Car rental damage charge

taco.cat

Hi all,

Hope this is the right place to post. On Friday, I rented a car with a large, international car hire company from Dublin airport. I was scheduled to pick the car up at 3, but my flight was delayed and I didn't get it until 5. At 12 that day, they emailed me a pre-inspection report with very low-res pictures, with no visible damage. The pictures were taken in an outside space that I later discovered was the returns area.

When I picked up the car, it had been moved to a multi-storey car park, and parked beside two cars, in front of a pillar and bumper to bumper with another car. I did a quick inspection, but it was dark in there and hard to see well. Once I turned on the engine, I found that the petrol tank was nearly empty, despite being marked as "Full" on my rental agreement. The entertainment system was also in German, but that's just extra info highlighting the shoddy job they did in checking the car.

I immediately called the company to inform them of the fuel situation, which we resolved. I then drove down the M50, parked the car in a rural country hotel and forgot about it. I returned it on the Sunday evening and the attendant identified a number of faint scratches on the rear bumper. You really had to get close to see them. She claimed that, as this was not on her report, I was liable for the damage to the tune of over 600 euros!

I really don't think A) I'm responsible for this, and that it could possibly cost close to that amount to repair. I refused to admit liability at the time, and I plan to challenge this charge on the basis that:

- Five hours passed between their pre-inspection report and me picking it up, during which time it was driven into an enclosed location and parked near several obstacles
- The pre-inspection report failed to identify the empty fuel tank and entertainment system in the foreign language
- The pre-inspection pictures are so blurry that it's impossible to say that the scratches aren't present in them.

Now, I know I should have looked more closely, but as I said, my flight was late, the parking garage was dark and I was distracted by more glaring faults. I don't want to mess this up, so can anyone advise me about how best to challenge this charge?

Any help at all is appreciated .

homewardbound11

<SNIP - no need to quote entire lengthy OP. It's hard on mobile readers>

Stand your ground with them . Have they sent you pictures of the scratches and was the pictures taken where the car was returned .
It happened to me . I has pictures of the car before rental but like you it was dark and the photos were not exactly zoomed in to where the scratch was . I Returned car inside normal hours . There was no attendant They reported a scratch afterwards and as you say it was tiny scuff mark and below the rear bumper . Of course it wasn't in my photos as I took most of them of existing scratches.
They eventually billed me 200 euros for a scuff mark the size of your little finger . Beware of dark collection points . It seems the norm .

taco.cat

Thanks for the reply. They sent me pictures as part of the "incident report form" that show the scratch. I took my own pictures when the scratch was pointed out, from the same angle and distance as the original pre-inspection report pictures, and the scratch is literally impossible to see in my pictures. The ones they sent me afterwards at right up close to the scratch, not from 5 feet away like the pre-inspection.

Former Former

taco.cat wrote: »

I really don't think A) I'm responsible for this, and that it could possibly cost close to that amount to repair. I refused to admit liability at the time, and I plan to challenge this charge on the basis that:

Just on this - they won't repair it, they'll just leave the scratch marks there. In fairness to them, it does devalue their car so they have to make some sort of charge but 600 quid sounds very high.

On trying to prove that you didn't do it... well that's going to be very tricky. I would guess that you signed a form saying the car was undamaged at time of collection... and I presume they already charged it to your credit card so it may even be too late.

Vabal

I always opt for full-cover insurance, offered by hire company. That is a few euros a day but saves a lot of hassle and unpleasant surprises. I've done that with various hire companies in Dublin, also in other EU countries - always works, and it is worth it.
Even when booking a car online, I exclude insurance offered by the web agent and take insurance at the desk when collecting a car. No need to bother about scratches then.

daheff

Vabal wrote: »

I always opt for full-cover insurance, offered by hire company. That is a few euros a day but saves a lot of hassle and unpleasant surprises. I've done that with various hire companies in Dublin, also in other EU countries - always works, and it is worth it.
Even when booking a car online, I exclude insurance offered by the web agent and take insurance at the desk when collecting a car. No need to bother about scratches then.

Better value to opt for 3rd party car hire insurance. usually works out cheaper than the hire company

Vabal

daheff wrote: »

Better value to opt for 3rd party car hire insurance. usually works out cheaper than the hire company

Yes, if you are counting every penny and don't mind hassle. With 3rd party insurance you pay up for scratches first and then claim the expenses from your insurance company, which can take weeks. Is it worth it? Not for me.
Full coverage from a hire company only cost a few euro extra, but you then have complete peace of mind.

taco.cat

Former Former wrote: »

Just on this - they won't repair it, they'll just leave the scratch marks there. In fairness to them, it does devalue their car so they have to make some sort of charge but 600 quid sounds very high.

On trying to prove that you didn't do it... well that's going to be very tricky. I would guess that you signed a form saying the car was undamaged at time of collection... and I presume they already charged it to your credit card so it may even be too late.

I agree that 600 is far too high, and of course they'll leave it for an indefinite period until fixing it, if at all :rolleyes:. I have already been charged, from what I can tell on my credit card (it looks like they withheld my deposit and then charged the rest separately) but I intend to try to get to charges refunded. I have proof through pictures that the car was driven 3 KM between the pre-inspection and me picking up the car, so I think I may have a chance.

My points are:

- Car was driven 3 KM and parked in a location with several obstacles between their pre-inspection and me picking it up
- The pre-inspection missed an empty fuel tank, so could easily have missed scratches

Obviously they'll use the fact that I didn't see the scratches on pre-inspection against me, but I reckon I can argue that they can't prove that they're not in the pre-inspection pictures... It's a weak point, but the only counter to their catch-all of "Well, if you didn't see it, then it's your fault".

I have well and truly learned my lesson here about excess cover insurance :mad:.

tayto lover

Maybe they won't fix it at all and charge the next guy for the same damage?

cml387

tayto lover wrote: »

Maybe they won't fix it at all and charge the next guy for the same damage?

yes, that could happen. And it would be fraudulent.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

tayto lover wrote: »

Maybe they won't fix it at all and charge the next guy for the same damage?

Or maybe the next guy will see the damage when he picks up the car.

seagull

cml387 wrote: »

yes, that could happen. And it would be fraudulent.

And that fact does not stop a lot of rental companies from adopting this as standard operating practice

smartblaa

Hi OP.
When you picked up the car, were you given an opportunity to inspect the car, and then sign the appropriate contract documentation? (This documentation would typically have a sketch of the car and "x" marked on any pre-existing damage, it would also highlight mileage and fuel levels). I always bring this document to the car, and walk around it, marking the slightest imperfection)

I had an extremely similar experience about 2 years ago. Not being facilitated with an in-person pre-inspection, very poor conditions/lighting at the car park, and got hit up for roof damage of close to €1000.

My advice to you. The only way to tackle it, is to hit them very hard in writing about not conducting a signed pre-inspection WITH YOU PRESENT. I would also emphasise that you do not accept the preinspection report they allegedly conducted without you. This is especially valid considering the number of hours elapsed, and the the fact that they did their one in a different (and probably well-lit area), in comparison to the contrasting area that they parked the car (dark, pillars, tight on space with the next car).

In my case, I emailed their head office and hit them hard, not entertaining their claim in any way. After 2 or 3 interactions they backed down and removed the charge completely.

I'm more than happy to share my communications if it is any help to you.