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Rental Car Agency Nightmare

Promagstyle

Promagstyle

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I rented a chevy cobalt in "Apple Red" Colors with Discount Cars on January 24th, 2010. This is not the first or last-time that I have rented with them. I rented them for three days which would end on January 26th, 2010 however when I picked up this rental car from the location that I rented I noticed that there was scratches underneath the front bumper and also near the driver side hood portion. I have marked them down on the vehicle inspection sheet as per the rental agreement. I took the car out by signing my name on the bottom of the vehicle inspection sheet, but clearly stating that there are damages done to the vehicle from the previous car renter.

I have neglected to take the CDW/LDW, because I wanted to save some money and I put it on my TD Visa Gold Select Card. Load and behold on the early morning of January 26th, 2010 the day that I was supposed to return the car, someone had hit my car and took off (hit and run). That morning I had work at 9am, but the Car Rental Agency opened at 8am and they would not let me return the vehicle without a collision report filled in by the police.

I took the Chevy Cobalt to the nearest Collision Reporting Center and then I had to go back to the Car Rental Agency, because they did include the pink "Insurance Card." The desk officer at the Collision Reporting Center told me that if a police car had pulled me over, I could have been arrested for not having that Pink Insurance Card with me. So it took another 15 minutes or so for me to drive back to the Car Rental Agency to get the Pink Insurance Card, however they didn't even have it and they just photocopied it on some kind of sheet that the Collision Reporting Center was requesting information. The police officer there estimated the cost of the damage on the Driver Side Passenger Door about $900.

I have successfully returned the vehicle on January 26th, 2010 and Discount Cars charged my credit card for $35.59 before the repairs done on the Chevy Cobalt. From that point forward, I do not hear anything from Discount Car until now its March 3rd, 2010 and I get someone who calls me and asks me to send some claim information with them, but I have no idea who it is because when that person called me I was half awake and half asleep.

I called the location where I rented the chevy Cobalt, this is the first time I have called them since January 26th, 2010. I asked the Manager that they haven't called me since January 26th, 2010 and they haven't sent me anything including the repair bill for the cost of repairing the damaged Chevy Cobalt, which the Police Estimate was $900. When I asked the manager at the location where I rented the Chevy Cobalt, how much was the repair bill and he said, "A little over $2000." I was shocked to hear that amount, because that is like $1100 more than the Police Officer estimate done at the Collision Reporting Center.

Also there was some damage already caused by a previous renter, before I rented the car, could Discount Cars trying to play me and make pay for those damages as well from the previous car renter. I am afraid that TD VISA won't except my claim and then I will be flat broke and no job. I feel that I am being taken advantage here by Discount Cars.... they even over charged me on a rental two weeks ago for the amount of $62.01!!

HELP.... SUGGESTIONS..... COMMENTS!
 
You're SOL. And I hate to say it, but not getting the insurance on a rental car is kind of asking for it. They're totally taking advantage of you, but you let them do it.
 
I rent cars four or five times a year, and what you describe is the kind of nightmare I hope to never have to experience. You can drive carefully, but you can't prevent others from doing something dumb to damage the car, whether it's parked or you're driving at the time.

I know it doesn't help now, but I think it always makes sense to suck it up and pay for the collision coverage up front. At Budget where I usually rent, it's about $30 to $40 a day for a small car, and another $29 for the collision coverage. So you almost double the cost of your rental. It's brutal, no question, but then I think about how I'll feel if something happens to the car and I owe thousands because I cheaped out on $29. Then I suck it up and pay it. Another thing I have done is add extra travel protection on my credit card for a small annual fee. If I use the card to pay for car rentals, it gives me additional coverage. Now, I'm under no illusion that paying for the collision damage and getting extra travel protection on my card will save me from all damage costs in all situations, but I think they are reasonable steps to take. When I think about the money I save versus when I owned a car, the cost doesn't seem so bad on a few rentals a year. Car insurance rates for car owners are skyrocketing, too.

At this point I doubt there is much you can do to solve this problem. A cop's estimate of damages is probably not worth much. I know from experience that body damage to a single panel on a car can easily run $1500 to $2000, and since it's a door which has hinges and other mechanisms is at the higher end. Again, I know this won't help much, but things could have been much worse.

Good luck and let us know if you manage to resolve this in any way without paying the full amount.
 
I dunno what you should do.. I had a similar experience. I had some work done on my honda, they gave me a loner car until the work was done. I dropped off the loner in about a week, when my car was done. Well, stupid idiots that the Honda garage are..they rent cars from a rental company in these cases. They left the rental on their lot for 6 weeks!!! when they finally realized, the rental company charged us for the six weeks . But, we couldn't plead our case cuz the rental company had folded.
 
I rent a car very frequently (up to 10 days per month) and I've had a perfect record with no collisions for years. I never take insurance because my Business VISA covers it. A few weeks ago, after driving a Toyota Matrix for a week, I returned it and they closed the contract. An hour later, they called me saying they washed off the car and found a significant dent and scratch on the passenger side.

I could have told them it was no longer my responsibility but considering they found the damage right after I left and because I don't want to ruin my relationship with the branch, I agreed that the damage had happened during the time I had the car. It was most likely caused at night when I had the car parked in a lot. My VISA will cover the damage so I'm not too worried.

When it comes to billing you for damage, your rental company has to provide a detailed repair report showing what was repaired and how much each item costs. VISA will require you to send it to them. I too had the same issue that you have: wondering if the rental company was repairing previous damages in addition to my own. I noticed that a door had been removed and other items unrelated to the damage attributed to me. However, I found that the full cost of the repair was less than the full itemized repair meaning that they simply took the opportunity to fix the entire car but only billed me for the items from my damage.

Luckily for you, once you provide the necessary paperwork to VISA, you don't have to worry about the rental company. Your VISA insurance will deal with them directly and you should mention which damage should be billed and that there was previous damage. They'll take care of it.

I do have a question. Will the $500 in damage go on my driving record even though a police report wasn't filed/required? I'm concerned that it will affect my insurance rates when I do eventually buy my own car.
 
One of the few times I rented a car without insurance, there was a dent in the door when I returned it, and I ended up being charged ~$700. Needless to say, I have always made sure I have insurance when renting a car since then. I had no idea when it happened, and wasn't even completely sure it wasn't there when I rented it (I did do a walk-around at that time, but it was dark out, and the dent wasn't huge).

This did not affect my subsequent insurance rates in the US (where I had just moved from Canada at the time), or back in Canada where I live now. I am not sure how an insurance company could find out about it. Even if they did, it doesn't seem like there is very strong proof that you had anything to do with the damage (versus the possibility that it was already there when you rented the car), if no accident report was filed with the police.
 
MetroMan said:
I rent a car very frequently (up to 10 days per month) and I've had a perfect record with no collisions for years. I never take insurance because my Business VISA covers it. A few weeks ago, after driving a Toyota Matrix for a week, I returned it and they closed the contract. An hour later, they called me saying they washed off the car and found a significant dent and scratch on the passenger side.

I could have told them it was no longer my responsibility but considering they found the damage right after I left and because I don't want to ruin my relationship with the branch, I agreed that the damage had happened during the time I had the car. It was most likely caused at night when I had the car parked in a lot. My VISA will cover the damage so I'm not too worried.

When it comes to billing you for damage, your rental company has to provide a detailed repair report showing what was repaired and how much each item costs. VISA will require you to send it to them. I too had the same issue that you have: wondering if the rental company was repairing previous damages in addition to my own. I noticed that a door had been removed and other items unrelated to the damage attributed to me. However, I found that the full cost of the repair was less than the full itemized repair meaning that they simply took the opportunity to fix the entire car but only billed me for the items from my damage.

Luckily for you, once you provide the necessary paperwork to VISA, you don't have to worry about the rental company. Your VISA insurance will deal with them directly and you should mention which damage should be billed and that there was previous damage. They'll take care of it.

I do have a question. Will the $500 in damage go on my driving record even though a police report wasn't filed/required? I'm concerned that it will affect my insurance rates when I do eventually buy my own car.
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I have mailed the entire package to TD VISA, I will have to wait until about Monday to see if they have received it yet or not. Also a friend of mine who works at a Canadian Tire as Car Mechanic, told me that I shouldn't be responsible for the damages, because I used my TD GOLD SELECT CARD as for insurance coverage and it was the card that was used during the rental period. I'm still concerned, because they way that Car Rental Agencies have been ripping off innocent and hard working people like us. My friend told me that the worst case scenario is that if TD VISA Refuses to accept the claim, that I should go ahead and pay the deductible on the insurance, which is roughly around $1000.00. However I will check in with TD VISA Insurance, because I did mention on my case number that there was previous damages caused by a previous rental driver and not me. This is clearly marked on the Vehicle Inspection Report when I took the vehicle out and had returned it in.


MetroMan, I don't think the $500 in damage will go on your driving record, even though a police report wasn't filed / required. I guess that the only thing that would be reported on your driving record is if you were caught under the influence of a prohibited substance, not wearing a seatbelt, Street Racing, Driving while your license is suspended and then I think that will definetly affect your Insurance Rating and be on your driving record.
 
I rented a car a few years ago for a trip to Timmins via Manitoulin and Sudbury. The trip was fine, but on the way home, near Parry Sound, a large stone came off a dump truck and right into the windshield, which had to be replaced.

The cost of the new windshield was almost $800. I too declined the insurance and used the credit card insurance (also a TD VISA). I paid for the cost upfront and the credit card company reimbursed me the full amount about two months later. Apart from being out $800 for a while, it wasn't that bad, and I still rent cars without their insurance. I rented from Enterprise that time (and rented from them since, for business and travelling).

If you want to avoid hassle in the 'just in case' scenario, get their insurance. If you can afford some hassle, use your own.
 
Back to the original post, this comment about being arrested because of lack of a "pink insurance card" is a bit alarming. In all my years of renting I've never received any such card. Damage coverage aside, has anyone ever heard of "non-owner" car insurance in Ontario that covers only liability in case of accident?
 
I always use my Royal Visa Gold (Avion) card for car rentals, and waive insurance. Never had anything happen during a rental except once, where I got too close to a gatepost, in a narrow British hotel parking lot and put a short, but serious, scratch in a panel. I immediately called Royal Bank Visa (from England) and reported it, and they gave me a case number. When I returned the car, I simply told the car rental folks about it, and gave them the Visa case number - never heard anything about it again, and they all dealt with it completely painlessly!

I think if using a Gold Card, then reporting to them early is key.

$2,000 for a door dent doesn't sound too unreasonable these days. It doesn't take much to suddenly increase a repair cost, when you take the whole thing apart. I've had estimates that were so far off, that the insurance company has had to go back to do a second inspection of the vehicle in the shop, because there was damage that wasn't expected and quite significant, and only visible when the car was already in pieces.
 
urbandreamer said:
Not paying insurance on a rental car is like spending $100 on booze at a bar and not tipping the bartender. Stupid.
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Why, if insurance is covered through your Visa Gold card? I can't see a downside (as long as you are dealing with a reputable bank and car rental company).

One is normally also covered through one's own vehicle insurance when one does a rental ... but given the potential impact to one's insurance rates, I can see that may not be the optimum choice.
 
Catapult said:
Have you verified this? I don't think this is generally true.
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Hmm ... perhaps it's only liablity that's covered (which can be 7 digits) rather than collision. I'll have to check my policy ...

... but I always have used my Gold Card, and had no problem getting Visa to pay out for collisions. Check with your broker I guess is the best suggestion!
 
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