth it out. Keep the windscreen’s temperature the same throughout the entire process from cleaning through curing.

— used to do plenty of driving in the Canadian territories for the Feds and using that method I saved my windscreen at least fifty times from spidering over the course of a few 100,000 kms.

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questionably_edible@reddit

Never tried it myself, but clear nail polish might work.

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Nasty_Ned@reddit

How big? It’s tough to spot if the windshield is wet. Works for small chips, but probably not a huge crack

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Samad99@reddit

I’d return the car like normal. Have a friend wait around the corner with a handful of rocks. After the return is complete and you’re walking away, your friend jumps out and yells some craziness while throwing rocks at the car before running away.

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useless_skin@reddit

Points for creativity!

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useless_skin@reddit

I have purchased the cheap chip repair kit from the auto parts store and repaired one myself. It wasn't great, but good enough to get past inspection. It was about $14 and way cheaper than a new window that Hertz no doubt would have charged me for.

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InterstellarReddit@reddit

My dumb ass thought he wanted to hide a computer chip in a windshield. I was like holy moly what a use case by an end user lol.

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SugarAndSpice_Nice@reddit

Me too! It wasn’t until I started reading the comments did I understand what was meant. Lol .

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jon8282@reddit

Don’t feel bad - me too

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v15hk@reddit

Catch a bird. Squeeze it until it drops a shit on the windscreen directly on top of the chip. Hair dryer it until hard. Return car. You’re welcome

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Aggravating_Fee_9130@reddit

I squeezed to hard and it quit moving. Dammit, now I have a bird and a window to fix

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EnthusedPhlebotomist@reddit

Smash the entire windshield, the chip will no longer exist!

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ociferscott@reddit

Super glue

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human_flobie@reddit

One time I rented a car to visit my family in another state. While parked in my grandparents driveway, my grandpa ran into the rental car with his four wheeler and broke out one of the headlights. So I did what anyone would do and I collected all the broken bits and put them into a ziplock and stowed it back in the car.

When I returned home, I waited until the rental place was closed because I knew I could return the rental after hours. I was able to park kind of around the corner of the office where I hoped the lot camera couldn’t see. I then took my baggie of headlight bits and dumped them out directly under the broken headlight. They would have to assume the damage occurred after I dropped the car. It must have worked because I never got any kind of bill for the damage.

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mycatisgrumpy@reddit

Depending on the chip, a 20 dollar repair kit from the auto parts store might take care of it.

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DrySpace469@reddit

no that just stops it from spreading not hide it

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atronimous@reddit (OP)

Good to know, trying to hide it not fix it per say. Valuable info

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Neon_Deon@reddit

It will 100% hide it. Used to work at a car wash that offered chip repairs.

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ericccdl@reddit

It will not 100% hide it. It’s possible it could make it slightly less noticeable but I’ve used these kits on small cracks where a rock hit and it’s still just as visible as before. They are mainly to prevent spreading. They don’t advertise them as cosmetic fixes.

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sniff_the_oj@reddit

Dryspace is wrong. A chip repair kit will hide it more than well enough to get past an inspection. Use them many times and the result is barely noticeable, you’d need to know about the damage prior to find it.

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youcantkillanidea@reddit

per se, dude. per se

Not per say

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QuantumQuatttro@reddit

Windshield repair guy told me it work better on warm or hot glass. Since winter is approaching you may need to warm that glass up a bit with a hair dryer or bic lighter. Some thing like that

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somethingyouneek@reddit

For chips (like this post is about) maybe. But be careful if it’s a crack because heat changes may make cracks grow.

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Retb14@reddit

Just turn the car on and turn the heaters inside way up

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QuantumQuatttro@reddit

Could work depending on where the chip is

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theGekkoST@reddit

Some car wash places will do this for a small fee, and they usually can do a better job than you could do yourself. It should give it pretty well.

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protestboy@reddit

It does hide it though. It fills in the air gap created by the chip with epoxy and it becomes nearly invisible. Depending on the bullseye it might not COMPLETELY make it invisible but it should do a pretty good job such that it will very likely be missed on inspection.

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sniff_the_oj@reddit

Wrong

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PNWisthebestofthewes@reddit

These work great, and for bonus deception you could spray your windshield with water (or the windshield washer fluid, depending on location) which would keep any minor irregularities in the glass from immediately drawing the eye.

Secondary disguising option: get something to mimic the appearance of having driven through a swarm of bugs. You'd have to get creative, but maybe some hydrated chia seeds or potentially even just a handful of dirt on a wet windshield. Nothing will be visible until they clean it, after you're gone

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Razorich8155@reddit

Funny I remember my dad was trying to do the same thing growing up and he would cover the chip with some homemade concoction that looked just like bird poop and it did a good job of hiding the chip. No clue how he made it but seems like a viable last option if it comes to that.

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kanakamaoli@reddit

Put an pil change sticker over it.

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Jacktheforkie@reddit

Are you sure that they will charge for it? My experience is that SIXT would not charge for wear and tear like alloy damage and rock chips

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PMTittiesPlzAndThx@reddit

The rental company I worked for had a policy any chip smaller than a quarter was just wear and tear.

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Jacktheforkie@reddit

Nice,

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Umikaloo@reddit

Windshields are typically glued on with polyurethane. A chip could potentially be hidden in there. Does it need to he on the outside or the inside?

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Cwmagain@reddit

I, too, thought he is trying to hide an airtag or something all James Bondy

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Scooter-breath@reddit

Potato, or computer chip?

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Environmental_Exit18@reddit

Cow

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DrySpace469@reddit

bird shit

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atronimous@reddit (OP)

Thought of this but so far I have yet to communicate with their leader and none are willing to break ranks

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Jnoper@reddit

Cover the window/hood in seed to bribe them into cooperation.

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mxpxillini35@reddit

Then clean the entire car except for that one spot!

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jxryd@reddit

Truly unethical

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Playful-Safety-848@reddit

Just use a pigeon.

Think of it like a toothpaste tube.

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Protector109@reddit

Squeeze it in the middle and brush your teeth?

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the_cake_in_matilda@reddit

Gargle, don't swallow

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Fun_Intention9846@reddit

Sounds like you need to change your diet fast. Just remember to get 20 feet above the car to get the right splatter dynamics.

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nayrwolf@reddit

Whiteout as a substitute. Add some dirt

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DrySpace469@reddit

use your own shit or shit from a different animal

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TigerBabyM@reddit

So close, people! Ranch Dressing is what you’re looking for!

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____________username@reddit

Yeah just park under a tree and that will do

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Luis12285@reddit

It’s like 50$ to get a chip fixed. Just go to your local glass repair place.

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Samad99@reddit

They don’t “fix” the chip like new, they just put glue in there to keep it from spreading.

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PMTittiesPlzAndThx@reddit

It doesn’t matter since that’s what the rental company will do anyways lol there’s guys who just go from rental lot to rental lot fixing the chips for $50 a piece

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Retb14@reddit

Or isn't trying to fix it like new. Just hide it. This would work for that. Could just buy a chip repair kit at Walmart or something too

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PMTittiesPlzAndThx@reddit

If the chip is smaller than a quarter they probably won’t do anything about it lol

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xologo@reddit

It was like that when I rented it

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colonelk0rn@reddit

I repair windshields as part of my job maintaining the fleet for rental cars. I’ve never seen chips get charged to customers and I’ve repaired A LOT of glass. It would be extremely easy to overlook by someone who did a cursory inspection of the car getting it ready to rent. Just deny!

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keepmyshirt@reddit

They wont bother with damage smaller than a dollar bill.

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7days2pie@reddit

Depends on here it’s located. Running alcohol will make it vanish for a bit

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disposable1029384756@reddit

Not entirely sure why you’d need to? I had a rental earlier this year and a rock chipped the windshield when I was on the freeway. I called the rental place and explained it to them, and they said as long as it’s a chip and not a crack they just file a claim with their own insurance company for replacement. I returned the car and that was the last I ever heard of it.

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Similar-Run9843@reddit

Take it back after dark and don't park it under any lights

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kkreisler@reddit

Back it into a tree - they will be so focused on the damage to the back they will completely miss the chip.

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GhostWalker134@reddit

Breaking the window ought to hide it really nicely. You're welcome.

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Tharkhold@reddit

Return it dirty. Or wash it but don't rinse the soap with clean water.

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scubastacy@reddit

I squished a blueberry in a chip once and it worked. Looked liked a dead bug

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secretmillionair@reddit

Works until they clean the car for the next customer

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mattyisminabox@reddit

You can hid the small chip under a bigger chip. Or a big enough crack on the other side of the windshield will pull all of their attention away from the small chip.

If you take off the windshield completely and return the car, it'll be impossible for them to see the small chip. If they ask, just tell them it didn't have a windshield when you picked it up. You thought it was a luxury feature like a convertible.

Get a dashcam, then pay a homeless person $20 to chuck a rock at the windshield and make sure it gets recorded on the dashcam. Then you can call the cops and file a report with them. That should be enough evidence that it wasn't your fault.

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yellowbird_87@reddit

Return it at night

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HoxhasDeadbeatDad@reddit

Set the whole car on fire and claim some angry ex girlfriend did it.

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Negative-Cook-5958@reddit

Grab a cat, put it's paws into mud. Make a track on the bonnet and up the window using it's feet like the cat was walking on the car. Accidentally cover the chip as well with the footprint 😁

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spammmmmmmmy@reddit

Try holding the flame of a lighter on it for a moment. I've read somewhere, that temporarily makes the crack invisible

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isuckunder3inches@reddit

return it on a rainy day. i once had a huge tree branch fall on the hood on a rented car. it left a huge dent and messed up a portion of the hood. i returned it on a rainy weekend day and was nonchalant about it. The guy ran in and out and didn’t even have time to notice. i lucked out on this one but maybe you could too.

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