Seeking Counsel For Rental Car Damage While Traveling

[ERD50]

While it may sound outrageous, it is only fair. Just like you can sometimes sue for lost wages if you were injured by someone. Or imagine any other rental - if you rented a tree limb chipper and ended up wrecking it, isn't it fair that he rental company be reimbursed for lost profits that it could have rented it out for, but had to tie it up getting repaired?

I dunno. Sounds like the cost of doing business to me.

You rent something out, you expect that every once in a while it will get broken, or need maintenance. If I rent it and break it, I (or insurance) pay for the damage, that's fair. But all the external stuff?

What if a tool I rent needs maintenance every 1000 hours, and I rent it with 1,999 hours on it. Am I now responsible for the maintenance time as well, because I tripped over the next 1,000 hour mark? How far does this go?

It would be like charging a renter for the amount of time an apt is vacant after they leave. A landlord has to role that into their cost of doing business. I think a rental company should do the same.

And as someone mentioned, they don't really lose that time unless they have 100% utilization of that range of vehicle, and had to turn a customer away. How would I measure that? Do I call to rent one every day after I return it and see if they turn me down? It gets pretty crazy.

Heck, I'll go one further - if they are out the vehicle, guess what - that customer goes to their competitor. And they would get customers from their competitors in return. So it washes out!


There's a difference between someone injuring me as I go about my business, resulting in lost wages, and a business who is (excuse the redundancy) in the business of renting out equipment that can reasonable expect to be damaged from time to time in the normal course of business. I'm a pro-business sort of guy, but I generally think that the business has to take responsibility in some cases, as they do this day-in-day-out, for profit, and the customer is an occasional user, w/o a profit motive.

-ERD50

 

[Mulligan]

Thats not true. You are responsible for the time the vehicle is under repair. If the vehicle rents for $30/day and it takes 10 days to fix in the shop...you would be responsible for $300. Its a dirty little secret they do not disclose.

Still...If there is $3500 in damages you would be off the hook for that. If you have a low deductible on your current insurance policy...no need to use rental car insurance.

That wasn't what I had on my waiver, as I checked it and they verbalized it too. Otherwise I would not have bought it. The loss of use I am familiar with and that was really the major reason I bought it as I have good insurance and could have used CC option also. I truly wanted walk away insurance and that is why I took the "rip off" insurance.


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[mathjak107]

here is an example of the fine print amex has that gives them an out if they opt to take it .

they know all to well rental car company's consider #8 company confidential information and odds are you will not be able to provide it .



Required documentation may consist of, but is not limited to:
1. our signed and completed claim form;
2. an itemized repair bill;
3. a copy of charge slip for the rental of the Rental Auto, Rental Auto contract or machine generated receipt to show
rental was charged and paid for with an American Express Card;
4. a police report (if applicable);
5. photos of the damaged vehicle, if available;
6. a copy of the Cardmember's, authorized driver's or employer's auto insurance coverage, or a notarized letter stating
no insurance;
7. a copy of all claim documents and correspondence, provided by the Car Rental Company;
8. a copy of the Rental Company's utilization log;
9. a copy of the driver's license of the Cardmember and/or authorized driver, unless the driver's license number shows
on the rental agreement;
10. a copy of the written rental agreement, front and back, which documents when the Rental Auto was checked out
and checked in; and
11. information pertaining to other available insurance coverage(s).

 

[pb4uski]

While it may sound outrageous, it is only fair. Just like you can sometimes sue for lost wages if you were injured by someone. Or imagine any other rental - if you rented a tree limb chipper and ended up wrecking it, isn't it fair that he rental company be reimbursed for lost profits that it could have rented it out for, but had to tie it up getting repaired?

I agree it would be fair but only if the out-of-use is the actual out-of-use based on actual utilization rather than an "assumption" that the vehicle is rented every day it is out of use. Also, the rate should be adjusted to reflect that it isn't really being used so no wear and tear and maintenance is being incurred while it is sitting in the shop.

OTOH, I agree with ERD50 that it could be a cost of doing business and already reflected in the rates we are paying, in whole or in part.

 

[FireFool]

We did this to a rental car in Florida when DH rubbed a painted barrier post in a gas station. We thought the damage would be noticeable but thought it would be worth it to try just rubbing off the white paint.

We stopped at a grocery store and bought Soft Scrub cleanser and a soft cloth and tried it in the parking lot. It worked perfectly! We were worried when we returned the car that something would be evident but we passed the quick inspection at drop off without a problem.

Another product is Bon Ami cleanser, guaranteed not to scratch. It's a dry powder that you use with a little water, where the Soft Scrub is moist.

Good luck!

These suggestions can create more damage then help - both can create more scratching of any clear coat on the vehicle making minor damage that much more noticeable. If you have collision coverage on your vehicle at home that coverage transfers within the U.S. and the worst you're exposed to will be your deductible. Depending on your CC it too may cover any CDW. If you are really worried about the rental company overstating the damages you can always stop at a body shop and ask them for an estimate or advice on addressing your scratches. If it's able to be buffed out they may be able to do something for an hours worth of labor that might avoid you dealing with any further hassles.

 

[Mulligan]

These suggestions can create more damage then help - both can create more scratching of any clear coat on the vehicle making minor damage that much more noticeable. If you have collision coverage on your vehicle at home that coverage transfers within the U.S. and the worst you're exposed to will be your deductible. Depending on your CC it too may cover any CDW. If you are really worried about the rental company overstating the damages you can always stop at a body shop and ask them for an estimate or advice on addressing your scratches. If it's able to be buffed out they may be able to do something for an hours worth of labor that might avoid you dealing with any further hassles.

That just convinces me more when I buy the "walk away" insurance it is better for me. When I rent a vehicle its usually across the country, and the last thing I would be able to do would be checking on bids. And the paperwork? Ugh...Thats why I retired!


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