Holiday rental car

DullSpark

Just back from Spain where I rented a car for the week. Managed to get the car stuck one night and had to get the company to send a tow truck to pull me out. Scratched the car as well. Got a parking fine too in which the rental agreement it says they would charge a €40 admin fee.

Have rented cars loads of times without issue so was kind of nervous handing this car back.

Anyway on return no one even looked at the car. Told the woman I had to get a tow truck one day as well as scratched the car and she was like "doesn't matter, I have the rental closed now".

It looks like the €1400 excess has been put back on my credit card too.

Took out separate insurance which said I would have to submit claim within 31 days of rental. Just wondering could I get hit with bills in the next few weeks?

Can anyone share their experiences?

suvigirl

I had a car rented in Italy once, got a big bang when it was parked in a car park one day. It was very obvious & I had no idea who had done it as they didn't hang around.

Anyway, the day I dropped it back I was expecting a big bill, they inspected the car, said nothing about the damage and I never heard a word about it!

couldn't believe it.

Allinall

OP. Chances are you will have a big charge on your credit card in the next week or so.

Make sure you get all the documentation from the car hire company, and you should be able to reclaim off your excess insurance.

Very unlikely they will let it go.

You will have to suck up the parking fine and admin charge yourself.

DullSpark

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120914846#Comment_120914846

That's what I'm thinking. I might have got away with this one. They have not gave me back my fuel deposit yet but I'd let that go in order to avoid the hassle of making claims back on my insurance. Trying to get any damage reports off them Especially now that home

DullSpark

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120914869#Comment_120914869

I don't think I am in the clear yet. It could never be that easy. But the woman was so relaxed about the whole thing. Have the excess insurance and all but I'm thinking should I just cancel my card and get a new one or would that just be sneaky and might not even work

elperello

Contact the insurance company and advise them of the situation.

Follow up in writing.

If there is no further charge both you and the insurance company will be happy.

whydoibother

I rented a car in the Algarve Portugal once, broke the drivers wing mirror had they gave me a new car no questions asked… that was 10 years ago.

DullSpark

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120914983#Comment_120914983

Maybe no harm, try be as transparent as possible. Don't want to be potentially 2 grand out of pocket

DullSpark

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120914998#Comment_120914998

Had you taken out insurance with the rental company?

I had to call for roadside assistance which I'm pretty sure the woman at the desk said would cost €900 when taking out the car. I didn't need to get the car towed as such but they sent out a big block of man who pushed the car out of trouble for me. Assume the feed would still stand

FishOnABike

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120914893#Comment_120914893

I don't think that works. Afaik even if a card is cancelled the charge could be made to the account associated with that card.

DullSpark

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120915575#Comment_120915575

Ya perhaps, all they would have had are my card details. I have insurance so shouldn't have to worry, I've just read reviews about how hard the company are to get through to and don't want to deal with that stress with a busy August lined up ahead of me

whydoibother

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120915038#Comment_120915038

insurance was covered by the car company

the_amazing_raisin

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120914846#Comment_120914846

You could argue getting through a driving holiday in Italy with only one dent added to the car is pretty good going 😂

I've only ever rented a vehicle once and it was a van in Ireland, but based on what some others have said about being charged afterwards, I suspect the folks manning the front desk don't really handle the cases where the car is damaged

My experience was the rental company showed me a bunch of pictures on a tablet before I took the van and I had to confirm that the van was in the same condition as the photos

Then when I returned it they took new photos for comparison

I suspect that this is all then sent to head office and if repairs are required they either claim from insurance or charge the renter if the insurance doesn't cover it

This kind of makes sense, people who are dropping a car back might be stressed about getting a flight on time, doubly so if they're worried about being charged for damages. Maybe better to just let them walk off without starting an argument and then just get them later with the credit card you have on file

DullSpark

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120917405#Comment_120917405

That does make the most sense to be fair. I couldn't get over how chilled it all was cause I was a nervous wreck driving in to the airport. Reading the t&c's it said something about filling out a form at the desk if there has been damage done but the woman still told me to go on ahead, all is fine. I'm sure something will emailed to me or come out of the bank account in the days ahead. Will keep you updated

the_amazing_raisin

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120917797#Comment_120917797

It's only a theory, and I'd say it depends on the rental company. The smaller ones might be more likely to charge people straight away when they drop the car off

I imagine the rental company goes to the insurance company first, probably easier to deal with and in theory that's what the extra insurance you're offered with the rental is for

So you might not even get charged unless your insurance requires an excess payment

Dr. Nick

Last time I rented a car (with Malaga Car last summer) I started taking photos of it. Fella said - no need, you have full incurance. Their full insurance was very reasonable, just a few euro extra.

BTW, I'm currently looking at renting in Italy for early September and prices have tumbled in the last few months, thank God!