£900 for rental car alloys!

regency_man

My car had to go into the dealership for 9 weeks due to a fault (covered by waranty). While it was in the garage Land Rover gave me a loan vehicle, which turned out to actually be a rental from Thrifty. It was a nice car, a BMW X6, but it is a good 30cm longer than the Land Rover and due to the larger size and turning circle I found myself kerbing 3 of the wheels.



On returning the vehicle I mentioned it to the dealer and they took a look and said it wasn't too bad and would probably get written off as 'wear and tear'. However a couple of days later I got a letter from Thrifty (redirected from the dealership) stating that the damage would have to be paid for at a cost of £900.



I contacted the garage again to tell them and they brushed it off and said the agreement was between me and Thrifty and I would have to sort it out. I pushed back and pointed out that I had never signed a rental agreement with Thrifty, in fact the only reason I knew it was a Thrifty car was that there was a sticker in the glove box. The dealership had just handed me the keys and made me sign their standard loan-car insurance form, which I produced a copy of for them.



Then they changed their tune and said that while they administered the rental agreement, I was liable for any damage to the vehicle as the driver. I pushed back again and said that if they administered the rental, it is them who should be dealing with Thrifty not me, and if Land Rover want to pass on any charges for damage to me themselves, I would claim it on their loan car insurance.



They didn't agree with this and we are left at somewhat of an impass. Thrifty keep sending the dealership letters demanding payment, the dealership keeps forwarding them to me, and I keep returning them to the dealership with a note pointing out that the letters are addressed to them not me.



I am fairly certain I'm in the right here. I completely accept if Land Rover want to bill me seperately for the damage, but surely they can't just expect me to deal with Thrifty when there was no contract made between me and Thrifty?

Comms69

It’ll probably be cheaper to deal with now, rather than when it escalated and charges get added on.

You did cause the damage so have clear liability

DUTR

So you can pay the dealership the bill and they can forward onto the rental com[any, you don't deny that you caused the damage.

debtdebt

Tell Land Rover to bill you the £900 and settle that bill then.

interstellaflyer

regency_man wrote: »

It was a nice car, a BMW X6,

I'm not sure those words go together well in the same sentence, I've nothing against BMWs but the X6 is plain ugly.

AdrianC

How much is the excess on the "loan car" agreement you signed?

Mercdriver

My wife had the alloys on her car (4 x 20 inch alloys on X5 40D) refurbed for £60 each. They's likely be the same wheels as on the X6. You don't deny you caused t he damage. Why not go to 3 alloy repairers and get a quote from each and propose you pay the cost estimated by the repairers. You have to compromise somewhere as you caused the damage.

neilmcl

regency_man wrote: »

My car had to go into the dealership for 9 weeks due to a fault (covered by waranty). While it was in the garage Land Rover gave me a loan vehicle, which turned out to actually be a rental from Thrifty. It was a nice car, a BMW X6, but it is a good 30cm longer than the Land Rover and [STRIKE]due to the larger size and turning circle[/STRIKE] due to my poor driving skills I found myself kerbing 3 of the wheels.

Just wanted to correct that for you.

Now getting to the point, you are correct you have no contract with Thrifty and therefore legally they will not be able to come after you for the damage to the alloys directly. However, you are liable for the damage and the dealership are entitled to ask you to pay for them. I'm guessing the £900 is the cost of 3 new wheels rather than having them repaired.

If you haven't already done so, ask to speak to the Land Rover dealer principle and/or make a complaint to LR customer services.

DUTR

neilmcl wrote: »

Just wanted to correct that for you.

Now getting to the point, you are correct you have no contract with Thrifty and therefore legally they will not be able to come after you for the damage to the alloys directly. However, you are liable for the damage and the dealership are entitled to ask you to pay for them. I'm guessing the £900 is the cost of 3 new wheels rather than having them repaired.

If you haven't already done so, ask to speak to the Land Rover dealer principle and/or make a complaint to LR customer services.

I'd guess part of the price is the outage as they cannot (or will not ) loan out the car with the wheels as they are.

neilmcl

DUTR wrote: »

I'd guess part of the price is the outage as they cannot (or will not ) loan out the car with the wheels as they are.

Keeping a car off the road because it has few alloy scuffs isn't exactly mitigating their losses, nor would replacing them when a cheaper repair would suffice I'd imagine, I suppose it depends on the extent of the damage. Something for the OP to consider should it get legal.

missile

neilmcl wrote: »

I'm guessing the £900 is the cost of 3 new wheels rather than having them repaired.

New wheels for an X6 would be a lot more than £300 each.