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Old 09-22-2013, 10:46 PM
 
Location: Texas
44,256 posts, read 64,223,092 times
Reputation: 73924

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Call your insurance company and ask them if they'll cover you if you're in a rental car. Most of them will.

Take very good notes about previous damage that you see on the car before you drive it off the lot. I sometimes even draw my own picture of the car and hand it to people who check your car prior to your leaving the lot. There's almost no reason to ever buy the scam that is their extra insurance.
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Old 09-29-2013, 06:13 AM
 
Location: Alaska
384 posts, read 988,525 times
Reputation: 192
I just experienced the "...your insurance may not cover down time..." line - that was a new tactic that ticked me off so much that I wouldn't have bought the insurance even if I should have!

I travel and rent cars frequently - this is the first time I came across this situation. Is it even legal that they could charge for that?
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Old 09-29-2013, 07:14 AM
 
14,993 posts, read 23,824,916 times
Reputation: 26513
Rental Car insurance is a huge profit money maker for the rental car insurance companies, that's why they push it. The mark up vs. risk is crazy. You never will get your money's worth, and yes, I would go as far to say it's a scam.
Most credit cards or your own insurance should cover rental cars. If it doesn't, make sure you get a policy that does. The last thing you want to do however is give it to the rental car companies fear tactics in trying to sell their overpriced insurance. Just say no.
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Old 09-29-2013, 08:57 AM
 
3,605 posts, read 7,888,610 times
Reputation: 9174
>I just experienced the "...your insurance may not cover down time..." line - that was a new tactic that ticked me off so much that I wouldn't have bought the insurance even if I should have!

Yeah, that is a newer line. I think they use it because most people have figured out that they do have coverage through their own policy, or through credit cards, or both.

I would be interested to hear from anyone who has gotten stuck with this kind of charge above and beyond the cost of damage.
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Old 09-29-2013, 09:42 AM
 
Location: On the road
2,798 posts, read 2,668,858 times
Reputation: 3192
Quote:
Originally Posted by rational1 View Post
>If the insurance the rental agency will charge will end up being less that the deductible on you own policy, it might be worth it.

That's not thinking like a betting man. What you want to do is multiply your deductible by the probability you will have an accident. And compare THAT with the rental agency insurance.
When I rent a car for work related travel, my company covers all such problems.
When I rent it for personal reasons, my personal insurance covers all damages in line with my policy.
I have 1000 deductible on my insurance. So if I break the rental car, the first grand comes out of my pocket.
If I am only renting for a couple of days, that 20 bucks a day is probably worth it.
When I rented a vehicle for a cross-country, three week trip, the cost of the insurance was half again the cost of the rental, itself. It was a good gamble to try and save the money.

Quote:
Originally Posted by rational1 View Post
>I never get the insurance and don't have an insurance policy. Never had a problem.

Now that's a real bet because they could end up going after you for the price of the car. I would only make that bet if I didn't have any assets (and didn't expect to have any).
The thing about gambling is that you should never bet more than you can afford to lose.

(BTW, guess which trip I was on when I actually had an accident.
Hint: it only cost me 40 bucks.)
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Old 10-05-2013, 05:09 PM
 
6 posts, read 5,980 times
Reputation: 12
Adding insurance on car rental, especially long term rentals are big profits to the rental car companies. Most people I know carry insurance that covers them and the car when renting a car.
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