Oops....scratched hire car...what to do...
Discussion
DSM2 said:
TheCarpetCleaner said:
So you all think its ok to damage another persons / companies property and then try to cover it up?
How would any of you react if you lent your car to someone, and then found out they had "bodged" or covered up the repair work?
You got the hire car, you signed the agreement, you are liable within the terms of that agreement to make good any damage.
Honestly with all the (mostly justified) chav bashing that goes on round here, its shocking that you are happy to act like them when it suits you.
Laudable sentiment but most hire companies will go out of their way to 'sell' totally unecessary and overpriced options so they deserve everything they get.How would any of you react if you lent your car to someone, and then found out they had "bodged" or covered up the repair work?
You got the hire car, you signed the agreement, you are liable within the terms of that agreement to make good any damage.
Honestly with all the (mostly justified) chav bashing that goes on round here, its shocking that you are happy to act like them when it suits you.
The other year I rented a C Class for a week in Italy. The fast talking rep 'persuaded' me to take full theft cover. After, I calculated it cost me equivalent to over £8000 per year and that they would need 1 in 3 cars stolen to break even on that income if everyone took the cover.
Stuff them. They're devious, why whouldn't we be?
I smashed a wheel trim on a car I hired in Oz, I bought a new one at Mitsibishi for 100 dollars!! When I dropped it off at the airport I made a point of showing them the new one and they made a point of showing me the huge pile of spare ones they had at the depot!! 'Happens all the time' evidently!
Hand it in as it is, if they send you a massively inflated bill just refuse the first offer and ask for a discount. They will of had it fixed on the cheap anyway.
Hand it in as it is, if they send you a massively inflated bill just refuse the first offer and ask for a discount. They will of had it fixed on the cheap anyway.
TheCarpetCleaner said:
Then go with the more honest ones - I dont do business where I can help it with dishonest people. Why sink to their level? Its still a piece of equipment that they are lending you for money.
They're all the same... never dealt with a car hire company that were straightforward when it came to any problems. In fact I tell a lie, the only time I've had a hire company go out of their way when we were in the wrong were Auto Jardim in Faro who replaced a car for nothing when Mum yanked the gear knob off of an Astra trying to put it into reverse.
Other main stream ones have tried to give me cars that aren't in the class I'd paid for, suggested that the airbag warning light was 'nothing to worry about', tried to deny that I'd pre-paid and charge me again, deny me a car in a particular class because of my age even though they'd taken the booking with full knowledge and then try to give me a much smaller car without refunding the difference.
Its all fair game IMO
In a single moment of lapse concentration I managed to plow into a stationary Land Rover in a Renault Megane a few months back... Although there was no damage whatsoever to the LR (typical) I managed to scuff the bonnet, and break pretty much every plastic part under the bonnet and nose 
I realised the damage was more than usual when I couldn't release the bonnet, I presume I damaged the release mechanism... marvellous.
So, through the grill (which had fell out) I removed several massive pieces of grey plastic. I stuck the grill back on as best I could, I removed the black marks with a cleaning pad and Scrath X - ouch - looked pretty good too
Unfortunately whilst driving back along the A590 at speed, a single, mahoosive piece of bumper detached a flew over the roof of the Megane, which kind of ruined my deception efforts...
And the guy in the Corsa behind me had a mild coronary episode whilst swerving to avoid...
Came clean, Hertz said no worries, these things happen...
I realised the damage was more than usual when I couldn't release the bonnet, I presume I damaged the release mechanism... marvellous.
So, through the grill (which had fell out) I removed several massive pieces of grey plastic. I stuck the grill back on as best I could, I removed the black marks with a cleaning pad and Scrath X - ouch - looked pretty good too
Unfortunately whilst driving back along the A590 at speed, a single, mahoosive piece of bumper detached a flew over the roof of the Megane, which kind of ruined my deception efforts...
And the guy in the Corsa behind me had a mild coronary episode whilst swerving to avoid...Came clean, Hertz said no worries, these things happen...
I had a nissan xtrail as a hire car for a week once, it had 30 miles on the clock when I got it and I took it back a week later with a broken windscreen, owned up to it even though it wasnt my fault and we heard nothing even though we use our fleet insurance to cover hire cars and its third party only.
TheCarpetCleaner said:
DSM2 said:
TheCarpetCleaner said:
So you all think its ok to damage another persons / companies property and then try to cover it up?
How would any of you react if you lent your car to someone, and then found out they had "bodged" or covered up the repair work?
You got the hire car, you signed the agreement, you are liable within the terms of that agreement to make good any damage.
Honestly with all the (mostly justified) chav bashing that goes on round here, its shocking that you are happy to act like them when it suits you.
Laudable sentiment but most hire companies will go out of their way to 'sell' totally unecessary and overpriced options so they deserve everything they get.How would any of you react if you lent your car to someone, and then found out they had "bodged" or covered up the repair work?
You got the hire car, you signed the agreement, you are liable within the terms of that agreement to make good any damage.
Honestly with all the (mostly justified) chav bashing that goes on round here, its shocking that you are happy to act like them when it suits you.
The other year I rented a C Class for a week in Italy. The fast talking rep 'persuaded' me to take full theft cover. After, I calculated it cost me equivalent to over £8000 per year and that they would need 1 in 3 cars stolen to break even on that income if everyone took the cover.
Stuff them. They're devious, why whouldn't we be?
If they complain and ask for money, tell them that you are fine with that (you did the damage after all) and will arrange independent inspection of the vehicle both immediately and after the charged works have been completed. Get your phone out and phone the nearest bodyshop while you are standing there.
Strangely the urgent repairs of these matters seem to drain away when they realise they aren't going to be able to just pocket some extra money and leave the car as is.
Strangely the urgent repairs of these matters seem to drain away when they realise they aren't going to be able to just pocket some extra money and leave the car as is.
screw them. they would screw you. anyway its only some monkey working at the swap over, it wont cost them a penny and the company is worth tens of millions. if they see it you might have to pay, if they dont you dont. anyway if you pay for the damage to be fixed they will just put that money in their pocket and continue to hire the car out, they all get auctioned off anyway.
northandy said:
I had a nissan xtrail as a hire car for a week once, it had 30 miles on the clock when I got it and I took it back a week later with a broken windscreen, owned up to it even though it wasnt my fault and we heard nothing even though we use our fleet insurance to cover hire cars and its third party only.
I had a van for a couple of days and it was only when paying that they said the deposit was £1000. 
They said it could be reduced to £100 at extra cost - turned out to be about £3, a no-brainer.Anyway, I took a pretty big hit on the top of windscreen. I didn't think it would be an issue as they'd already noted several other chips, although "mine" was the worst (but not in swept area).
When I took it back, I pointed out the new chip and they got all excited and said the excess waiver didn't cover the windscreen and I'd have to pay the whole cost of a new screen. So we had a huge argument about it and they ended up letting it go completely. If the greedy buggers had just kept the £100 then I probably couldn't have done much about it.
They were so focused on getting the money that they didn't notice I'd pressed a line right down the side, cracked one of the mirror housings, and sightly bent a rear door hinge.
I had a hire car for 3 months, managed to reverse it into a wall after 2 weeks, but the mud from 3 months without a wash covered the scratch nicely!
On the other hand my boss got side swiped and the other woman drove off, she called the company, they confirmed it was still ok to drive and let her get on with it.
I'd say call the company be honest and get on with your life without expecting a bill to land on your door mat!
HTH
J
On the other hand my boss got side swiped and the other woman drove off, she called the company, they confirmed it was still ok to drive and let her get on with it.
I'd say call the company be honest and get on with your life without expecting a bill to land on your door mat!
HTH
J
Had a hire Passat a while back (fortunately was my company paying for it not me!) and as I took a corner 'at speed' the box of beer in the boot (which incidentally, is HUGE!) and the was a 'loss of containment'. I pulled to a stop and opened the boot to find several bottles spinning and spraying frothy beer across the boot. What a waste
Feel sorry for the poor bugger who drove it back to the depot with an interior stinking of stale beer several days later. I did soak it up a bit, but couldn't do much.
Never heard anything more about it though!
Feel sorry for the poor bugger who drove it back to the depot with an interior stinking of stale beer several days later. I did soak it up a bit, but couldn't do much.
Never heard anything more about it though!
OJ said:
TheCarpetCleaner said:
Then go with the more honest ones - I dont do business where I can help it with dishonest people. Why sink to their level? Its still a piece of equipment that they are lending you for money.
They're all the same... never dealt with a car hire company that were straightforward when it came to any problems. In fact I tell a lie, the only time I've had a hire company go out of their way when we were in the wrong were Auto Jardim in Faro who replaced a car for nothing when Mum yanked the gear knob off of an Astra trying to put it into reverse.
Other main stream ones have tried to give me cars that aren't in the class I'd paid for, suggested that the airbag warning light was 'nothing to worry about', tried to deny that I'd pre-paid and charge me again, deny me a car in a particular class because of my age even though they'd taken the booking with full knowledge and then try to give me a much smaller car without refunding the difference.
Its all fair game IMO
Gave me a free upgrade once b/c I didn't fancy a renault too
Their cars are always nice and not sheds unlike the mainstream rental Co's such as Avis and the like - hired an Avis car in Cyprus which was unroadworthy and the same in Tunisia too - not cheap either!
i was following my mate to the scrap yard in a fusion hire car. i managed to smash into the rear of his (soon to be scrapped 
)car. i picked up all the broken shards of plastic, bent the bonnet back and pushed the grill back into place and the hire company never said a word. i was relieved i tell you. The handbrake wasn't very effective either!
)car. i picked up all the broken shards of plastic, bent the bonnet back and pushed the grill back into place and the hire company never said a word. i was relieved i tell you. The handbrake wasn't very effective either!Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff