Hire Car Non Fault Accident

PJB

Hi All

My wife was pushed off the road last week and her beloved Jag was damaged and is borderline write off I think!

We have been supplied with an 'executive' hire car which is a Lexus and not as nice to drive as the Jag. I mentioned this to our garage who is an unofficial Jag specialist. He has offered to hire us a Jag for less than the hire car provided, £200 for Jag, Lexus is £240/day.

Would prefer the Jag and after all we would be mitigating our losses by paying less than the one provided.

Only downside is that we would have to pay and claim back, but i have no problem with this as i am sure we will get preferential treatment now and in the future from him for services, repairs etc.

Any advice or opinions gratefully received, thanks in advance.

Quentin

No reason why you can't - (unless you have signed anything to the contrary with the hire company you have the Lexus from).

Check the hire company isn't giving a big discount though, making their net charge less than £200.

mikey72

PJB wrote: »

Hi All

My wife was pushed off the road last week and her beloved Jag was damaged and is borderline write off I think!

We have been supplied with an 'executive' hire car which is a Lexus and not as nice to drive as the Jag. I mentioned this to our garage who is an unofficial Jag specialist. He has offered to hire us a Jag for less than the hire car provided, £200 for Jag, Lexus is £240/day.

Would prefer the Jag and after all we would be mitigating our losses by paying less than the one provided.

Only downside is that we would have to pay and claim back, but i have no problem with this as i am sure we will get preferential treatment now and in the future from him for services, repairs etc.

Any advice or opinions gratefully received, thanks in advance.

They could argue you could hire from someone like Avis for £150 a day if you were hiring your own.
Only way to find out is to ask them though.

PJB

mikey72 wrote: »

They could argue you could hire from someone like Avis for £150 a day if you were hiring your own.
Only way to find out is to ask them though.

Cannot do that as it would be the third party insurers that would be paying it in the end.

If they felt i could of paid £150 would i not then stiil be entitled to claim at £150 a day worst case scenario!

adamc260

What age is your Jag, if its over 6 years old your not really entitled to a 'prestige' hire vehicle as per the GTA so I'd be very careful with costs.

daveyjp

"Any advice or opinions gratefully received, thanks in advance."

Look very carefully at the agreement you signed which resulted in you having a Lexus on your drive, in particular clauses about who is responsible for the payment of £250 a day if it can't be agreed that your wife is not at fault. As the Lottery ad used to say - "it could be you".

adamc260

daveyjp wrote: »

"Any advice or opinions gratefully received, thanks in advance."

Look very carefully at the agreement you signed which resulted in you having a Lexus on your drive, in particular clauses about who is responsible for the payment of £250 a day if it can't be agreed that your wife is not at fault. As the Lottery ad used to say - "it could be you".

Even if liability may not be in dispute, the overall cost of the vehicle could be if mitigation hasn't been complete properly by the CHO. Also they will check loss of use dates very carefully so the bill could very well fall into the hands of the OP.

Third parties should just use a hire car provided by the TPI and save the industry some money. Who can justify the need for a £240 per day hire car... its excessive in my opinion, no wonder renewals are sky high.

mikey72

Actually, thinking about it, it is dearer per day, than my insurance was for the year.

Burridge60

Ring your insurers and ask them. No point spending money unnecessarily on the advice of the man at the garage.

bouncydog1

Are you claiming off your own insurance or directly through the tp? If through your own insurance have you been provided with a similar vehicle through a credit hire arrangement?

I know that some policies provide cover for a hire vehicle whilst your own is being repaired, but there have been some horrific stories of claims involving credit hire companies, with the insured driver being left to pick up the bill as this cost has formed part of their uninsured losses and they have had to try and claim it back from the third party.

Although your wife drives a jag, in the event of her car being off the road, surely all she needs is a vehicle to get her from A to B so I really don't understand why she would need a Lexus? I am aware of insurers who have provided a replacement vehicle through the repair garage of say a fiesta, when the insured normally drives a people carrier because they have 4 children. In that circumstance a larger car can be justified, but as Adam states, with hire rates like these, it's no wonder all motorists are being penalised with bigger insurance bills.

What happens if liability is not cut and dried and the third party does not have the same view as your wife? Hire car costs at £200+ per day will mount up over time.

PJB

I agree whole heartedly with most of the above. The expense is ridiculous, i had a claim a few years ago where i had 2 inj's that were ther for 12months+ and i received £3500. The hire car co got over £5k, my sols was £6k and the opposition sols costs would i assume of been similar. My counsel told me that these super companies of sols that deal with insurnce scratch each others backs, what goes around comes around ie: they lost then but the next they will win etc. This is why they delibereately offered well under the odds, they offered £1750 even though the going rate minimum in case law was £3000+.

Regarding what car it is we paid alot of money to be insured and i feel should be entitled to a similar car, albeit i feel it could be sourced for alot less per day. The last car i hired was £26/day and i know theo=ir most expensive car is £115 per day! I smell another con!

Fault has not been accepted by 3P as yet but we are covered for the car they provide even if they are found not to be at fault.