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RENTING A CAR? NEW RULES
By Chuck Wells
So you are at the car rental
car office in Orlando wearing your Mickey Ears and they ask you
if you want to buy the Collision Damage Waiver as part of your
rental agreement. What do
you say?
As a general rule, if you have your own New York personal auto
policy, you do not have to buy the extra coverage through the
rental outfit. But you should check with your insurance agent
before you leave to make sure because this is now getting
complicated (isn’t everything?).
The Collision Damage Waiver means that if you pay an extra
per-day fee to the rental car company, they will not hold you
responsible for any damages you cause to their car. If you are
renting a U-Haul truck or any vehicle out of the United States,
you should buy the Collision Damage Waiver. If you are renting a
car for not more than 30 days, your own car insurance company
will pay the claim if you damage the rental car.
After February 24, 2003, your car insurance company is
responsible for paying the full amount of damage you do to a
rental car. Before that time, your company was only responsible
for the first $100. This means that our car insurance rates will
go up again to pay for this extra expense rather than it being
passed on to only those who rent cars.
Some extra tidbits about rental car insurance:
- You do not have to carry
collision on your car to have your insurance pay for damages
to the rental car.
- You will not have a
deductible to pay if you damage the rental car.
- Rental agreements over 30
days are not covered.
- There is no coverage if you
are DWI, committing a felony, racing, or
driving recklessly.
- You cannot have more than 4
cars on your personal auto policy.
Make sure you check over the
car you are renting before driving it away. If there is any
damage, go back in and tell the rental people about it and have
them note it on your rental agreement.
MAGIC CURE FOR DENTAL
PROBLEMS?
Residents in Philai,
India are claiming that they can cure dental problems with a
mantra that was passed down through Baba Budha Ji who lived
there 100 years ago. Patients recite the mantra in front of a
Sikh temple and must say how many years they want to be dental
disease free. Residents then throw seven pebbles over the heads
of the patients while reciting the mantra themselves. Patients
then have to leave the village on foot without looking back and
without speaking or taking food from any of the villagers. No
word from Tom Stevens, dentist in Walworth, as to whether or not
he has pebbles and a mantra but I have heard him mumble some
things while looking at my teeth.
A REAL COUPON CLIPPER
Chris Shields, a stay-at-home dad from
Eliot, Maine saw a $200 off coupon on a new car from a local
Toyota dealership. On January 4, he bought over 200 newspapers
carrying the $200 coupons, cut them out, stuck them in his
briefcase, and headed for the dealership. Upon arrival at the
dealership, Shields presented over $40,000 in coupons and asked
for his new car. The dealership told him to get lost. Shields is
reporting the dealership to the state attorney general’s
consumer protection bureau as he thinks it was deceptive
advertising not to give him a
free car.
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