Car rental is a very popular thing nowadays, and while the mushrooming car rental behavior provides convenience for the public to travel, it also buries many hidden dangers. One of the author's clients still had lingering palpitations after the case was over.
This article analyzes the "pitfalls" that you may face in the process of renting a car, and provides a practical "car rental guide".
One of the traps of renting a car is the nature of the vehicle
In life, although the cars provided by some small car rental companies are owned by car dealers, the nature of the vehicle license is "non-operational", which is a problem that many people tend to ignore.
The insurance cost of "non-operational" vehicles is relatively low, but as a commercial vehicle, the insurance company will refuse to pay for traffic accidents during use. For car renters, driving such a car out to play is tantamount to "running naked", which is quite terrifying!
So, the first priority of renting a car is to verify the nature of the vehicle's use, not the appearance of the vehicle!
One of the car rental guides Check the nature of the vehicle first, and it is not recommended to rent a vehicle that is not for operation.
Car rental trap 2: Vehicle depreciation
The rental contract provided by the rental company invariably stipulates the "depreciation fee" of the vehicle. Depreciation is the loss of the vehicle after the maintenance due to traffic accidents, and this loss is generally calculated according to 30% of the maintenance amount, which is still very high.
Depreciation here is nothing more than another way of saying the loss of depreciation of the vehicle. In current judicial practice, the court generally does not support the loss of vehicle depreciation, and even if it does, the conditions are very strict. For example, whether it is a new car, whether it causes structural damage to the vehicle, and so on. In the case represented by the author, the vehicle involved in the case was actually a quasi-new car - only half a year (but the mileage has reached nearly 50,000 kilometers) and more than 50 repairs, but these reasons still could not convince the judge to support our claim for depreciation.
Although the depreciation expense is not supported in a tort dispute, it is likely to be awarded to the lessee in a contract dispute. The main reasons for the lessee to raise the defense are: the age of the vehicle, the cost is too high, the lessee has not misused it, and the lessee is not responsible for the accident.
Car Rental Guide 2 Check the depreciation expense terms, negotiate them, and make additional comments. If the vehicle is relatively "old", the risk will be greater, so please choose carefully.
Car Rental Trap No. 3 Rescue Fee
If the vehicle is involved in a traffic accident, if it is more serious, it is generally necessary to tow the truck, and then the towing fee will be incurred. The towing fee is a salvage fee. There is a question of reasonableness in the determination of rescue expenses. In a case that the author represented, from a car rented in Baoji, Shaanxi Province, to a traffic accident in Dayi, Chengdu, the vehicle was sent to the nearest repair shop for maintenance, and the consignment fee of 600 yuan was borne by the insurance company, but the court did not support the cost of consignment back to Baoji after the vehicle was repaired.
The reason given by the court was that the vehicle had been repaired and could be driven back, and that it was an inevitable expense, so the consignment fee was not a reasonable loss. The judge's reasoning seems reasonable, but in fact it is completely devoid of common sense. Under normal circumstances, the lessee returns to the rental place with the car, but because of the traffic accident, the lessee has already taken other ways to return, and if the car is returned and driven back to the rental place, it will inevitably incur additional transportation expenses, lost work costs, fuel costs and other expenses. The lessee is completely not responsible, so why can't these expenses be supported?
Car Rental Guide 3 In terms of transportation fees and other rescue expenses, you should communicate with the other party and the insurance company at the time of the incident, and if the cost of vehicle repair is completed, you can repair it nearby, otherwise you should directly consign it back to the rental place for maintenance, so as to avoid not being compensated because the judge does not support it.
Car Rental Trap No. 4: Downtime Loss
The rental contract generally stipulates that the lessee shall bear the loss of the outage during the maintenance period due to a traffic accident. The car rental contract of the case represented by the author stipulates that the lessee shall bear the loss of maintenance and suspension of the leased vehicle caused by the failure to use the vehicle in accordance with the performance or operating procedures, and bear the loss that the insurance company refuses to compensate due to negligence. This kind of agreement is a little better, emphasizing the "illegality" of the lessee's liability – improper use. If the lessee is at fault in the traffic accident, it is necessary to bear the loss of the outage.
In judicial practice, the circumstances under which the suspension loss is supported are very strict: the reasonable suspension loss caused by the inability to engage in the corresponding business activities of a vehicle engaged in cargo transportation, passenger transportation and other business activities in accordance with the law is induced. If the leased vehicle is "non-operational" in nature, the court will certainly not uphold the decommissioning loss.
Car Rental Guide No. 4 It is important to review the nature of the vehicle's use, and at the same time, it is important to see the conditions under which you can bear the loss of out-of-service to avoid falling into pitfalls. At the same time, it is also a good way to convert the loss of downtime into the cost of renting a car.
Car Rental Trap No. 5 Various documents
Car rental companies generally require the lessee to provide a copy of the ID card, driver's license and other documents, but the lessee generally does not have the awareness to ask the other party to provide documents, which also buries hidden dangers. Checking the vehicle's driving license, insurance purchase, and the rental company's business license will help the renter determine the risk profile and decide whether to lease the vehicle. The insurance purchase, especially whether to buy commercial insurance and the amount of commercial insurance, is very important and must be seen.
Car Rental Guide No. 5 When renting a car, check the above documents to help avoid pitfalls. At the same time, taking photos or photocopies of relevant documents and materials for preservation is of great help to possible rights protection.
Car Rental Trap No. 6 Attorney fees
There are two ways to obtain support for attorney's fees: statutory and conventional, which is generally in contractual disputes. In tort disputes, especially in motor vehicle traffic accident liability disputes, the plaintiff's attorney's fees can be said to be without clear legal provisions, and the court will generally not support them. It is also generally stated in the rental contract that the renter shall bear the legal fees.
"Several Opinions of the Supreme People's Court on Further Advancing the Separation of Complicated and Simple Cases and Optimizing the Allocation of Judicial Resources" (Fa Fa (2016) No. 21) 22. Guide parties to litigate in good faith and rationally. Increase the force of the crackdown on false litigation, malicious litigation, and other dishonest litigation conduct, giving full play to the leverage of litigation costs and lawyer fees in regulating the litigation conduct of the parties, and urging the parties to choose appropriate methods to resolve disputes. Where a party has obvious misconduct such as abusing litigation rights, delaying the undertaking of litigation obligations, causing direct losses to the litigation party or a third party, the people's court may support the lawful demand for compensation for reasonable attorneys' fees submitted by the innocent party in accordance with law on the basis of the specific circumstances.
This is a judicial document in which the plaintiff's legal fees are supported, but the conditions are still strict. For a detailed explanation, see the pyrotechnic lawyer's other article.
In traffic accident cases, the following factors need to be paid attention to when the plaintiff's attorney's fees are supported: first, whether mediation has been conducted, and the other party refuses to bear the obligation to litigate; second, whether there is fault, that is, the non-responsible party in the traffic accident; third, whether the parties themselves have litigation experience; and fourth, whether the lawyer's fees are reasonable. In the case represented by the pyrotechnic lawyer, the plaintiff was in a different place, had no responsibility, the mediation failed, and there was no litigation experience, and the lawyer's fee was also a reasonable expense, but because it was in Sichuan, the court directly rejected the plaintiff's lawyer's fee request without legal basis.
If you use the car in Shanghai, Jilin and other places, you can claim it. These places have fully considered the actual situation of the plaintiff and correctly understood and applied the judicial interpretations, and their practices are worthy of recognition.
Car Rental Guide No. 6 Attorney's fees should be considered comprehensively and strive for damages.
In short, keep your eyes open when renting a car, see the relevant license information, not only look at the appearance of the vehicle, but also look at the contract. Only by requesting information can we better protect our legitimate rights and interests. Looking for a big brand or be more assured,
The pyrotechnic lawyer recommends that you try to choose a big brand when renting a car, and at the same time check the "age" of the car rental company and the lawsuit involved on the Internet, so as to take precautions in advance and avoid falling into the pit.
The fireworks lawyer wishes everyone the Spring Festival of the Year of the Dragon in advance: Long Xing Lang Lang, and the future is bright!