What if a rental car gets damaged while parked?

by giles_brown035 » Mon Feb 16, 2015 12:07 pm

my sister had a RENTAL CAR THAT WAS HIT WHILE PARKED by an unknown person during the snow storm, and while she understands that she has to pay her insurance deductible of $500.00 to have the fender repaired, does she have to pay the entire $500.00 upfront or could she pay it in fractions. she doesn't have $500.00 upfront, so what can she do?

Total Comments: 2

Posted: Tue Feb 17, 2015 03:03 am Post Subject:

She needs to discuss this with the rental company.

Posted: Tue Feb 17, 2015 07:03 am Post Subject:

As tcope wrote, only the manager at the rental agency can choose to accept payments like this. Most probably will not, because what leverage do they have if a person turns into a deadbeat? The lost time and expense of having to go to small claims court is reason enough to demand the full $500 up front.

People who rent vehicles and don't have the money to pay their deductible for repairs such as this need to pay the car rental company the extra $10-$20 per day for their Collision Damage Waiver. While the cost is rather exorbitant, the potential benefit to the person who lacks capital is also large -- that $10 could cover the cost of a totaled $25,000 vehicle. Or they need to pay for their car rentals with a "gold" or "platinum" credit card that offers rental car damage coverage.

Not only will your sister be responsible for the deductible, but she will most likely also have to pay a per-day fee for the rental company's "loss of use" of the vehicle for every day it is in the shop and out of service. That could amount to another $300-$500 per week depending on the type of car and the rental market at this time of year.

This is also a good lesson in the need for uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage on your personal auto policy.

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