Scrape on courtesy/rental car

Been having bad luck this week.

My car is in a crash repair garage getting fixed at the moment as someone crashed into it the other day after skidding on ice outside my house. It's all getting done through the guys insurance (thankfully he was very honest and called to the door).

I received a rental car as a courtesy from his insurance company. I asked for a small car as i'm used to driving one but all they had was a very large Toyota Avensis which i've been driving since yesterday. They said to phone back in a day or two to see if they have a smaller car to offer me and transferred my own insurance over to the Toyota. I declined the damage waiver they offered as i really didn't want to pay anything extra for something that wasnt my fault in the first place. Major regret now.

Last night i tried bringing the car into my driveway and scraped the very bottom of the backseat door on the low wall in my drive. Its not that noticeable in the daylight as the car is a bright colour. Now i feel very nervous with the car and really want to change it for a smaller one. Should i mention the scrape when ringing them or returning the car or say nothing? I'd imagine if they do notice my insurance will have to pay out??

Anyone have any experience with this kind of thing before?

I am sorry that you have been having such bad luck.

But I am sure that you know what is the right thing to do.

MissSherry said:

. I declined the damage waiver they offered as i really didn't want to pay anything extra for something that wasnt my fault in the first place.

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Thats where you went wrong! Even the slightest damage on a car can run into a lot of money. They may well see it, if not in your presence then the next time they give it the once over.

Fraid the others are correct. Was advised when I rented a car last year to check it thoroughly before leaving the rental carpark. Even tho it was dark I managed to spot a small scrape on the wingmirror and a stain on one of the seats in addition to the couple of other marks on the car which I got the rep to agree and mark on the car's condition record.

When I left it back, I thought they'd come and do another inspection, but the car was a bit dirty and it was raining, so any inspection would have been cursory at that time. I would bet my bottom dollar they had a good look over it during the cleaning process and they had my credit card number should they need to charge me for anything they felt was wrong.

They'll find it so I'd be up front and see if the rep will be sympathetic?

Is it dented or just a small scrape? Is there is not a dent, why not try one of those special cleaners which help take care of scraps. Can't remember what it's called but someone gave me some a few years back for a couple of small scrapes that where on a 2nd hand car I'd bought. Worked a treat.

Thanks to all. You confirmed what i thought anyway. I'm such an idiot for not taking the damage waiver.

Its more of a scuff really, about 4 inches long and it runs parallel to the side skirts at the bottom of the door.

I'll own up to it but if anyone can think of anything that might take the bad look off it to mitigate the damage i'd appreciate it! Thanks...

pop into Halfords, they might have something that can get rid of the scuff. it might not be as bad as you think so try this first before going in with your hands up !

Thanks, will do!

Just a quick update. I decided honesty was best policy when i went back ini to the rental place today. The guy looked at the car and roughly estimated 700-800 euro worth of damage. He rang my insurance just to find out my excess (190), and asked me to pay that. He said that's all i might have to pay as they may not actually repair the car or claim as its not a really noticeable mark.

Later today when i thought about it i wondered why i'd have to pay anything if they weren't going to repair it or claim so i called back. The original guy wasnt there so i got speaking to his manager. He said very quickly that they would definitely be claiming and the car was already in getting repaired. Now i'm not so sure what's going on, it seems a bit weird.

Just out of interest if they do claim does anyone know what i can expect my premium to rise to next year? It's my first insurance, only been driving since last July and i currently pay e430 for fully comp. Thanks.