Had accident driving rental car, can I go fix it in a private body shop without telling the rental company?

Barkley Hound

That would be fraud. You are returning a repaired car instead of the original.
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Jacko

probably not because you don't own the car. If you're worried about them charging you too much, you may want to see if your insurance covers it. In many cases it will, after your deductible of course.

Dr. Obvious

Sure, if you want a big fat lawsuit!!!

wampaskitty2001

Why would you do that, they have Insurance and you have Insurance, just be Money thrown out the window. Besides if you fix the car without telling them you could get into some serious trouble, just my advice.

Stuart

No, it isn't legal to just fix the car and return it. The rental company needs to know that the car was wrecked.

Let them know what happened. If you took out their insurance when you rented the car, they'll just give you a new car to drive, and fix it themselves.

If you didn't take out their additional insurance, they'll just have your insurance company fix it.

Do not get into committing fraud by trying to return a rental car that has been wrecked. They will sue you, and it will end up being very costly.

Mel

Why do that as long as you have taken the rental insurance you are fine just take it back and dont spend all that time and money.

nuniestar

They will find out eventually because anytime something like that gets fixed or is recorded with insurance, etc. It comes up in the cars history! They will trace it back to you eventually!

darkdiva

You can do as you please but why the subterfuge when the care is insured?

daven71

No its not legal. You are a renter not the legal owner of the car. You must report any accident to the rightful owner. However, once you do that you do have the right to seek your own appraisal for repair.

jon_levi

no it is the resposibility of all mecanics and body shops to report things like that

Mr. J

Depends if there was a police report done. If so, then they might have a record of an accident in which case when the rental company tries to sell it and a customer looks it up on carfax then they'll know it was in an accident with your name on it. You might get away with it though....but it's not the ethical thing to do. If you do fix it on your own....I'd let them know what happened.

Geoffinist

Well, to accurately answer this question, you will need to evaluate your standing. First, ask yourself "Did I really squash the headphones?" If so, look down, your foot is probably in a pile of dog poopy right now. Then ask yourself "Did my wife really shame herself THAT much?" If you come to the conclusion that she DID, then i would suggest NEVER going back to work again. At least you would avoid the bill.

bigapple

The choice here is that when you rent the car your insurance covers it. If you choose not to file against your insurance then making the vehicle right as you rented is okay as long as it is fixed, but the setback here is that the company may want to know that the accident occured because it depreciates the vehicle. Inspections are done when you rent it and done after you return it so I would report it myself and get the car fixed.
At least this way you stay clean with them.

mbrcatz

Sure. Those plastic bumper covers aren't cheap, though.

Hrscrzy4

Not that I know of, you should of got Rental Insurance buddy.

Diane M

You can turn it in to the insurance company or you can pay to have it repaired on your own. If you were in an accident was there damage to someone else's car? If there was a report made, then the rental company will find out. If the car is repaired good as new, I dont think the rental company will have a problem with you fixing it yourself. You dont have to hide the fact from them.

Shut up Children

Just do it, they probably wont even notice. I had a friend once that rented a cobra mustang for 2 days just to swap the suspension into his GT mustang and put the GT suspension in the cobra and returned it. he delivered the epic LULZ

Maria2Blue

It sounds kinda fishy, but I dont see how they would find out.

babykiss

yeah sure its legal. Insurance is just to pay for the damages if you don't want to. If you can get it fixed on own, thats fine.

pescador

check your contract if it says nothing about that go ahead but consider that little part of your soul you lose when you defraud

dannah1129

Yes, by all means HAVE IT FIXED! If you return the car like that the rental company will charge you 3 times what it would have cost you to fix it on your own. Trust me, I know. I rented a vehicle and they charged me $100 bucks because I let someone smoke in it. A complete detail on the inside would have cost me $30.

Bill

Yes.

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