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Car Hire - Pictures - Light

I have a strange question: I very frequently (10-20 times a year) hire cars in Lisbon. I have an annual Car-Hire-Excess insurance and never pay for the additional insurance cover from the car hire companies.

This means taking pictures + videos but I frequently pick up cars at night and if not, many of the car hire companies get you to pick up the car in very badly lit areas (I wonder why :-))

I've tried my phone's flash, but that doesn't really work (the reflection in the car obscures any scratches), so I wonder how other people deal with this as I can't be the only one with this problem.

I was considering buying a special light, especially for this purpose, but I don't know what to buy.

Comments

  • Newbie_John
    Newbie_John Posts: 958 Forumite
    500 Posts Second Anniversary Name Dropper
    Good car hire comapnies - Hertz, Avis etc. - I never bother with taking photos and left cars at night by dropping keys through letter box, picked up cars with no light.

    Many smaller rental places - I try ot avoid them sadly after bad experience with Motion Green likes that no matter how many photos you've taken they will find a scratch under the car etc. and charge you £200 - but I think they are now excluded from many yearly car hire insurances..
  • jbrassy
    jbrassy Posts: 937 Forumite
    Seventh Anniversary 500 Posts Name Dropper
    I agree with the person above, stick with mainstream car hire companies: Avis/Budget, Hertz/Thrifty, Europcar/Keddy, Enterprise/Alamo, Sixt. I have also seen insurance policies that won't cover Green Motion, and this may also be the case for some other dodgy ones I see mentioned a lot like Goldcar and Easirent. The mainstream ones won't challenge you on minor damage which is barely visible at night. 

    I also buy car hire excess insurance and the one time I had to make a claim, the car hire company (Budget) provided photos of the apparent damage. I forwarded these on to the insurance company, along with some other stuff they asked for (car rental agreement, invoice for the damage, credit card statement showing I'd paid for the damage). The insurance company paid out with no quibble in a matter of days (the insurance company was Eversure - I was surprised at how easy it was). 

    Basically, I'm trying to reassure you that, if you hire from a mainstream established car hire company and you have excess cover, you shouldn't need to worry.
  • saajan_12
    saajan_12 Posts: 4,478 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    From a photography perspective (if that's the route you want to go down), then I suppose what you need is a dimmer light which you can disperse as much as possible rather than a brighter light from a small source. To do it well would be quite bulky.
    Maybe a cheapo selfie light? Or a torch shone at a white umbrella which is facing or perpendicular to the side of the car? 
  • Thanks for your comments, and of course, the mainstream companies (should) be more reliable, but..... I hired a car for 14 days, returning last Sunday, and it cost me €23 (for 14 days). That's exceptionally low as it's low season, but it helped the car hire company (they got €23), and it helped me as I got a good deal.

    One of the quality rental companies you mentioned wanted close to €200 for the same period, still not fully covered.

    I simply don't want to pay these inflated prices, and even with a Budget, you could still end up with the same issue unless you buy the fully covered insurance which will double that price.

    I have been going to Lisbon every few months or so for three years, so I have hired many cheap cars. I once had an issue where they found a scratch that I could not find on my pictures because of the photo quality. That's the issue I want to solve. 
  • heatherw_01
    heatherw_01 Posts: 6,662 Ambassador
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    You could get a LED flashlight as many are very bright.

    I also take photos even with the well known companies as they can so easily blame you for something that was already there.
    I’m a Forum Ambassador and I support the Forum Team on the Quick Grabbit, Freebies, Overseas Holidays & Travel Planning and the UK Holidays, Days Out & Entertainments boards.
    If you need any help on these boards, do let me know. Please note that Ambassadors are not moderators. Any posts you spot in breach of the Forum Rules should be reported via the report button, or by emailing forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com.
    All views are my own and not the official line of MoneySavingExpert.
  • I also take photos even with the well known companies as they can so easily blame you for something that was already there.
    Totally agree - they all try to rip you off.
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