Rental Car Damaged!

[Feralpeg]

We just returned from a great 2 week visit to WDW. There was only one thing that made the trip less than perfect. We rented a Dodge Durango from Dollar. It was a really nice car. The second day of our trip, we went to DTD by car. When we returned, I found that someone had slammed a car door into the side of the rental and left a nasty dent. Of course, the offending car was gone! When I returned the car to the rental company, I had to fill out an accident report. They will be turning the damage into my insurance company. There go my rates! Oh well, I know that this could happen any time, it was just a shame it had to happen on our vacation. I wish some people would be more careful about opening doors next to other vehicles. Thanks for letting me vent!

 

[disneymom3]

Can I ask a few questions?

I have always been worried about this happening as I always decline the supplemental insurance. So, did you have their insurance? I am guessing no because you say they are turning paperwork into your insurance. So, how did that work? They act like if you do not have their insurance they will take your first born child! Can you tell us a bit more about the experience of returning the car and how the damage was handled?

Sorry tosound like I am taking advantage of your situation, but maybe some of us could learn from it.

Thanks!

 

[IGDDDF]

I'm interested to know also.

Thanks

 

[Feralpeg]

They simply made me fill out and sign an accident report. I was told that they would be contacting me and my insurance company. We just got back yesterday so I haven't heard anything else. I'll post more when I hear.

 

[DebbieB]

Did you use a Gold or Platnium Credit Card? If so, they may pay your deductible.

One time I rented from National I didn't notice in the garage that the back tail light was broken and had a nasty scratch next to it. Looked like someone backed up and clipped something. When we stopped at a store for groceries I saw it in the light of day. I called them right away when we got to the resort and told them I didn't do it. They made me fill out an accident report when I returned it. I worried for awhile but they never came back to me about it.

 

[trishy]

We had a 2002 Ford Explorer rental. We were packing for our trip and my dh shut the back hatch - *CRASH* the entire window shattered - into the street, into the luggage compartment all over the luggage. Was a real mess. We contacted the rental agency and the lady says to dh "Oh we just had one happen on Wednesday" (this was on a Friday). Well, they bring us a new car, fill out the paperwork, thinking everything was going to be just fine. When we returned home, there was a letter from this company saying we owed them almost $1,100 for damages and to report it to our insurance company. We were livid. It's not like we slammed that hatch, we have a suburban and are very accustomed to shutting a hatch. After researching on the web, found lots of other hatch problems in the 2002 Ford Explorer, submit it to the company, submit a complaint to BBB, wait for response. 2 weeks later company says to disregard bill, no charges for rental damage. You just never know...

 

[safetymom]

Everytime I pick up a rental car I take pictures of the car with my digital camera. That way I can document the condition of the car when I received it.

 

[PatMcDuck]

The way insurance is in NJ, it would be better for us to just PAY for the damage, even if it was $1000 or so. Our rates would jump fa rmore than the $1000 over the next 3 years, and we might even find our company unwilling to renew our policies.

(Only people familar with the insurance mess in NJ would believe me, however!)

 

[hercamore]

Sorry to hear about this.

Safetymom has a good idea about taking pictures of the car befor eyou drive.it.

herc.

 

[Feralpeg]

DebbieB, thanks for the suggestion. I did use my Platinum Visa. I will take a look at my coverage. Next time, I will take pictures!

 

[DVC-Don]

Originally posted by safetymom
Everytime I pick up a rental car I take pictures of the car with my digital camera. That way I can document the condition of the car when I received it.

I never thought of that! Now that we have a digital camara we will start doing this. Hey it's got the date on the pic, right? Thanks for mentioning this.

 

[safetymom]

It is also in the properties of the photo if you don't print the dates on the picture.

 

[sammi]

I'm sorry to hear what happened and I fully understand what you're going through.

This past March 31st (in Lake Buena Vista) our rental was involved in a hit and run while we had stopped (only in about 5 minutes) at Billy Boy's Tickets on the 192. There wasn't another car even near ours when we entered the store, but upon returning my DH had a fit when he saw the damage done to the rear left hand passengers door. My DB looked at the damage and said it looked like a truck hit it and then they decided to leave! And what a runaround we had to get a police report (which in the long run we never got!) We were told by an officer on the phone to go to Kissimmee police station (had a heck of a time finding it) then was told no, when we found the place that it should be Osceloa Sherriff's Dept that handles it!!!! To make a long story short we drove for 4 hours trying to get help. And as of this day we still don't have it settled. We have our own insurance so we're waiting for them to settle but my insurance co. is fighting an "administrative charge" of $100.00 US!!) So in the end we'll be stuck paying our $300.00 deductible and the $100.00 administrative fees and worse yet it'll be in US dollars which will be about $600.00 CND funds.

All this because someone didn't want to stop and fess up to what they'd done.

I hope everything works out for you.

 

[Lewisc]

Rental car coverage with DinersClub is PRIMARY, they pay instead of your insurance company. If you have a Diners Card use it to pay for your rental car.

 

[Tay N Evie's Mom]

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but you may also have to pay the rental car agency the lost income they would have received during the time the rental car is being fixed. DH Aunt works for my insurance man and was telling me a story about a client who recked her car and then recked the rental while hers was being fixed. She told me the rental agency submitted a bill for the lost income from the rental car and since the insurance agency will not pay the client will have to pay.

 

[sammi]

Yep in our case we've also been charged for 2 days loss of use.....thank goodness I got a great deal on my rental....(intermediate for $21.95 per day through Dollar) so I'm hoping my insurance company pays for that too. Ughhhhh what a mess.

 

[DebbieB]

I was just looking at my Visa Platnium Benefits Package sheet, loss of use charges are covered. You need to report your claim to 800-VISA-911 within 20 days of the loss.

 

[Mskanga]

Originally posted by safetymom
Everytime I pick up a rental car I take pictures of the car with my digital camera. That way I can document the condition of the car when I received it.

I do that too and dh thought I was nuts for doing it, until Avis decided to blame a dent on the front passenger door on me. I showed them a picture of the car with the dent on it already , taken the day we picked it up in their premises , that shut them up real quick!
ALWAYS take pics of it when you pick it up if you can , and if you can't take pics , inspect the car and document any problems with one of their employees before you leave the lot.

 

[mcnuss]

DH Aunt works for my insurance man and was telling me a story about a client who recked her car and then recked the rental while hers was being fixed. She told me the rental agency submitted a bill for the lost income from the rental car and since the insurance agency will not pay the client will have to pay.

I am not sure that every rental car company does this. Several years ago, my DH was in an accident with our vehicle (he was rear-ended in a snowstorm). While we were getting it repaired, I drove a rental car, which - believe it or not - was totaled 2 days into the rental by a 17 yo who already had 3 accidents to his name. Luckily, he was insured. The strange thing about this was a) neither of us had ever had an accident before and b) both cars were Nissan Altimas!

Our insurance handled everything (we have State Farm), and Enterprise was great about it (although the girl at the office joked that she was not sure she wanted to give me another Nissan Altima!). We never saw a bill or anything other than the accident report for either accident, and our rates did not go up bc in neither case were we at fault.

Back to the OP, if it is clear that the damage was not your fault (did you take pictures after the fact?), then your rates may not go up. If your insurance company tries to increase them, my advice is to fight it. A couple of years after the incident above, I had a similar thing happen with my car. The insurance co. tried to increase my rates, and I appealed it. Since there was no clear evidence of fault, they decided in my favor since I had a long history of good driving with them.

 

[Feralpeg]

Thanks for all the info and support. I talked with my insurance company today. They will pay for the claim, however I have a $250 deductible. DebbieB, thanks for the Visa number. I did put the rental on my Platinum Visa. Visa will pay for anything that my insurance company doesn't cover. Whether or not it will raise my rates is yet to be seen. It's funny, I'm 51 years old. I've been driving since I was 16. I've never had an accident or turned in a claim prior to this. You'd think all those years of payment would count for something. We'll see! Thanks again, everyone!