Consolidated "Hertz Accident and Insurance" Thread
#91
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#95
Join Date: Apr 2018
Posts: 46
Body damage - what to do?
I was driving through a dirt road and the body of my rental car got damaged. Nothing severe and Im sure I can continue drive for the last 25 days of my rental.
My questions; should I go to a hertz location now and exchange the car? (I already changed my car twice because if oil change so Im not sure how they will react when I come again) or should I wait till the end of the rental and then bring it back? And what is the best? Go straight forward and tell them or wait till they find it and charge me and then fighting it if its to high?
My questions; should I go to a hertz location now and exchange the car? (I already changed my car twice because if oil change so Im not sure how they will react when I come again) or should I wait till the end of the rental and then bring it back? And what is the best? Go straight forward and tell them or wait till they find it and charge me and then fighting it if its to high?
#96
Company Representative - AutoSlash and HotelSlash
Join Date: Jun 2006
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Posts: 5,645
I was driving through a dirt road and the body of my rental car got damaged. Nothing severe and Im sure I can continue drive for the last 25 days of my rental.
My questions; should I go to a hertz location now and exchange the car? (I already changed my car twice because if oil change so Im not sure how they will react when I come again) or should I wait till the end of the rental and then bring it back? And what is the best? Go straight forward and tell them or wait till they find it and charge me and then fighting it if its to high?
My questions; should I go to a hertz location now and exchange the car? (I already changed my car twice because if oil change so Im not sure how they will react when I come again) or should I wait till the end of the rental and then bring it back? And what is the best? Go straight forward and tell them or wait till they find it and charge me and then fighting it if its to high?
#97
Join Date: Mar 2011
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I think the rental agreement states you won't drive the car on non-paved roads...
Take pictures of everything before you return the car and keep your mouth shut when you return it.
Take pictures of everything before you return the car and keep your mouth shut when you return it.
#98
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Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: DCA
Programs: UA US CO AA DL FL
Posts: 50,262
Deal with it sooner rather than later. But, spend the time to figure out what you have for coverage and how you will handle that.
As others note, you may have used the vehicle in violation of your contract. If you did, most insurance policies won't cover you, so you may wind up paying this out of pocket.
All good to know going into the situation rather than researching on the back end.
As others note, you may have used the vehicle in violation of your contract. If you did, most insurance policies won't cover you, so you may wind up paying this out of pocket.
All good to know going into the situation rather than researching on the back end.
#99
Join Date: Apr 2018
Posts: 46
Thanks for all the suggestions! It seams like some would recommend to go to a location right know and others think it's better to just not do anything at all... I didn't know that dirt roads are not included into the agreement and I was never told that. It was a county road but I'm not sure if that gonna help me out here...
I don't know much about cars itself so I can only tell that it's underbody damage. It's a the right front of it and some plastic is hang down.
I have a insurance coverage independently from the rental company with a 1k$ deduction so I guess that will help me there. Should I first contact my insurance or should I go to the hertz location first and than find out what to do?
I have a insurance coverage independently from the rental company with a 1k$ deduction so I guess that will help me there. Should I first contact my insurance or should I go to the hertz location first and than find out what to do?
#100
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: MEL CHC
Posts: 20,920
Possibly will get more damage if the plastic undercover panel is not secured soon.
Or have you bent the steel structure?
How did it happen? Did you know it happened at the time?
What sort of car?
Where?
OP's other thread on this car: - Upgrade by oil change?
#101
Join Date: Apr 2018
Posts: 46
So I guess I should better face it sooner than later... English is not my first language so it's hard to explain it for me; the road had like a hill of dirt and I was driving through it with a part of the car while the rest of it was much lower so the hill actually hit my car. It happened somewhere in the country of North Dakota with a Nissan Sedan.
Update; I called Roadside Assistance and because there's no corporate location in the area they call somebody to fix the issue on my car today (I guess?) or tomorrow. Hopefully I'll get out of this fairly good.
Update; I called Roadside Assistance and because there's no corporate location in the area they call somebody to fix the issue on my car today (I guess?) or tomorrow. Hopefully I'll get out of this fairly good.
Last edited by FlyinHawaiian; Jun 10, 2018 at 5:54 pm Reason: consecutive posts merged
#102
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Location: DCA
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Thanks for all the suggestions! It seams like some would recommend to go to a location right know and others think it's better to just not do anything at all... I didn't know that dirt roads are not included into the agreement and I was never told that. It was a county road but I'm not sure if that gonna help me out here...
I don't know much about cars itself so I can only tell that it's underbody damage. It's a the right front of it and some plastic is hang down.
I have a insurance coverage independently from the rental company with a 1k$ deduction so I guess that will help me there. Should I first contact my insurance or should I go to the hertz location first and than find out what to do?
I don't know much about cars itself so I can only tell that it's underbody damage. It's a the right front of it and some plastic is hang down.
I have a insurance coverage independently from the rental company with a 1k$ deduction so I guess that will help me there. Should I first contact my insurance or should I go to the hertz location first and than find out what to do?
But, none of us can be sure of anything. You, on the other hand, can be.
#104
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: BOS
Programs: UA MM
Posts: 1,575
The rental contracts used to forbid travel on "unmaintained roads" but now they say "unpaved". Your failure to read the agreement is no defense I'm afraid. You haven't told us enough to suggest other possibly creative solutions. I will say that when I drive a rental on unpaved roads, I do a fair amount of work to clean out the dirt so it doesn't show on return. On a dusty road, you get dust around all the door seals, sometimes inside the compartment around the gas cap, and in the wheel rims. That being said, if I damage the car on an unpaved road, it's clearly my responsibility if my insurance questions violation of rental terms. The cleanup is mostly so the rental companies won't get mad at me, or charge me extra for a deep clean.
#105
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Jan 2002
Posts: 44,422
On rental terms here, there is an exception for use on unpaved roads for normal cars for activities such as egress and ingress to national parks and similar
For vehicles designed for use off road, there is no such exclusion and would not be an issue
In this case, it seems that it might be worth popping by the rental office t some point and getting it sorted rather than a holdup when might be in a hurry on return - from what the OP has stated, it seems that Hertz would be well aware of the situation
For vehicles designed for use off road, there is no such exclusion and would not be an issue
In this case, it seems that it might be worth popping by the rental office t some point and getting it sorted rather than a holdup when might be in a hurry on return - from what the OP has stated, it seems that Hertz would be well aware of the situation