Originally Posted by
UnderEst
Yes, you are liable for ANY damage to the vehicle. I frequently rent vehicles from AVIS throughout Germany (most of my rentals are there) and you will be billed for any tire, glass or body damage. AVIS DE has been the most strict with me when returning the cars. They even check underneath. I was once charged 400€ for scrapes under the front bumper.
350€ seems a bit much for tire damage, but what kind of vehicle was it on? My rentals in Germany have always been a BMW, Audi, Mercedes or Jaguar and I would hate to do any 'real' damage to the vehicle. For what it's worth now, I'd recommend everyone to purchase their insurance coverage. Yes, you still get a "bill" for damage upon return, but the insurance policy covers the damage and the bill is never charged to your account or credit card.
I would wait to hear back from AVIS Customer Service and you may be able to plead your case to them. There was one time a couple years back where I had 3 rentals out in Germany and one of the cars didn't have coverage by mistake. A wheel had minor paint damage (curb rash) and I was billed 125€. Customer service was able to reverse the charge just by calling and explaining the error.
The car with a flat was a Mercedes E class. I'm still waiting to hear if the damage was for the tire. The car had damage on the front bumper when I got it, but it was documented in the blue book/dossier they gave me.
What really bothers me is that it was my 2nd bad Avis rental experience in a 2 week timeframe and I honestly feel that hosing the customer over is part of the business model for the European locations. In addition to the 350 Euros, the taxes and surcharges associated with my rental were significantly higher than the quote - I'm assuming they are charging me additional tax and surcharges because of the flat which i think is ridiculous. The 350 Euro ought to include VAT and they shouldn't be getting to use those charges as a way to make a profit.
Another thing I suspect is that they charged me in dollars instead of euros when I specifically requested to be charged in Euros. I have the bill in Euros, but when i looked at the $$ amount on my credit card, it was a far worse exchange rate than any of the other charges from my trip (1.44 vs ~1.37 for other charges).
They put a really hard sell for the damage waiver, but I declined because i have coverage through my credit card. If I end up being liable for damages I'll file a claim with the credit card, but it's just an extra hassle.