Last December, I was distracted while unparking my ZipCar rental, and misjudged my proximity to a nearby support pillar of the parking garage. Thankfuly, it was slow and a “near hit”, but I still managed to cause a small nick and some scratches.
Now, trying to be an honest, upright person, I took the above picture of the damage and reported it in to ZipCar. In my mind, I was prepared to be fined, but since I had seen other cars carrying nicks and scratches, I didn’t think it would be replacement cost.
Naturally, it was replacement cost. In the span of two days after I reported it, ZipCar had sent someone in to examine it, taking it to an auto body shop, and had the offending bumper and panel replaced. It ended up costing me around $500.
I got a second opinion that confirmed the costs were reasonable. As it was explained to me, there’s not really much you can do to fix scratches and dents except to replace the entire component, be it a bumper or a outer panel.
I can’t find fault with what ZipCar did, but it’s a little frustrating to pay the full replacement cost instead of a fine. It seemed a minor cosmetic issue that I guess most car owners would ignore. No benefit to being honest either; even parking infractions provide a discount for being forthright.
So what did I learn?
- There’s an incentive to be dishonest, since unreported damage may never get reported (and thus never fixed), or may get applied to some other ZipCar member.
- ZipCar has an incentive to immediately apply the full replacement process as quickly as possible, because it gives them a better car. Cost isn’t an issue, as it will be covered either by the insurer or the deductible.
- The additional $75 annual fee that ZipCar charges to waive all deductibles is probably worth it, if you rent with them often.
I’m sticking with ZipCar, because it’s still cost effective (more or less), but I’m definitely adding this experience as a reason to own a car instead of rent. Quality of life (lack of annoyances) is worth something, too.
