Accident in rental car, who pays for the damages to the vehicle we hit with our rental car?

Wouldn't the 3rd party be your credit card coverage?

No.

"3rd party coverage" is the Liability coverage for damage/injury done to others.

Presumably you made a report to ERAC at the time of the accident or when you turned the car in, so you should be able to refer the matter on to them fairly easily. Did you not give the other party your ERAC rental agreement info at the scene?

@Joe32f

We did file a report with Enterprise. We actually had to pay Enterprise directly for the damages to the BMW we were driving. It was not drivable afterwards and the cost for repair was quite high. Thankfully, Visa reimbursed us in full.
I know we should not have assumed but we thought the other party would contact Enterprise for their damages. It was actually a work van and it had front end damage but it was not a total loss.
I'm familiar with how insurance works here in the states, but I don't understand the 3rd party coverage in relation to a rental vehicle.
The police stopped at the scene of our accident, just because they were passing by. Nobody was hurt so they didn't even make a report.

We had one accident. I had to pay for our car (was reimbursed by my travel insurance coverage) but never had to pay anything for the other car. Can you contact Enterprise? My vouchers always say:

Liability Insurance for injuries or damages to persons or things outside the vehicle

I have always assumed that includes anything hit that is outside of my vehicle, including other vehicles. If you paperwork says you have liability insurance, that should take care of it.

Thanks Connie. I'm going to call Enterprise in the UK tomorrow morning.

First of all, let me say how glad I am that no one was injured! It is also quite encouraging to hear that your credit card coverage paid up. So many people come on this forum and make blanket statements about how credit card coverage won't really cover things. It is refreshing to so that at least some coverages work.

I looked up the phrase "3rd party Cover" and this is what I found.

"In car rental, Third-Party Liability is a form of liability insurance. Third-Party Liability protects the insured against damages caused to a third party, that is, a person or property. Third-Party Liability can cover expenses such as hospital care, lost wages, or repairs to the car's bodywork."

I think you are on the right track that Enterprise should be responsible for the other damages.

Personal property insurance will cover things like hitting a building or person

??

We side-swiped a protruding fence post a few trips ago, also with Enterprise and a waived CDW, and although Enterprise charged me enough to replace the entire car, my CC carrier made me entirely whole in about 30 days. My ending cost was $179 for a two week rental, which was the base rate despite signing up for a second driver.

Credit Card coverage is either there or not there. There isn't ambiguity in the fine print of your T&Cs. It will say "except Ireland" like my Mastercard does or "everywhere" like my Costco VISA does (even though they're both from the same bank). Recently, a lot of rental companies want specific proof in the form of a personal letter from the CC company rather than a copy of the T&Cs. My VISA provides a specific phone number to acquire that documentation, which should avoid the eternal argument at the counter.

The cost for the CDW doesn't seem so bad now that the daily rates are absurd, but I have Scottish blood.

Hi, suzettedalton,

If you are covering your car rental insurance using your U.S. based credit card, the coverage is only valid for a maximum of 31 days.

I was billed for a scratched alloy (hubcap) a few years ago, and VISA covered the damage in full, including the paperwork fees.

It's an excellent benefit. Based on what I've read, Enterprise should pay for the damage to the other vehicle. Have you tried contacting Enterprise here in the U.S.?

Good luck and best wishes,

Mike (Auchterless)

Update:

I phoned Enterprise UK . Finally got to the right person who proceeded to tell me the 3rd party coverage would be coverage through Visa.
I explained I felt she was wrong . I made her aware that our contract showed 3rd party coverage was included. She did some more checking and
Apparently this claim has already been turned in.
She told me the documents we received in mail were a mistake and I could throw away.

There’s no way I’d throw away anything relating to this claim. I forwarded a Copy of all the docs to the email she gave me. Waiting a few days for someone to reach out to me..

Thanks for all the answers and comments. I’ll update again when I have more details.

Hi, Suzette,

I was curious to find out if you ever resolved your accident situation with Enterprise. Has everything been resolved to your satisfaction?

In relation to your last post, be sure to keep all records, including photographs and a police report if one was ever filed, for at least two years from the date of the accident. That way, you'll have something to fall back on if this ever crops up again.

Just checking the coverage brochure from my credit card, it states that among the things NOT covered are "...damage to anything...outside the rental vehicle". I take from this that Enterprise should be responsible for covering the cost of the repair to the other vehicle.

I hope that this doesn't put you off going back to Scotland.

Very best wishes,

Mike (Auchterless)

Hi Mike (Auchterless),

We haven’t heard from anyone since my last post.
I emailed documents to the email I was given but haven’t heard a word.. I have kept everything related to the incident and will hold on to these for a few years. I’m guilty of holding onto way too many things for the “just in case” situation.

I’m thinking I’ll give Enterprise a call next week to check the status. You’d think communication would have been better for something like this. The old saying “no news is good news” might not be accurate.
I hope we’re not in the middle of a legal situation and don’t even know about it!

This experience definitely won’t discourage future travel in Scotland. We’ve visited three times already and plan to go back again sometime in the future.
If we rent another car, I’ll drive... Haha

Next trip is to Austria in the fall. No car rentals this time!

Thanks for asking about our situation. Any advice is appreciated.

Suzette