rented car + flat tire = extra cost?

bastic · 31 Jul 2011 at 09:03

Hey,
I rented a car for the weekend. It started yesterday morning.
Went all the way to Selby( from London).
On the way back I drove in to a hole. not big and haven't feel any change in the way car drove after that so am not sure if that was caused the damage ...
After around 120miles, we stopped for petrol and something to eat.

when we came back to the car, we have noticed this :

IMAG0058 by Lukasz Baszko, on Flickr

20 minutes later or so the bubble exploded leaving us with this :

IMAG0059 by Lukasz Baszko, on Flickr

So nothing else then time to change the tire... got the replacement wheel from the car and to my surprise it was the 'small' replacement wheel on which I could do 50miles per hour max oh joy

Wheel nuts were so tight I was unable to undo them with tools supplied with the car so only option was to call emergency phone number that was given to me by rental company.

I was told that I will be charged for changing the wheel something around £200!!!! either doh I have insurance on rented car up to £500 ?!?!
The guy on the phone said it does not cover flat tyres!!!
So they have sent RAC to help with the wheel.
now because of the 'temporary' tire, Im not able use the car today ( no way Im driving 200miles 50miles per hour lol (and RAC guy said he wouldn't drive more then 150 miles on it anyway..

I just went through all paper work I was given while I have rented a car and there is no mention of me paying for damaged/flat tire. I should be covered for damage to the car up to £500
stupid isn't it ...

Anyone had similar problem ? and has any advice what I should do ?

I will place a complaint and will try to get away from paying as I was not informed that insurance doesnt cover flat tire. and maybe it was already damaged by previous driver, who knows, (RAC chap said there are millions of ways why this bubble could appear) and because spare wheel was not a proper one and am not able to use the car again.

I would kill someone if that would happen to me in Selby ... 6 or 8 hour drive to London would be a killer...

as

Wicksta · 31 Jul 2011 at 10:01

It's quite clearly had a big whack to the wheel. I can't see that damage getting through an inspection, surely you would have noticed the damage to the wheel when you went round and inspected the car? I doubt if it was there before you went down that 'hole'.

I can't see how you will get out of paying, a space saver is standard on a lot of modern cars, do you expect the rental company to buy wheels for every type of car they own? Is there even room for a standard wheel?

At the end of the day, look where you are driving in future - you only have yourself to blame.

SB118 · 31 Jul 2011 at 10:27

Could be worth kicking off about the fact that you couldn't get the wheel off with the tools they gave you, leaving you with no choice but to call the service line.

antijoke · 31 Jul 2011 at 10:49

Surely this lies at the feet of the council if it was a big enough hole in the road to cause that.

Of course the rental company will probably insist you pay first.

Just how fast were you going when you hit the hole?

[TW]Fox · 31 Jul 2011 at 10:52

Or you could man up and realise you crashed someone else's car into a hole and therefore should pay for it.

You are not covered for damage up to £500 (what would be the point in that? Imagine you did 2 grand of damage?), you are covered for damage but must pay the first £500.

Jez · 31 Jul 2011 at 10:59

Best tactic here would have surely been to find someone with some muscle to get the wheel off and fit a cheap part worn to it of the same brand so they never thought anything of it?

Dogbreath · 31 Jul 2011 at 11:04

That must have been a fair whack to cause that, I'd be a little surprised if the wheel is still straight.

Dangerous Dave · 31 Jul 2011 at 11:06

I would try what Jez has suggested or fit a new tyre and clean the car so that it isn't obvious it has been changed either way it will be a lot cheaper than paying the hire company to replace it.

Wicksta · 31 Jul 2011 at 11:06

Dogbreath said:
That must have been a fair whack to cause that, I'd be a little surprised if the wheel is still straight.

What confuses me is that he thinks the damage could have been done previously and he didn't see it when picking up the car, yet luckily somehow suddenly noticed it a few minutes before the tyre deflated.

dale1uk · 31 Jul 2011 at 11:09

Dogbreath said:
That must have been a fair whack to cause that, I'd be a little surprised if the wheel is still straight.

This. It was either a bloody big hole you must have hit, or a kerb, at a fair pace to do that.

Also you said you noticed the bleb on the sidewall after 120 miles, but it didn't let go for another 20 miles. Surely you didn't just keep driving it after seeing the damage? :eek:

shoes · 31 Jul 2011 at 15:27

20 minutes. appears to be parked in the same place.

Mr^B · 31 Jul 2011 at 15:30

Was that dent in the wheel there when you took the car away from the hire place?

bastic · 31 Jul 2011 at 15:32

SB118 said:
Could be worth kicking off about the fact that you couldn't get the wheel off with the tools they gave you, leaving you with no choice but to call the service line.

I will be doing that

Wicksta said:
What confuses me is that he thinks the damage could have been done previously and he didn't see it when picking up the car, yet luckily somehow suddenly noticed it a few minutes before the tyre deflated.

TBH havent paid to much attention to the wheels...

dale1uk said:
Also you said you noticed the bleb on the sidewall after 120 miles, but it didn't let go for another 20 miles. Surely you didn't just keep driving it after seeing the damage?

Ive noticed it after 120 miles when we stopped for petrol and fuel.
Car was left in the sun.
when I was trying to think if it would be safe to drive on this it just exploded..luckily not on the road.

Wicksta said:
What confuses me is that he thinks the damage could have been done previously and he didn't see it when picking up the car, yet luckily somehow suddenly noticed it a few minutes before the tyre deflated.

am thinking about damage to the tire, not rim it self.

and as for changing damaged tire and replacing it myself, I would do it but as I was stuck in the middle of nowhere, late evening, I had no other choice then ring them

anyhow..took me a while but now, I almost forgot about it.
will draft a letter and post it to them either tomorrow, or after they will charge me.

cheers

blueboy2001 · 31 Jul 2011 at 15:32

Rental agreements generally don't include damage to wheels and tyres (and the undercarriage, roof, and glass on the ones I've hired recenty) unless you take the additional all-inclusive insurance which is often a few pounds per day.

Unless you are covered, the cheapest way out of this will be for you to buy a replacement tyre and get it fitted, hopefully the rim isn't damaged.

[TW]Fox · 31 Jul 2011 at 15:42

bastic said:
I will be doing that

How truely pathetic.

Waaaaa its not my fault, you didnt include a trolley jack, airgun and a team of Kwik Fit staff in the boot of car.

bastic · 31 Jul 2011 at 15:59

[TW]Fox;19709572 said:
How truely pathetic.

Waaaaa its not my fault, you didnt include a trolley jack, airgun and a team of Kwik Fit staff in the boot of car.

pathetic ?
I bet you would just wait for hand of god to help you as calling for help would make you look pathetic

try to be stuck in the middle of nowhere with pregnant woman in late evening.
chap from RAC had problems with undoing the nuts with his tools...

I just asked for advice and not to be insulted. Dont like the way Ive done this ? dont reply. simple.
Thanks

[TW]Fox · 31 Jul 2011 at 16:09

Way to miss the point.

I'm talking about trying to argue your way out of paying for damage that was:

a) Your fault
b) Stipulated as chargeable in the rental agreement.

Not for calling the RAC, which I'd probably also have done.

bastic · 31 Jul 2011 at 16:19

[TW]Fox;19709839 said:
Way to miss the point.

I'm talking about trying to argue your way out of paying for damage that was:

a) Your fault
b) Stipulated as chargeable in the rental agreement.

Not for calling the RAC, which I'd probably also have done.

apologies then

am just not pleased that due to not my fault, I wasnt able to change the wheel myself. this is the part I find not fair.
am not trying to find a way of not paying for damage specially if it wasnt covered by insurance, I get that. .. its their admin fee for taking the call and RAC service.
would save me bit above £100 if I could get the wheel of myself ...

ok.time to forget about it and get along...

Fr0dders · 31 Jul 2011 at 17:19

You'd need to change the wheel and the tyre and possibly get the suspension checked as well as thats obviously had a right old thump.

If you leave it up to the personal on the rental agreement to sort, 9 out of 10 people who would do so would do it on the cheap. Use 2nd hand parts from dodgy sources and generally cut corners in order to make it as cheap as possible.

Hire car companies don't want that, so insist on fixing it themselves so they know its done right. You may have been willing to do the job properly, but the insurance company don't have time to fight the arguments that would come if they allowed people to do this.

Just pay up and accept you need to not kerb hire cars.