Rental Car

RESERVATIONS

It is more convenient if you make rental car arrangements prior to your scheduled repair date to insure that you have a vehicle reserved. Please give us a call to assist you. Lovetts will be happy to make a rental car reservation for you that will coordinate with your scheduled repair. You may use the rental company of your choice. However, if you ask for our recommendation we recommend HERTZ for their service, price, availability and variety of vehicles.

PICK UP AND DROP OFF

“For one stop convenience” rental vehicles can be picked up and dropped off at Lovetts or you can utilize a free shuttle service to and from the rental car office.

CHOICE OF VEHICLES

Rental vehicle models are categorized according to size and corresponding prices. HERTZ offers vehicles in these categories: Compact, Mid-Size, Intermediate, Full Size, Premium, and Specialty vehicles such as Minivans, SUV’s both large and small, and Pickup Trucks. We advise that you consider the insurance rental car payment coverage’s when choosing your vehicle. Please see section below.

IMPORTANT CONSIDERATIONS WHEN CHOOSING A RENTAL VEHICLE

If an insurance company is paying for the rental car be sure to check with them for your specific rental car coverage’s and limitations before you choose your rental car. Most insurance companies offer several rental car coverage plans or levels of payment in their policies. They may pay $25 or $30 per day or $50 per day with a maximum total payment or cap of $500 or $600 or $1000. Some companies will pay a total of $1000 or $50 per day , whichever comes first. Some insurance companies offer rental coverage of 80% up to a total of $1000 or $1500 with no daily limit on the amount. There are a variety of coverage’s and caps.

You want to be sure your rental car coverage lasts as long as it will take to repair your vehicle so you do not run out of coverage during the repair process and have to pay for the remainder of the rental car cost out of pocket.

For example if your vehicle has sustained a significant amount of damage and it will be in the body shop a month which is twenty-two working days or thirty days total including weekends and you have rental car coverage of $50 per day with a maximum cap of $1000.if you use your maximum daily rental and rent a vehicle that costs $50 per day for 30 days your total rental car costs minus taxes will be $1500 or $500 over your $1000 maximum and you will owe $500 out of pocket plus tax and waivers if you contracted for them.

If you had rented a $25 per day vehicle instead of the $50 per day vehicle and used it for 30 days your total cost would be $750.This is $250 under your $1000 maximum cap and you don’t have to pay out of pocket.

Another consideration is the fact that many initial estimates are written for visible damage only per the insurance company criteria. Most customers ask for an estimated delivery date when they drop their vehicle off. This delivery date is computed from the initial estimate. After a vehicle is completely torn down additional damage may be found that requires more repair time or additional parts to be ordered thus causing your vehicle to be in the shop longer than initially estimated.

PAYMENT OF THE RENTAL BILL

Each insurance company has a specific procedure for paying rental car bills. Many companies will accept a direct billing from the car rental company. However, some insurance companies will require that you pay for the rental vehicle and send them the bill. They will then reimburse you. Check with the insurance company paying for your rental to determine how the payment will be handled.

DEPOSITS

Even if an insurance company is paying for your car rental, most rental car companies will require you to provide them with a credit card. They will put a certain dollar amount on your card as a deposit in case you damage their vehicle while it is in your possession.

AGE RESTRICTIONS

Many car rental companies will not rent to drivers under age of 21. However, some insurance companies have agreements with car rental companies to waive this restriction and will rent to a driver under 21. When you call Lovetts or the car rental company to make your reservation please disclose the age of the driver and ask if there is a restriction.

DAMAGE WAIVERS

All car rental companies offer several different supplemental insurance policies. They are often collectively referred to as Damage Waivers or they may be named individually : Loss Damage Waiver, Liability Insurance Supplement, Personal Accident Insurance & Personal Effects coverage. They provide various coverage’s at various costs.  It is very important to call you insurance agent and ask if the insurance coverage on your personal vehicle transfers to the rental vehicle while you are driving it. Also ask their advice about accepting the various types of supplemental insurance being offered.An insurance company may be paying for the cost of the car rental but most do not pay the cost for the Damage Waivers or other Supplemental Coverages.