Hire car damage - admit it or not?

[Big_Steve]

Asking for thoughts on this

Acquaintance of mine - not me coz I'd almost certainly admit to it - had a car on hire during a no-fault accident claim.

Now got a dent in the front wheel arch - either his fault or car park damage, doesn't matter which. The dent is definitely noticeable but paint not broken.

He's got a pretty hefty excess on the hire car insurance, £500 or so.

He's been quoted £80 by a bodyshop to fill it and spray it over.

He's mostly bothered about keeping his accident record clear for his insurance as he's young and it will cost him but obviously the money comes into it as well.

Questions -

What is the hire company likely to do if he takes it back as it is ?
1. Charge him the full excess
2. Get it repaired at main dealer cost and charge him that amount (certainly less than the full excess)
3. Not bother repairing it at all but charge him something anyway.

The car is a silver metallic what's the likelihood of the repair being un-noticeable anyway?

[chrisvectra]

they have probably did a check list before the car went out and will do the same when it comes back in so it will get noticed so the choice is his get it repaired or he will lose his excess

[r.bailey63]

The hire car company are likely to have the repair done, and i would expect the cost to be a lot more than £80.

£80 sounds very cheap to have a dent repaired and painted on a silver i would charge more than that to just paint a silver wing.

I would consider getting a quote from a smart reapir dent removal company, 1 small dent usually costs around £35, not always perfect but maybe good enough so the hire car firm dont notice it

[cerbrious]

i've had someone damage a hire car before the compant was drive assist i got the car repaired by a lock smart repairer for £40 and just made sure the car was wet (freshly washed of course) when they picked it up

[John C S]

All I know is Drive Assist are terrible.

Would rather walk than have another car from them!!!

The Mondeo I had had two stone chips which it didn't have when they gave it to me. After the driver who picked it up recorded the dents on his PDA, he then told me that the computer said I wouldn't be charged.


Honestly!!!!!!! Horrible Company

[Big Knox]

if the paint is not broken, could it not be pushed out from behind? I had a dent in the rear of a company Astra estate and a mate of mine removed the inside trim gave it a good push and the dent popped back. Then you could only really see it was there if you caught it in the light at a certain angle.

[JSYSH466Y]

Dependant on the extent of the damage if you take it back and they notice I doubt they would even bother repairing it but they would probably charge you

[Big_Steve]

Dependant on the extent of the damage if you take it back and they notice I doubt they would even bother repairing it but they would probably charge you

That's my opinion, maybe we're both just cynical

[Big_Steve]

They will definitely notice it, hard to miss.

Don't think it would push out even if we could get behind it as there is a very slight crease.

Anyone ever returned one with similar damage? What were you charged and did the company process it as an insurance claim (that's what he really wants to avoid)

I tend to favour the honest approach of admitting it and taking the consequences but I can see how some companies might take the opportunity to charge him a huge amount when even a top quality repair would be cheaper.

Don't want to see him ripped off and/or suffering in his own insurance.

Found out it's not just a regular hire company, it's one of those ambulance-chasing 'we'll handle your claim for you' companies, not sure which one. I think they actually use a pool of their own cars.

[SRimonkey]

smart repair or cheap body shop repair.........at least if the repair gives out in a few months time they won`t know when it was repaired.........make sure its filthy dirty when they get it back