Nice Guys

One of the benefits of living in your hometown is things like this happen: I was calling around to car rental places, because the loaner from the auto body shop is suddenly not available to me. Anyway I gave my name to a guy at Enterprise Rent A Car and he asked if I'd gone to Deering High School. When I said I had he said, "You may not remember me, but I'm _____." Of course I remembered him -- a sports hero in the class ahead of me, who I'd had a crush on when I was in first grade and he was in second grade (and had very little contact with beyond that). In first grade I went up to his class for the reading lessons and I remember the week when he walked me to and from my first grade classroom as one of the very special times of elementary school. He tells me he's old and balding and overweight and out of shape now, but I remember his glory days.

So anyway at the car rental place this AM he wasn't there but he'd set me up with VIP status and mega discounts and all kinds of things, and the kid taking care of me is just fantastic. I actually have him shopping for cars on my behalf. Meanwhile the auto body shop people are helping me push back against the insurance company, whose offering price for my car seems even more meager than what I expected. I ask them things like, "What would you say to your daughter if this happened to her?" and they just dive right in with help and advice.

Comments

[Chris]

If you want some pushback with the insurance company, your best bet is to do what I do. Call the local Honda dealerships and ask them if they have a used version of your car with the exact options you had and get them to fax you a price. Call three dealerships, and get all of their prices, then talk to your insurance agent with the evidence of what it would cost to replace your car with its equal in your marketplace. Those numbers are pretty hard to argue with (and to your advantage since the first dealer quote is always going to be higher than you would actually pay for the car)

This approach has gotten me more than $1000 over blue book value on 3 of 4 accidents.

[Rental Car Canada]

Hi!...
Even if its not your hometown... you can get tons of car rental providers, who won`t let that happen ..