Slight damage to hire car what to expect?

[cliffhornsby]

hi unfortunately i did the same with the hire car that i had last year so not wanting to go into alot of detail, i simply took the car to a garage who repaired it perfect in 2 hours and took it back to the company unmarked, it cost around 2000 baht and made me feel alot happier having done this cheers cliff

[senor123]

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.

If your credit card also has travel insurance you may find that it will cover any excess you have to pay.

I rented a car in Ireland a couple of years ago and damaged a tyre. I had paid extra to cover the excess but later found out that the travel insurance that came with my Master Card (Aus) covered excess (Doh)

[jacko45k]

So you rented a car without knowing what the deductible was!

Well could be 5000, 10,000 or the full deposit, take a look at your copy of the contract.

In the UK it is very obvious on the contract, particularly as it is no mean amount...£600 or over 30,000 baht per incident.

And I believe that is what they get pre-authorisation for on the CC.

They offer supplementary insurance to reduce that but it is expensive.

Good luck, if you can get it done on the cheap, do so.

[Jasun]

Did you take out a Loss Damage Waiver? If not, the excess will be about the same as your deposit. Rental companies usually have a rate card for different types of damage. If the amount they charge for fuel is any guide, you'll be better off getting it fixed yourself. If not, be prepared to get into a negotiation with the agent when you return the car. Don't leave without sorting it out or they'll come at you for the lot.

Also, check with your credit card provider - if you secured the booking and paid for it with your credit card it may come with some sort of insurance / protection.

[bristolgeoff]

make a deal quick or sort it yourself,the rental company will screw you to the wall over the costs of the repair

[myluckythai]

So you rented a car without knowing what the deductible was!

Well could be 5000, 10,000 or the full deposit, take a look at your copy of the contract.

In the UK it is very obvious on the contract, particularly as it is no mean amount...£600 or over 30,000 baht per incident.

And I believe that is what they get pre-authorisation for on the CC.

They offer supplementary insurance to reduce that but it is expensive.

Good luck, if you can get it done on the cheap, do so.

Yep. I learned thatlesson too. dont rent the cheapest ones as the usually have a number 3 or worse iinsurance leaving you with whatever costs it might give. It is not helping you now but Always rent with number one Insurance from now on and check the contract as for what figure they charge you at the maximum when damaging the car. Should not be more than 30K

[jacko45k]

So you rented a car without knowing what the deductible was!

Well could be 5000, 10,000 or the full deposit, take a look at your copy of the contract.

In the UK it is very obvious on the contract, particularly as it is no mean amount...£600 or over 30,000 baht per incident.

And I believe that is what they get pre-authorisation for on the CC.

They offer supplementary insurance to reduce that but it is expensive.

Good luck, if you can get it done on the cheap, do so.

Yep. I learned thatlesson too. dont rent the cheapest ones as the usually have a number 3 or worse iinsurance leaving you with whatever costs it might give. It is not helping you now but Always rent with number one Insurance from now on and check the contract as for what figure they charge you at the maximum when damaging the car. Should not be more than 30K

I don't rent in Thailand but for the UK I have been using a central internet service... ...

They seem to have access to all the major renters at good prices..... and the insurance has a hefty deductible from them!

But the service offers a supplementary insurance at a better price.

Although I have yet to put it to the test...... fortunately I suppose.

[NeverSure]

I reserve and rent my cars from Avis BKK, reserving and renting them in the US using a US Visa card.

Then if anything goes sideways, I have my US consumer protection laws and Visa covering my back. Avis US would make it right after I showed them pictures and a rip-off bill, and if they didn't Visa would back-charge them. At the least if I was really ticked, I could take them to small claims court and get a court order for Avis to pay me. Attorneys aren't allowed in small claims court, but Avis would probably pay up to avoid showing up.

Bottom line is that I probably wouldn't have to do anything more than ask Avis to make it right because the West has a culture of customer satisfaction to earn repeat business. That's not my experience in Thailand where it seems a one-time rip-off satisfies the business.

[yermanee]

I reserve and rent my cars from Avis BKK, reserving and renting them in the US using a US Visa card.

Then if anything goes sideways, I have my US consumer protection laws and Visa covering my back. Avis US would make it right after I showed them pictures and a rip-off bill, and if they didn't Visa would back-charge them. At the least if I was really ticked, I could take them to small claims court and get a court order for Avis to pay me. Attorneys aren't allowed in small claims court, but Avis would probably pay up to avoid showing up.

Bottom line is that I probably wouldn't have to do anything more than ask Avis to make it right because the West has a culture of customer satisfaction to earn repeat business. That's not my experience in Thailand where it seems a one-time rip-off satisfies the business.

Yes I'm an Avis Preferred member myself.

However in Europe Avis has the 360 degrees service which means no excess whatsoever, and I have been using this service ever since they offer it.

But all this doesn't help OP. I have done a ghost booking on Budget Thailand and seems their excess is 10.000 Baht for a pick-up rental, so might be usefull to get a quote from a repair shop or even have it repaired if the costs are less than 10.000 Bht.

Yermanee

[BORRISGOODENUF]

you have three choices, first, get it repaired, ( [properly) do nothing and have an argumernt over the cost, or offer to purchase the vehicle.

[BookMan]

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.

Mate, Budget will take whatever your excess amount is from your Credit card. I'd expect them to with hold the full excess amount. If the repairs are less than the excess amount they will refund the difference once repairs are completed. Could take a couple of months. Don't expect them to go searching for the lowest fix it deal, but you have the insurance anyway and you don't have time to fix it yourself. IME, Budget are a good company to deal with.

[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.

I answered the query long ago.

[JLCrab]

I could not find a website rental agreement copy from one the major rental car companies in Thailand but one of the independent companies has a rental agreement with the following paragraph:

If the vehicle is damaged or requires repair or salvage, whether because of an accident or breakdown, the hirer shall advise the owner of the full circumstances by telephone or telegram as soon as practicable. The hirer shall not arrange or undertake any repairs or salvage without the authority of the owner except to the extent that the repairs or salvage are necessary to prevent further damage to the vehicle or other property.

[arlenthomas]

Yes even I faced the same problem once and according to the above rental agreement I had to get the car salvage as it was damaged completely.And then they got the salvage cars for sale. Still there are different rental agreements for different companies.

[mcfan]

OP.

A photo of it.

And follow up please.

hi all a big thank you to all who replied.

Well returned the car today. In Pattaya (visa extension) instead of the airport. When I picked the car up in December I was told I had to return it to the airport. As I am finding ask enough times as the answer is always different.

It turns out I had first class insurance paid using my American Express no extra charge.with nil excess.

This has given me a wake up, as I hire cars all the time and never any problems.

Cheers another happy ending in Pattaya (sorry)