Rental car damage claim

You need to dispute the claim entirely. Did you receive any paperwork when you returned the vehicle to the rental company? If so, does it make any notes that there was damage observed? If not, you are technically clear of the costs.

I just rented a car yesterday, and there were scratches and dents all over the thing. It was the only car they had left so pretty much the lady told me "take it or leave it". We went outside and did a walk-thru, and she noted on a form all areas of the car where there was damage (I took pictures with my phone too), and then she just told me "don't bring it back any worse than this." So I have this form and pictures, and if they try to say I caused any damage, I'll go crazy on them.

But I would think the same thing would apply to the OP here. If there was existing damage on the car, he should have got something in writing that the place knew it was already there. And yeah, upon returning if the damage was an issue, they should have written it up then. Otherwise how do you know it didn't get scratched just sitting in the parking lot?

If they signed off on the car then they can take a flying leap with their bill. Hopefully you still have the paperwork when you turned the car in and signed off on it.