Need advice on whether to get the Collision Damage Waiver (CDW) from rental car place.?
Question:
My credit card has Collision only coverage.
Do you think I should get CDW?
Since I do not have a full/comprehensive auto insurance on my own car, I am debating whether to buy the CDW at a rental car place.
Thanks for your advice.
Answer:
Having worked previously at Hertz and having been trained to know the advantages and disadvantages of collision coverage, I would say that it's a good idea to get it if you don't have it on your own policy for the following reasons:
1) Your credit card might protect you, but often there are some limitations with that process, in many cases (ie: they go through your insurance first, damage your rating, have restrictions ,etc).
2) If you are having any secondary drivers of the rental car, they may not be covered under your credit card or their own policy
3) Do you really want to wreck your credit history and/or have to deal with the hassle of collision paperwork for the sake of a rental car that isn't even yours? If you get the damage waver, should you get into an accident all you need to do is briefly fill out a quick form detailing what happened, and that's it...you walk away, no further strings attached, etc. I once had a lady who rented a car for 1 day, and her neighbour's kid smashed the window with a baseball...she ended up having to pay somewhere around $500 to get the window repaired, when she could have just paid $9 to cover the car.
4) A lot of rental car places are fairly picky about the damage on their cars, so even something as minor as a dent or large scratch or broken/dented window might give them cause to have you pay for damages.
Overall, I would say that if you're only renting for a week or less, then get the damage waver. If longer than that, then you should seriously look into what your credit card company has to offer, first. Now, it's true that most rental car employees make commissions off of people buying the damage wavers; however, they are actually a good investment in some cases. I myself still purchase the damage waver even though I'm no longer an employee.
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No. The CDW is just for the "deductable" associated with you collision coverage. Check the credit card, I would guess the deductable for the insurance coverage is $200. The CDW coverage from rental agencies are usually around $20/day. That is a WHOLE lot of money for just a couple hundred dollars worth of coverage.
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