One customer's rental car return experience at Frankfurt Airport
Here's a report from a customer who just returned a rental car to the Frankfurt Airport that he picked up in Dijon, France ($236 for the one-week rental but an additional 400 euros plus tax for the international one-way fee).
“You probably know that rental car returns are getting much more stringent on vehicle dents, dings, scratches, etc. On this rental, we carefully noted everything we saw on bumpers (especially the part under the car), mirrors, wheels, door dings, hood scratches, you name it....except for the roof.
"Our eyes were focused on the body from door level downward; we did not look at the roof carefully enough, which had a couple of very small dings that you probably would only have seen in a low angle light.
"The return agent focused in on these two small dings and started to make an issue of them. Luckily, this vehicle had numerous other imperfections that we had marked at the pick-up location; so much so that the vehicle looked as if it had not been cared for very well, and I made that argument forcefully that this car had been "beaten up" long before our renting it. A supervisor reluctantly agreed and we left with our wallets unscathed. This was Frankfurt Airport (Hertz) and we experienced the same thing last year (Avis) as well!
"Please advise your readers that a thorough inspection of the vehicle must be done, from roof to rocker panel—before you leave the pick-up location. Mark EVERY ding, no matter how small. Be polite, but be firm in documenting anything that might give the vendor cause to charge you (as in over-charge you) for a repair that you had nothing to do with. As you know, these charges are "profit centers" for the lessors, who have a captive vulnerable traveler just trying to end their trip and get to the check-in counter. My guess is the vendors make out more times than not as most travelers don't know how to combat this borderline "scam." Just my observation. Feel free to publish my comments, without my last name.”
Fortunately, had he been charged for damage, this customer would have been reimbursed by his credit card...but only after the hassle of obtaining damage documents from Hertz (with our assistance) and submitting them to the credit card company. But had he purchased the rental company's insurance he probably would have discovered that coverage doesn't include the roof and has a large deductible (unless, of course, he purchased additional insurance to reduce the deductible to zero), thus he would have still paid for the damage. In our experience, “small dings” are seldom billed at less than 500 euros. That Hertz didn't charge for the damage is much to their credit as that is not the usual outcome.
Remember, though, the rental company provides liability insurance to cover persons and property outside the rental car. You as the renter are responsible for your vehicle. The collision damage waiver and theft insurance available from rental companies is expensive, usually excludes the wheels, glass, interior, side mirrors, undercarriage and roof, and comes with a large deductible. A credit card with CDW/Theft insurance offers free, zero deductible coverage of virtually the entire car. We especially recommend American Express Premium Car Rental Protection and the American Airlines' AAdvantage Card issued by Citibank.
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