Note: The replacement name for the Stupid Tip of the Day series of articles has not yet been chosen; and your suggestions are still welcome.
A reader of The Gate — who will remain anonymous — recently contacted me privately with regard to an accident which involved another vehicle struck the rear end of the rental car in which the reader was driving…
Stupid Tip of the Day: Take Photographs Immediately After Being Involved in an Automobile Accident
…but after submitting all of the paperwork and waiting some time until this matter was resolved with the rental car company, this reader received a notice with an additional claim by the rental car company for an additional $3,000.00 for the tires, which were allegedly replaced with “worn” tires.
Could someone have stolen the good tires overnight while the reader was in a hotel room and replaced them with worn tires? As unlikely as this may seem, people have apparently swapped out a rental vehicle after stealing parts from it and then exchanged it for a different vehicle — as well as parts having been stolen from rental vehicles in general — and this happens more often than you might think.
Unfortunately — unless you have taken clear photographs of the condition of all vehicles which were involved in an accident — if a rental car company levels an additional claim against you, the battle becomes your word against that of the rental car company. Ensure that you take plenty of photographs from all different angles to prove the condition of the car at the scene of the accident as soon as possible — assuming that you are not injured or hurt.
You should also call the police as soon as possible after the accident occurs so that you may obtain an incident report to provide to the rental car company and the company which provides insurance.
Summary
Of course, this is in addition to the photographs you took of the rental car prior to driving off with it at the beginning of the rental period — as well as those you take at the conclusion of the rental period. Photographs — as well as videos — are your best evidence to protect you in the event of a discrepancy resulting from an incident which causes a disagreement between you and the rental car company.
I learned through personal experience that you should call the police when you are involved in a hit-and-run accident — no matter how minor — and this really applies to almost any accident.
Renting a car is usually uneventful — but when a problem occurs, it can consume valuable time, effort and even money to ensure that it is finally resolved.
Other articles which I wrote pertaining to renting a vehicle which offer potentially valuable information for you include:
- Be Careful About Returning Rental Cars During Late Hours…
- This is How Visitors in Rental Cars Should Pay Electronic Tolls
- 13 Steps to Prevent Your Rental Car From Crime at Gasoline Stations
- 14 Tips on What You Can Do to Prevent From Being Scammed by a Rental Car Company
- Warning: Ensure Your Rental Car Reservation is Indeed Canceled — Otherwise…
- Warning: Rental Car Companies May Automatically Pay Violations — and There Is Little You Can Do About It
- Warning: What You Must Know About Connecting Your Device in a Rental Car
- 7 Tips on How to Avoid Being Charged for Fuel When Returning a Rental Car With a Full Tank of Gasoline
- 6 Problems Why You Had Better Hope Someone in a Rental Car Does Not Damage Your Property
- Be Careful About Returning Rental Cars After Hours…
- How I Saved Hundreds of Dollars on One Car Rental
- Stupid Tip of the Day: Why the Lowest Rental Car Rates are Not Always a Good Value
- Stupid Tip of the Day: Have Vehicle Damage Officially Recorded Before Leaving the Rental Car Facility
- Stupid Tip of the Day: Watch Out for the Rates of One-Way Car Rentals
- Renting Cars to Swap or Steal Their Parts?
- Stupid Tip of the Day: The Side on Which to Pump When Refueling Your Rental Car
- Are Fees Out of Control for Electronic Tolls Using Rental Cars?
- Are Rental Car Companies Taking an Electronic Toll On You — Literally?
- Electronic Tolls and Rental Car Companies: Outrageous Gouging?
- The Pain of Electronic Tolls is Felt by More and More FlyerTalk Members
- Electronic Tolls in South Africa: Economic Apartheid?
- $17,000 Fine For $36 in Unpaid Electronic Tolls?
- Hertz Sued by San Francisco Over Fees For Electronic Tolls
- Urgent Reader Question: Return Rental Car to Closed Facility on Holiday Weekend?
- Advice on How Not to Be Hit With Loss of Use Fees on a Rental Car After an Accident?
- Is Loss of Use a Legitimate Charge By Rental Car Companies When Vehicles are Damaged?
- How a $39.95 Rental Became $254.42
- Do You Pay In Advance for Fuel For Rental Car — or Do You Decline?
- Car Rental Company Allegedly Added Fees Without Consent of Customers
- Express Fuel Option: Hertz to Charge You if You Drive That Rental Car Fewer Than 75 Miles Without Refueling
- Express Fuel Option Has Spread to Dollar and Thrifty: Charged if You Drive That Rental Car Fewer Than 75 Miles Without Refueling
- How Much Does This Scratch on the Wheel of This Rental Car Cost?
- Not Paying a Toll Can Take a Toll — On You
- Photographs of What NOT to Do With a Rental From Enterprise
- Could Rental Car Rates Rise in the United States? 8 Tips on What Can You Do
- Rising Rental Car Rates in the United States: What Can You Do?
- Why I Do Not Like Alamo Better Than Other Rental Car Companies
- Why is One Weekly Car Rental $128.84 More Than The Other With Exact Same Criteria?
Photograph ©2006 by Brian Cohen.
