soupcxan

I rented a car from Budget in Calgary a few days ago for vacation; I have to return it at the end of this week. I just noticed a small chip in the windshield near where it meets the hood. It's possible it was there when I rented the car but I have no idea. As usual, I declined all of Budget's optional insurance.

Does anyone know how Budget handles this sort of thing? Or what they do if it spreads into a full crack? I am not going to be anywhere that I could get the windshield replaced.

chemist661

You could stop at an auto parts store and buy a windshield chip/crack repair ket. Not sure if this is available in Canada. In the USA, I have bought a few repair kits $10) over the years when a stone hit the windshield. That will stop the crack from spreading and the solvent (liquid) will fill in the crack. Follow the instructions and the weather should be somewhat warm & sunny for the kit to work well. The chip may still be visible but small after using the kit.

I have bought a kit for my personal car last year when a stone hit my windshield. After over 5K miles of driving, only a small chip is visible. Since I have $1000 deductible on comp/collision and did not want to put in a claim, I went this route.

am1108

Its a 50/50 chance, but as chemist661 suggested you should try to stop/slow down the crack if its possible. Hopefully the crack is not visible from the inside and also hopefully the wipers are covering it outside. Also try to keep the temperature just about even so it doesnt spread (if you can).

If it caught you will most likely be facing...

• Windshield Replacement $150-$500 (sometimes more if its a window that has a special shape)
• Loss of Use (Daily Charge that is assesed because the car won't make a profit as its "out of service")
• Administrative Fee (which may or may not be charged)

Make sure you have a plan in place, I would check to see if the credit card (that Budget has on file) has Primary or Secondary Collision Damage Waiver or Loss Damage Waiver, if it has Primary then you are good, but if it has Secondary that means you will have to report it to your insurance company first, if you don't have any insurance company then the Secondary coverage will become primary and you should be covered through that.

Also if you rented it at night you have a little bit more advantage because you can say that you could not see the car clearly at night, also if any representative did not check the car over with you then I would also mention that too.

When renting a car, renters need to check the car and make sure that nothing is damaged, make sure your rental agent (and not anyone else) writes the existing damages on your contract and on their system because otherwise its pretty much the renters negligence to check the car over. You can also write it down on your rental agreement and have the rental agent circle everything and sign.

Also if you are signing a Damage Report expect that Budget will make you pay for the windshield since this might be the first report that this specific car has a cracked windshield.


Either way I wish you Good Luck.

soupcxan

Due to lack of attention to detail, all the bugs on the windshield, and the poor lighting in the return parking garage, Budget didn't say anything to me about it when I returned the car.

jatink129

I'd still be wary. Keep checking your credit card statement for any charges in the future. Just because they didn't say anything right now, doesn't mean that they can't charge you an obscene sum later on...

am1108

Its been about 10 days so im guessing that you got off the hook....