Slight damage to hire car what to expect?

[mcfan]

I reversed into a pole and damaged a very small section of the rear tailgate. Happy to admit my mistake to the rental company. The pickup is only 3mths old.

Looking for advise on what to do to lesson the drama when I return the car. As it will be at the airport before I leave.

I was thinking of going to a panel shop first just to find out how much it will be as a rough guide / quote.

Any suggestions feedback would be great.

I have insurance with an excess

[yermanee]

Depends on which company you rented from. Since it is an airport rental I imagine it to be with one of the reputed companies, in which case the excess will come into play.

I hope the excess is not to high.

Yermanee

[up-country_sinclair]

If you have insurance in excess as you say, then there shouldn't be any charge to you whatsoever.

If you don't have all the coverage that you think you do, you should expect to pay more than what you consider reasonable. This is not just with Thai rental car agencies, but worldwide. They've got you by the shorthairs, and they have every intention of pulling, because it helps their bottom line.

[mcfan]

Thanks for the quick replies"

May be I should go to the airport a day earlier to start the drama before I fly out.

The rental company is budget they have a very poor history judging by the google search I did

[yermanee]

As stated above it all depends on how high the excess is on your rental contract.

If the excess is low then that's all they can get from you. If it's very high it depends on how much drama you are willing to make.

For them no drama since you are responsable.

Yermanee

[taotoo]

I wouldn't bother going to the panel shop for a quote - the hire company won't actually bother to repair minor damage (they'd rather keep your cash) so the cost of doing so is irrelevant. All that matters is what your paperwork says about excesses etc.

[mcfan]

I wouldn't bother going to the panel shop for a quote - the hire company won't actually bother to repair minor damage (they'd rather keep your cash) so the cost of doing so is irrelevant. All that matters is what your paperwork says about excesses etc.

So how do they work out how much the damage is to charge me.

They have taken a 20,000b security deposit

I have used my Australian credit card to pay for the hire.

[Tim16]

Unless you can show, by having a written quote for the repair, that the damage is less than 20,000 baht they will keep your deposit .

[Sheppo]

I rented a car from Thai Rental Cars and inflicted similart damage. I backed into a bollard in hotel car park and worried about it for days. On return to the airport I showed the damage to the agent. He remarked that they would just replace the rear bumper bar. My excess was just TB5000. The claimed just that on my credit card and i never heard about it again. I trust that company now! I hope you have as good as agent as I had MERRY CHRISTMAS from Oz. Back again 14 March Hooray!

[oxo1947]

If it is that minor-----get it fixed yourself, don't leave it to them to charge you.

[A1Str8]

What to admit? Just take it to a repair shop and get it repaired for a fraction of what the rental company would make you pay.

[stranger-in-paradise]

It may be good to get a price from a repair shop asap. Without seeing the actual damage, it is hard to make a recommendation. I've always been surprised how much a "simple dent" can cost to get fixed (but that's in Europe). If you know the expected repair price, you can make an informed choice, i.e. pay for the repairs before returning the car or take the car back in its current condition and risk forgoing the deposit.

[yermanee]

@ OP

You claim you have insurance with excess.

It doesn't matter how much you have deposited.

The excess is all they can claim.

Yermanee

[sunshine51]

"Slight damage to hire car what to expect?"

How much money U got?

[makecoldplayhistory]

In my experience, from several companies in Phuket, the excess has been 5k baht. Expect to pay every baht of that, or, as others said, get it repaired first.

[geordiel]

A year ago I had some damage to my rental car, dents a few scrapes and the rear light hanging out. I took it to a local car repairer and told him do only what is necessary for a hire car. He buffed out the scrapes fixed the light and tapped out the dents. Cost .... 400 Baht. Iam in no doubt that the company would have at the minimum kept my 5000 Baht deposit.

[Fisherman194]

I frequently hire cars in Thailand I also have a history in car insurance,I have also damaged cars on two occasions.Firstly there seems to be approx 10000 baht limit on excesses in Thailand that is if you haven't paid extra to cover the excess,this should show on your hire documents.If the repair to the vehicle would be less than this may be worth getting it repaired.As the hire company is likely to charge you the total amount of the excess even if the damage is minimal as they will say there is loss of income as the car will be out of service whilst repair is done.

[Costas2008]

If it is that minor-----get it fixed yourself, don't leave it to them to charge you.

If you noticed....he is flying home tomorrow!

[rotary]

Several years ago I had a rental from the airport from one of the bigger Thai rental outfits. It got a small door ding, well more than a ding but not much. They wanted like 7000 baht. Should have been maybe 1500 or something. That's the last time I rented in Thailand.

[Tim16]

@ OP

You claim you have insurance with excess.

It doesn't matter how much you have deposited.

The excess is all they can claim.

Yermanee

Usually the deposit is the amount of excess.

I have hired many times from Avis, Thai rent a car,Budget, but the highest deposit/excess has been 10,000 baht.

Each time they took an imprint of my credit card on the old type paper slips, which was returned to me on return of the damage free car.

[Mr Brown]

Prior to buying my car over here, I rented a car through AVIS on a long term contract. Once I had purchased my own car I took the Avis vehicle back to the Phuket airport office. During the time I had the vehicle several minor scratches appeared on the vehicle a legacy of the close parking situations we come across over here on a daily basis. Avis observed the scratches and initially insisted that I pay for the damage. However I reminded them that the vehicle was comprehensively insured. Problem solved repairs covered by insurance and I received my full deposit back.

[cardinalblue]

My advise is take it to a repair shop and get it fixed. And say nothing to the rental agency. You will have problems if you are honest with them. It will cost you much more than it should or what you expect...

Preserve your 20k deposit or kiss it good bye...

This ain't the west...

CB

[cracker1]

If the damage is "slight" as you suggest what about getting a couple of quotes and having it fixed before you return it. Whatever the worst quote is it will probably be about half of what the rental company will want.

[Qman]

Op, let us know what happens when the vehicle is returned. I expect you will pay the excess and that is all. Usually the deposit is to cover that and/or rental extensions so you have an incentive to return the vehicle.

[TommyUK1960]

Good repair shop in Pattaya charge 3500 per panel that needs straitening. So for tail gate dent it would be 3500.

My Fiesta had tail gate and bumper repair cost 7000bhat. The bumper was creased and bend in tail gate was quite bad.

The result was excellent.

[myluckythai]

it depends. i hit a cow once in a rentalcar. Took the owner of the car to a repairshop and made a deal to fix it for 100K. Then i went back alone and told the shop i only have 25K and asked them if this was possible. They fixed it up andmade it look like a good job for 25 K . looked good again and owner was happy

[samjaidee]

If it is that minor-----get it fixed yourself, don't leave it to them to charge you.

If you noticed....he is flying home tomorrow!

Where did you read that? I checked again and couldn't find it!

[1ma]

OP.

A photo of it.

And follow up please.

[misterphil]

Can you show us a photo of the damage?

I reversed a rental pick up into something before and I pushed the dent out from the other side. However you have to be careful and know what your doing because the metal has been stretched after its been bumped.

I also rented a Fortuner before and the hotel boy lifted out my bag and scratched all the back of it. I polished that out so it wasn't visible anymore.

[cliffhornsby]

As stated above it all depends on how high the excess is on your rental contract.

If the excess is low then that's all they can get from you. If it's very high it depends on how much drama you are willing to make.

For them no drama since you are responsable.

Yermanee