Occasionally, I will opt for the damage waiver when renting a car - usually when I’m driving it for business in a crowded city and am likely to have my mind on other things.
I once had a fairly large American car as a rental, with terrible visibility out the back. I was in a hurry, talking on my cell phone, while trying to back it out of a cramped underground parking garage somewhere in San Diego. I thought I was clear of all the obstacles, and rather aggressively backed up in reverse. The next thing I heard was a terrible crash and a long scraping sound. There was apparently a big concrete column just out of sight behind the rear window pillar. I had not hit it straight on, but rather with the outside 10% of the rear bumper. The impact had totally dislodged the bumper from that corner and wrinkled and scraped the sheet metal all the way to the rear doors.
I was rather embarassed, because I’m usually a very competent driver, but it was unimaginably satisfying to turn the car back in to the rental place, watch them gape at it, and then say “I’m good to go, right?” while showing them the contract with the waiver on it.
Since they sell the damage waiver so hard, I assume they must make tons of money on it, and I’ve always felt like something of a sap for paying for it. So, it was gratifying that day to think of how long it will take to recoup that repair cost from me at $15 / day.
I bought the damage waiver when I drove in Ireland. Boy, howdy did I buy that. Driving on the left of the road and the right of the car in a country known for car accidents and narrow roads? You bet. I nicked the running board on the way out of the garage. Felt great.
I always waive it and I’m sure I’ll regret it one of these days.
Two or three years ago I had a rental and managed to back into a metal pipe just about dead center on the rear bumper. Extrememely slow so just made a slight ding in the paint. Brand new car, it had 9 miles on it when I got it so there was no way to pass off the damage as pre-existing.
I made a quick stop at Auto Zone for a bottle of touchup paint and a piece of ultra-fine emery paper. An hour later you would have needed a magnifying glass to find the spot.
We didn’t waive it when we rented a car in England. It was a nice, newer car, and about an hour or so after we got it, my husband decided for some reason to make a u-turn, and of course looked the wrong way. We were smashed right in the middle, but no one was hurt, luckily. Drove it back and got another, but no more u- turns for us.
20th HS reunion in FLa, I want to rent a cool car, so I rent a New Beetle and waive the damage waiver :o
I drive to Miami to visit friends, and on the highway I hit a piece of freaking metal junk. Rips up the plastic shield thingy under the car, it starts dragging. Crap.
My friends Dad decided to help me out, he shoves it back in, duct tapes and spray paints it. Looks good. We decide the car has been lowered and there was other repair patches on the shield. I could be screwed…
Before I return it, i fillit up with gas, and return the radio station to the creole station it was on when I got it. I turned it in to the haitian car jockeys who inspected it closely for damage…and then they sent me on my way with a thumbs up.
MrWhatsit and I rented a U-Haul truck to move all of my stuff from Chicago, IL to Seattle, WA when I graduated from college. We’d reserved a 10-foot van, but thanks to U-Haul’s shitty and broken reservation system, the only truck they had for us was a 14-foot truck. Neither of us had any experience driving larger vehicles like that, so we thought we’d better sign up for the damage waiver.
At a Subway sandwich shop somewhere in Wyoming, I was trying to maneuver around the side of the building to the parking lot and accidentally caught the steel awning of the restaurant on the side of the truck. It left a giant gash all down the side of the truck and made the most god-awful screeching sound you have ever heard.
When we returned the truck, the guy was like, “That’s some impressive damage.” But we didn’t have to pay for any of it, thanks to the damage waiver.
I always decline the damage waiver. But I was renting a van to drive to Boston for the KofC Supreme Convention, and I decided almost on a whim to take it.
The only time in my life I did that, and during my stay in Boston, someone apparently didn’t like way the hotel valets parked the car, and keyed both sides aggressively.
I started my drive home in darkness and didn’t see the key scratches until I stopped for gas in New Jersey, way too late to confront the hotel valet team.
But I turned it in, pointed out the damage, and showed 'em my receipt. Not a penny extra for me to pay!
Just back from St Martin, where I’ve always declined insurance. Over the years it has worked well for me. This year someone hit the back end of my car in a parking lot. Bummer.
On return, the guy saw the damage and we talked. I mentioned I would turn it in to my own insurance and handed him a credit card. He told me it looked like $1200 worth of damage, and I agreed.
Then, he mentioned a better deal for cash. He could fix it himself, for. . .$150. I explained that I was low on cash and he countered with $80. Cool. I’m still way ahead over the years.
My usual habit is to skip the damage waiver because my credit cards automatically give me that coverage if I use their magic plastic when booking and paying for the rental. But last October I was picking up the car I was renting on a particularly windy morning and the one I settled on (the only one that didn’t reek of cigarettes despite the fact that the company prohibits smoking in all of the cars) was already missing the outer shell of the right-hand mirror. So, for some reason I decided I’d pay for their insurance just in case a tree got blown over by the wind and knocked off the rest of that mirror.
On the way back from a depressing trip to San Diego, I decided to stop by China Town in Los Angeles and, on the way out of Downtown LA the confluence of me creeping past the white line at an intersection and another guy trying to beat the yellow light while descending the ramp coming off the freeway resulted in my car’s license plate and front-edge-of-the-hood being mangled while his rear tail-light cover got ripped clean off. Oh, and there was a golf-ball sized dent in the corner of his rear bumper.
I drove home anyway, hoping the mangled hood wouldn’t fly up on the freeway, and dropped the car off the next morning. The people at the rental car place seemed to think of the matter as a rather routine incident. They took some notes and sent the info on to their headquarters. Afterward, I contacted my credit card company and talked to their insurance division, then called my own insurance people just to be safe. I got letters from the rental agency’s insurer, my insurer, my credit card’s insurer, and the other guy’s insurer, all saying, “We’re opening this case for your recent incident…”
Since then I’ve received no calls or letters. They seem to have settled it all amongst themselves.
Feels good!
G!
Whiskey Bottle
Brand New Car
Oak Tree, You’re In My Way…
…–Collins & Van Zant (Lynrd Skynrd)
…That Smell
…Street Survivors
I’ve always heard that the damage waiver is for suckers. My auto policy covers me in any vehicle I drive. Why pay for something I am already covered for?
Further, in this state, my insurance company would provide an attorney. If the rental company calls me after being informed that I’m represented by an attorney, they run afoul of consumer protection laws which contain civil penalties.
I always decline the insurance. A few years ago, I rented a car, hopped in, and drove off. I met a friend for lunch, we stopped a few places, and then I went to where I was staying. The next day, I noticed a massive dent in the passenger side rear door. I have no idea if it was there before I picked the car up or if it happened when I was out and about that first day.
I dropped the car off at the end of the trip and never heard another word about it. I still decline the insurance, but I inspect each car pretty carefully when I pick it up.
Fair enough. I was only considering “any vehicle” in the context of a passenger vehicle I might rent at an airport. They can get lost with their “damage waiver” fee because I’ve already paid for that coverage through my own auto insurance.
I guess it depends on the cost of the waiver, your deductable, and what you think your time is worth. I usually don’t get the waiver because it’s usually pretty steep. But one time it was only nine dollars, so I got it.
Scooting sedately down the highway in Idaho, on a curve, an oncoming flatbed semi lost it’s whole load of straw bales due to the fact that they weren’t tied down. I hit the brakes and jerked over onto the shoulder, but a bunch of them still hit the car, denting the driver’s side fender. It must have been momentum, because they were surprisingly light when I went to move them away from the car.
The semi driver gave me his insurance info. I called it into the rental agency. A few days later I was back home and turned the car in without having to so much as fill out a form. No deductable. No fuss. Best nine dollars I ever spent.
Oh. According to the cop that showed up, it wasn’t the first time the guy had dropped an untied load like that.
When I rent a car for business, I always opt for the damage waiver, since I consider it my company’s responsibility to pay for the insurance while I am driving on a trip for a business purpose, and I see no reason to subsidize their costs by depending on my own policy and taking the risk of having to pay my deductible, having my premiums increased, etc.
When renting a car for personal use, yeah, there’s little point.
