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Anyone here got a hire car from one of these non-fault accident management companies ? Have been told they will give a "like for like" car ... what does that mean in reality for us C5 owners. Thanks.

I got rear ended in my A8 but the closest they could find for me was a brand new S6.Excellent fun and very happy to 'downgrade' for a couple of weeks!!

When my missus's X3 got wiped out last winter we got a brand new top of the range Mitsibushi Shogun LWB and the rental cost to this car alone came to 8-1/2 grand!
Thrashed the bejeesus out of it both offroad and onroad, great fun when its not yours!

I wonder why insurance is so expensive...

The rental cars from these accident management companies are fine so long as the other party will definitely pay, if they refuse you get the bill and boy do they know how to charge. I have heard of incidents where they won't hand over the keys until they have your credit card details. Bottom line is you are responsible for the cost if all else fails.

LOL, that thing was cleaner and in better nick when I returned it, I even polished it (no mean feat on a Shogun).
Because the costs were mounting up the other partys insurance company asked if we would return the 4x4 and they then gave us a brand new (9miles) BMW 118 and 300quid!

Make sure you have legal cover. If they refuse to pay the bill could end up on you lap. Not good.

you do have to check the small print , but some tw*t smashed into my last car, a saab 93 aero , and i got a new saab 93 convertible for a replacement , happy days

I saw a Credit Hire bill for £97k once. Rear-ended Gallardo and the boy got a replacement. Pretty pricey!

As said - the obligation (as a result of lots of legal wrangle on it) falls to the hirer if the fault party refuses to pay. Highly unlikely they'd ever enforce that obligation - it would be commercial suicide for those companies if you think about it ...

I got a 4.2v8 Audi A8 fully loaded. Bill was 4.5k and a year later the insurance company is still refusing to pay. I had the legal cover and so they are being taken to court last I heard.

For the OP it was Accident Exchange.

Steve

Girlie got rear ended at the lights in our disco , got a like for like disco as a replacement , she had legal cover and it was all agreed , or so we were told , to have the replacement disco. Our insurance company even arranged it. Her car was fixed , she got a personal injury payment after about 12mths , all sorted. Or so we thought.
About 6 mths later we got a letter from the hire car people saying the 3rd party insurance company was refusing to pay the £5.5k bill for the 30 day hire, and that as we had signed for the car and hence the hire agreement , they were informing us we were liable.
5 years later, and with a solictor and barrister , paid for by our legal cover , we won the case , as we could prove we needed a like for like vehicle , which are policy offered. This was not a definate when we entered the court room.
It is a very grey area we were told by the barrister . Just a warning , but you will be ultimately liable , and it may be deemed that the cost are excessive , and the insurance pay part , and you have to cover the rest.
Take the micra , 5 yrs of legal cost were more than the hire cost. Lucky we won ,but the barrister only gave us 60/40 chance, it was not a nice ride.

just drive a 1.1 Fiesta. It will make getting back into the Beast so much more fun.

plus ragging the hell out of a Fiesta can be quite fun

I remember I had one as a replacement car few years back. I drove Ldn to Brum one night, left at 1am. Basically drove the whole way with the pedal quite literally on the floor.

Got hit last year on M4 buy builders 4x4 from behind in a junction exit shunt. His fault. Admitted it. Nothing major in damage. I was not hurt.
Rang HelpHire and they sent me a S Class 500 Merc for a week.
Great service, sorted simple perfect repair.

Then 3 months later got a letter advising the 4x4 insurance would not pay bill of £600 for the Merc. Not my problem I thought but when you read the small print, it was! They saidIi should have taken the loan car they would have offered. Point was I was NEVER advised.

I had paid a £10 insurance fee to cover legals so HelpHire said it would be no problem. it almost seemed standard practice that these things go to court.

So court case was booked for 20th Jan. I had to attend. Booked time off etc.
Went to court but the 4x4 insurance caved in and paid up.

The issue here is the pain in the ass all this legal stuff takes up.

Indeed, still waiting to see if I have to go to court.

Won't be happy if I do as I am getting nothing from it (apart from the hire car bill paid)

Stephen

Helphire are rubbish. I had a very bad experience with them when Igot knocked off my bike and they supplied a hire bike which was totally unroadworthy and nearly crashed on it. Before I Coudl send it back the AA had to come out and sign it off as not roadworthy.

Not a good experience and then we wonder why our insurance is so expensive