Car rental and CDW insurance/waiver: buy it, or rely on credit card?

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Now I'm looking at a few brief rentals in Europe this fall. In my experience, getting at least a little "damage" to the car is nearly inevitable (on more trips than not, I've had little thiings happen to the car, always at night when it was parked somewhere - radio antenna broken off, scratches on the door panels, side-view mirror knocked loose, etc. - it seems inevitable, but these little "dings" can easily eat up the full deductible).

I'd rather not repeat a bad experience with the credit card "coverage". I'd also rather not have any minor dings & dents that happen to a car I rent in Europe have any impact on my car insurance rates here at home (I don't know if it would, but nothing would surprise me).

Anybody here had a recent experience renting in Europe, using your credit card's coverage, and suffered any minor vehicle damage? If so, how did things go? Did you have any out-of-pocket expenses? Was it a big hassle?

Any recommendations? Other thoughts?

Thanks!

In spite of verifying (repeatedly) before my trip that I was covered by the credit card insurance, they refused to pay when I had a small accident. A lot of wrangling went on between the rental agency, the credit card, and me, but in the end I had to pay for the damage. I will never trust the credit card insurance again.

Note that most credit cards - including my AMEX Platinum - WILL NOT insure your car in Italy. Also know that if you're starting your trip in another part of Europe, many vendors WILL NOT allow your car into Italy (as least not legally!). And my US insurance company, back when I lived in the States, also would not cover me in Italy???

I think Kent and I discussed this issue in a previous post and we both admitted that about 20% of the time we had a ding, a dent, etc. that would have easily cost us E300 in Italy... so our advice, just buy the Super CDW and drive like a local. I've NEVER had any hassle when I bought Super CDW and had an incident... and frankly, the peace of mind was worth it - especially in Naples traffic!

So I would not rely on my credit card or US insurance company, as most are unusable here in Italia anyway... and I would just pay up front. I guess it's like the old Fram motor oil filer commercial: "You can pay me know, or pay me later!" (showing my age!) I'd rather pay now and know what my costs are...

I've have my share of motorino incidents living here and NONE have been my fault. But I cannot imagine having to debate an accident concerning a rental car - my Italian is just not that good.

Good luck!
Ciao,
Ron

In my case I'll be driving in Spain and Portugal, but my question applies to western Europe in general. Thanks for the input so far, I'd welcome more - especially recent experiences with the credit card companies and their "coverage".

I go for the whole shebang....CDW, Super CDW (or excess value waiver)...simply because it IS less hassle. At least I have the paperwork in front of me clearly outlining everyone's responsibilities...pinning that down with the credit card company is difficult to do...some will only pay for the CDW (not super), and others will have deductibles of their own. I also don't want a credit hold for several hundred Euro placed on my card if I don't take the super CDW...I want that for emergencies. A tip...if you rent your car in Spain, try to pick it up in a coastal area like Malaga or Valencia. Rental rates are far lower there than anywhere else in Spain (half the rate, sometimes) and they cover everything, including super CDW, in the price!

Insurance coverage on rentals is a gamble regardless of which way you go. Buying the extra coverage is OK if you can afford it. I cant so I dont.

My experience is so different than most renters. I have rented over 20 times and never had an accident.

Once I scratched a car; so I bought a tube of touch up paint and escaped charges. I know I have saved thousands of dollars when I declined the insurance.

Before I go to Europe I always ask my State Farm agent how I am covered. He always assures me; and recommends not buying ANY additional coverage.

If I ever have a charge for repairs, I will take it to him to resolve.

As a precaution I always take pictures of the car when I take it from all 4 sides and repeat it when I return it.

My digital camera dates the photos; so I dont expect a problem in using them if I need to.

We drive a lot in Europe and we always take the CDW and the super CDW. We complain about the cost, but we have the peace of mind of knowing there will be no hassle at the end of the trip. In Italy you must also have theft insurance, but it is worth it to us. We like to explore small villages that are not on the train lines necessarily.

Oh, I've rented many times, too (maybe 10 or 12 times over the past 20 years), and I've never had an "accident" either. I have, however, frequently come back to the car after leaving it parked (overnight or just after popping into a shop for 5 minutes) and found doors scratched, bumpers banged-up, radio antennas broken off, side mirrors knocked off their mounts and dangling, etc. Often enough to expect something to happen on about half of my trips. If I only knew which half of the trips, that would help, but of course, it's a gamble as you say.

Last fall in France I banged up a door. I didn't buy the CDW because my Visa covered it. I had to pay the rental company 500 EU up front (a reasonable price considering the damage) It took about 3 months to get my money back from VISA because they had to get an itemized repair bill and then get it translated. Once they got all the paperwork together, I promptly got the check. I plan to rely on my VISA coverage next time because I'd rather spend the CDW fees on fun things.

I wouldn't consider paying a $750 bill, then waiting three months for the reimbursement check, getting paid back "promptly". And if the credit card insurance refuses to pay for whatever reason, you never get it back.

We have never had an accident or any kind of damage so I don't know if this is a good solution or not. We always get traveler insurance. When we went to the UK one year, we relied on that for our CDW ($35,000 at the time.) We are going back this year and got a policy that included car insurance (I think it is up to $50,000) now. Before buying the policy from CSA, I googled and searched endlessly to try to find stories of people who actually used it. I only found one-his was a success story. (I found many who used the health insurance and had nothing but good to say about it.) So , Anybody out there ever used travel insurance for your rental car and actually had to use it? If so, how did it work? The reason we went that option is that we got health, lost luggage, and CDW for quite a bit less than just super CDW. However, if I hear a lot of horror stories, I still have time to change.