Have just had a car rent company tell me CDW insurance was mandatory in Turkey. Does anyone know for a fact this is true? I got the impression it was optional.

Was told this in Spain and when I got home found out it was not true and I was scammed.

Can anyone clarify?

Check the contract you have with your credit card CDW coverage. Some countries aren't covered, such as Jamaica, Israel, Ireland... so it's possible Turkey might be another one of them. If that isn't the case with your CC CDW coverage, then check around with other rental companies and see what they have to say. I don't have personal experience in Turkey, as we didn't rent a vehicle there... but anything is possible. Just check further or other responders may have more specific information regarding Turkey.

I hope Patrick will join this discussion. He had a bad accident some time ago in Wales and has had a helluva time collecting from the credit card company's insurance. The last I heard, they still haven't paid in full. He convinced me that the CDW is money well spent.

Getting back to your question, I agree w/sandi that possibly Turkey is a country that isn't covered by credit card insurance.

I just did a search on both Thrifty and Avis' web pages as if I were going to rent a car in Turkey. In both cases they did not give me the option to pass on CDW, it was automatically added into the price. I saw this on the itemized breakdown of charges. That tells me it is not optional.

Brandsberg - The quote I got for our car rental this April from a Turkish travel agent included CDW and was similar to the best price my Canadian travel agent could find, which did not include CDW.
Sandi -I rented a car in Ireland last year and Mastercard covered the CDW, I phoned them to double check before I left Canada. It has to be a Platinum card though.

nichthorp - I mentioned the countries I did, Ireland specifically, as one of my cards doesn't cover Ireland; I didn't have the specifics from my other credit card.

Which countries are covered and which not often depends on whether you have a standard, platinum, or gold card - they're different. But some countries seem to be excluded regardless the CC you have. However, since I'm not a regular renter I don't normally concern myself with this, though recall the time we rented in France, the price difference with CDW and without was less then $50 - yes, $50, so we went with the rental including the agencies CDW (AutoEurope).

Apparently, it seems from other responders who checked various rental sites, the Turkish rates included CDW, then Turkey might be another one of those excluded countries.

Travelguard offers CDW insurance at a VERY reasonable rate. I always purchase the coverage when driving in a foreign country. I think it is only $6 per day.

Ah, P_M, you missed my post a couple of weeks ago in which I explained that we now have received a check in full from our accident. There is a full description posted if you want to do a search.

My best suggestion is not to call the agencies, but call your credit card company, ask to speak to the insurance specialist and see what if anything your card would cover in Turkey and what you need to do in order to get them to cover you. If you are relying on your credit card to provide the coverage, the only logical person to ask about the coverage IS that credit card company -- no one else!!!!

Could someone tell me what does "CDW" stand for

Is driving in Turkey safe -- how about scary? I have driven in Mexico 2x and in the caribbean -- but not in Europe. I think I can handle it -- oh -- and I drive stick shift so that should help.

thanks. ccc

CDW - collision damage waiver.

brandsberg. Another thing to check when you take the CDW is something called a non waveable excess (sp?). We would describe it as a deductible.
Even if you pay for CDW sometimes a deductible is attached of 800E or more. So if you have an accident and even if you have the CDW you may be responsible for this excess.
It is just something that is nice to know. So this is another question to ask of the rental companies concerning their coverage.

Some rental companies offer super CDW. That is a fee on top of the CDW fee. It eliminates the deductible which can be hefty.

even paying the super cdw in some cases you are still liable for tires, windshields, top and underside of car...
so.. read the fine print and if you are not interested in buying the car company a new tire if you have a blowout, or a new windshield if a stone flicks against it as you cruise around italy or wherever.. change to a company that gives you ZERO deductible, and zero responsibility.

We've rented car for trip next week to Ireland and then another car in Scotland and paid for CDW. Used Europcoar in Scotland and got a pop up ad for Insurance4carhire.com which says they provide excess insurance protecting
excess charges whenever we rent a car in Europe for one year. they charge 49 pounds and cover tire and windshield for any car rentals in Europe for that year.

Has anyone used this or is it an additional rip off? I hate to pay for the additional deductible if its $800-$1000 so another 49 pounds it seems worth it. the last time I used my credit card to cover a rental insurance in the US I had a small accident and my insurance covered the other car (but it affected my insurance rate) and the credit card covered the rental car.
Any help would be appreciated about this excess insurance coverer.