The short version
- Film before you drive off the lot — not at the first petrol station. Once the vehicle has left, "it was already there" becomes much harder to argue.
- Walk one continuous lap, slowly, with the registration plate in shot at the start so the footage is tied to that vehicle.
- Stop on every existing mark: close enough to see it, then a step back to show where on the panel it sits.
- Get the parts people forget — alloy rims, windscreen, roof, bumper undersides, mirrors.
- Film the interior, the odometer, the fuel or charge level, and the damage sheet you were handed.
- Repeat the lap at return, including the drop-off bay, the time, and the attendant if there is one.
Why it matters
Hire damage charges usually arrive after the fact — days later, by email, against a card you already handed over. By then the vehicle has been cleaned, moved, and possibly rented again, so nobody can say with certainty when the mark appeared. In practice the person being charged is the one who has to produce evidence, and most people have none.
A dated lap of the car at pickup and another at return is the whole defence. It does not need to be beautiful. It needs to exist, show the plate, and be dated.
When to film
- At pickup, in the bay, before you drive away. If the light is bad, use the torch on your phone rather than skipping it.
- At return, before you hand over the keys. Especially on an after-hours or key-drop return, where nobody inspects the vehicle with you.
- After any incident, however minor, and before the vehicle is moved or cleaned.
The walk-around, in order
Start at the driver's door and work around the vehicle in one direction, so the footage has an obvious sequence and nothing is skipped.
Bodywork
- Front bumper, grille and the valance underneath
- Bonnet, roof, both wings and quarter panels
- Every door, handle and mirror housing
- Rear bumper, tailgate, towbar if fitted
Wheels and tyres
- Each alloy face, and the kerb edge of each rim
- Tyre tread and sidewalls
- Wheel trims, locking nut, spare or repair kit
Glass and lights
- Windscreen chips — the single most common late charge
- All side and rear glass, sunroof
- Headlamps, tail lamps, indicator lenses
Interior
- Seats, carpets and mats, boot floor
- Dashboard, screens, controls, any warning lights
- Headlining and the smell of smoke — cleaning fees are steep
- Child seat, cables, parking disc and anything else supplied
The numbers
- Registration plate, clearly, at the start
- Odometer and trip meter
- Fuel gauge or state of charge
- The company's existing-damage sheet, filmed in the same clip
Easy to miss
- Roof — nobody films the roof
- Bumper undersides and side skirts
- Rear of the wing mirrors
- Fuel flap and filler surround
Motorcycles, scooters, jet skis and boats
A motorcycle, scooter, jet ski or boat is documented the same way as a car: one continuous lap at pickup and another at return, identity in shot, close-ups of every existing mark. What changes is which parts get charged for.
- Motorcycle or scooter: fairings and tank sides, exhaust, levers, bar ends, mirrors, footpegs, chain and sprockets, tyres, and the mileage. Film the helmet, top box, lock and any luggage supplied with it — missing kit is charged like damage.
- Jet ski: hull sides and as much of the bottom as you can see on the trailer, gelcoat scratches, rub rail, the jet intake and impeller, the seat and upholstery, engine hours, and the safety kit you were handed.
- Boat: hull and rubrail, fenders and lines, propeller, transom, canopy or bimini, upholstery and cabin interior, engine hours, electronics, and the inventory of safety equipment. If a trailer is included, film that too, including its tyres and lights.
- Van or motorhome: add the load area, the roof, awnings, habitation door and steps, the water and waste tanks, and the gas locker.
How to film it so it holds up
- One lap, no cuts. A continuous circuit proves you did not stop filming at the panel that mattered.
- Plate in shot first. Footage that could be any silver hatchback proves nothing; ten seconds on the plate ties it to the vehicle on your agreement.
- Close then wide, on every mark. A close-up shows what it is; the step back shows where it is.
- Say what you see. "Scratch on the rear passenger door, already here, not on the sheet" — recorded with the video, and free.
- If it is dirty or wet, say so. Rain and road dirt hide scratches, and a vehicle that is washed before inspection can reveal marks nobody could see at pickup. Note it out loud and ask for it on the sheet.
- At return, film the bay and the time. On a key-drop return, film yourself putting the key in the box. It is the only proof of the state the vehicle was left in.
Common mistakes
- Filming after you have driven away. The gap between the lot and your first stop is the gap the charge lives in.
- Only filming the side with the obvious dent. Charges appear on panels you never looked at.
- Skipping the wheels. Kerbed alloys are one of the most frequently billed items, and one of the least documented.
- No return footage. A pickup video alone shows what you received, not what you gave back.
- Trusting the damage sheet. The diagram with a few crosses on it is a summary, not a record. Film it, then film the vehicle.
Doing it with CompareAI Inspect
Vehicles get their own capture mode in the app, because a lap of a car is a fixed set of angles and people always miss the same ones.
- Guided angle capture. Tap each hotspot on a car diagram — front, front right, right, rear right, rear, rear left, left, front left — and each becomes its own named scan. Captured angles turn green, so what you have not filmed is obvious.
- Pickup is Before, return is After. Same names, so each angle pairs automatically and the AI compares the matching pair rather than describing one clip.
- Findings with a location and a severity — minor, moderate or major — so a new kerb scrape on the front right rim is stated plainly instead of buried in footage.
- A PDF report with SHA-256 fingerprints on every clip and on the report itself, checkable at compareai.work/verify without anyone seeing your footage. That is what you attach to the email when a charge lands.
- Works with no signal — underground bays and ferry terminals included. The upload queues and goes when you are back on a network.
Not legal advice. Rental agreements, damage waivers and chargeback rules differ by company and country. This is a guide to making a good record; whether a particular charge is valid is between you, the company, your card issuer and your insurer. The app's AI analysis is an aid to your own judgement, not a professional inspection.
Questions people ask
What if I pick the car up in the dark, or it is filthy?
Film it anyway, with the phone torch on, and say out loud that the light is poor or the vehicle is dirty. Then ask for that to be written on the condition sheet before you sign. A washed vehicle reveals scratches that genuinely could not be seen at pickup, and having said so at the time is what makes that argument credible later.
Do I really need to film the return as well?
Yes — arguably it matters more. The pickup video shows what you were given; only the return video shows what you handed back. On an after-hours key drop, where nobody inspects the vehicle with you, it is the only record of the state it was left in.
The scratch is already on their damage sheet. Do I still film it?
Yes. Sheets get lost, and a cross on a diagram does not show how deep a scratch is or how far it runs. Film the sheet and the panel in the same clip so the two are linked.
Does this work for a motorbike, scooter, jet ski or boat?
The method is identical for every hire vehicle: a continuous lap, identity in shot, close-ups of every existing mark, plus the hours or mileage and the kit supplied. Only the checklist changes — fairings, exhaust, levers and chain on a bike; hull, rub rail, impeller and engine hours on a jet ski or boat.
How long should I keep the footage?
Until the hold on your card is released and any damage window has passed — often 30 to 90 days after return, longer if a claim is open. Exporting a report at pickup and at return gives you something small to keep once the raw video is gone.
Does the rental company have to accept my video?
No one is obliged to agree with you, and a video is not a court ruling. What it does is shift the conversation from assertion to evidence — and if it goes to your card issuer or insurer, dated footage of the vehicle at handover is exactly the kind of thing they ask for.