Rental Car Damage

[Pauline]

When we lived in the US, we booked through AutoEurope.com and took the "no insurance" option. We had an option on our American Express credit card that if we paid using it, it covered any damage. We never had to test this, but I have talked to others who used it. They paid for the damage, then contacted Amex who reimbursed them.

Now we live in the UK and book through AutoEurope.co.uk. You do not have a "no insurance" option here. All rentals include insurance, BUT there is a large deductible (they call it "Car Hire Excess") - usually 1000 Euro. Insurance companies in the UK insure you for this excess at a very reasonable yearly rate. We use Insurance4carhire and pay £40/year.

Last year we did a small amount of damage to the bumper of a car (scraping against the curb in Uzes when parking). We had rented from Thrifty (via AutoEurope). It was just a small scratch. When we returned the car they wanted to charge us 150Euro! He asked if we had insurance, I said "no, so he lowered it to 95Euro. I did not bother claiming it on our insurance.

This year someone scratched the front of our car while it was parked in Forcalquier. We did not see it happen and are not even sure where or when it happened. This time we rented from Citer/Enterprise. They charged us 850Euro (!!!) for the damage. I will post a photo of the damage - just a scratch along the front side of the car. I put in a claim with Insurance4carhire. I had to fill out a form, send them the paperwork from the car rental company and send them a photo of the damage (all done by email). Within a few weeks they reimbursed us.

But, it seems to me there is some kind of scam going on here. These are very high charges for small amounts of damage. Years ago you would not be charged for damage to a bumper! Frequently when you pickup a car in France, it is damaged. One time we really did damage the car - scraped it along a wall in a narrow parking garage - but since the car was already damaged on that side, we did not have to pay anything. I will admit, we did not mention our additional scratch.

For our rental in Italy, I took out zero excess coverage from AutoEurope. You pay more, but you are completely covered - or so you would think. When we got the car, they tried to sell us even more coverage because with zero excess you are not covered for damage to windows, under carriage or roof!! Now that is a scam, IMO. We didn't take the extra coverage and we didn't damage the car.

Anyone else with experience damaging a rental car in Europe? What happened? Were you covered?

Photo of an 850Euro scratch.

 

[Chris]

We had quite a bit of damage to a car several years ago in the Dordogne when a rock wall leaped out into the road and scraped and dented the whole side of the car. We had the American Express coverage so called them first and they said it would be covered, no problem. However, Europcar ignored all requests for the necessary information from American Express and kept demanding that we pay. I don't remember how much it was, probably about $2000. We had rented through AutoEurope, so with the assistance of our friend Pauline who had connections with AutoEurope, we got them involved and they got everything sorted out.

I've heard so many stories about rental companies gouging people for damages that I very thoroughly photograph my car when I pick it up and again when I return it. I still have the American Express coverage, but my Chase Sapphire Preferred card offers the same coverage for no charge, so I think I'll be using that one in the future.

 

[Pauline]

I also take photos of the rental car before and after. I also do a careful check of the car before we drive off.

I would like to book through AutoEurope.com and use our US Amex to pay and cover the insurance, but I am nervous about doing this since we are no longer US residents. We have a US mailing address, US driving licenses and US credit cards - but legally we are UK residents.