Rental Vehicle Insurance Excess Question

[TheRealTMA]

A

Interesting how you think it's worth going to Milan for the car deal. I look at it as self-inflicted torture, as that section of Autostrada between Milan and Padova is the most high stress, dangerous piece of tollway with the most nutters I have ever seen anywhere in Italy or Europe. You are braver than me!

The rental excess is taken care of with my wife's CBA Platinum Card - I'm just disappointed that Amex appear to have shirked such an important feature on many of their less expensive Platinum cards.

Regards,
Renato

Compared with driving in Brisbane, italy’s a doddle.

 

[PLANT]

Anyone know how much a flat tyre repair will be Europe in a Europcar????
Have total protection insurance with another mob.

So a whirlpool person said it will be
1. Car hire day
+
2. Full new tyre cost ( even though puncher repaired)
+
3. 20% VAT

€200-300?

 

[TheRealTMA]

So a whirlpool person said it will be
1. Car hire day
+
2. Full new tyre cost ( even though puncher repaired)
+
3. 20% VAT

€200-300?

Had a dead type in Jag XE last year (ripped sidewall). Went to tyre place bought new tyre (for Jag) cost only £137 inc vat.

 

[Renato1]

A

Compared with driving in Brisbane, italy’s a doddle.

I don't think they tailgate you at 130 or 140kph in Brisbane like they do in Italy.

Or play chicken and overtake right into your oncoming path - so that you have to either brake and let them complete their overtaking......or have a high-speed head-on collision.

Drivers are much nicer in Brisbane.
Cheers,
Renato

 

[TheRealTMA]

I don't think they tailgate you at 130 or 140kph in Brisbane like they do in Italy.

Or play chicken and overtake right into your oncoming path - so that you have to either brake and let them complete their overtaking......or have a high-speed head-on collision.

Drivers are much nicer in Brisbane.
Cheers,
Renato

Don’t sit in the outside lane as they do in Australia doing 20 km under speed limit then. 130 is normal Italian motorway speed limit. It’s the German, Swiss and Austrian Mercs, BMWs and audis doing 180-200 in the outside lane you just have to look out for when you overtake.

Drivers in Brisbane don’t have any knowledge or acceptance that there are others on the road and “you” are occupying “their” road. Is a concern.

 

[JohnK]

If I'm not mistaken annual domestic travel insurance including rental vehicle excess with Medibank Private is about $70/year. May need to be a member.

Comes in handy with annual travel insurance policies such as Budget where they do not cover domestic travel.

 

[Renato1]

Don’t sit in the outside lane as they do in Australia doing 20 km under speed limit then. 130 is normal Italian motorway speed limit. It’s the German, Swiss and Austrian Mercs, BMWs and audis doing 180-200 in the outside lane you just have to look out for when you overtake.

Drivers in Brisbane don’t have any knowledge or acceptance that there are others on the road and “you” are occupying “their” road. Is a concern.

No, I don't drive on the outside lane going slow like fellow Aussies love doing. I've never had a problem driving on German, Austrian, French, Dutch, Slovenian, Croation and most other Italian autobahns/autostradas. But the one between Milan and Venice is the crazy one. There are four lanes, and the rightmost one is filled with trucks doing 100kph. So I drive at 130kph in the lane next to them, and even though there are two other lanes next to me, the crazy drivers tailgate me at 130kph in that lane.

I've learned to ignore them or indicate to them to get stuffed. I pay the same money as they do to get on the tollway, and if I want to stick to the maximum speed limit in the second slowest lane, that's what I am going to do.
Cheers,
Renato

 

[RB]

If I'm not mistaken annual domestic travel insurance including rental vehicle excess with Medibank Private is about $70/year. May need to be a member.

Comes in handy with annual travel insurance policies such as Budget where they do not cover domestic travel.

From a quick look it looks like it has a $3,000 limit on hire car excess

 

[JohnK]

From a quick look it looks like it has a $3,000 limit on hire car excess

I didn't look at it in great detail but thought there was an option to increase cover.

Wouldn't that excess cover most scenarios excluding single vehicle accidents?

Also I think comparing this policy with the ~$35 hire companies charge per day to reduce excess to zero has to be good value?

Something to consider as I have no faith in credit card insurance covering me for what I need.

 

[TheRealTMA]

No, I don't drive on the outside lane going slow like fellow Aussies love doing. I've never had a problem driving on German, Austrian, French, Dutch, Slovenian, Croation and most other Italian autobahns/autostradas. But the one between Milan and Venice is the crazy one. There are four lanes, and the rightmost one is filled with trucks doing 100kph. So I drive at 130kph in the lane next to them, and even though there are two other lanes next to me, the crazy drivers tailgate me at 130kph in that lane.

I've learned to ignore them or indicate to them to get stuffed. I pay the same money as they do to get on the tollway, and if I want to stick to the maximum speed limit in the second slowest lane, that's what I am going to do.
Cheers,
Renato

Oh I didn’t say there weren’t crazy drivers. The Italians definitely like the smell from the exhaust pipe. One often sees cars on freeways in small groups of 2-4 at 130-140 about 3 metres apart. One gets used to it.

But IMHO unlike Australia, Italian drivers actually are, in general, paying attention. None of this macho rubbish as in Australia where people block the outside lanes at 99 or speed up to stop you passing, or in particular, speed up to stop you pulling in or out. Australian drivers don’t like giving up their ownership othe the particular 50 metres of road they regard as their personal property.

But enough of driving habits. Back to insurance.

 

[Peter D]

Anyone know how much a flat tyre repair will be Europe in a Europcar????
Have total protection insurance with another mob.

$AU 272 for new tyre on Hertz rental in Scotland last October.

I ran over sharp piece of metal in the Outer Hebrides. But there were no low profile tyres of my size in the islands despite my landlady describing it in Gaelic to the garage.

Bought a new tyre at Fort William back on the mainland.

It would have been claimable on my ANZ, Bank West or Westpac cards but of course travel insurance also has its own excesses. Not worth claiming.

 

[PLANT]

So is this the Europcar insurance rental scam in action?
Family members took photos (so I'm told, checked car) in Dublin on pickup of i30 from Europcar.
On drop off told scratch on car €1500 excess charged to 28 degrees card for €350 repair job.
Will get more details as no mention of flat tyre repair fee? Told FULL PRTECTION insurance via rentalcar.com will take 7 days to return money to card?

 

[TheRealTMA]

So is this the Europcar insurance rental scam in action?
Family members took photos (so I'm told, checked car) in Dublin on pickup of i30 from Europcar.
On drop off told scratch on car €1500 excess charged to 28 degrees card for €350 repair job.
Will get more details as no mention of flat tyre repair fee? Told FULL PRTECTION insurance via rentalcar.com will take 7 days to return money to card?

Sounds very much like it. Europcar were heavily fined for such behaviour, obviously not heavily enough. You can report this to authorities in Ireland but whether anything would be done is debatable. Just have to wait fir refund from Rentalcars.