When the door blows off your car in Iceland

I’ve got Iceland on the brain today. Again. Let’s face it, once you’ve visited the land of fire and ice, it’s likely to be on your brain FOR EV-ER. It’s hauntingly beautiful and just sort of sticks inside your soul. But to be perfectly honest, it has also stuck with my bank account. My travel credit card from Bank of America, to be exact. Let me explain…

Iceland rental cars WILL get damaged.

To make a long story short(er), we booked a rental car with HERTZ at KEF airport when we had an un-expected 24 hour flight delay in Iceland on the return home. I opted into the renters insurance. As you ALL SHOULD when you are renting in Iceland. Trust me, it goes against everything I’ve ever been taught about insurance and car rentals. But just do it, okay? Book the freakin’ insurance. All of it. Every type of insurance they offer. Even if it adds $15 per day. Just. DO. It!

When we stopped for gas on our way back to the airport 24 hours later, hubby opened the car door and the ferocious Iceland wind whipped that door completely backward… breaking the hinge and denting both the front end of the car and the door. In order to get it shut, we had to push it backwards again, thus breaking the hinge even further, and the door wouldn’t shut. We held it as far closed as possible, which wasn’t really closed at all. We made numerous attempts to call HERTZ and got no answer. So we drove the 2 miles with the door gaping open, ice balls raining in. Yep. That happened.

“No worries, this actually happens ALL the time” says the HERTZ clerk. Cool, I’m relived. Then he proceeds to tell me that although I opted into the insurance, I had opted OUT of the $4 wind coverage which this damage fell under. Just pay them $2600 and we would be on our way, they said.

Hubby argued with them, and got them down to $950. We laughed about it. We cried a little. And now it’s our favorite party story. Upon returning home, we filed a claim with the credit card we had used to book the rental car, BOA Travel Rewards card. The claim process was pretty easy, I submitted documents via email scan, and after numerous phone calls and heart to hearts with our claim rep, we finally got notice today that they issued us a check and we are getting our money back. Hallelujah.

Tips for renting a car in Iceland.

Here’s what I know:

1. If you want to avoid all worries and months of possible insurance claim work, just pay the $10-15 extra and get ALL THE INSURANCES. It’ll be easier. Also, take pics of the rental car EVERYWHERE and note damages to it before accepting the vehicle from the rental company.
2. SOME car insurances cover rental vehicle claims. Do NOT count on this unless you are very familiar with your policy. Ours happens to cover us if we rent a car in the USA, but not out of the country.
3. Do use a credit card for all rental car bookings, and preferably one that offers coverage for travel incidents. Check on this before you use the card so you’re sure what is covered and what isn’t.
4. HERTZ in Iceland is independently owned. Although part of the chain, we were told that the corporation has very little control over independently owned branches. Upon further research, this particular branch of HERTZ has numerous bad reviews and stories similar to ours. I’m convinced they’re getting people to pay exorbitant fees because people are rushed to get to the airport. Hubby had to really stick with it and fought them for 30 minutes before they went from $2600 down to $950. The insurance company from BOA also mentioned that this is a common practice of many car rental companies – to overcharge. It’s okay to argue them down.
5. In the event that something really stressful like this happens to you, and you know your credit card has insurance for you, obtain the following documents BEFORE YOU PAY the car rental company… 1. Copy of your original rental agreement. 2. Copy of the return report. 3. Copy of the damage report. 4. DETAILED copy of the damage charges itemized (ex: $500 paint, $200 dented hood, etc.) 5. Photos of the damage. 6. Contact info for the rental company in case your insurance company needs to contact them. Please note, the itemized forms were the most important item our BOA insurance asked for, and we didn’t have it, and we spent months trying to get it from HERTZ Iceland, to no avail.

In all seriousness, DO NOT let my story deter you from visiting Iceland or renting a car. We loved Iceland and can’t wait to go back. We also loved having our own vehicle to explore the country. Just do not rent from HERTZ at KEF unless you’re very thorough with your pre-rental car photos and be prepared to be nickel and dimed for any and all damage the people from HERTZ say you’ve done to the car. Or just get the insurances. ALL. THE. INSURANCES.

If you’re looking for alternative car rental companies, we used Enterprise in Iceland on the first trip and loved them. I’ve also heard good things about Lotus Car Rental Service – that’s who we’ll use next time we go back.

Comment below if you have a crazy car rental story. Or really, just any travel story at all. We love the stories!