Managed to hit family members hire car - what to do?
Discussion
We have family visiting from overseas and I've managed to drive into their rental car whilst getting off my driveway this morning 
Damage is to their driver's door, a shallow crease about 20cm long, the scuffs have all polished out. Car is a slightly tatty 72-plate MG and there are a few dings and scrapes in other places. I'm not really sure how best to proceed, they are planning to take it back and plead ignorance / hope it isn't noticed (they have it for a few more weeks). I think their excess is mega but assume if the damage is spotted they will only be charged for the amount of the repair? Or is the whole excess claimed? Is it worth risking getting a smart repair done before returning? Are they too late to get standalone excess insurance?
Any advice/experience appreciated!
Damage is to their driver's door, a shallow crease about 20cm long, the scuffs have all polished out. Car is a slightly tatty 72-plate MG and there are a few dings and scrapes in other places. I'm not really sure how best to proceed, they are planning to take it back and plead ignorance / hope it isn't noticed (they have it for a few more weeks). I think their excess is mega but assume if the damage is spotted they will only be charged for the amount of the repair? Or is the whole excess claimed? Is it worth risking getting a smart repair done before returning? Are they too late to get standalone excess insurance?
Any advice/experience appreciated!
hairy vx said:
They will be charged for the cost of the damage not the whole excess. However the price the rental company estimate to repair will likely be high.
The only time I've damaged a hire car the cost was surprisingly reasonable, and dealt with there and then.The person on the desk took photos, uploaded them on their system, and they had a repair cost in a couple of minutes. It was a couple,of hundred pounds, which was quite reasonable for a scuffed/cracked bumper.
I would establish who the car is rented through first - if its GreenMotion or other similar charlatans the excess will indeed be MEGA and they will take the full amount irrespective of the level of damage - then depending on the outcome form decisions accordingly on next steps (repair the damage / fess up to the hire co / etc.)
InitialDave said:
I expect the cheapest option is to get a PDR guy to take the crease out.
You admitting it and providing insurance details etc will likely just see you getting hit with a claim in addition to the hirer having to pay whatever fabricated ridiculous excess cost they're subject to.
Oh yeah, i would love people fYou admitting it and providing insurance details etc will likely just see you getting hit with a claim in addition to the hirer having to pay whatever fabricated ridiculous excess cost they're subject to.
king about with my car behind my back. Shysters.Many years ago I rented a car from Bristol for a one way trip to Bournemouth airport after the death of my father.
My head was elsewhere at the time and I managed to drop the car off a 'higher than it looked' kerb at the airport prior to dropping it off. It put a nice dent in the near side sill. The dent was probably about 6 inches long and around an inch deep. You could see it from 10 yards away.
Anyway, Bournemouth airport at the time was very small and as it was early in the morning the hire car office was shut. I dropped the keys in the letterbox and left.
I never heard anything back.
When I collected it the car was pretty dirty and over the mileage allowance prior to disposal (it had a sticker on the dash saying the mileage was not to exceed 10,000 miles and it was on 10,500 ish when I picked it up). I questioned this with the hire company staff who told me not to worry as it was off-fleet the following week. I wrote on the acceptance sheet that it was dirty on collection and a proper inspection hadn't been possible.
My head was elsewhere at the time and I managed to drop the car off a 'higher than it looked' kerb at the airport prior to dropping it off. It put a nice dent in the near side sill. The dent was probably about 6 inches long and around an inch deep. You could see it from 10 yards away.
Anyway, Bournemouth airport at the time was very small and as it was early in the morning the hire car office was shut. I dropped the keys in the letterbox and left.
I never heard anything back.
When I collected it the car was pretty dirty and over the mileage allowance prior to disposal (it had a sticker on the dash saying the mileage was not to exceed 10,000 miles and it was on 10,500 ish when I picked it up). I questioned this with the hire company staff who told me not to worry as it was off-fleet the following week. I wrote on the acceptance sheet that it was dirty on collection and a proper inspection hadn't been possible.
I gave a panda back to a rental place with a golf-ball sized dent in the back that had broken the paint. I was charged 200 euros, which I thought was very reasonable - I think it'd cost a lot more to get it fixed.
that said I also gave a different panda back to a different place with a cracked plastic wheel trim, and the total was £260 (!) I think as I had 3rd party excess cover they were just milking it
that said I also gave a different panda back to a different place with a cracked plastic wheel trim, and the total was £260 (!) I think as I had 3rd party excess cover they were just milking it
addey said:
We have family visiting from overseas and I've managed to drive into their rental car whilst getting off my driveway this morning
Damage is to their driver's door, a shallow crease about 20cm long, the scuffs have all polished out. Car is a slightly tatty 72-plate MG and there are a few dings and scrapes in other places. I'm not really sure how best to proceed, they are planning to take it back and plead ignorance / hope it isn't noticed (they have it for a few more weeks). I think their excess is mega but assume if the damage is spotted they will only be charged for the amount of the repair? Or is the whole excess claimed? Is it worth risking getting a smart repair done before returning? Are they too late to get standalone excess insurance?
Any advice/experience appreciated!
There's a technical term for claming for an event that occurred before taking out insurance. Damage is to their driver's door, a shallow crease about 20cm long, the scuffs have all polished out. Car is a slightly tatty 72-plate MG and there are a few dings and scrapes in other places. I'm not really sure how best to proceed, they are planning to take it back and plead ignorance / hope it isn't noticed (they have it for a few more weeks). I think their excess is mega but assume if the damage is spotted they will only be charged for the amount of the repair? Or is the whole excess claimed? Is it worth risking getting a smart repair done before returning? Are they too late to get standalone excess insurance?
Any advice/experience appreciated!
addey said:
We have family visiting from overseas and I've managed to drive into their rental car whilst getting off my driveway this morning
Damage is to their driver's door, a shallow crease about 20cm long, the scuffs have all polished out. Car is a slightly tatty 72-plate MG and there are a few dings and scrapes in other places. I'm not really sure how best to proceed, they are planning to take it back and plead ignorance / hope it isn't noticed (they have it for a few more weeks). I think their excess is mega but assume if the damage is spotted they will only be charged for the amount of the repair? Or is the whole excess claimed? Is it worth risking getting a smart repair done before returning? Are they too late to get standalone excess insurance?
Any advice/experience appreciated!
My advice is DO NOT try to insure after the event. Damage is to their driver's door, a shallow crease about 20cm long, the scuffs have all polished out. Car is a slightly tatty 72-plate MG and there are a few dings and scrapes in other places. I'm not really sure how best to proceed, they are planning to take it back and plead ignorance / hope it isn't noticed (they have it for a few more weeks). I think their excess is mega but assume if the damage is spotted they will only be charged for the amount of the repair? Or is the whole excess claimed? Is it worth risking getting a smart repair done before returning? Are they too late to get standalone excess insurance?
Any advice/experience appreciated!
addey said:
Damage is to their driver's door, a shallow crease about 20cm long, the scuffs have all polished out. Car is a slightly tatty 72-plate MG and there are a few dings and scrapes in other places.
The other day, someone was talking about a 71 plate electric MG 5 Excite for sale for a surprisingly low figure. To be fair it had done 180k miles. I put it into Motorway and got a price: £1,690. Quite something, I thought.So there's a strong chance you've written it off.
InitialDave said:
Pica-Pica said:
Oh yeah, i would love people fking about with my car behind my back. Shysters.
Are you a hire company? Do you take the piss with excess charges because it's a nice little extra profit for you?king about with my car behind my back. Shysters.If they have travel insurance( which they should have if travelling internationally) or even domestically & rent a car from a car rental agency,nearly all travel insurance policies have car coverage in them,get them to check.Never ever take out damage insurance from a car rental agency, very expensive.You will find in most circumstances that your travel insurance will cover this.
Edited by Hackney2 on Friday 17th July 21:33
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