TWA884

I left out the word damage.

Sixt bills customers for pre-existing or disputed damage more frequently than any other major car rental company.

Here are but a few examples from FlyerTalk, there are countless others on other travel websites:
There are also numerous complaints in this very thread.

LondonElite

You need to be more precise in your statements, then. If you cause damage to a car, it is not a 'bogus' charge, but rather a legitimate charge. Whether a US rental agency does or does not charge you for these things is irrelevant.

I think I am more qualified than most in this area. I rent from Sixt ca 25 times a year and have done so for 20 years. I've never had a single 'bogus' charge. Perhaps a few speeding admin letters I'd prefer not to have received, but that's my own fault.

TWA884

I inadvertently left out a word; mea culpa.

The point is that based upon numerous reports on FlyerTalk and other travel bulletin boards and websites, Sixt charges renters for damage that they did not cause far more frequently than any other major car rental company does. I am comparing apples to apples. There are far fewer such complaints, involving car rentals in Europe, against Hertz and Avis.

Lucky you.

LondonElite

Damage they did not cause? You need to explain this to me. You inspect the vehicle when you take it out. Someone from Sixt examines it when you return it. What happens in between is on the renter.

TWA884

Sixt is paperless. People are asked to sign on a screen no larger than a cell phone both when renting and returning a car. They do not receive copies of the check out and check in reports which they signed. In my experience - no, I have not been charged for damage that I did not cause - one does not even receive an email confirmation of what was signed (and I specifically asked for it to be emailed to me).

In this thread and the ones that I linked above, there are numerous reports of renters being charged for damage that supposedly was already documented at the time that they picked up the car. There are also reports of people being billed for damage weeks or months after the vehicle was returned even though none was found, documented or existed when the car was turned in. That is fraud, plain and simple.

There is a reason that the Sixt company representatives have not posted here in almost a year.

Let the buyer beware.

LondonElite

Perhaps (i) I've been lucky, (ii) others have been very unlucky, or (iii) we are talking about different procedures that are not being followed.

Disclaimer: the two times I have rented from Sixt in the US have been very disappointing. Once in Tampa where they fawned all over me (as Platinum or Diamond) then made gestures to the effect that they expected a tip when I picked up the car, and another time in Miami where it took me an hour of waiting to get a car two categories below what I had rented.

When you rent a car from Six you are given a long printout which lists the damages to the car (scratches, dents, etc). You are expected to check these yourself (I do) before you drive off. I now take pictures of anything that looks like a minor damage that is not listed. When you return the car you have the option of waiting for the guy to check the car (you can choose to have him print out a return slip that sets out the damages again). Anything that is more than normal wear and tear you will be expected to pay for.

Now, you can choose not to wait for the guy to check the car, or you can choose not to get a printed return receipt (I sometimes leave in a hurry). But doing so makes it very difficult to argue afterwards that something isn't your fault. But the place to check and reconcile damage liability is at the return, not from home two weeks later. Six will not charge you for additional 'damages' if you have a proper return receipt. I don't know what the relevance of the signature box size is, sorry.

I looked at the threads you posted. With one or two exceptions, they are reports of damage claims after the fact but with no return receipt. If you don't get a return receipt then it's very difficult to argue three weeks later whether you did or didn't cause something, not least because the car could have been rented out virtually immediately after you returned it. Assigning blame becomes vague.

What is true is that, in general, European (especially German) rental stations are far more careful about damage that US stations.

TWA884

I have rented in Europe from Avis, Hertz and Sixt. I have also rented from smaller regional or national car rental companies (e.g., Luso Car Rental in Portugal). Avis and Hertz' pickup and return procedures were similar to what I have experienced in North America.

The relevance of the signature box is the size of the screen. Both when I picked up the car and when I returned it, I was quickly shown a check list on an electronic screen the size of a large cell phone, approximately 5.5 - 6". I was then asked to sign on the electronic device. When the signature box appeared, it took up virtually the entire screen; it was impossible to see the checklist.

The only printout that I received was when I picked up the car. It was the rental contract which had my name, the name of the other authorized driver, the car type and registration information, the dates of the rental and the rate. It was to be used in case of a mishap to show that I was in legal possession of the vehicle. It did not have any record of the condition of the car at the time that I picked it up.

I did wait for the Sixt representative to examine the car when I returned it; there was no new damage. I asked her for a printout of the return paperwork to confirm that I returned the car in the same condition that it was when I picked it up. I was advised that Sixt is "paperless" and that a receipt would be emailed to me. It took three days and several requests to finally receive it.

Even though I was extremely happy with the vehicle - a brand new, fully optioned, BMW 318d Gran Turismo with the M Sport package - I do not trust Sixt and I doubt that I will ever rent from them again.

The following year in Europe, I rented from Avis. I was reserved an Audi A4; instead I was upgraded to an Audi A6 2.0 TDI Ultra, which was almost as new as the Sixt BMW - 1,900 km on the odometer compared to 300 km - and not quite as well equipped (both had GPS navigation, though). It was cursorily inspected upon return and I did receive a printed return receipt without having to ask for it. BTW, the Avis rental cost me half as much as the Sixt rental.

l etoile

As Sixt appears to no longer be responding here, I'm going to close this thread. Should a Sixt respresentative come onboard again, we are always happy to reopen the tgread or there can be a new one.

l'etoile
sr. moderator