I've been renting a car from 1car1.com for a week.
A couple of days after I got the car, I noticed a "ding" in the passenger door. Looks like some unknown 3rd party had opened their car door a bit too enthusiastically and knocked into mine.
The ding isn't on the damage sheet that was filled in when I was walked around the car prior to picking up the keys. (Maybe I should have taken a bit more notice at this stage!)
What's the likelihood of me having to pay for a ding repair? The small print in the damage sheet mentions a 500 pound excess. Oh dear...
There is also a section where drivers sign to accept that they did the damage.
This is the 1st time I've ever rented a car. I hope it ain't my last...
Mike
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Depends who it's rented from.
My last few hires I have left the car in a car park and taken the keys to the reception - no one has looked at the car. As far as I'm concerned once the keys are handed over and I have left my contract with them is over.
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Unfortunately you have to go over the vehicle, and their damage sheet, in detail before accepting it. And photograph the returned vehicle. I've had rental firms try to claim for burns in upholstery. Shame I have never smoked:) I suspect they quite like a bit of damage: they can recycle it. They think they have the unwary punter by the proverbial, as they have the credit card details which they can exploit after you have left. As they do.
Edited by nortones2 on 11/09/2008 at 23:14
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The last hire car I had via National had one mark on the damage sheet. Went to look it over and there were some scrapes etc. and they agreed the damage. Then I got in and there was gum on the carpet, marks on the dash so called them back. Then later when home spotted a few other chips so phoned them.
All was fine when I took it back later but the problems were obvious if you looked so I think they did not mark them hoping to get some repeat excess charges. I only speculate.
But the personnel there seemed to be saying if you cannot see the mark from a few feet away then it would be fine. And I have heard nothing since.
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It pays to be picky! They want easy money.
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As far as I'm concerned once the keys are handed over and I have left my contract with them is over>>
If they retain your card details and they see some damage on the car you may wind up with a charge on your card. Most standard car hire T&C's will include this. Only way out is to buy a policy from the hire company covering 100% of the excess or cover it yourself otherwise. But in the latter case you still get the charge and you sort it out.
In my experience if the damage is inconsequential some companies will not be bothered at all.
Edited by Optimist on 11/09/2008 at 23:49
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Once I hired a car from enterprise and upon returning they almost examined the car with a magnifying glass!
Most other times I hired from National. At one occasion I dented the bumper while reversing in a multistory car park. They did mention it in their post rental checklist. However, as it was hired thru my employer, I did not have to pay anything.
If you hire cars regularly [of your own] an excess insurance from 3rd party [not from rental firm] is highly recommended.
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When I wrote off my other Vectra last year, my insurer arranged a car for me through Enterprise rental. It wasn't until I got it home that I noticed a long scratch on the boot - the car had only just been washed and was still wet when I picked it up and not noticeable. Phoned them up and they accepted what I said and made a note in their records. When I returned the car 2 weeks later they didn't bother checking it over.
Like most places (whether it rental companies, tyre & exhaust centres, etc) I suspect some have jobsworths, whereas others couldn't give a monkeys.
Edited by Dynamic Dave on 12/09/2008 at 01:27
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My last few hires I have left the car in a car park and taken the keys to the reception - no one has looked at the car. As far as I'm concerned once the keys are handed over and I have left my contract with them is over.
A risky assumption if you don't mind my saying. You often can get letters several months after the fact accusing you of causing damage. I have. Fortunately I had digital photos to prove I returned the car in good shape. Some franchisees have been caught charging multiple renters for the same dings!
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Once we had a hire car that received quite serious damage (including a flat tyre) from debris on the road. There was gouge marks into the metal and bumper and dozens of scratches around the wing and on the wheel.
Car went back with space saver on and we heard nothing, not even about the tyre.
Two weeks later, we got the same car back on hire, a new tyre had been fitted and the spare (with tools) was still sitting in the boot, not even put back into the spare wheel well.
Needless to say, none of the damage had been fixed, even where bare metal had been exposed.
At least they hadn't tried to charge for the repairs that were clearly never going to be done!
This was a company hire though, so normal rules don't seem to apply somehow.
Remember folks, the nearly new cars you see on main dealer forecourts are often ex-hire cars...
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When you hire a car - mosy firms will offer you some sort of Collision Damage Waiver (CDW) that would normally comprise of a daily charge. i.e. £5.00/day. This charge varies from company to company and is also effected by the size and type of vehicle.
This is to protect you from having to pay an excess in the event that someone damages the car (as you describe) in a carpark. It also protects you from having to pay the excess in the event that you have an accident - even if its your fault and the car is written off.
If you checked the car with them and signed the condition sheet without the damage on when you received it, you will legally be liable for the damage.
You may be able to do one of the following if they notice the damage when you return it;
1) Get an indepdent quote for the repair and offer to pay for it.
2) Explain that you hire cars often and you will take you business elsewhere if they insist on making you pay the excess. (white lie)
I would advise anyone hiring a car - even a courtesy car to take out a CDW.
Hope this helps
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Collision Damage Waiver (CDW) that would normally comprise of a daily charge. i.e. £5.00/day. This charge varies from company to company and is also effected[sic] by the size and type of vehicle.
If you examine their T&C carefully, you will find that in many cases there is an EXCESS amount you are still liable for, and some companies will charge extra premiums to allow you to remove some or all of that excess [some do not allow you to remove wheel and windscreen damage liability]. However, there are some companies who will not allow you to remove any of the excess at any price!
Hertz.co.uk has the following t&c:
Regardless of whether CDW is accepted or included, all rentals are subject to a non-waivable excess ranging from GBP 550.00 to GBP 1,400.00, depending on the vehicle group, for which you are responsible in the event of damage during the rental.
You can further eliminate your excess liability - Please refer to "Super Cover" in the location index for additional information.
Super Cover does not cover broken / loss of keys, contamination of fuel or Hertz NeverLost navigation units.
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You're correct I did mean affected - but I was not aware I that I was to receive a disquisition on my English ability (Degree with distinction I hasten to add).
FYI you only use (sic) if you are quoting an excerpt, not merely cutting and pasting.
That is to say if you are using it in the form of highlighting an error rather than its others uses.
I note the complete lack of quotation marks.
In future if you are trying to be clever or pedantic, it might have a greater impact if you try applying it to your own work.
Nevertheless, this is intended to be informal so I will not allow myself to be dragged into an obviously ridiculous dispute.
I work in the legal side of the insurance industry and am well aware of the exceptions; I was offering informal and generalised advice to someone (not you).
Had that person asked me to elaborate, I would have been more than happy to oblige them - in fact I still am.
CDW can indeed reduce or even replace an excess, but they rarely cover for tyre/interior/windscreen damage (these are repaired and charged to client separately and are not covered under the excess in most cases).
- So I guess the point you were rather haphazardly attempting to make was;
Always read the small print relating to CDW or Excesses to be applied to your agreement. Then make a decision based on the options that is best suited to your particular circumstances. Maybe even shop around.
I believe the Hertz excerpt (cut and paste again eh?) does offer a super cover, which is still a form of CDW.
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:-)
I note the complete lack of quotation marks.
Calm down dear, it is only a discussion forum, where you are free to provide additional facts or opinions without flaming anyone.
Note that in this forum, quotation of previous posts is denoted by the symbol " >> ", and/or by use of changed font.
. my English ability (Degree with distinction I hasten to add).
In view of your English Degree with distinction , you will be aware of the following sample:
"effected by mileage", "at list it should be", "point being that you're licence ", several instances of "dont" , use of "lay" instead of "lie".
;-)
Edited by jbif on 20/09/2008 at 01:01
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sq
All this I am aware of - as previously mentioned I was paying more attention to the factual content, rather than grammar and punctuation.
Imagine the 'field-day' I would have if I was bored/sad enough, or had too much time on my hands to trawl through your previous posts :0)
I try to supply solutions/advice to problems as quickly as possible as my time is limited and valuable. "Typos" are the last thing on my mind and I would imagine that it would be similar for the receivers of said solutions/advice. I regret this if it offends anyone.
I can only apologise for being a bit truculent in my initial response - I'll put it down to being in a bad mood. No Offence intended :0)
Edited by Pugugly on 21/09/2008 at 19:34
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"you will legally be liable for the damage."
... unless you can prove that the damage was already present when you hired the vehicle, for example through previous charges being made to previous customers.
CDW is almost always automatically included and this would appear to be the case here albeit with a #500 excess.
For regular hirers, car4hire is a good bet (annual excess cover).
BIG
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For regular hirers, car4hire is a good bet (annual excess cover).
True, and sometimes it can be a cheaper option even for just one hire.
Going back to the original point regarding credit cards, two reasons why a credit card is often "mandated" by major companies:
1. security for the excess (even though you may have taken full insurance cover from the hire company or from an independent provider such as car4hire.
2. means of ID.
Also, the suggestion by some that you should pay in cash may not work with the big operators because many as a matter of policy will not accept cash and/or cheques. Even if they do take your wad of cash as deposit for the excess, they may insist on a credit card swipe because HQ computer says so.
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I had a car from enterprise and again it was wet when I picked it up. And dark. And it was a black vectra.
I took it back and there was a scrape on the plastic bit under the front bumper. They wanted £100 but in the end just kept my cash deposit of £50. I got away with a cash deposit instead of cc because it was a hire after a non fault accident... apparently
The annoying thing was that had I noticed it, I could have filled it in as i had a few black permanent markers on me at the time!
Hint for enterprise customers that came from an "insider" - if you ring the MD personally (his name is on the agreement) with a problem, he will generally take the "customer is king" approach. He arranged for me to get half of the £50 back.
However I was also told by the same guy that when they pass the cars on, the buyers have some sort of infra red device that can spot if the car has been repaired or not. Cor.
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