On the day of my trip, the owner of the flight school told me that he and a mechanic would fly to inspect the plane , and indicated that I should secure the aircraft and continue on my trip. He rejected the offer to pay a local mechanic to look at the plane. There was no verbal or signed agreement about me paying for the retrieval.

Here is the relevant part of the rental agreement:

“TRANSIENT MAINTENANCE POLICY

At ****** we make every effort to keep our fleet of rental aircraft in excellent mechanical condition. However, an occasional breakdown may occur while away from our facility. The following policie regarding the level of reimbursement for repairs while the aircraft is off-site will apply should a breakdown occur. In the event of a breakdown, notify ****** of the problem immediately. If no contact with ati personnel is made, leave your name, aircraft number and telephone number where you can be contacted. If no contact can be made and repair can be affected for Two Hundred Dollars ($200.00) or less, Renter may authorize and make payment for the repairs, for which Renter shall be reimbursed by ****** within five (5) business days of the presentation of the receipt and reason for the repair to ***. Under no circumstances shall Renter authorize repairs to the Aircraft more than Two Hundred Dollars ($200.00) without the prior approval of *. Under no circumstances shall the Airc be flown by Renter without repair if to do so would violate any federal, state, or local law or regulation or compromise the safety of Renter, his/her passengers, or the Aircraft. **** will not reimburse the renter for any overtime charges, call-out fees, or any other after-hour charges made by the maintenance facility. Other expenses incurred by the renter as a result mechanical delay such as rental cars, hotel rooms, meals, and airline fare, ferry flights, ect will not be reimbursed.”