Damaged Hire Car Today. Need Advice Urgently!!

JMW77

I would assume it was covered by insurance these things happen, a family member once hired out cars and i remember them coming back damaged occasionally ,they handed keys back and off they went.

Of course read the conditions you hired the car under but overall i would assume it was covered.

espresso

JMW77 wrote: »

I would assume it was covered by insurance these things happen, a family member once hired out cars and i remember them coming back damaged occasionally ,they handed keys back and off they went.

Of course read the conditions you hired the car under but overall i would assume it was covered.

Yes it's obviously covered by insurance but if the OP didn't pay the optional extra charge for excess protection, they will be liable for the full excess. Based on the price paid, I would bet that they didn't opt for excess protection cover offered!

savemoney

I got my front wing replaced in June and whilst its metallic so will cost slightly more and got it from a friend of a friend to do job so cheaper than bodyshop it still costs us £250 and they didn't blend the paint which is another £100 on top. 3 months later I have to get whole thing replaced due to hit n run

Mark_Hewitt

espresso wrote: »

Yes it's obviously covered by insurance but if the OP didn't pay the optional extra charge for excess protection, they will be liable for the full excess. Based on the price paid, I would bet that they didn't opt for excess protection cover offered!

Rule Number 1 of hiring a car. Always take out the maximum insurance!
Rule Number 2, see rule number 1!

savemoney

Also check for damage prior to taking vehicle and report it, if it hasnt already done so

Mark_Hewitt wrote: »

Rule Number 1 of hiring a car. Always take out the maximum insurance!
Rule Number 2, see rule number 1!

Mark_Hewitt

savemoney wrote: »

Also check for damage prior to taking vehicle and report it, if it hasnt already done so

Indeed. Especially important when hiring from an airport as they usually just give you the keys and send you on your way.

Whenever I've hired from elsewhere the salesman has always walked around the car with me to look for any damage, and did the same upon return.

Personally I hire a car assuming I'm going to crash it and budget accordingly!

savemoney

Its not always easy to spot slight damage. I just got a car from bodyshop we both walked around car found out slight dint. Tried to set trip meter for mileage only it wouldn't reset, so logged mileage down. Drove home 1 1/2 miles way picked OH up, drove to B&Q 2 miles away (3 1/2 miles mileage approx) not a scuff mark I hadn't spotted it when I got out. It makes me very wary now

davidjwest

I've a few points:

If the damage is minor then it may be worth trying some T-Cut on it, although it sounds too severe for that to be any good. That would help to get rid of minor scratches, costs around £10 I think.

I had a fairly big dent/scratch on my nearly new car a few months ago and a local bodyshop only charged me £140 to repair it and it's as good as new now - ring around for quotes.

If you're worried about them charging your credit card without telling you how much it will be beforehand you could report your card as lost/stolen to your bank and that would stop that happening. Not entirely sure I'd do that myself as it seems a bit underhand but then again so is charging your card without informing you before the event.

Anihilator

Three outcomes here

1) They don't check car properly miss it and OP can just deny knowledge
2) They spot it, OP took out CDW and is only liable for excess - likely to range from £500 to £1250. If the repair is less than that they will still ask for the full excess but by kicking up a fuss and asking to see receipts etc they might only reduce this to actual cost
3) OP took out no CDW and is liable in full for all rental companies losses

Also any repair involving a scratch etc to be properly repaired will probably cost more than £200

andyyorks

The XS was £500 when I recently used Enterprise. Also, I assume to OP is getting quotes but I think this will be a waste of time. They will also charge for the time the vehicle is off road - as they can't rent it out while it's being repaired. Their labour rate will be probably be higher than your quotes.