A lovely vacation in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Ford Fusion Hybrid rental car. Very nice, 45mpg. Until a rock found the windshield and developed an 18" crack. No hiding this one. What happens now? Advice?
It gets sticky with rental cars. In some states (looking at you AZ) the car stays rented to you while it is at the repair shop, so there’s more than the actual repair cost to consider. Others will have you settling with the renter immediately upon return, your insurance reimburses you eventually. I rent frequently enough that I now carry unowned vehicle coverage- basically extra coverage for cars rented for up to 30 days, so I’m not buying it at retail daily rates at the rental counter.
I think majority of credit card companies have removed this perk. They claim very few people make claims on this so it doesn't need to be offered anymore.
Easy-Peasy. Call the agency that rented the car and 'explain it to them....bark and all. Then? Enjoy the rest of your time on vaca I'm guessing that you're not the first. I'm guessing also that 18" will be the "Safelite Replace" rather than the Safelite Repair, BUT I might be wrong. If your Spidey senses start tingling that the car rental agency's glass policies might not be to your liking, you can ALWAYS get a quote from Safelite or a comparable local company as well just to give you some idea as to what you're looking at for $$$
I never updated this thread, sorry. So I reported it to my insurance company. Bad news is I have a $500 deductible on comp, which includes glass. Bad news #2 is as JC91006 reported is that Discover Card no longer gives secondary rental car insurance. On the other hand, it's been over 3 weeks since I returned the car and I haven't heard a word from Avis. Maybe I just cursed myself
Further update: it's over 6 weeks later and I haven't heard a peep from Avis. Maybe they ate it? do not know.
I had a similar experience when my friend rented a luxury car from Peacock Rentals during our trip to LA. They have a fantastic selection of exotic and high-end vehicles, and we were really impressed with their fleet and customer service. Unfortunately, on our last day, a small stone hit the windshield of the car. Luckily, Peacock Rentals had clear instructions on what to do in such situations, and their response was incredibly helpful. I'd definitely recommend checking out their website, especially if you're into luxury car rentals. It's reassuring to know you're covered if something like that happens!
I would say you called it correctly. Don't know how it works, but seems like it would be difficult to automate this, seeing as the quote is included. Anyway.... kris
