I’m curious as to why you think we should have to specifically prohibit “Burning Man” by name on the contract (even though we do precisely that on our website). Isn’t it enough that we prohibit off-road use? What about all the other events that happen in the desert? Am I obligated to list each and every one of the hundreds of desert events and festivals that someone might consider going to? What if someone comes up with a new desert festival: are they off the hook if I fail to list that festival by name too?
And really? I have to fill up our contract with a bunch of specialized rules to prohibit uses that happen in only one or two locations at most one week out of the year? Come on now.
We do not stipulate specific penalties for specific actions for several reasons: 1) It would be unfair and unethical if there was no actual damage. 2) In many states (including California where we are headquartered) it is illegal to bill the customer for anything more than the actual cost of repair. For the record that is the standard we adhere to in every state we operate, regardless of whether it’s mandated by law or not. 3) On the other side a specific fine for a specific action creates an issue if the actual damages exceed the listed penalty. For instance if the renter somehow managed to get sand into the fuel lines and destroyed the engine as a result, then $750 would clearly be insufficient.
"Show me where the transmission/power steering fluid was damaged"
"The notion of contamination through the breather tube simply does not pass the sniff test."
Hrmm, licensed dealer mechanic says it's a cause for concern. Internet commentator Shadowfax says not. Who should I listen to? :-)
You might find this study interesting: http://www.pceo.com/StudyinSandArticle.pdf
This was a study conducted by the UAE (who have a fair amount of sand) to determine to what extent sand damages engines, and what implications that might have for drain intervals and other preventative maintenance.
Some key findings:
“The team concluded that dust does enter the engine compartment [i.e. the air filter does not stop fine grained sand - which is what Burning Man is all about]”
“The tests conducted by Lubrizol confirm that dust ingestion increases wear, and excessive dust will likely lead to increased oil consumption, power loss and ultimately to engine failure…”
If sand can get past an air filter, I think sand getting past a breathing tube sounds plausible too. And if a mechanic I trust says it’s a good idea, I’m going to go with the mechanic. But I’m just the guy who owns the expensive asset and a ton of expense and liability if I’m wrong. Maybe I would feel differently if the only skin I had in the game was blisters from typing on my keyboard. 
"my rental agreement would have clearly spelled out penalties for contract violations... Why doesn't yours?"
We do have a clearly spelled out penalty:
"The vehicle shall be returned to Bandago at the time and date specified on Page One of this agreement, in the same condition as when received, ordinary wear and tear expected. The Customer will be charged for any cleaning or repair costs necessary to return the vehicle to the required condition."
This is boilerplate language that every car rental company has on their contract.
If you want to start your own car rental company where you list every possible kind of damage, and how much you will charge for that damage, there’s nothing stopping you. But I don’t know of any existing company doing that on any kind of scale.
Branson hires experts that work for his company who do know about his airplanes, and he staffs more than 10 airport facilities with those experts. He does not subcontract out his expertise. Where are your experts?
Wow. Way to miss the point. I don't know why I'm even responding, but what the heck I'm here now: First of all I don't recall saying I don't have any experts working for us. As one example I have a national fleet manager who oversees our maintenance expenditures. He signed off on the fluid replacement. Second of all, it's a question of efficiency: should we hire mechanics, purchase /lease real estate, install lifters, buy expensive tools and supplies, etc. in order to service a comparatively small number of vehicles in each of our 8 locaitons? When we have thousands of vehicles that might make sense. But not at our current size.
Third of all, your attempted deep dive into the facts of the analogy has simply come to the wrong conclusion. Virgin America has all kinds of contractors and third party companies working on their planes. Here's a press release announcing a particularly large contract:
http://www.aviationpros.com/press_release/10432141/lufthansa-technik-named-as-exclusive-partner-for-virgin-america
And with that, I formally exit from this conversation. Thank you for playing.
