MegaSack DRAW - This year's winner is user - rgwb
We will be in touch
Unfortunalty my fiancee's car was wrote off a fortnight ago, and then to top it off, she borrowed my car only to have somebody crash into the back of that too. Apart from being somewhat unlucky, we now have no car between us whilst mine is fixed. The third party accepted all liability and his insurer took my car away today to be repaired. They have actually been very good to deal with and have aranged a hire car for me whilst mines in the garage.
But heres the thing...I dont trust car hire companys one tiny bit. Ive never been personaly scamed, but I've heard so many horror stories. I would have to let them swipe my credit card, and i'm liable for the first £500 of any tiny stonechip or flat tyre or you name it.
The company in question is Enterprise in atrincham. Has anybody had any dealings with them?
I go away to innerleitham near glentress on saturday anyway for a week with some freinds and planned to travel in their car. So i'd only need the hire car for 4 days before I'm away for a week anyway. I'd like to think mine will be repaired by the time I return.
What would you do? Manage without and avoid the risk all together and put up with the mild inconvieniance Or give the rental company the benefit off the doubt and hope our bad lucks run out.
In fact, I think ive already decided having wrote this out. Still nice to know what you think.
I believe you can pay a waiver for £10 or so to protect the £500 excess. I've used loads of hire cars for work with no problem. If you're really worried when you receive the car give it a real going over inside and out and make sure the hire guy is there with you to make notes of any damage already there.
Enterprise are a reputable group IME
[url= http://www.carhire-excess-insurance.com/?gclid=CMPQk8WFh6ACFdoB4wod7Ez6iw ]Car hire excess insurance, various different ones available, might put your mind at rest?[/url]
Depending on how many days, it might work out cheaper than the excess waiver fee.
Never had any problems with national car hire chains myself, Enterprise being one of them.
with enterprise you can insure the excess or you can do it for less online.
http://www.dailyexcess.com/
Enterprise are not as likely to try to stick you for damage as other car hire places. With the excess insured you have nothing to worry about. I use hire cars a few times a year and have never been stung a- but I usually do the excess insurance
Had exactly same situation in New Year. Insurers initially pointed me at Drive Assist. I googled them and asked for another co. Got Enterprise, they were fine. Swiped card for security, but no charges. Got me the like for like car I needed during the start of the snow, at short notice too. Not your branch, but I'd recommend them.
If it was you hiring direct then you should be able to get a damage waiver (insurance that pays the excess of any claims for damage). The excess the waiver is protecting you is usually in the order of £100 if you are a cash customer. If you are having the car hired for you - provided as a courtesy - then the deal is whatever the hirers have paid for. They'll have a trade account of some sort and get a preferential price.
Thats why they are offering to supply you with a hire car, rather than giving you money to hire one, they can hire it cheaper than you, by quite a factor.
I've got a trade account for hire vehicles as I own a van, but not a car (and sometimes need bigger vans). I pay about half what a cash customer would pay for vehicles, but the trade off for that is can't get a waiver, so I'm liable for the first £500 of any damage I might do. However that doesn't mean that any damage costs me £500, it means any damage costs what it reasonably costs to repair, upto £500. Now as the account holder I'm liable for that £500 no matter who I have driving the vehicle, so the buck stops with me, unless I make a explicit arrangement with the driver.
So if you are having the car hired for you, you should check with the hirer as to what the deal is and what the liabilities are.
Enterprise took £500 off me for a tiny ding in a van door, about the diameter of a 5p and 2mm deep. Took much argueing to get it back, wouldn't have minded if it was only £50 or so.
Would advise you to take many photos on collection, every litte niggle, give them a copy and keep one yourself.
Thanks for the replys! very helpfull 8)
Skidartist thanks for your info - I asked a lot of questions when I was offered the rental as courtesy and they (the third partys insurer) told me the deal they had with enterprise ment that there was a £500 excess. I told them I wasnt happy with that when my usual insurance cover has an excess of half that. They said that in case of a claim, they would make up the difference. But that still leaves me with the potential of a £250 bill for the slightest thing I overlook when inspecting the car. The excess waver charges are £5.80+vat a day with enterprise, and that could very quickly add up to £60+ over two weeks which seems unreasonable.
Ive read the fine print on the excess insurance providers linked kindly by the people above and they dont cover car hire in your own county or within 150km of your home address.
I dont mind paying an excess for something I cause, but theres a lot of fine print about underbody and roof damage and things that arnt covered by the insurance enterprise provide too, which could result in huge bills. It seems very shady that they dont provide the terms and conditions on there booking sites either. You dont get to see them untill your with the rep breathing down your neck.
I know i'm probably starting to get myself a little wound up and over cautious, but you know when you have those weeks when EVERTHING goes wrong and your sh!t out off luck...I'm having one off those months... 🙄
If you can get the same excess as you have with your own policy then that seems fair enough to me. Like I say its not a £250 penalty if there's damage, just the cost of repair upto £250.
The inspection the car gets on return won't be any more rigourous that the one you and the hire co give it when you collect it, just be thorough and you'll be fine
I'm having one off those months..
don't pick it up til monday then!