SIXT Car rental accident extortionate charge?

loskie

The large hire companies do not own the cars. They are mostly owned by the manufacturer or a sister company set up by them to boost registrations and get a supply of used cars onto the market. Leased very cheaply to the rental co.
Why do you think there is a sticker on the car saying something like do not exceed 10 000 or 6 months of age?
This is where the so called "ex management" nearly new cars will come from despite what the car dealer may tell you.
They will be refurbished and sold at closed auctions so yes at some point the damage will be repaired and fair enough you should pay if you caused it.
Tell tale signs at car dealers of ex hire are wee barcode stickers in the rear window or the likes of this:
http://selekt.volvocars.co.uk/en/used-cars/Volvo/V40-Cross-Country/D3-SE-Nav-mmbek4rz
This car until recently showed a picture of the dash with the Hertz sticker still over the speedo. The said picture has now been removed.

thescouselander

Ectophile wrote: »

If they choose not to fix it, then it will reduce the resale value when they do come to sell it.

If you were buying a second-hand car, would you pay as much for a car covered in dents and scratches as for one in immaculate condition?

True but the reduction in value will be nothing like the amount the OP is being charged.

dannyrst

thescouselander wrote: »

True but the reduction in value will be nothing like the amount the OP is being charged.

But is entirely legal if they can provide a reasonable break down of costs that matches that of a main dealer price.

bowlhead99

dannyrst wrote: »

But is entirely legal if they can provide a reasonable break down of costs that matches that of a main dealer price.

Exactly, if I lend you my car and you bring it back damaged, I would tell you the price it costs to fix it, and I would get that price from a main dealer, and I would want you to pay me that amount.

Same if I lend you my phone and you sit on it and give it me back with a cracked screen. I want the money to get it fixed and still have a factory warranty, so that's main dealer Apple or Samsung or whatever rates.

I might actually decide that I'm going to buy myself a replacement phone screen off ebay and make it 'good enough' while watching a youtube tutorial and drinking a pint, or for the car I might get my mate with a hammer to bash out the dent and tipp-ex over the paint cracks, and hope that I don't need to claim on a factory paint warranty in the next half decade. Then I could pocket part of the money. Or I might say, to hell with that, I'm just going to pocket the all the money and not even try to get around to putting my car or phone back to factory warranted condition, I'll just sell it at a greater loss later.

But if you break something of mine, you don't get to choose for me that I would probably not be bothered to get it back to factory warranted condition and would prefer cash, and then that you would just offer me some arbitrarily lower amount of cash than it would take to do a full factory spec repair at official rates.

As a bloke lending something to a mate, I might not want extra compensation for my time and hassle in getting it fixed by the dealer, but if I was a rental business who relied on being able to rent the car out for income every day, then I would definitely charge you some kind of fee for that, or retain the security/damage deposit we'd agreed via your credit card.

thescouselander

dannyrst wrote: »

But is entirely legal if they can provide a reasonable break down of costs that matches that of a main dealer price.

Which is a good point. OP - maybe you'd better ask them for a break down of the costs and check them against what a reputable body shop would charge. You might at least be able to knock sixt down a bit and if not you could use the evidence to take them to the small claims court and let a judge decide.

Ruddy999

Thanks, I have this breakdown and will get a similar quote with the photos/listed costs from Sixt

Ruddy999

dannyrst wrote: »

Probably for the first time.

Thanks so much.

I come on a forum looking for advice and I get this.

Hope you really enjoyed the cheap thrill you got at your keyboard, being able to scoff at someone else's misfortune.

I hope no one backs into the bottom of that ivory tower of yours, you might fall out.

dannyrst

Ruddy999 wrote: »

Thanks so much.

I come on a forum looking for advice and I get this.

Hope you really enjoyed the cheap thrill you got at your keyboard, being able to scoff at someone else's misfortune.

I hope no one backs into the bottom of that ivory tower of yours, you might fall out.

My tower is just fine thanks. It's surrounded by a moat you see so no chance of anyone hitting it! :cool:

Scoffing at your misfortune would have led me to laugh at you, which I didn't. I just pointed out that you clearly didn't read the terms and conditions of a contract that you signed up to. Everything you asked would be clearly in there. It has to be. Or you wouldn't need to pay.

You came here and asked the questions. I can, within the rules of the forum, pass comment on whatever you say. If you'd like a safe place for people to answer your questions, your best bet is to setup your own forum with a rule that says "nobody be nasty to me" and get people to join up to that and then if a comment offends you, you can ban the member that made it.

bowlhead99

Ruddy999 wrote: »

Thanks so much.

I come on a forum looking for advice and I get this.

You were the one who came on screaming that it was costing you £861 with four question marks and five exclamation marks and how in your opinion it should maybe be a tenth of that.

You've had some sensible explanations about how the bill can get up to that sort of money and a reference to the T&Cs which would explain what sort of things are your responsibility and why you would have been right to pay the insurance waiver thing.

All of this stuff should help you understand the features of this sort of rental deal and the perils of driving around in a nearly new rental car rather than an old banger than nobody minds if you scratch.

Along with that you can expect some gentle joshing for being naive and gobsmacked about things that the rest of us understand pretty well because we learned from the school of life. That's just par for the course when you run for help to a forum of anonymous strangers who know more about the world than you do. Much of comedy is some sort of "scoffing at others misfortune" and you'll probably see the lighter side in a few years of hindsight when an £800 bill is less of a killer.