Damage to rental car

[bluka Member Find all posts View Profile Close bluka]

While in AZ on my previous vacation I rented a car thru dollar from phoenix sky harbor. i had the car for 7 days and ended up turning it in with a small dime size chip in the windshield.
I rented it with a mastercard and i also have insurance thru NY. with Allstate.
What i was wondering if anybody has ever had an accident or problem with a rental car were they did not take out the insurance offered by the rental company?
After turning the car in they had me fill out a report and when i enquired about what happens next the guy said "they'll call you" and that was it.

[katiemack Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close katiemack]

Sorry that there was a problem. Chips in windshields are one of the most common problems in AZ. The roads have so much chip seal, and high speeds often send rocks flying.

While I haven't had such an experience, I would think it would be in your best interest to call the C/C company and inquire, to get on the record, be proactive, and also your own insurance if it seems needed.

Usually things like chips, scratches or little luggage dings are not noted. Did the rental guy spot the damage and tell you there was something to be worried about?

We have used Dollar in PHX and never had any problems with them.

[jones10021 Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close jones10021]

I've never heard of any rental places that do not ask for insurance up front.
Good question though.

[wackymother Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close wackymother]

Windshield accidents are different than other accidents, we discovered last year. A pebble hit our windshield and cracked it. We got home and called a bunch of places, and they all offer in-your-driveway same-day service. Total cost for a whole new windshield, installed in our driveway: about $150, way less than our deductible.

Yes, I would call my credit-card company and tell them what happened. But then I would just sit tight and see if the rental company contacts you again. If cracked windshields are a problem in AZ, as Katie says, then the rental company may just fix them on a regular basis and might not consider it an accident the way they would if you ran into a stop sign or something like that.

[vintner Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close vintner]

I had a couple rock dings in my windshield. Both pretty small. I had one of the patch jobs done. Cost was about $50. It is near perfect, one is slightly visible, the other is gone. It has been over a year with no problems.

I know that doesn't help at all with a rental car, but worth considering for your own car.

[T. R. Oglodyte Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close T. R. Oglodyte]

Many car insurance companies waive the deductible for windshield chip repairs and do not penalize for windshield chip repairs. Wisely, they would rather have the chip repaired at low cost than have repair delayed until it is a more expensive windshield replacement that would be covered under a claim.

[brother coony Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close brother coony]

Your NY allstate policy will also provide primery coverage, your credit card would only pay if Allstate does not,(secondery)
I am sure when you fill out the rental agreement it ask the name of your car insurance co, afther 30 days check with your agent to see if a claim was submit, eaither way you are covered

P.S once you have your personal auto insured in NY, you are covered in all 50 states, you never need to buy rental insurance Period.

[idahodude Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close idahodude]

I haven't researched this for a while, but when I last did, my CC rental insurance was completely adequate up to about $20,000. I also have my personl insurance so I haven't been too worried.

I did have one of the internal handles (above the door) on a rental car recently fall off. I reported it when I brought it back in and they said not to worry about it. It looked like it was a manufacturer defect. I haven't heard anything since then. It's been a few months now.

[T. R. Oglodyte Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close T. R. Oglodyte]

I haven't researched this for a while, but when I last did, my CC rental insurance was completely adequate up to about $20,000. I also have my personl insurance so I haven't been too worried.

I did have one of the internal handles (above the door) on a rental car recently fall off. I reported it when I brought it back in and they said not to worry about it. It looked like it was a manufacturer defect. I haven't heard anything since then. It's been a few months now.

Within the US the credit card rental insurance for damages to the rental car is usually secondary to your personal auto coverage; they won't pay until you have first exhausted whatever coverage you might have with your personal insurance carrier. That, of course, means you have to report the accident to your primary insurer before you can get credit card insurance coverage. You might not want to do that unless there is major damage, because of the possibility of getting your rates jacked up. Some credit cards offer insurance that is primary for an added cost per rental; that added charge is probably less than what you pay for the auto insurer coverage and is more comprehensive.

Outside the US credit card insurance coverage is often primary for rental car damage.

[JudyS Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close JudyS]

Within the US the credit card rental insurance for damages to the rental car is usually secondary to your personal auto coverage; they won't pay until you have first exhausted whatever coverage you might have with your personal insurance carrier. That, of course, means you have to report the accident to your primary insurer before you can get credit card insurance coverage. You might not want to do that unless there is major damage, because of the possibility of getting your rates jacked up. Some credit cards offer insurance that is primary for an added cost per rental; that added charge is probably less than what you pay for the auto insurer coverage and is more comprehensive...

I recently read an article which claimed that, because free credit card rental car insurance is usually secondary to your personal auto insurance, then if you don't have personal auto insurance (because you don't own a car, say), then the credit card coverage won't pay anything. It also claimed that credit card rental coverage won't pay more than what your personal auto insurance collision coverage would pay. So, based on this, if you total a $30,000 rental car and your personal insurance is for car worth $10,000, then you'd be out $20,000 (and if your personal auto coverage doesn't cover collision at all, which mine doesn't, you'd be out the whole $30,000.)

I found this hard to believe (and, if true, I'm not sure how the free credit card coverage would ever end up covering anything) , but I wanted to ask here if anyone thought this could possibly be true.

[EAM Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close EAM]

We rented a mini-van during a trip to Colorado several years ago, and someone scratched it while it was parked on a street in Leadville. We immediately made some calls and found that our State Farm insurance would cover repairs that exceeded the deductible, but not any loss of use charges. Visa would cover the deductible and the loss of use charges. We had to send a ton of paperwork to Visa, including a police report, copy of the rental agreement, statement from State Farm stating what they would and would not cover, estimate from the rental car company, etc. However, State Farm and Visa ended up paying for everything.

[dw24 Member Find all posts View Profile Close dw24]

In the future, just hire a window guy to fix these types of things if you don't mind paying a little bit of money to get out of paperwork and possibly deductibles. Insurance companies are not in business to lose money. i.e. the primary and secondary insurer and deductible hoops.

look in the phone book or call a reputable car dealer to find a good window guy. I do automotive paintwork for a living and and happen to be doing a rental car job for a guy tomorrow. He doesn't want to pay the deductible and get his rates jacked up.

[wackymother Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close wackymother]

In the future, just hire a window guy to fix these types of things if you don't mind paying a little bit of money to get out of paperwork and possibly deductibles. Insurance companies are not in business to lose money. i.e. the primary and secondary insurer and deductible hoops.

look in the phone book or call a reputable car dealer to find a good window guy. I do automotive paintwork for a living and and happen to be doing a rental car job for a guy tomorrow. He doesn't want to pay the deductible and get his rates jacked up.

That's an interesting idea...never occurred to me! I guess I just figured the rental company would "know" and would get on my case for having fixed it myself.

[swilshire Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close swilshire]

I signed up for that Amex service where you pay $24.95 and have good insurance (including loss of use) any time you rent using your Amex card. Since my personal rentals are always long (20+ days), that's a great deal. It saves me having to figure out all the rules on my regular credit cards.

Sheila

[pranas Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close pranas]

I signed up for that Amex service where you pay $24.95 and have good insurance (including loss of use) any time you rent using your Amex card. Since my personal rentals are always long (20+ days), that's a great deal. It saves me having to figure out all the rules on my regular credit cards.

Sheila

Have you had an accident? Did Amex take car of everything? I have this coverage also and recently scraped the front bumper of a rental car on a high curb. I filled out a short form when I returned that car was told that they would contact me. Still waiting to hear back from them.