My rental was hit by a taxi

September 10, 2009 11:30 AM

I rented a car and a taxi hit me while I was parallel parking. The car was not dented, but there is a bit of yellow paint on the bumper. Unfortunately, I declined all coverage. What advice do you have before I return the car (in a few hours) to the company?

I'm not sure yet if my credit card or driver's insurance covers rental cars. I havent seen the police report yet --- of course the taxi said it was my fault and I said it was his (it was). If it matters, it is Thrifty car.

Thanks for your help and advice. Anonymous so as not to help the car company. Throw away email: [e-mail]

posted by anonymous to travel & transportation (11 comments total)

polishing compound (at autoparts store... to remove paint) or "color back finish restorer cream paste wax" - has polishing compound in it.

doubt if your card (unless ultra-premium platinum or higher) covers this... been a while since standard platinum card coverage took care of this sorta stuff.
posted by Jiff_and_theChoosyMuthers at 11:35 AM on September 10

Your auto insurance automatically transfers to the rental car, although if you don't carry comprehensive and collision coverage on your current policy, you may have some issues. Definitely call your insurance company and let them start handling the claim. They can do the legwork for you (part of what you're paying them for, actually), and they'll tell you how to handle it with the car rental company.
posted by scarykarrey at 11:36 AM on September 10

seconding polishing compound, a bit of elbow grease should take that paint right off, worked for my wife's car when she got dinged. i used this
posted by Mach5 at 11:45 AM on September 10 [1 favorite]

If the taxi suffered damages, a claim is going to be filed regardless of whether you get rid of the evidence or not. If you were truly not at fault in this accident, you're not going to do yourself any favors by covering up damages, and may hurt your case enough to allow the taxi driver's insurance to win. Don't buff out the scratch.
posted by scarykarrey at 11:52 AM on September 10

Did you pay for the rental with a Credit Card?

Many cards will have automobile rental coverage on them. Check there first.

More Here
posted by Gravitus at 11:52 AM on September 10

Your auto insurance automatically transfers to the rental car,

your auto insurance also probably has a deductible of $500 or so. In the absence of another insured driver to blame, you will end up paying this out of pocket.

I would go with the home removal method mentioned above.
posted by drjimmy11 at 12:01 PM on September 10

Auto insurance does not always transfer to rental cars. Check your policy.
posted by thirteenkiller at 12:11 PM on September 10

Just rub off the yellow paint with your fingernail or compound on a rag. That takes care of your carrental. If the report comes back as you being at fault you have to worry about how his repairs will be covered. It may come back as equal fault which is most lkely and you or your insurance will be responsible for half his repairs. So find out by calling if you are covered at all and report the accident as his fault.
posted by bravowhiskey at 12:58 PM on September 10

Rub that paint off. Most rental companies do a quick spot check and that's it. Get it off the car.
posted by Damn That Television at 1:01 PM on September 10

The rental car's insurance company will take a report from both sides. When there is a disparity in reporting they will often look to the damage to substantiate (or refute) versions of how the accident occurred. If there are no independent witnesses and blame can't be determined (because of different stories) the drivers are often determined to be found 50%/50% responsible.

Your liability coverage (from the car that you normally drive) can and does cover you when you are driving other cars (unless you buy other coverage). You should report this accident to your own carrier.

If you were parallel parking and you hit a parked cab you are 100% at fault.
posted by naplesyellow at 7:11 PM on September 10

When I rented from Enterprise, I was informed before getting in the car that they only cared about (and charged for) damage to the paint that could not be buffed out by them, i.e. scratches that went down to the sheet metal. It may be worth an anonymous call to Thrifty to see if they follow this policy as well. Pose as a potential renter.

I would do this before trying to fix it yourself, because if you don't know what you're doing with polishing compound, there is a very real possibility that you could damage the original paint. Especially if you use a buffer.
posted by Gonestarfishing at 7:16 PM on September 10