You Damaged a Rental Car. What Can the Company Bill You For?

You return the rental with a crumpled fender, or call from the roadside after someone hits it. Weeks later a letter arrives with a total and a payment deadline. California's rental statutes, in Civil Code sections 1939.01 and following, decide what that letter may contain.

What the company may charge you

Under section 1939.03, a rental company and renter may agree that the renter is responsible for no more than:

• Physical or mechanical damage from a collision, up to the car's fair market value, regardless of cause.
• Theft, up to fair market value, but only if the company proves by clear and convincing evidence that the renter or authorized driver failed to use ordinary care.
• Vandalism connected with a theft, and up to $500 for vandalism unrelated to a theft.
• Actual towing, storage and impound fees the company paid, if you are liable.
• An administrative charge, which section 1939.05 caps: none at all if estimated parts and labor total $100 or less, and above that a fixed ceiling that rises in three steps with the size of the estimate.

The total for repair is limited to estimated parts and labor at the rates the company usually pays, with discounts it receives subtracted.

Step by step after the damage

1. If another vehicle was involved, follow the scene rules below, and get a police report number if there was a theft.
2. Photograph the car at the scene and again at return, inside and out.
3. Call your insurer and ask whether your policy covers damage to a rental, and what deductible applies.
4. Tell the rental company in writing that your coverage is confirmed and that you require it to submit the claim to your insurer. Section 1939.07 gives you that right once coverage is confirmed during business hours, including by phone from the insurer.
5. Ask for an itemized estimate or invoice and compare every line with the list above.
6. Pay only what your coverage does not, such as your deductible. The statute keeps you responsible for any loss your policy does not cover.

If you bought the damage waiver

Section 1939.09 says a damage waiver relieves the renter of liability for damage, loss, loss of use and related costs, and any other limitation on the waiver is void, except a short list the contract may state: intentional or reckless conduct, driving under the influence, towing or pushing anything, unpaved-road damage caused by the road, commercial hire, a felony, racing or driver training, an unauthorized driver, use outside the United States, and fraudulent or materially false rental information.

What can go wrong

• Charges that are not on the list. If a bill includes a line you cannot match to section 1939.03, such as a separate "loss of use" or "diminished value" charge, ask in writing which part of the contract and the statute supports it.
• A total-loss figure that looks high. Section 1939.07 ties it to the methods insurers customarily use, less salvage proceeds the company keeps.
• Paying first, asking later. Once you pay, recovering an overcharge is slower than disputing it.

Before your next trip, it is worth knowing whether your policy extends to rentals at all. Request a quote and we can tell you what yours does.