Can someone please help me with an issue that I had in Austria?

6 comments

1. The text doesn’t go into any specifics, just stating that they found the damage when you returned the car. Personally i don’t really see any damages on the photos, although photos can be deceiving.

   Pretty often your travel insurance / credit card insurance covers these cases. So before taking any other steps you should check if your insurance handles this.

2. I know it’s a little late, but this is why you **always** book rental cars with 100% full insurance coverage of all damages, zero deductible.

   The document basically says they looked into the case, the claimed damage is there and you didn’t flag it when you got the car from them as per the [T&C](https://sx-content-labs.sixt.io/Content-Media/agb/sixt_AT_en.pdf).

   Now, Sixt isn’t some random shitty local rental agency, but one of Europe’s largest car rental companies headquartered in Germany. That said, I’ve also been screwed over in a situation like this by them. The problem isn’t that the damage isn’t real (it usually is), but that the cost estimates are insanely high…and very often, suspiciously close to the agreed deductible.

   Your chance of getting this sorted for you as a criminal case is zero. You’d need to consult a local lawyer to fight this as a civil case, but this only makes sense if it’s going to be a lot cheaper than 1000 EUR. Do you have any travel insurance with liability or legal cover, perhaps via credit card or membership in something like AAA?

3. Yes.

   They are saying, that you didn’t object to the handover protocol which did not include those damages. Ergo those damages must have been caused while you had the car.

   This is quite a common thing with rental companies all over the world. I hope you paid by credit card and that your credit card company can handle this.

   For the future: Always book rentals with full insurance and NO deductible.

4. Because multiple people here have said that they don’t see anything on the photos: they show a very slight scratch in the highlighted area, which I cannot notice in the first photo but I can clearly see on the 3rd and 4th picture. There is an almost vertical line there which is also barely visible in the 2nd picture.

   It is really only a very light scratch so it’s possible that different monitors don’t even show it properly. I don’t think it even goes all the way through the paint coat.

5. As sad as it sounds, a colleague of mine had similar damage to his car and it was also estimated at 1000 euros. So the amount is realistic, and if you caused the damage or it was caused while you were renting the car, then unfortunately you have to pay for it too. The damage could be parking damage, meaning someone else caused it without your knowledge while you were parked.

   That’s why I always take out comprehensive insurance for rental vehicles and wash them before returning them so I can check for myself if anything is wrong. Superficial scratches can often be polished out

6. 100% a scam. I am sure they will not repair it and just hand it over to the next person to get scammed again for the same damage and costs.

   The best thing is not to get into a contract like this, but it is hard to to something now after falling into the trap.