robrick

Hello,
Can anyone tell me of their experience with renting cars in Portugal, and what insurance to take? Is the CDW or super CDW bettter? Is it worth the extra dollars, and necessary?
Thank you.
Rob

Sher

I have rented cars in Portugal three times. I always decline the insurance offered by the rental company.
I have a credit card which will cover me for the full value of the cars I rent. Every car and every car rental company have different excess amounts assigned to the cars.
If I were you, I would check with your credit cards first.

If you do not want to rely on your credit card coverage CDW usually lets you have limited liability for the rental car if you have an accident. Super CDW usually reduces your liability to zero.

These two options can add a lot to your rental cost.
Only you can decide if the extra dollars are worth it or necessary.

Michael

I also declined the CDW for my rental in Portugal. I banged up the car somewhat and eventually received full reimbursement from my credit card company.

annienan

Hi Michael, Just curious how you banged up the car? I'm hearing that the drivers in Portugal are crazy behing the wheel. How defensive do you need to be??

logos999

The road from Faro th Sagres is pretty bad imho. The rest is managable.

lreynold1

I hesitate to jump in here, since I have spent many hours trying to figure out this CDW stuff -- thanks to Sher, et al I thought I had it figured out. But based on Michael's comments, I now am doubting that. Can someone tell me what's wrong with the following paragraphs????

Last year I rented cars in Portugal twice -- once from Carjet, once from Economy Car Rentals. I was told by both agencies that under Portuguese law it is impossible to decline the CDW, it comes included the cost of the rental. For CC coverage, though, declining the car rental agency's CDW is required. By the time we figured out the problem, we were already back safely with no incident on our Carjet rental. And since, for our second rental, Economy told us that they had a free "super CDW" included in the price, we didn't worry about it for that trip.

I'm going to be in Portugal again in a few weeks and have two car rentals reserved, once again with Budget through Carjet. My understanding had been, based on another long thread/s here, that I should buy out the super CDW at the counter, which for Budget is about 9E a day or run the risk of whatever is left uncovered under the normal CDW, because my CC won't cover it.

But Michael said that his CC covered the damage he caused to the car. So, does anyone know what is going on?

Maybe I should just resign myself to not understanding and pay the extra euros for full coverage and worry about things like how I'm going to pay the new tolls that only take transponder payment!

Apologies for my continuing frustration and confusion, and thanks for the help, Laurie

Michael

There may have been a change in Portuguese law. However, one way of checking if you can decline the CDW is to look at the Kemwel or AutoEurope listing. If they offer two different prices per car, one of which would be the <i>basic</i>, it suggests that you can decline the CDW ("basic" price does not include CDW). Whether other brokers include that possibility is another question.

Sher

Laurie.
Usually included in the basic price you pay is some CDW. With your contract you are not responsible for the full damage to a car if you total it if you meet their requirements. That is if you are not negligent. And you are not responsible usually for $10,000 worth. Listed on the rental agreement will be an "excess". This is the amount you must pay if you damage the car up to that amount.

What Budget wants you to buy and what the credit card company wants you to decline is that E9 a day. This amount will bring your excess down. Sometimes you can bring it down to zero.
You cannot decline any cdw which is built into the contract. You just must decline the extra they want you to buy if you want your credit card to cover you.
This is what Michael means by basic and inclusive.
NOw, when you purchase this extra CDW and you scratch the car and you return it you just walk away. I am not talking about accidents which must be reported and paperwork submitted.

When you use your credit card and you scratch the car Budget is going to charge your credit card for damage. And your credit card will pay Budget and credit you.
If, for your peace of mind you just want to walk away then buy the E9 from Budget. But there really is no need to.
Hopes this helps.

Michael

Here's what I wrote in my trip report:

We rented a car through AutoEurope, but the actual rental agency was Avis. They were not the cheapest, but were the only ones that could offer a one way rental and the CDW waiver ...

jamikins

We also rented with AutoEurope and it ended up being Avis as well. We paid for the CDW through AutoEurope and declined additional insurance with Avis because we were covered through AE. It was optional though, so you must be able to decline it?

Michael

Yes, you must decline the CDW when you sing the rental contract.

Michael

To protect your voice, it is "...<b>sign</b> the rental contract."

seetheworld

We booked with Avis twice, online for pickup at the airport (not offsite), and used AMEX. We declined the additional insurance. The quote was in US dollars and the credit card was charged at a converted rate.

We recommend checking w/ your insurance company and credit card company and taking the coverage that you are most comfortable with.

CDP

Hello,

I just reserved a car through portugalautorental.com. After i read the terms and conditions, I understand the following: the rental price include a CDW (collision damage waiver), but they will block o sum - depending on the car type -, on your credit card; if anything happens to the car - even if is your fault or not -, they will take from the sum they blocked the amount necessary for the reparations; it doesn't matter if the cost of reparation exceed this sum, you will be held responsable only for the amount they blobked; but, if you take the Super CDW, for an amount charged for every day of rental they will not block any sum on your credit card, and you will not be held responsable for anything that happens to the car, unless you drive drunk for example.

Did I understand correctly ? I suppose these terms and conditions are similar to most of the rental companies ...
Thank you for your answers

Michael

CDP,

In essence it means that you have a deductible. I would look for a rental with no deductible because little bumps and scratches turn out to be more expensive than anticipated.

Sher

If I am reading your post correctly as you state it then yes. You understand correctly. And this sum they block on your credit card can be called "excess". People in the US would refer to this sum as deductible.

Now. Sometimes you might have a credit card that will credit the blocked amount if you have an accident. The car rental company will still block the amount until you return the car in good conditions. But if you do not return the car in good conditon your credit card will be charged for the damage up to the blocked amount. But your credit card will credit you back this amount if you have this stated in your credit card agreement.

I am only speaking from experience of credit cards in the US. I do not know what kind of agreements are available in other countries.

Usually Super CDW, which you purchase from the car company, will allow you to be free of all damage to the car (unless you are negligent) and also to be free of the credit card block.

You might want to check the fine print on tires and mirrors and glass as sometimes these things are never covered. Oh, also underneath the car too.

Jill

One more question, what about injuries inside and outside of the car? Who takes care of them? Waiving CDW, doesn't cover injuries.
Jill

Michael

CDW, whether waived or not, only covers damage to your own car. Your injuries would not be covered. Medical care in Europe is relatively cheap, so that the real issue that might come up is the need for evacuation. You would have to purchase that type of insurance independent of your car rental.

Sher

Your injuries are only covered if you purchase Personal Injury insurance. It is another option you can add on to your car rental.
As Michael says. CDW has nothing to do with injuries.