Guilty

Hi guys,

I'm posting this thread to ask for some advice since this situation never happened to me before. Yesterday I rented an SLS and gave a $5000 deposit on my credit card. Everything was going well until this morning while I was on my way to turn in the car and a rock coming from an SUV hit me on the highway. The grill fell and there is a hole in the plastic firewall behind it.

That happened 5 min before I give the car back. Now my question is, what happens next? Do you guys think I'm going to get my 5k back? I rented the car using my State Farm insurance (full coverage). The guys at the rental place were cool about it and said that kind of stuff could happen to anyone. But it's not up to them, they said the boss will call me tomorrow and they're going to take it to the dealer to get an estimate. Honestly, it's not that bad, it's just the plastic firewall and the mercedes star (hopefully). I even took the car to an expensive hand car wash before turning it in.

So what you guys recommend? How should I proceed? I kinda need my 5k lol

Also, in the contact they specified that they CANNOT rent the car to -21 but the guy said that since I have an AMG he's not too worried. In the contract he put all my info properly besides my birth date. Instead of 1992 he put 1991.

Does that void the contract?

If the repair is less than 1.5k/1k, I'll eat the loss, but if it's more than that and that they're going to try to take advantage of the situation and I'm not okay with it.

Thanks guys!

Mikegpr03

worse case is you
Pay for the grill and instal. I don't think it's more than 1k

MaroonC63

He gave you the car and you arn't 21? I think the guy is at fault, and you could work that to your advantage, but i wouldn't milk the situation till you know what they're gonna quote you.

I recently had an incident last week where while i was going to pick up my car, i could hear the employee peeling out and speeding the whole way down the garage. I confronted him and all he said was "whatever get your lawyers involved". Lets just say he no longer works there, and my 525$ service was FREE. Just do what the americans do, threatening to involve lawyers always gets people on their toes. I know arabs usually let things slide, but we can't let people keep taking advantage of us because we "have money."

vdubpower

shady company if they arent following the rules on their contract...

farhadahmad

damn ur 20 years old renting a SLS. BOSS!!!! ahha.
I would just pay for damages and be a man about it. But if they keep ur 5k!!! not thats a different story...... then you throw in the whole im underage ur fault thing at them.

moosejaw

Pay for it and be done with it. Doesn't matter if costs $1-2k. You have insurance use it.
You drove the car, you damaged it, and you should pay like anyone else.

Also if you used a CC, I'd imagine you used a AMEX? At least you can get them to cover the deductible or any other out of pocket costs that your insurance doesn't cover.

CoolBDPhenom03

I would think that if you took care of the repairs, they wouldn't keep the deposit. However, if you refuse, then it's all theirs.

Guilty

Well I want to fix the car myself at the dealer but they said they want to take it to Braman (BMW). I went to the dealer and they quoted $1100 total in parts. One part has to come from Germany. The rental company said that I won't get my deposit until the car is fixed. I paid using my Delta Skymiles Check Card not a credit card so basically I'm on my own. I have no problems paying for the repair but I don't want to be waiting 2 weeks to get my money back.

Vic55

Lets see pics...

Guilty

I even took it to the car wash right before giving it back lol



Last but not least... S101 ordered! 21' Brush Tinted Clear!

CoolBDPhenom03

Well, that sucks. 2 weeks isn't the end of the world. I mean, how many dealership carry spare parts for SLS's? Looks like you'll have to bite the 2 wk wait or bite whatever bullet the rental company comes up for the cost of the repair. Did they give you an estimate yet to compare with the one you got for $1100?

Guilty

No they didn't even call me back. So annoying.

moosejaw

Call up pelican parts, i think they are a vendor here and see what it is.
In situations like these, i would always use a CC esp AMEX. I know the points you get is tempting but in this case it makes sense to cover your ***.

AMEX or any other credit card company that ahs a decent benefits package only pays out where your insurance limits expire. In north america anyways they always make you use your insurance policy as primary coverage. In this case it would have covered your deductible.

Im surprised the rental company hasn't billed you while the car is down for repairs which is usually the case with the rental agencies..

Guilty

I would've used an AMEX but I'm still building my credit and didnt apply for one yet. I went to the rental company and they're saying they're waiting for the owner. The car is there I saw it and I think it's for rent even though it has a broken grill. I'm going to stop by again and take a picture. This is annoying, I just want to pay for whatever I need to pay for and get my money back. I don't want to be dealing with this forever. My insurance was used as primary coverage but making a claim is going to make things slower... My deductible is pretty high anyways.

propain

No insurance on the rental?

Guilty

They used mine.

moosejaw

Was the rock that hit your car on one of the many stupid construction projects we have here in South Florida?

propain

You will get your money back. You will have to pay for the damage. They will go through your insurance. You will have to pay the deductible.

They cant hold your deposit.

Guilty

@moosejaw: I got hit by a "rock" on 395 East going to south beach to drop off the car. Very first bridge. I was going pretty fast which made the impact worst.

@propain: Hopefully but these a$$holes are not calling me back and no one there seems to know what's going on. Very unprofessional. They should've taken the car to the dealer already and got an estimate. I'm afraid they're going to take advantage of the situation and try to make me pay for other things.

TEKZILLA

This is a little brutal, guy knew he wasn't 21 but trusted him, if he puts it back on them employee might get fired..


Anyway it seems you're figuring it out honestly and morally, hopefully insurance of one kind will do the trick. Bad luck but that's the risk you took renting it. Better luck next time!

_timothy

good luck man

use a credit card next time. you're at their mercy.

jvanbrecht

I don't think you should have to cover anything other then the damage to the hood. The grill falling off means that it was most likely not installed correctly, a stone should not have caused it to fall out. More to the point, that looks like multiple impacts, 1 on the hood, one of the grill..

I would force the issue on the grill though, as it should not have come out, unless you hit something larger then a stone...

JM

You do realize they have the right to sue for loss as well right?

The car will be down for 2 weeks they can charge you 2 weeks of rental as well since thats their loss.

Just pay your deductible and your insurance should cover it, something like this is un-avoidable so your insurance shouldn't go up.