Ignore The Hard Sell: Car-Rental Waiver Is Usually A Loser

In the past decade, I've rented dozens of cars from just about every major company in the business, here and abroad. I can clearly recall only one time that I didn't encounter some form of sales hustle. That was with an Avis trainee, who had her hands full just filling out the forms.

Yes, the most likely thing that will happen when you walk into a car-rental office is that somebody will try to put the bite on you and, in the process, jack up the price substantially beyond what you had expected to pay, or what was advertised. There have been a few reforms, but for the most part it's still caveat emptor, especially in major vacation destinations such as Florida and Hawaii.

A substantial part of the abuse has been over the collision-damage waiver (CDW) that car-rental companies sell which basically relieves the renter of liability if the car is damaged, wrecked or stolen. The CDWs can be $11.95 a day. Companies often have used high-pressure tactics and deception to sell them.

So big has the headache been, that two states - New York and Illinois - have banned the sale of CDWs, and limited a driver's liability for damage to $100 and $200, respectively.

Several states have restricted CDW sales to a ``reasonable'' daily cost. Others are considering - or in some cases have rejected - model legislation drawn up by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, which has long sought to regulate CDW sales. The National Association of Attorneys General has recommended either a ban on CDWs or their

strict regulation.

Hertz itself is now asking for federallegislation to kill CDWs. Avis says that at least there should be some national standard, if not a federal law.

And it's not only CDWs. There is seemingly no end to the methods car-rental companies have invented to jack up charges to travelers - especially relatively naive vacationers who might only rent a few times a year. It can be other needless ``insurances.'' It can be gasoline charges. It can be additional costs for other drivers. It can be an ``upgrade'' - a more costly vehicle than the one you wanted because that car is ``not available.'' It can be liability insurance, which you may or may not need. Drop-off fees. Additional mileage charges. Surcharges.

Pardon me if I seem a bit cynical about this, but Hertz - which is now complaining about what an abuse CDW has become - is the same company that almost two years ago paid $22.5 million in fines and penalties after admitting to systematically bilking its customers and insurers over a seven-year period, by overcharging for repairs done to rental cars.

Hertz has even gone so far as to sue Alamo and some of its other rivals, charging that ``coercion, intimidation and, in some cases, outright lies are employed by such companies to force the . . . public into taking what often is a needless damage waiver.''

Alamo says it's all a slick ruse by Hertz, which is losing a lot of revenue to Alamo and other companies that often manage to undercut Hertz prices, especially in big vacation destinations.

Of course, Alamo has been accused of doing some very hard selling itself on the CDW. Alamo was at the bottom of Consumers Union's customer satisfaction ratings in 1989, the same year the Federal Trade Commission jumped on the company for not disclosing certain charges to customers.

Alamo, of course, says this hard sell doesn't happen - certainly not now. But when I rented a Chevy from them last fall in Tucson I found myself agreeing to an upgrade and hesitating about the CDW.

``If you don't take the waiver, you know you're responsible for the full value of this car?'' asked the glib young woman behind the counter. ``The full value.'' Even when you are cynical about such matters; even when you know your corporate employer covers you on business trips; even when you know your own car insurance also covers you; even when you use the American Express card, which automatically covers the CDW; even with all this, a cleverly phrased and properly emphasized sentence is going to make your tummy jump around a bit.

``We've heard that some of these companies (not Alamo) actually have a crashed car right outside,'' says Robert Hunter, of the National Insurance Consumer Organization, ``and say to the customer: `See that car out there? Well, that guy didn't take the damage waiver, and he had to pay $15,000; you wouldn't want to be in his shoes.' ''

Faced with such tactics and intimidation, what will the average customer do on a once-a-year vacation? Right. Buy the CDW.

Friends, readers and fellow renters - don't do it, unless you don't own a car and thus don't have auto insurance, or you don't have a major credit card that covers the CDW. Here's more advice:

-- Get a major credit card that covers CDW.

-- Know what your own auto insurance covers before you go to the car rental. Avoid a company that puts a ``hold'' on your credit card if you don't take the CDW. Be aware that a low base rate may hide other charges.

-- Remember the credit card likely provides ``secondary'' coverage. This means it will pay what your own insurance company does not. In many cases, when renting abroad, your own insurance won't cover an accident, and the credit-card coverage thus becomes primary.

-- CDW relieves you of responsibility if something happens to the car you are renting, but it is not liability insurance - protection in the event somebody else sues you. Car-rental companies used to carry plenty of that, but in recent years have cut it back to whatever the state minimum is - often very little. It's especially important to consider this when renting if you do not have your own car-insurance policy.

-- Watch for separate charges on items such as gasoline or other drivers. And be prepared for a big drop-off fee if you want to rent in one place and drop the car elsewhere.