Bird broke headlight of rental car. What should I do?

Austin 316 on 27/12/2019 - 09:41

I was travelling from Melbourne to Sydney yesterday with the extended family on my rented people mover (8 seater Kia Grand Carnival) when a bird suddenly flew from the side right onto my headlight on the freeway.

There is no other damage to the car. The excess I have for this car is $1000. I'm thinking to just get the headlight replaced while I'm still in Sydney for 4 more days.

Should I contact the rental company and let them know about it now or later? I'm worried they will make more excuses and try to take the full excess from me. I know the cost of getting this headlight replaced is definitely less than $1000.

Thanks and happy holidays.

Automotive

Comments

  • [Deactivated] on 27/12/2019 - 09:48
    +32

    Dont tell them just fix it and pretend nothing happened.

    • Ughhh on 27/12/2019 - 10:19
      +35

      a true OzB will change all the tyres with your own car provided its the same size and newer than yours

      All fraudsters, theifs and burglars are true ozbargainers then.

      I guess it's OK to do it to someone else, but as soon as its the other way around - straight to the forums to rant about principles!

    • pegaxs on 27/12/2019 - 11:15
      +7

      I'm not gonna lie, you had me right up till the "thieving tyres" part…

    • AbsX on 27/12/2019 - 14:00
      +2

      I only ever used boiling water to repair bent ping pong balls. Would never have dreamed to attempt it on a car bumper lmao.

      But yeah, not every ozbargainer is unethical like you ;)

  • DuckKnight on 27/12/2019 - 10:51
    +8

    Is the bird alright?

    • EightImmortals on 27/12/2019 - 11:58
      +19

      Not just alright, delicious!

      • magic8ballgag on 28/12/2019 - 11:43
        +1

        Gotta love Christmas leftovers!

    • AbsX on 27/12/2019 - 14:01

      The bird flew out of my mind as I was focused on the headlights

  • iforgotmysocks on 27/12/2019 - 11:00
    +15

    Did you get the bird's details? Did it have insurance?

  • RockyRaccoon on 27/12/2019 - 11:11

    Want mspaint diagram of actual collision, you may be up for damage to the bird…. Could even be a hit and run 😀

    In the meantime, you just need to return the car in the same condition you rented it. Fixing the light yourself, or by a dealer will do just that, unless there was other damage.

  • Snake 4 on 27/12/2019 - 11:13

    Could be a costly exercise if it's this model.

    This one is second hand..

    https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/KIA-CARNIVAL-GRAND-CARNIVAL-RIGH…

  • tsunamisurfer on 27/12/2019 - 11:35
    +3

    '#BirdsLivesMatter

  • pegaxs on 27/12/2019 - 11:36
    +4

    I know the cost of getting this headlight replaced is definitely less than $1000.

    How do you know? Have you already had a quote to replace it?

    First, you have to find the right part from a wrecker. Over the Christmas/new year break, not many would be open, let alone have the right part or car in stock.

    Second, you may have to go genuine, and I doubt any dealers would have one sitting in stock, but in the off chance that they do, from what I have looked at online parts places, these things are up to around US$800+ (or about $AU1,200), so I would expect that kind of price range from a stealership.

    If you can do it yourself, then it may not be too bad labour wise, but on top of your possibly $1,200 headlight assembly, there could be a few hundred dollars in labour.

    Third is aftermarket options. These will be about $300 to $500. The issue here is that you might replace the broken one and it looks different to the other side. Unless you can click and collect and compare it first, it may turn up and be too different and you are back to square one.

    • Euphemistic on 27/12/2019 - 12:58
      +1

      Yes. The labour could be costly. Last time I tried to replaced a headlight the front grill and bumper had to come off to get access to the bolts holding them on. Yes, it’s not hard to DIY, but can be time consuming.

    • AdosHouse on 27/12/2019 - 12:59
      +1

      Exactly. And if you have to remove the whole front bumper assembly, it can be a real PITA.

  • ihbh on 27/12/2019 - 13:05
    +1

    Thank your lucky stars it wasn't a kangaroo that broke the windscreen.

    • AdosHouse on 27/12/2019 - 14:51
      +4

      Or a pig, cow, wombat, etc. Personal favourite was a friend who lives out country, hit a eagle, whole windscreen cobwebbed up but still held together by the laminate. Had to drive 200km into town, driving Ace Ventura style.

  • chumlee on 27/12/2019 - 14:38
    +1

    Report it to the police as a hit and fly otherwise buff it out

  • awaischb on 27/12/2019 - 14:42
    -4

    I work for car rental company would recommend to report it to company rather then fixing yourself as rental companies have negotiated deals with panel beaters and will fix in best rates and charge you accordingly as they are always under scrutiny plus you will avoid hassles

    • Melb69 on 27/12/2019 - 14:55
      +5

      Had a blow out. EuroCar charged me $900. Joke. I paid extra tire insurance and they said it wasn't covered. Never again have I hired a car from Euro or elsewhere. It's all good when nothing happens. but some sharks will charge you for any damage which is fair enough, but ensure the pre delivery check is correct and you get any pre damage noted on record before taking possession at hire. IMO.

      • awaischb on 27/12/2019 - 15:20
        +1

        It all depends how customer thinks in other ways basically companies charge the amount they are being charged as in case of a dispute they need to prove to court how much they were charged arguably every car is different i have seen few cars windscreens get replaced just for 150 dollars and at the same time some has been changed for 2500 and as i can see how much company is charged and how much they charge the customer is all the same if you believe something is incorrect always dispute it believe me the companies really want to avoid disputes as much they can and for that they would even let go of little damages just to avoid the expense and time consumed over it

        • pegaxs on 27/12/2019 - 16:42
          +2

          I once returned a car full of fuel and they claimed that it was down 3 litres (I didn't neck the fillup, so they did). They charged me $38 for 3l of fuel. This was on a fuel fill up, not a complicated job like removing and replacing a headlight.

          I highly doubt that they have the consumers best interest at heart and would just send it to a panel beater that wouldn't look after anyone but the panel beater.

          From all my experience and that of people who I know who have had dealings with rental car companies, it's the default SOP that as soon as a customer rings in an accident/damage, that their card is charged the excess before anything else is done, and this is regardless of the damage costs.

      • yvesmpicard on 28/12/2019 - 12:14
        +3

        Yep agree with your comment EUROCAR are NOT ethical … returning a car in BNE airport , refuelling about 1 km from depot $27.00 FULL on car-GAUGE . Pointed out to returning attendant , showing receipt. Europcar billing me couple days later $19.00 ….!?!?!? It took them multiple phone calls to revert entry and a "semblance" of apologie .. NEVER again EUROCAR 😔😤💩💩

        • Roney on 28/12/2019 - 18:22
          +2

          I always skip Eurocar when booking hired cars. There are too many negative reports about them.

    • Baysew on 27/12/2019 - 16:51
      +1

      will fix in best rates and charge you accordingly

      That is exactly the fear.

  • [Deactivated] on 27/12/2019 - 16:19
    +5

    List price for the right headlight 2018- is $1020 for the base model up to $2400 for the HID variant. Pay the $1000 and enjoy the 4 days holidays.

  • StonedWizard on 27/12/2019 - 16:25
    -1

    Is bird a euphemism for female?

  • ol mate on 27/12/2019 - 17:42
    +6

    You didn't hire it from Nobirds by any chance, right?

    • payless69 on 29/12/2019 - 09:06

      They advertise affordable rates. I paid more for a bicycle rent in Sydney for a day! But that was many years ago.

  • Diggins on 27/12/2019 - 19:58

    lmao must have been a big bird… poor thing :(

  • lainey13 on 28/12/2019 - 01:51
    +2

    The rental has to provide a quote for the repair. Trust me they will inflate it. Have you got an annual multi trip travel insurance policy in place that will pay for car rental excess? Any sort of travel insurance on the card used to book this? Did you include insurance at the time of booking that reduces your excess? The hassle of you fixing it is maybe not worth it…

  • reactor-au on 28/12/2019 - 08:50
    +2

    I think if there is no other car involved, the damage waiver excess doesn't apply, you cop the full repair bill. Check the fine print, rental car companies don't have a normal insurance policy since they almost always self insure.

  • OzHunterNSW on 28/12/2019 - 09:39
    +1

    Go buy a replacement…. they are plug and play… possibly a couple of clips/screws and that's it.
    It's your only option.

  • HeWhoKnows on 28/12/2019 - 09:58
    +1

    Replace the headlight yourself, dont tell the rental company and sue the bird.
    Did you get his details?

    By the way, did you stop and render help to the bird?

    • monkeyfood on 29/12/2019 - 04:42

      ms paint + dashcam too

  • ozeebee on 28/12/2019 - 13:10

    I guess you didn't rent the car from No Birds…

    Edit: someone beat me to it

  • monkeyfood on 29/12/2019 - 04:42
    +1

    Find a cheap used one from a wrecker if possible or gumtree etc

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