Budget Rental Car

[MelBay]

In early November we made our very first trek to Vegas, and had a ball. I've been through a very, very ugly real estate legal battle for the past year, and it got settled (in my favor) 2 days before we left, so I was ready to go! We lost our car 4 times (not due to alcohol, just age-induced stupidity) and I also backed the Budget rental car (much bigger than my car at home) into a pole. Oops!

I NEVER take the rental insurance they try to ram down your throat, as my MasterCard covers the deductible from our full line of State Farm coverage.

I was so upset we actually went to a Chevy dealer who told us if we weren't leaving the next morning that he could fix it for about $250. Minor damage...

So, here's the question: It's been 2 months, I have called Budget 3 times, no returned calls (always get an answering machine), no paperwork demaning $$, nothing. My insurance agent hasn't heard from them, and neither has Mastercard. They have all the info.

Should I keep bugging them, or just hope it goes away? :hysterical: Seriously, my agent says to just sit tight and let them initiate it, but I don't want to sit tight for 2 years and then have this pop up. This is crazy, from the horror stories I've heard about wrecked rentals, I'd have figured they'd have put a lien on our house by the time we got back home.

And, while we're at it, I'd love to hear other rental wreck stories. They're always good.

 

[classiclincoln]

When you turned in the car, did Budget note the damage? If not, you're off the hook. If they did, eventually they'll contact you about the money. For what it's worth, if they did note the damage, I would let Master Card know and have everyone "open the file".

 

[MelBay]

Yup, they noted the damage. And I checked with Master Card, and I have supplied everything I can give them, so I've fulfilled my duties. Again, Budget won't respond to their requests for their documentation. Very odd...

 

[MelBay]

And, to close the loop on this one, I got the "demand letter" from Budget last week.

Since I charged the car on my Bank of America World Points card which covers deductibles for car rental accidents, they needed two more pieces of info from Budget, and then paid my deductible. Since the total for damages was only $206 more than my deductible with State Farm, I just paid it out of pocket, rather than incurring a black mark on our State Farm lines of insurance.

So, moral of my story is to use a credit card that covers car rental boo-boos, because it's sure cheaper than paying that ridiculously high over the counter insurance Budget tried to stick to us.

Happy ending for all...

 

[AKE]

Some credit card car insurances do not go after your own car insurance at all but rather pay the full shot themselves.