Damaged Hire Car Today. Need Advice Urgently!!

Toela65

Right, I am going to take pictures of the damage in the morning on my digital camera.

Then I am going to visit 3 local Body Repair Shops to obtain quotes (including 'new parts' from Renault as Insurers etc always say if parts need replacing they ahve be brand new direct from car manufacturer).

I still don't know if I should ring Enterprise in the morning to report the accident or just wait until I take it back? Any ideas?

I will offer to have it repaired myself. In the likely event they say no I will give them a copy of the estimates I have obtained and tell them that is what I expect to be charged.

OR Do you think I should keep schtum about getting the estimates for the time being as it might tip them off or give them some sort of advantage? Again, any thought or opinions are gratefully received and appreciated!!

I still don't know if I should kick up a stink about losing around 16 hours rental time due to one of their workers giving me dodgy info about the amount of petrol in the car. He should of advised me to go the nearest garage and fill her up straight away instaed he told me I had nothing to worry about for a good 30 miles.

The assistant also didn't know anything about the car as it has literally just been delivered so offered me that one instead of the Clio I was supposed to be getting at a cost of an extra £15 ("but it is a much better car Sir") so wasn't able to advise me on how to operate anything in the car. I had to learn all that myself which again, lost me more rental time figuring out what everything doe's. His words were; "Just have a fiddle around and I'm sure you'll figure out how to work everything dead quick". Very professional service.

PasturesNew

You need to read your actual paperwork, but I just had a look on their website (I think this is who you mean)

http://enterprise.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/923/kw/insurance/r_id/105022

What happens if the vehicle I have rented is damaged


You are responsible for the cost to repair the vehicle or the value of the vehicle prior to the loss if stolen or not repairable.
In addition you will be responsible for any other costs directly associated with the loss including towing, storage, impound, loss of use, administrative fees and diminishment of value.
State law and / or your purchase of Damage Waiver may limit or reduce your responsibility.
See your rental agreement or contact your insurance agent or credit card company for more information.

Look for what Damage Waivers you signed/have.

Crabman

Even if something was said verbally it's nevertheless binding. The issue is proving it in the event it's disputed as it may well be. How about taking a voice recorder/phone with you when you return the car and repeating what you were told about the fuel, to see what their response is and if they do not dispute it there and then (assuming they don't implicate themselves further) it will be difficult for them to do so later.

However, bear in mind that the fuel issue being separate to the damage you're only likely to receive the pro rata rental refund for the affected period as a maximum unless you can prove other losses/damage. Try to concentrate on the damage issue - getting quotes (quotes, not estimates) is not a bad idea before you take the vehicle back although whether they take any notice of those depends on what the agreement says about cost of damage.

atrixblue.-MFR-.

PasturesNew wrote: »

You need to read your actual paperwork, but I just had a look on their website (I think this is who you mean)

http://enterprise.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/923/kw/insurance/r_id/105022

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Look for what Damage Waivers you signed/have.
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also if you paid by credit card not debit card then call them as they may be able to assist you.

pendulum

You just need to drop the petrol issue now, it comes across like you're trying to somehow claim that because it had a few quid less petrol in it than they said, that makes it okay for you to smash the s#?t out of their car, like you are somehow "even" with them now.

No.

The option that you gave the most consideration to in your first post was the option to take out an insurance policy after the fact, and then try and fraudulently lumber the bill on to that insurance company by LYING about when the accident happened. This is outright fraud and shows your purely dishonest character and the only thing that stopped you from doing this is the fact that you couldn't actually get away with it.

I laughed at your claim that they were negligent by telling you the car could travel X miles on the fuel it had. Had you taken this advice before getting in to and flying your airplane and had you found out some way over an oceon that you had been misinformed of the fuel load, then just maybe they might be partly to blame... unfortunately this was a car, you're the driver, and reading the fuel gauge for yourself is a very simple task. You were the negligent one to let it run dry, you should have taken it to a garage straight away when it's telling you its virtually empty. But you didn't, you let it run dry, and they come and filled it up for you. Issue over. The end.

How much you pay for this depends on the terms and conditions you agreed to when you hired the car. Bear in mind the damages you have caused run far more than just the physical damage to the car (which as pointed out above, could be more than you think), there is the time that the car is off the road whilst it is being repaired to consider too; you can be charged for that. It's likely an insurance policy will cover most of these costs so you should just wait and see what they want you to pay, and read the terms and conditions to make sure the fee they want you to pay is in keeping with the terms and conditions you agreed to. I note that you are already virtually accusing them of charging more than they should when you haven't even had the bill yet. Wait and see.

That said, I feel the price you have to pay is going to be quite high no matter what, and as you seriously thought about committing fraud to escape from your responsibility I don't wish you any luck at all.

atrixblue.-MFR-.

pendulum wrote: »

You just need to drop the petrol issue now, it comes across like you're trying to somehow claim that because it had a few quid less petrol in it than they said, that makes it okay for you to smash the s#?t out of their car, like you are somehow "even" with them now.

No.

The option that you gave the most consideration to in your first post was the option to take out an insurance policy after the fact, and then try and fraudulently lumber the bill on to that insurance company by LYING about when the accident happened. This is outright fraud and shows your purely dishonest character and the only thing that stopped you from doing this is the fact that you couldn't actually get away with it.

I laughed at your claim that they were negligent by telling you the car could travel X miles on the fuel it had. Had you taken this advice before getting in to and flying your airplane and had you found out some way over an oceon that you had been misinformed of the fuel load, then just maybe they might be partly to blame... unfortunately this was a car, you're the driver, and reading the fuel gauge for yourself is a very simple task. You were the negligent one to let it run dry, you should have taken it to a garage straight away when it's telling you its virtually empty. But you didn't, you let it run dry, and they come and filled it up for you. Issue over. The end.

How much you pay for this depends on the terms and conditions you agreed to when you hired the car. Bear in mind the damages you have caused run far more than just the physical damage to the car (which as pointed out above, could be more than you think), there is the time that the car is off the road whilst it is being repaired to consider too; you can be charged for that. It's likely an insurance policy will cover most of these costs so you should just wait and see what they want you to pay, and read the terms and conditions to make sure the fee they want you to pay is in keeping with the terms and conditions you agreed to.

I feel the price you have to pay is going to be quite high no matter what, and as you seriously thought about committing fraud to escape from your responsibility I don't wish you any luck at all.

WELL SAID he got beef with them for the car being empty and filling it up for him and also that he damaged it too. sorry OP but you do sound as if you want to blame everything on them to try and get out of paying what could potentially be in the thousends mark back to them in damages and downtime of the car and devalueation, admin fee's, policy excess,vat and labour. sorry but you have to come clean with them and just stick to the contract you sighned.

maninthestreet

Did you purchase Collision Damage Waiver (CDW) cover when you hired the car?

JasonLVC

You need to do a googe search for "Chips Away", they are a national franchise operation. A bloke will come to you in a van and he'll be able to do a good enough job to get past the car hire people.

They can usually do a visit the same day or next day, depending upon the car/colour match - they'll charge about £80-£150 depending upon the size of the damage. if there's no bumps it may be evevn less as they can also take out small dents, dings, scratches and scrapes (I know......from expereiences:o).

But you need to find out what your excess on the car is as if it is say £100 then not worth doing the repair, if the excess is £500 then maybe worth hiring the car for another day and doing the repair?.

hewhoisnotintheknow

if you hired a car to someone and they bent it, you would want it repairing yourself, rather than them doing the cheapest job possible

It would also cost them more in terms of admin time and what are they going to do if the new paint starts peeling off in a month or two

Pay the excess, thats what you signed upto

m_13

Toela65 wrote: »

I skidded in the heavy rain today and badly scrapped the drivers side front right wing. I'd say at a guess its a simple respray of around £150 - £200. There are no dents or bumps etc

Tony, what did you hit to cause the damage? If it was somebody else's property - even a lamp post or a bus stop - then you must report the accident to the Police:

The law requires that if you have been the driver of a motor vehicle on a road involved in an accident resulting in injury or damage to another person's property or involving some types of animals, you, the driver, must stop and if required by any person having reasonable grounds, provide your name and address, insurance company and name and address of the owner of the vehicle you are driving and its registration mark.

If you do not provide these details, for whatever reason, you must, as soon as possible, and in any event within twenty-four hours of the accident, report the incident to a police officer or at a police station. For full details of the legal requirements consult section 170 of the Road Traffic Act 1988.

There may be reasons why, in addition to the circumstances above, you may wish to report the accident. In such circumstances, the amount of detail recorded by police, if at all, will vary according to the circumstances or the seriousness of the accident.

Obviously reporting the accident to the Police will involve providing the name and address of the vehicle owner and you're on a slippery slope if you don't then tell them of the accident.

We bought a car and were told it had half a tank of fuel. However, the petrol guage was faulty and we broke down on the motorway. We were recovered by the AA and taken to a garage on the back of a truck. I now never believe anything anybody tells me about the level of fuel, particularly how much mileage is left once the red petrol warning light is on!