renting a car in thailand

[watgate]

I am planning on renting a car and was wondering if the collision waiver damage  (cwd) in thailand is like in the US. In the US when you rent a car and take out the cwd, if you have an accident or there is damage to your rental car you are covered and there is no out of pocket expenses to worry about. Is it the same in Thailand when renting a car here? Thanks for any info.

[Don Mega]

Yeah when you rent you also have to pay a deposit, this is for accident damage... no damage when you return the vehicle they give the deposit back.

 

Not sure how that works if you completely demolish the vehicle though or if the damage is significant enough that the vehicle is off the road for repairs for months and months.

[Moonlover]

On the occasions that I have rented a car here the price has included full 1st class insurance (fully comprehensive in western terms) which included damage collision waiver. As mentioned above, a deposit is required to cover the excess. If I recall correctly it was around 6,000 THB.

 

The company I used also offered Super Damage Collision Waiver, which reduced the liability to zero for 250 THB per day.

 

It is in your best interests to use a well known and reputable company.

[AussieBob18]

Rental car insurance in Thailand is not like US or anywhere else in 1st world.  There are lots of gotchas and conditions in the fine print - and there is not any real consistency between companies - even the big named ones - they are Thai owned franchises and operate under Thai laws and consumer protections (what little they are).   Basically, you should expect that you will have to give up all or some of your 10,000 baht deposit if you have an accident/damage. 

 

You must have an IDP and valid licence.  You must use a credit card for the deposit - they will not accept cash/debit etc.  But here is where it can become very serious - and it has for some people in the past - seach TV and the web.  If the accident/theft is not covered by their own insurance (for whatever Thai reason), they will hit your credit card with the costs.  Some have been known to hit the credit card and then refund some/all of the charge months later when/if there insurance company pays up.  There is no hard and fast rules/laws - this is Thailand - maybe OK, maybe not. 

 

The best advice I got when I found out all about this years ago, and what I do every time I rent a car in Thailand, is that I have credit card that has a few thousand$ limit - from a bank that I have no other accounts with.  Nothing has gone wrong for me, but the 'safety' of having a limit on the credit card I use, and the bank has no other accounts it can access, means I should be a lot safer - and I mean 'should'.  And no not drink - at all - any alcohol in your blood after a serious accident and you are toast. And dont over-speed - same reasons.

 

 

[Don Mega]

8 minutes ago, AussieBob18 said:

Rental car insurance in Thailand is not like US or anywhere else in 1st world.  There are lots of gotchas and conditions in the fine print - and there is not any real consistency between companies - even the big named ones - they are Thai owned franchises and operate under Thai laws and consumer protections (what little they are).   Basically, you should expect that you will have to give up all or some of your 10,000 baht deposit if you have an accident/damage. 

 

You must have an IDP and valid licence.  You must use a credit card for the deposit - they will not accept cash/debit etc.  But here is where it can become very serious - and it has for some people in the past - seach TV and the web.  If the accident/theft is not covered by their own insurance (for whatever Thai reason), they will hit your credit card with the costs.  Some have been known to hit the credit card and then refund some/all of the charge months later when/if there insurance company pays up.  There is no hard and fast rules/laws - this is Thailand - maybe OK, maybe not. 

 

The best advice I got when I found out all about this years ago, and what I do every time I rent a car in Thailand, is that I have credit card that has a few thousand$ limit - from a bank that I have no other accounts with.  Nothing has gone wrong for me, but the 'safety' of having a limit on the credit card I use, and the bank has no other accounts it can access, means I should be a lot safer - and I mean 'should'.  And no not drink - at all - any alcohol in your blood after a serious accident and you are toast. And dont over-speed - same reasons.

 

 

I rent from smaller companies that don't require a credit card and accept cash for the deposit.

 

With a foreign licence and IDP the blood alcohol limit is 0.02.

Edited March 8, 2020 by Don Mega

[AussieBob18]

14 minutes ago, Don Mega said:

I rent from smaller companies that don't require a credit card and accept cash for the deposit.

With a foreign licence and IDP the blood alcohol limit is 0.02.

Do you know any smaller ones in Bangkok?  I know of one in Udon and there was one in Chiang Mai but I think closed now.

 

0.02 I didnt know that - thanks I will keep that in mind.  But is that the same when driving a rental car - I thought it was 0.

 

[Don Mega]

13 minutes ago, AussieBob18 said:

Do you know any smaller ones in Bangkok?  I know of one in Udon and there was one in Chiang Mai but I think closed now.

 

0.02 I didnt know that - thanks I will keep that in mind.  But is that the same when driving a rental car - I thought it was 0.

 

Sorry, don't of rental places in Bangkok, I usually taxi to my house in Chonburi then rent locally.

Not sure on rental car BAC....I don't drink and drive.

[Don Mega]

2 minutes ago, pdtokyo said:

i was typing my answer while you had typed your question ... 

 

I didn't type a question.

[Peter Denis]

16 minutes ago, pdtokyo said:

AussieBob i was typing my answer while Don was typing his much shorter one !

 

but i have to say Don approach sounds better than renting from anyone in central Bangkok ... I've done two rentals this year BKK to CM, CR and Uttaradit and had a ball ... love driving in Thailand ... but Sukhumvit drop-off and pick-up will always be Russian Roulette-level stressful!

 

Find an outlying renter and get there by taxi or BTS is a great idea ... may even be cheaper rates too. I'll give that a go next rip.

 

LIving in Bangkok can be problematic at times...

 

Edited March 8, 2020 by Peter Denis

[Moonlover]

1 hour ago, AussieBob18 said:

You must have an IDP and valid licence.  You must use a credit card for the deposit - they will not accept cash/debit etc.

This is not the case with the company I use. Cash for payment and the excess deposit is accepted and that's how I always pay.

 

Neither have I been asked for an IDP. My UK licence was acceptable. (N.A. now because I have a Thai DL)

 

 

Edited March 8, 2020 by Moonlover

[Ventenio]

friend drove today, 40 minutes.  almost two bad accidents in the morning.  last night, drunk drivers swerving everywhere.....almost everyone i know has had an accident, usually on motorbike.  

 

never, never rent a car in Thailand.  i know you will say only dangerous on motorbike....whatever.  

 

don't listen to me, no worries.  you have been warned.  

[Moonlover]

14 minutes ago, pdtokyo said:

again, nice to know, happy for you etc etc but i hope you agree it's quite useless to respond unless you name the company ... as far as i know it's not against posting rules to be specific about a good/bad company as long as you are not blatantly promoting them ... moderator?

Well, the worst thing that can happen is that the name gets removed so here goes. It may not suit the O/P of course because it is 'up country'.

 

UD Car Rental. https://www.ud-carrent.com

 

[Don Mega]

27 minutes ago, Ventenio said:

friend drove today, 40 minutes.  almost two bad accidents in the morning.  last night, drunk drivers swerving everywhere.....almost everyone i know has had an accident, usually on motorbike.  

 

never, never rent a car in Thailand.  i know you will say only dangerous on motorbike....whatever.  

 

don't listen to me, no worries.  you have been warned.  

Sounds like your friends are bad drivers, sound advice for them to not rent.

[Don Mega]

2 minutes ago, Moonlover said:

Well, the worst thing that can happen is that the name gets removed so here goes. It may not suit the O/P of course because it is 'up country'.

 

UD Car Rental. https://www.ud-carrent.com

 

Yeah for pdtokyo my rental place is https://www.bp-rentals.net/#

[UbonThani]

If you have a debit card with 100,000 baht credit on it why do you need a cr card?

 

 

[saengd]

1 hour ago, AussieBob18 said:

Rental car insurance in Thailand is not like US or anywhere else in 1st world.  There are lots of gotchas and conditions in the fine print - and there is not any real consistency between companies - even the big named ones - they are Thai owned franchises and operate under Thai laws and consumer protections (what little they are).   Basically, you should expect that you will have to give up all or some of your 10,000 baht deposit if you have an accident/damage. 

 

You must have an IDP and valid licence.  You must use a credit card for the deposit - they will not accept cash/debit etc.  But here is where it can become very serious - and it has for some people in the past - seach TV and the web.  If the accident/theft is not covered by their own insurance (for whatever Thai reason), they will hit your credit card with the costs.  Some have been known to hit the credit card and then refund some/all of the charge months later when/if there insurance company pays up.  There is no hard and fast rules/laws - this is Thailand - maybe OK, maybe not. 

 

The best advice I got when I found out all about this years ago, and what I do every time I rent a car in Thailand, is that I have credit card that has a few thousand$ limit - from a bank that I have no other accounts with.  Nothing has gone wrong for me, but the 'safety' of having a limit on the credit card I use, and the bank has no other accounts it can access, means I should be a lot safer - and I mean 'should'.  And no not drink - at all - any alcohol in your blood after a serious accident and you are toast. And dont over-speed - same reasons.

 

 

Where ever do you get this tripe, if you're not bashing the banks, the currency or the economy you're bashing something else, this time the car rental companies, give it a rest for gods sake!

 

The major international car rental companies operate here in Thailand just as they do in many other countries around the world, in Thailand they are operated on franchises, Avis, Hertz, Budget etc. Each of them offer various levels of insurance at a price, as with any other country where you rent a car, the level of insurance is determined by your risk tolerance and your pocket book. I have rented cars from Avis over the years and have never had a problem, when I first arrived in Thailand I rented on a monthly contract with them for six months, again without a problem. It is not a "must" that the foreigner has an IDP, a Thai license works equally well or better. Make sure you retain a copy of your contract and if there are problems later your credit card company can be used as protection and leverage.

 

Cheaper rates can be had from the likes of Northern Wheels who the last I looked didn't require a credit card, I'm sure there are other local rental agents that are similar.

 

[jackdd]

In the end it will depend on the insurance company, but the big ones have first class insurance, with an excess somewhere in the region of 10k THB.

So if you have an accident or damage the car you pay 10k THB at most.

With most of them you can pay an extra 100-200THB per day to lower this excess to zero.

[Moonlover]

6 minutes ago, pdtokyo said:

27 minutes ago, Ventenio said:

friend drove today, 40 minutes.  almost two bad accidents in the morning.  last night, drunk drivers swerving everywhere.....almost everyone i know has had an accident, usually on motorbike.  

 

never, never rent a car in Thailand.  i know you will say only dangerous on motorbike....whatever.  

 

don't listen to me, no worries.  you have been warned.  

 

6 minutes ago, pdtokyo said:

That is totally at odds with my very positive experiences ... about 2,000kms clocked up this year, same a couple of years ago through Thailand and Malaysia ... nil accidents ... yes a few near misses and yes observed many many examples of crappy driving ... including a few from myself ... but no worse than i've seen in Australia, UK, US or Europe.

 

to nitpick ... if the drunk drivers were swerving everywhere, how did you determine they were drunk? ... did you jump onto the vehicle action movie style to test them? oh no wait ... not your experience at all, but your friend's ... so that takes your advice another step away from being factual. i believe 'hearsay' is the technical term for it.

 

Yes, the death/accident rate in Thailand is high on the global scale but imo easy to mitigate that by (1) modifying your driving style to Thai environment (2) being aware of and avoiding obvious traps such as driving yourself in BKK, driving anywhere near the limit in country at night (3) not slipping into the habit of tailgating or allowing yourself to be tailgated etc etc

 

but i'll follow your advice anyway and not listen to you.

Yep, I completely agree with you. I've driven and ridden here for 5 years and have not had any problems at all. In fact I enjoy being out on the roads here, especially on my motorcycle. 

[saengd]

35 minutes ago, Ventenio said:

friend drove today, 40 minutes.  almost two bad accidents in the morning.  last night, drunk drivers swerving everywhere.....almost everyone i know has had an accident, usually on motorbike.  

 

never, never rent a car in Thailand.  i know you will say only dangerous on motorbike....whatever.  

 

don't listen to me, no worries.  you have been warned.  

I've driven in Thailand for the past almost twenty years, averaging around 15k miles per year. My experience is that there are westerners who can drive a car or truck here and there are those who really shouldn't drive anything anywhere. And any westerner who drives a motorbike or similar here is simply asking for trouble, I don't care how much experience you have or how good you are, it plain and simply is very unsafe and the statistics confirm this.

[saengd]

14 minutes ago, UbonThani said:

If you have a debit card with 100,000 baht credit on it why do you need a cr card?

 

 

Once your debit card is debited the money is gone. But when a charge is put onto a credit card there is a period of time when any problems, if they arise, can be addressed - the threat of getting the credit card company involved to settle a dispute is quite useful, if not powerful.

[UbonThani]

Driving is good in Isaan or north. Of course you need basic driving skills. Some people have no skills.

[NanLaew]

52 minutes ago, Moonlover said:

This is not the case with the company I use. Cash for payment and the excess deposit is accepted and that's how I always pay.

 

Neither have I been asked for an IDP. My UK licence was acceptable. (N.A. now because I have a Thai DL)

 

 

Is revealing the name of the company you use prohibited?

[UbonThani]

1 minute ago, saengd said:

Once your debit card is debited the money is gone. But when a charge is put onto a credit card there is a period of time when any problems, if they arise, can be addressed - the threat of getting the credit card company involved to settle a dispute is quite useful, if not powerful.

Not so. I hired a car and they put a hold on $1600 via debit.

 

Also hotels have done this.

 

Also you can pay cash.

 

Never had a problem getting a car.

[scorecard]

Are you assuming it's all, or mostly, structured the same as in the US.

 

Best you open you analysis and understand more how it works in other countries, can be very different.

 

Another point: In Thailand there are:

 

- Mainstream rental companies, and

 

- Local rental shops.

 

If you rent from local small operators beware, the daily rental rate can be quite reasonable, there will usually be a deposit. 

 

Some shops are very genuine but others are a scam / rip off and when you return the car they will claim that you have damaged the car, and they will find the tiniest items (often there for years or just wear and tear from age).

 

If you do rent any car take numerous photos of every part of the car and from different angles and ensure any damage of scuff etc., is well photoed.

 

One extreme case I'm aware of was in Kanchanaburi many years ago, the renter took the cheap car, and did a lot of KM including up some hills to waterfalls.

 

When he and his Thai wife and kids got back to the rental shop one of the staff asked his Thai wife 'where did you go', she responded with the location including up some hills and to waterfalls,  shop lady quickly told the boss.

 

Boss now approached the renter angrily claiming that there was no agreement to drive up hills to waterfalls and the engine will now be damaged and renter must pay all costs of replacing the engine. Meantime other shop staff have put pieces of tape on every tiny mark on the old car, boss also now claiming reimbursement for total body and paint job. 

 

Renter tells his wife to call the local police station, cop comes, listens a bit then talks to rental shop then tells the renter, you pay 50,000Baht and all OK.

 

Renters wife now in panic and insists her husband pay and has also asked if the cops will give them a lift back to their hotel, to which cop agrees if 50,000Baht paid in cash immediately.

 

50,000Baht paid quickly and back to the hotel in cop car.  

[NanLaew]

20 minutes ago, UbonThani said:

If you have a debit card with 100,000 baht credit on it why do you need a cr card?

 

 

Because a debit card with 100,000 held in a linked bank account that the card/account owner has 100% control over isn't a credit card. Singapore hotels famously decline any sort of debit card for this reason.

[UbonThani]

Just now, NanLaew said:

Because a debit card with 100,000 held in a linked bank account that the card/account owner has 100% control over isn't a credit card. Singapore hotels famously decline any sort of debit card for this reason.

 they can put a hold on funds. Hotels in Thailand have done this. Car hire elsewhere did this.

 

Something wrong with Singapore.

[saengd]

5 minutes ago, UbonThani said:

Not so. I hired a car and they put a hold on $1600 via debit.

 

Also hotels have done this.

 

Also you can pay cash.

 

Never had a problem getting a car.

Good luck trying to get that cancelled or getting your bank to get involved on your behalf in the event of a dispute!

Edited March 8, 2020 by saengd

[UbonThani]

2 minutes ago, saengd said:

Good luck trying to get that cancelled or getting your bank to get involved on your behalf in the event of a dispute!

Done it for 15 years. Never had a problem. It was simply a hold with receipt given.

 

One time there was a 1 day delay. Otherwise no issue. Debit cards have visa and mastercard symbols so it's the same system just u have your own funds not the bank.

 

 

 

[Don Mega]

7 minutes ago, UbonThani said:

 they can put a hold on funds. Hotels in Thailand have done this. Car hire elsewhere did this.

 

Something wrong with Singapore.

Was thinking the same, been a few years since I was last in Singapore but the hotel had no issue with accepting my debit card.

[saengd]

14 minutes ago, UbonThani said:

Done it for 15 years. Never had a problem. It was simply a hold with receipt given.

 

One time there was a 1 day delay. Otherwise no issue. Debit cards have visa and mastercard symbols so it's the same system just u have your own funds not the bank.

 

 

 

No they are not the same.

 

Credit cards are governed by consumer credit laws in the country of issue, debit cards are not, the two are very different things. 

 

The fact that Mastercard and visa symbols appear on some debit cards simply means they use the Mastercard or Visa settlement/payment systems, nothing more.

 

And when a hold is put on debit card funds that is done solely to ensure that their will be sufficient funds in the account when payment is due, again, nothing more, there is no implied legal right as a result of that. 

 

 

Edited March 8, 2020 by saengd