EZ Auto Van Rentals Rented out a car with no oil in it. Keeps cash deposit for 30 days after return of vehicle. Lakeland Florida

EZ Auto Van Rentals rented out an unsafe vehicle. And intends to hold the security deposit for 30 days after the return of the vehicle.

I took my cousin to EZ Auto Van Rentals on 12/3/2013. She rented a 2002 Toyota Corolla with a 4 cylinder engine for 3 days. Everything seemed OK. 300 miles away, the engine started making noise. Pulled into the nearest gas station to check it out. Checked the oil dipstick - it was dry.

According to the sticker, this car was over 1,000 miles overdue for an oil change at the time it was rented, before it left EZ's lot. It took 3 quarts of oil before it showed up on the stick, still 1/2 quart low. This engine only takes 4 quarts of oil to fill it.

This company rented out a car with 1/2 quart of oil in it! Rented it to a woman, 5'2" tall & 94 lbs. If there had not been a station close by, or if she had tried to make it home, the engine would have blown. She would have been stuck on the freeway, an easy target for the first pervert to come along. Not to mention the wreck that could have happened if the engine had blown on the freeway at 70 miles an hour.

Since she didn't know what else might be wrong, she returned the vehicle a day early. They sent the car out with no oil, what else was missing? Brake fluid? Power steering fluid? Transmission fluid?

EZ Auto is refusing to adjust their charges. They will keep her $100.00 deposit for 30 days after the return of the car. They have offerred only to reimburse my cousin for the oil. That would be fair if they had not endangered her, if she had only had to purchase 1 quart of oil, but not for sending her out in an unsafe vehicle with basically no oil in the engine.

She preserved their property. Without her quick action, EZ Auto would have been paying for a 300 mile tow & a new engine due to their own negligence. Or they would be scrapping their car. They don't even want to reimburse her for the third day when she was afraid to drive the car.