Return your rental car with a chipped windshield, fender ding or paint scratch? Happily, there’s an easy way to deal with Hertz car rental damage claims. When there’s minimal damage to a rental vehicle, Hertz frequently offers an option to quickly resolve the claim at the time of return.
This is a great options. Typically, you can expect a rental company to take some time to assess how much to charge you—and it will always be much more than just the cost of repair.
Ask AutoSlash for a Quote on a Cheap Car Rental
A member of the AutoSlash team recently ran over a piece of metal debris on a highway and was able to resolve the issue of a damaged tire for just $40 at the Hertz counter. Try purchasing a tire and getting a local tire shop to install it for 40 bucks.
Why You Pay Big for Small Damages on a Rental Car
Damage a rental car and you’re basically flapping in the wind while the rental company decides the cost of repair. First, there’s the fee to repair the damage. And, since the rental car goes out of service while the damage is assessed, there are administrative fees and possible loss-of-use fees for the time the vehicle is out of circulation. This is how small damage claims can quickly become far more expensive when the rental car company decides precisely how much to charge you.
In most cases, you’re relying on your car rental insurance for coverage. It’s very important to know the provisions of your coverage, regardless of whether you coverage comes from your personal car insurance, a credit card issuer, the rental car company, or a third-party insurer.
Buy Collision Insurance For Less Than What You’ll Pay at the Rental Counter
In most damage claim cases, a renter relies upon coverage by a credit card or personal automobile insurance policy. Yet the vast majority of credit card companies provide only secondary coverage. That means the credit card issuer will pay up to the renter’s personal insurance deductible but only after a claim is filed against the personal car insurance policy. If the damage claim on a rental car is high—even when it’s ultimately covered by a renter’s credit card insurance—the renter might still get hit with an increase in his or her personal auto insurance premium.
Hertz’s Low-Cost Damage Claim Policy
You can often resolve Hertz car rental damage claims on the spot. The program applies to U.S. rentals (except in New York) and only includes small damages that are easily fixed on-site.
Fees for damaged tires start under $40. Windshield chips can set you back $15, while replacing a broken windshield be in the ballpark of $150-$200. Hubcap replacement can cost around $20. Small dents in the bumper without paint damage cost about $30, while repairing scratches can be more in the $75 neighborhood. No major U.S. rental car companies allows smoking, and breaking the rule results in a $300 cleaning fee.
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Most of the damage fees assessed by Hertz are far cheaper than any alternative you could find elsewhere, because these are all items that the rental car companies deal with on a routine basis. If you get a windshield chip and have the option to pay $15 to make the problem go away or have Hertz file a Vehicle Incident Report, take the car out of service, then send you a bill weeks later, trust us and pay the $15.
Who Can’t Take Advantage of Hertz’s Small Damage Claim Solution
- New York State renters are out of luck, regardless of whether the rental starts or ends in New York.
- If you damage a Dream Car, you will pay full price for damages.
- Accrue multiple small damages that total over $500? Hertz will file a Vehicle Incident Report, which means the claim cannot be settled at the counter.
Eligible to resolve an issue with a damaged rental car at low cost? The quick-and-easy Hertz car rental damage claim solution in the U.S. might just be the peace of mind you need.
- The damage claim is resolved instantly.
- There’s no risk of a protracted battle with a claims department with high costs and surprise fees
- Your personal car insurance company never has to know.
One note: Generally, the on-the-spot repair charges are low enough that it probably isn’t worth hassling with filing a claim, but for larger damages for which you want reimbursement, you may want to stick with the traditional claims process that provides a paper trail and documentation. Just remember that you may then be responsible for fees that may not be covered by your insurance provider.
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